Sea Skills: Parts of a Ship

To work safely at sea, you need to know your way around a ship. In wartime, new sailors had to learn the names of key parts very quickly, both outside on deck and inside below.

Some important outside parts:

• Bow – the front of the ship.
• Stern – the back of the ship.
• Port – the left-hand side when you are facing forwards.
• Starboard – the right-hand side when you are facing forwards.
• Bridge – where the ship is controlled and navigated.
• Mast and funnel – for signals, radar and letting exhaust gas escape.

Inside, a wartime ship was divided into compartments:

• Mess deck – where the crew lived, slept and ate.
• Galley – the ship’s kitchen.
• Engine room – machinery spaces for engines and generators.
• Magazine – where ammunition was stored.
• Wheelhouse – sometimes separate from the open bridge, where the wheel is.

This game shows a simple cartoon escort ship from the Second World War and a cut-away view of the inside. Your task is to match the names of parts to where they are likely to be on the ship.