From The Ship that Held the Line – The USS Hornet and the First Year of the Pacific War, by Lisle A. Rose. Commander Frank Akers was the ship's navigator, and apparently not exactly universally liked aboard the Hornet. Rose is writing here about how cramped it was aboard even a large ship like an aircraft carrier at sea during WW-II.
"Frank Akers was the only senior officer aside from the captain who had a sea cabin in the island. It was essential for the ship's navigator to be close to his work and readily available at all hours of the day or night. But Akers did not always appreciate the privilege. He was especially irritated that water pressure up in the island was weak and undependable. Showers were often tepid little stream of water, and toilets seldom flushed fully after one or two tries. In the long weeks after leaving Norfolk, Akers's complaints became more frequent, bitter, and pointed. The culprit, he claimed, was the ship's first lieutenant, Lt. Comdr. Henry Moran, who was responsible for all deck work and repair activities. One day during the voyage to the New Hebrides, Akers left the bridge to go back to his cabin for a "rest." Suddenly he erupted back onto the bridge, sputtering and cursing; the bottom of his khaki uniform shirt was soaked and flecked with feces. Someone in the deck department had become fed up with Akers's bellyaching and had cut the main fire-fighting water line with its enormous pressure directly into the navigator's plumbing. Now Akers would have all the water power he needed for toilet or shower. Akers was furious. Mitscher [Captian Marc A Mitscher, then CO of Hornet] and his exec, George Henderson, exchanged amused glances and promised to try to find the culprit. That evening an anonymous "scatological poem" about the incident appeared on the wardroom bulletin board, no doubt the product of Henderson's fertile mind. Nothing more was heard from Akers about insufficient water pressure in his stateroom."
"Frank Akers was the only senior officer aside from the captain who had a sea cabin in the island. It was essential for the ship's navigator to be close to his work and readily available at all hours of the day or night. But Akers did not always appreciate the privilege. He was especially irritated that water pressure up in the island was weak and undependable. Showers were often tepid little stream of water, and toilets seldom flushed fully after one or two tries. In the long weeks after leaving Norfolk, Akers's complaints became more frequent, bitter, and pointed. The culprit, he claimed, was the ship's first lieutenant, Lt. Comdr. Henry Moran, who was responsible for all deck work and repair activities. One day during the voyage to the New Hebrides, Akers left the bridge to go back to his cabin for a "rest." Suddenly he erupted back onto the bridge, sputtering and cursing; the bottom of his khaki uniform shirt was soaked and flecked with feces. Someone in the deck department had become fed up with Akers's bellyaching and had cut the main fire-fighting water line with its enormous pressure directly into the navigator's plumbing. Now Akers would have all the water power he needed for toilet or shower. Akers was furious. Mitscher [Captian Marc A Mitscher, then CO of Hornet] and his exec, George Henderson, exchanged amused glances and promised to try to find the culprit. That evening an anonymous "scatological poem" about the incident appeared on the wardroom bulletin board, no doubt the product of Henderson's fertile mind. Nothing more was heard from Akers about insufficient water pressure in his stateroom."
