The Ship Model Forum

I believe much of the shell plating was welded? Certainly close examination of the above waterline shell suggests this with the notable exception of vertical butt straps on the 60# plate (By way of the citadel) which are riveted. Kentucky and Illinois were to have a higher degree of welding.

I believe much of the shell plating were riveted in the 4 completed ships . The rivet heads are flush with the shell plating and difficult to make out under most lighting, but many can easily be made out under strongly oblique lighting.

An example is https://1drv.ms/u/s!AietPwAuPc0SjDD2HqFksWcz45b9

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Assessing the impact of new area rug under modeling table.

Yes, nearly all the shell plating (and nearly everything else) is riveted. There are some places in the shell that are welded. However, it looks like they did it only where riveting would be impracticable.

The bottom of the end of the twin keel is welded. The plates at the bow around the shell bolster for the hawse pipe are weld. The plans show a lot of welds between the plates of strakes. The plates of the P and O strakes are all welded in together in the plans but there are riveted butt straps on the ship.

Here's a detail (allI can upload on this server). This is at the base of the tunnel, frame 188-1/2 to 189. The tunnel is coming to an end so things are getting smaller. Forward, the bottom plate is held to the side plate with an angled bracket with rivets. Then the bottom becomes an bent plate that forward is riveted to the angle and aft is welded to the plate above.

Which are strakes O and P?

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Assessing the impact of new area rug under modeling table.

They are the top two strakes, the ones with butt plates on the outside of the hull.

I've been doing deck plans for the NJ where the desired accuracy is down to 1/16". Unfortunately, this is the best quality I can share here. I am doing them in the ship's final configuration; before handicap and tourist access doors were cut and the 25mm guns were added. The result is quite different from the dreaded Shopping Mall Map Booklet of General Plans.

I've been on my knees with a tape measure quite a bit recently and found that the 80's plans were often just suggestions construction crew.

I explored the conning tower of the NJ today. I'm not overweight but there were some tight squeezes that I barely fit through.

The O1 level has the G-2 Div. Office and RATO magazine.
The O2 level has the air intakes to Fire Room #1. They have been plated over, presumably to keep water out. There are two protected pits of death leading down to the boilers.
The O3 level is empty except for the armored door operating machinery that does not take up much space.


This the starboard side of the O2 level of the conning tower. The air intake has been plated over. During WWII a shield was added externally below the side windows of the admiral's bridge. It looks like the intake was sealed to keep water out. The ladder with a big gap at the bottom leads to the O3 level. The port side is the the same minus the ladder.

The armored tube to the conning tower is out of sight to the right. There is another armored trunk at the back end that from the armored section at the O4 levels down to the O2 level, comes and follows the overhead of CEC, goes out aft under and connecting the forward MK38 and MK37 director trunks.



Behind the expanded metal grating there is a pit of death leading all the way down to the boiler.



This is the port side at the O3 level. At each level there are two transverse bulkheads and one centerline bulkhead. As you move up, the two outer areas at each deck get narrower. This taken from the forward end of the middle section. The door leading to the admiral's bridge is visible through the arch. On this side there is door opening machinery that takes up very little space. The starboard side is empty.




The O2 and O3 levels on the NJ are pretty much just empty space.

It's tough to get good pictures because the space is so cramped.

Some information required please.

Did the SK2 radar dish constantly rotate a full 360 degrees or did it only turn to port then starboard?
Or was it only pointed in a certain direction by the operator?

Thanks, David

The SK2 and similar surface & air search RADARs maintain a constant circular rotation. They do not "oscillate" back and forth as do some gunfire support RADAR units. An oscillating or "rocking" RADAR, for example, would be the MK. 13 main battery GF RADAR above the forward and after main battery optical rangefinders on IOWA class BBs. Here is a picture of this unit opened:

Here is NEW JERSEY showing her full RADAR suite (1950s) above the conning tower:


Hope this helps!

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HMS III
Mocksville, NC
BB62 vet 68-69

Builder's yard:
USS STODDARD (DD-566) 66-68 1:144, Various Lg Scale FC Directors
Finished:
USS NEW JERSEY (BB-62) 67-69 1:200
USN Sloop/Ship PEACOCK (1813) 1:48
ROYAL CAROLINE (1748) 1:47
AVS (1768) 1:48

Thanks BB62Vet

The air intake for boiler room #1 (not for the boilers, themselves) on the Iowas is (was) at either side of the conning tower support at the O2 level. On the Iowa and NJ these vents were originally visible:

http://navsource.org/archives/01/062/016219w.jpg

But later they were protected by a wrap around, as is shown here on the Wisconsin:

http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/016408.jpg

However now, the Wisconsin is the only one of the Iowa's lacking those shields and the intakes were plated over:

http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/0164007.jpg

Does anyone know how the intakes were rerouted on the Wisconsin?

