My tin can
Yes a lot of meaning goes into the reply to an order with "Aye-Aye Sir." It communicates immediately to your superior (an Officer) that you understand the order given and you will carry it out immediately.
Yes, boarding and leaving the ship was really down to a formula. What you say is right on! Officers say it differently with "...I have permission to leave the ship when leaving and when reporting aboard they say...I am reporting my presence onboard." The salutes are as you say very sharp and with feeling... no whispers are allowed. The quarterdeck is also a very sacred place. It is set aside to greet VIP's and other dignitaries visiting the ship. The Petty Officer as directed by the OD (Officer of the Deck) keeps the quarterdeck clear. There is never any loitering. If there was sunny weather a canopy was rigged over the quarterdeck. When VIP's arrive either by boat or by walking down the pier... Sideboys are called away. The Bosun an E-6 handles the sideboys. The number of sideboys determines the rank of the visitor. When the Captain is away an absentee pennant is flown from the yardarm. It is broken as soon as the Captain crosses the brow. The name of the ship is passed on departure or arrival over the 1MC. For example is the ship were the USS Manley DD-940... the word you would hear through out the ship would be "Manley departing or Manley arriving."
Since the Manley was the flagship of Destroy Squadron Four we had a Commodore aboard. (This is a Wartime rank and equates directly to the rank of Rear Admiral (Lower Half). So in his case on his arrival or departures you would hear..."DESRON Four Departing or DESRON Four Arriving."
An excerpt of Destroyers of World War II:
“Destroyers were nicknamed "tin cans". Most destroyers lacked any protective armor, relying instead on their speed and maneuverability. The U.S. Navy started the war with many mothballed, 4-piper destroyers (so named for their 4 prominent smokestacks) from the Great War era (50 of these going to Great Britain in exchange for bases in the Western Hemisphere - Lend Lease) and 114 of several classes designed and built in the 1930s. Another 67 of these pre-war designs were built during the first two years of the war. Though the 4-pipers may indeed have been obsolete when built as the game manual asserts, many remained on useful duty throughout the entire war.
The Fletcher class destroyers, first built in 1942, would become the most numerous of U.S. destroyers with 175 launched. They were also the first modern U.S. destroyers to sport armor, though they only had 3/4-inch thick side armor and 1/2-inch thick deck armor. During the war the U.S. lost 71 destroyers. The Imperial Japanese Navy started the war with more than 120 destroyers, though only 11 survived to the war's end.”
The USS Manley’s keel was set in 1957. The ship was literally a firing platform. Amidships we had a group of torpedo tubes but in a modernization upgrade these were removed. One thing about this ship was she could stand on her keel and go flat out at speeds that seem just awesome. We were the fastest ship in our squadron. When we went through the Panama Canal during the Vietnam War we did it in 3-1/2 hours coast to coast. That record stood until the USS Pegasus a hydroplane did it in 2 hours.
The USS Vogelgesang DD-862 a WWII destroyer had dual depth charge racks but after going into the yards in Charlestown, Mass these were removed.
This vessel earned 5 battle stars during her career. Last I heard she had been leased to the Mexican Navy.
The USS Manley is just a memory since it was scrapped.
Now other nicknames associated with destroyers were; “tin Cans,” “Old Buckets,” “Galloping ghost,” “Greyhounds of the sea,” “small boys” and if ever assigned to a ship like a destroyer you would be most likely be “Hazy gray and underway.”