The Ship Model Forum

Yes, it´s quite common in these photos. Good that we know where the 5in fuse-setters should be Also aircraft markings are helpful on some of the other photos.

One word of caution on the Life photos. Many of them are backwards, like the third photo above (with the cap on the fore funnel visible).

Here is a link to all the pics.
http://images.google.com/hosted/life/06 ... 6323a.html

Cruiser Essay source:life

Vladi,

When I was in the Navy (early 1970s) the non-skid strips were about 18" long (45.7 cm) by 6" wide 15.2 cm), with rounded corners, and adhesive backed - that is just an approximate size. They were flexible and had a sand coated surface. I think they came in rolls, attached to waxed paper strips to make it easy to get them off the paper. I don't know if they were produced this way during WWII, but they appear to have been the same size. Once something gets a Federal Stock Number (FSN) it never really disappears from the supply system.

We stuck them anywhere we needed good traction on decks, inclined ladder steps and wherever there was wear on the paint. For example, they might be placed on bulkheads where ladder rungs were positioned so the toes of our shoes wouldn't scuff the paint. That way we didn't have to repaint as often.

I don't know if there was any "correct" way to orient them. Most likely it was at the whim of the Division Chief Petty Officer. I have seen them arranged in concentric circles around 20mm and 40 mm gun mounts.

Another way to get a non-slip surface was to coat the deck with a mixture of sand and paint. The adhesive patches were simpler and faster with no clean up afterward.

Phil

Life series? Is there a link? What resource am I overlooking? I see pics posted every once in a while with Life credits, what do I need to search for?

Hi Matt, thanks for pointing me to the Northampton photos! I don´t know why I keep forgetting to check the Life series...

Vladi,

These were a thin piece that was applied to the deck that had a rough texture, similar to items sold here in the US for boating and RV’s for the same purpose. The Northampton shows these off well.






Hope this helps,

Matt

Hi folks, anybody has an idea how the non-skid stripes shown below looked like? I presume these were smaller rectangular sheets (rubber?) attached (glued?) side by side to the deck with their longer side perpendicular to the lenght of the ship. Is that right?

Thanks, Jeff, that is an excellent find. So Louisville had hangar door variant "B" at that time and she still had it on 11 November 1942 as seen at NH 94429.

Vladi,
This film from April 1, 1941 has camera crews on two ships. One is USS Arizona and the other is USS Louisville. There are a couple of scenes showing Louisville hanger doors.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMlSGtAFi-E&t=373s

Here is a still from the film.

So three variants like this (pre-war to late)?

I guess I wasn't clear in my reply to your message. The roller doors were replaced with folding doors during wartime refits. Less maintenance and less vulnerable to damage.

The Northampton photo in the link was taken in 1942 in a series for LIFE magazine. Other photos showed the red dots being painted over with white on the SOCs.

Thanks, Jeff! So correction to my previous conclusion - apparently Chester was an example of yet another variant... doors folded to the side without the heavy bracing.

Does this shot of Chester Sept. '43 help?

I think I was wrong earlier. Most Northampton's had the accordion style doors the whole time (at least until loss) Chester appears to have had her hanger doors changed during the war to a swinging type door from the accordion style.
Portland had a roll up type door to start and it was changed to accordion style during her damage repair after 11-13-42. Indy got the same door change in May 1943.
San Francisco also went from roll up to accordion style doors after 11-13-42 repairs.

Thanks, G-Opt (and also to Mike C whom I am in touch with via email)! It is now clear that we are seing two different variants - the "old", foldable to the side, as above and the "new" one, roller-type, as seen e.g. on this USS Northampton photo.

Interestingly enough, the photos of bomb-damaged USS Chester (like this one) seem to show that she still had the old version (no roll-up seen, inner part of door folded).

Unfortunately for me, none of the 1941-42 photos of USS Chicago I´ve collected clearly show which version she had. The best of them is 19-N-39212 which seems to suggest she had the roll-up version at that time (modifications similar to Nothampton´s to the vent and structure between hangar doors can be barely seen while none of the vertical bracing seems to be there), but this is already after her major (and final) refit, so it does not say much about how she appeared in August 1942.

That's the most famous & widely reproduced image of CA-30. Her hangar doors were later altered to the lighter roll-up type as noted, but there are many pix of the earlier ones. Here is one that I found easily...but I will certainly have others, too.

I just came accross this photo. It confirms the hangar door consisted of two parts, although it is still unclear to me where did the outer part go to when opened.

Thanks, guys, good points. It seems the doors consisted of two parts - one accordeon-like closer to the centre (as Cpt Morgan pointed out) and the second one outwards with heavy bracing (Matt´s point and also e.g. here). Interesting arrangement, quite complicated... Also where did the outward part fold to when the hangar was opened - rolled to the side?

I’ve got a couple more home on my computer that might help, but here is one that gives you an idea.

Hope it helps,

Matt