Hmmm, I didn’t know the wraparound under the flag bridge housed a set of vents. Too late now.

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Assessing the impact of new area rug under modeling table.

My great frustation in one forum is that, whenever I ask a question where I have clearly done research, someone always says to go to HNSA web site and look at the booklet of general plans.

A booklet of general plans is like the map in a mall: it tells you where things generally are but the shapes can be widely distorted.

Here's an example I ran into this morning when I did the quick look at the BGP. Here is a cross section of Frame 198 from the NJ BGP and an image from the microfilm of the framing at 198 below the 3d deck.

The BGP leaves out the 11.3" slab of armor plate.

Jim,

You make a very valid point regarding use of the BoGP. I know that throughout my NEW JERSEY build I referred to the BoGP quite often as a basic source of information, a starting point if you will. However, as you have clearly shown it is ONLY a beginning reference, nothing more. It should be considered as a preliminary concept, not the final product.

In the hallway of my rented mobile home (18 + years) which served as my model workshop I had the elevation sheet of the BoGP taped to the wall (after scaling to 1:200, of course!) and I used this as a large punch list for the model: as I built parts or completed the kit parts I yellowed out that part of the drawing. In the end, I only had a few items left that were not colored - and these were the items the BoGP showed which were NOT part of the 1968 version of the ship or had been changed during refit and therefore were not part of my model. At the same time, this plan provided a very good readable source of location for where items were located and the proper names and identifiers of parts that I was unfamiliar with in general.

The one thing it did not provide was the final and correct version of the ship as refitted. Without any official drawings from 1967-68, I had to rely on photos from that time period and verbal or written descriptions of details, items, and so forth which was scarce at best.

I hope this helps!

Hank

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HMS III
Mocksville, NC
BB62 vet 68-69

Builder's yard:
USS STODDARD (DD-566) 66-68 1:144, Various Lg Scale FC Directors
Finished:
USS NEW JERSEY (BB-62) 67-69 1:200
USN Sloop/Ship PEACOCK (1813) 1:48
ROYAL CAROLINE (1748) 1:47
AVS (1768) 1:48

During WWII, were the anti-corrosion zinc anodes blocks used to protect Missouri’s steel hull and bronze propeller from electrolytic corrosion covered in red anti-fouling paint?

The only photos I’ve seen of the missouri’s Underwater hull taken during WWII are all black and white, the shade suggest the blocks were the same tone as the hull. But obviously there is no way to tell the color. I have no idea what the electrical property of antifouling paint is and whether painting over the anode will impeded it’s function.

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Assessing the impact of new area rug under modeling table.

Here is a photo of Missouri at launching, the zinc plate are clearly not painted.

http://navsource.org/archives/01/063/016342.jpg

James

The zinc plates are not painted - they weren't when NEW JERSEY was drydocked for decommissioning in Bremerton in 1969. Photos of her in drydock during her last commission (common to all the IOWAs) also bear this out:

This was taken in 1981 by Richard Landgraff during NEW JERSEY's refitting in Long Beach.

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HMS III
Mocksville, NC
BB62 vet 68-69

Builder's yard:
USS STODDARD (DD-566) 66-68 1:144, Various Lg Scale FC Directors
Finished:
USS NEW JERSEY (BB-62) 67-69 1:200
USN Sloop/Ship PEACOCK (1813) 1:48
ROYAL CAROLINE (1748) 1:47
AVS (1768) 1:48

Pontos advanced add-on set provides nice replacement 36” searchlights with reflectors and lenses. But normally, when the searchlight is stowed and not being used, does the black iris shutter stay closed, so the searchlight looks black behind the lens, or is iris open so you can see the reflector behind it?

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Assessing the impact of new area rug under modeling table.

Chuck,

Here is a photo of the 36" searchlight on IOWA and if you look closely, you can see that the iris is closed. When not in actual use, I believe that there were canvas covers that were used for protection while at sea. I think this photo was taken sometime before her 2nd decommissioning in the late '50s as the 36" searchlights were still aboard, but the date of the photo is ukn. They were removed from all 4 IOWA class ships in the '80s refits. During NEW JERSEY's 3rd Commission (1968-69) we had (2) 36" searchlights retained on the 03 Level below the Navigation Bridge.


Hope this helps,

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HMS III
Mocksville, NC
BB62 vet 68-69

Builder's yard:
USS STODDARD (DD-566) 66-68 1:144, Various Lg Scale FC Directors
Finished:
USS NEW JERSEY (BB-62) 67-69 1:200
USN Sloop/Ship PEACOCK (1813) 1:48
ROYAL CAROLINE (1748) 1:47
AVS (1768) 1:48

Thanks. That’s what I thought. Too bad the reflector and PE detail behind the lens will go to waste.

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Assessing the impact of new area rug under modeling table.