Quote:
Originally Posted by Michigan_Guy
I'm astonished at the huge costs involved with maintaining a battleship.
These ships didn't originally have teak decks, did they? I thought only aircraft carriers did back then. Hrmmm....
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Battleships and Cruisers had topside decking of teak. Teak was selected because it doesn't swell up noticably when wet and therefore does not push out the caulking between the seams.
It provides a flat surface to cover up the riveted butt straps to prevent tripping and to facilitate rolling of ammunition dollys. It also provides insulation for the compartments below.
When Japan invaded Burma in WW II, our supply of Burmese Teak came to a screaching halt. So we used similar hardwoods from Brazil and called them American Teak. Actually, some of them are better than Burmese Teak.
When Douglas Fir was used (against my vehement objections) it was found to swell up tremendously, push the caulking totally out of the seams and then allowed water to get underneath when it dried out and shrunk back down.
However, Aircraft Carriers used Douglas Fir on their flight decks. It is much cheaper than Teak and has to be replaced much more often from air operations and/or battle damage.
Modern Aircraft Carriers do not have wood covered decks as developments in paint coatings, aircraft landing suspensions, etc. negated the need for wood.
Other modern ships no longer need wood decking because their welded construction does not present tripping hazards and modern fiberglass insulation mounted on the interior is far mor efficient.