Ask An Expert- Battleships

[bbvet]

Rusty,

As a follow-up to my last post, I just watched the U-Tube video of NEW JERSEY's Dec. 28, 1990 drydocking in Long Beach. Good video - there is some footage of the zinc plates on both the skegs and above the bilge keel (stbd side). Boy, the keel is messed up - I guess not enough to replace/rebuild, but still not intact as constructed. Very interesting, indeed.

Hank

[RustyBattleship]

Thanks, Dick!

I may try sketching up something before I make the mistake of thinking I actually know what's what, run it by you email-wise, and see if it's what you envision. Have a nice holiday tomorrow.

Later,

Hank

I'm going to do my best in negotiating this advance tab to upload a couple of photos for all you guys. One photo is of the Port bilge keel all bent up from squeezing through the Gatun locks. The other is of the bilge keel after several sections were replaced and the rows of zinc anodes above and below.

[bbvet]

Rusty,

Thanks so much! Looks like your navigation worked well! Gives a better idea of the zinc plates, as well.

Hank

[desertswo]

Rusty,

All this talk about zincs and Impressed Current Cathodic Protection has made me wonder about one other system that one assumes the BBs had, but perhaps didn't. I sometimes forget that ships built before a certain date may not have all the bells and whistles that ships built in a later era had. So I'm wondering about the ships' capability vis-a-vis degaussing. Did they have onboard systems, or did they just get "depermmed" on a routine schedule?

[tbm3fan]

I don't know how far back in time ours goes but we do have an onboard system. So if we have one then I'm sure the BB's would have similar.

[bbvet]

TBM,

You didn't indicate WHERE those panels are located (i.e. - what ship, etc.) You might want to do that - I know they don't look familiar to me, but then, who am I to comment? Also, location, etc. on the ship would be helpful.

Thanks,

Hank

[tbm3fan]

Sorry, I see that you are a new member and don't know my connection to the ship. Those panels are located inside the pilot house aboard the USS HORNET.

[bbvet]

TBM,

Thanks for clearing up what ship the photos came from.

Sorry, I see that you are a new member and don't know my connection to the ship.

- What does my being a new member have to do with your connection to (which) ship? Somehow your answer just doesn't make any sense.

Hank

[Ken_NJ]

A new member would not know the fantastic work and endless time tbm3fan has donated to the Hornet.

http://www.worldaffairsboard.com/nav...rnet-blog.html

[bbvet]

Well, that's a true statement - Besides not really keeping up with the flattop side of things Sorry, BB's keep me quite busy!

Hank

[RustyBattleship]

Rusty,

All this talk about zincs and Impressed Current Cathodic Protection has made me wonder about one other system that one assumes the BBs had, but perhaps didn't. I sometimes forget that ships built before a certain date may not have all the bells and whistles that ships built in a later era had. So I'm wondering about the ships' capability vis-a-vis degaussing. Did they have onboard systems, or did they just get "depermmed" on a routine schedule?

Several classes of ships (some of them I personally worked on as a shipfitter berfore transferring to Design) had degaussing cables looping around the entire ship just inside the hull plating. One ship I worked on (I think it was an AO) the degaussing cables were on the main deck with bolted covers over them. I vividly remember a fellow shipfitter and I identifying each cover section by hammering a center punch number in them such as S 24 which stood for Starboard cover number 24 from the bow. The reason for marking the covers was that later they were going to be removed so some major work could be done on the cables.

The degaussing cables were active and threw out lots of heat. Plus we never lost avery few centerpunches and not a single hammer because of the magnetic field around it was so strong they stuck to the sides of the cover. Our wrist watches didn't work too well afterwards either. What the heck? I was a sledge hammer mecanic not a sparktrician.

Smaller ships that didn't have enough room for the DC power supply to energize degaussing cables had to go through the Deperm procedure which plays hell on the crew trying to wrap cables around the ship.

But the Iowa class Battleships had degausing cable loops. Three of them. One loop forward of frame 50 in section A, one loop amidships in section B from frame 50 to 166 and one loop aft of frame 166 in section C.

[tbm3fan]

Rusty=Iowa
SlaterDoc=Slater
qaz14595=Slater
ChrisV71=Lexington news
Admiral Nelson=Reserve Ship status
surfgun=Norfolk/Navy updates
Dreadnought=New Jersey
tbm3fan=Hornet

anyone I miss?

[SlaterDoc]

anyone I miss?

I see a certain recently retired SWO having a little comment to make on that!
But then, which ship do you "assign" to him? I guess Connie, an FF and then a lot of the rest! In this case the question would be "which ships did I miss?" :red:

[tbm3fan]

I did consider him but way too complicated and I didn't want to associate desertswo just with a boiler...;)

[tbm3fan]

Did I miss anyone? Well, hell yes I did. How could I overlook Mr. Fletcher aka blidgepump.

Thought of him while in the scullery cleaning dishes after chow. Now is that deeply psychological or what?