Originally posted by Ytlas
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When NJ was reactivated in 1968, Philly put down Douglas Fir capped with 1/2" thick teak at least in the area of Turret III. I have a couple of samples of that in my trophy cabinet. Other areas were probably original teak from the end of the Korean War.
We boo-booed when we replaced the decking in 1982. I argued with the design section in charge of it that Douglas Fir was wrong. The Engineer in that section insisted it was correct as that was the kind of wood decking on the Aircraft Carrier he served on. Of course you use cheap and quickly replacable Fir on Carriers when planes don't land quite right or it is chopped up by enemy weapons.
The Official BUSHIPS drawings call for Douglas Fir on Carriers and Teak on Battleships and Heavy Cruisers. The original drawings were faded and torn but I salvaged and taped them together to make a set of whole copies for myself. Then I drew them all over again on my computer. When the Missouri Memorial Assn wanted to have a copy of plans to install teak, NAVSEA couldn't find one anymore. So NAVSEA contacted me and I was able to send them my computer drawings that were not only accurate line for line but I also upgraded the material lists to the modern stock numbers, etc.
I don't have time right now to go through the steps to upload a set of the drawings right now. But when NJ came back from Lebanon she was again re-decked but with teak this time. The Missouri also was done with teak --- mostly ---- but some areas used Douglas Fir because the importer up near Portland, Oregon rand out of Burmese Teak.
Though to this day I still get arguements from people that Douglas Fir is just as good. Well, those plans I drew also list what other types of wood can be used based upon their hardness scales and low water absorbtion rate. Burmese Teak, Plantation Teak and Black Locust are the only types to use on a Battleship or Cruiser.
So, if you are the material procurement supervisor of a ship that is supposed to use Teak and want to save money by buying Douglas Fir, go ahead. Your local lumber yard will appreciate your business when you have to replace it every 3 to 5 years.
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