The Ship Model Forum

What colour (or color, for you North Americans) should the propeller shafts be painted on the navy ships.
Did it vary between countries and did it change over time?

I did see a photograph of the USS Missouri in dry dock and the shafts were a gray colour.

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Chris

Paper,Paper and now Plastic

Hey, Canada uses English, thank you very much!


It certainly does seem to vary by ship and time period, from what I see.

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De quoi s'agit-il?

It seems every one paints the shafts in gold/polished brass color.

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Chris

Paper,Paper and now Plastic

USN Ships should be painted in anti-fouling. Shafts are one area you do not want vibration on, and marine growth would certainly induce it!

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Tracy White -Researcher@Large

"Let the evidence guide the research. Do not have a preconceived agenda which will only distort the result."
-Barbara Tuchman

All my ships have had their prop shafts painted in anti-fouling 'red'. If I remember correctly painting instructions for oob jobs suggest just that. Only mods on my FNS ships were missile additions and shelter deck re-configs for such as the DDG's and the Jeanne d'Arc, so no changes were made below deck level!

I presume the latest anti-fouling paints for the USN DDG's/CG's and FFG's being blue(ish) would be applied likewise. Unfortunately I have not got round to building those ships from my stash as yet. Incidentally, when did USN start using the new anti-fouling paint?

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1-350 wishes:
RN Cruisers/Destroyers (WW2)
USN Cruisers/Destroyers (WW2 + post war)

All the ships I've seen in drydock had their shafts the same as the hull color with one exception, the JFK CV 67 went back into the water with what looked like a light green coating of something on hers and that was in the early 80's I seen that.

The last US Navy ship I seen in drydock was in 2005 and her shafts were still red as the rest of the hull. It may have changed since then.

We been over this question several times here and that alright, one is never too late or too knew here to ask. As for the paint color I have seen what is suppose to be the same antifouling red on every US ship is never really the same per yard. Philly is different from Newport News and different from EB and so on. I think it is where the paint is made but all by the same standards. Others here may fill in any blanks on this better then I can. However after seeing it with my own eyes I know the color vary some, all red but different shades and sheen as well,

Keith

Keith
I'm not so "knew" or new to the hobby or the Internet, but the topic of prop. shaft colour was not easily found on the forum, thus I started a separate discussion to be easily referred to I the future.

I also found it interesting how many models show propellers with gold or brass colour on the shafts

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Chris

Paper,Paper and now Plastic

As the rotation of the shaft influences to inflow to the propellers some ships have shafts fitted with sleeves. Then it would certainly make sense to apply hull color. When the shafts are open, they may be painted with the rest of the ship anyway. These shafts are steel, not bronze, so painting them gold/bronze would be the least-likely option.

May I add to that: as these shafts are steel as EJ mentioned, they are very prone to electrolytic corrosion, just like the rudders, bilge keels or other protruding parts of the hull below the water surface.

Therefore often so-called 'zincs', better zinc anodes, are attached to them: watch for the oblong bars (looking somewhat like Mars bars) on the shafts, the brackets, the propeller tunnel and the rudders. Ship is the Smit Rotterdam tug by the way.


In this particular case the maintenance team have made a mistake, as they have painted the zincs with anti-fouling too, in fact hese should be left blank to be in electrical contact with the sea water surrounding them.

I suspect that a model builder of a shipyard model once made the shafts from brass, and since it looked nice this was copied by model builders time and again. But I sincerely believe thes shafts were really never made from bronze or brass, as the material would shear much too easily: therefore these are always made from steel, and hence the need to paint them. And anti-fouling paint is then the logical choice.

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"I've heard there's a wicked war a-blazing, and the taste of war I know so very well
Even now I see the foreign flag a-raising, their guns on fire as we sail into hell"
Roger Whittaker +9/13/2023

While a lot of models do that, I don't recall ever seeing a single photo of a real ship where the shaft appeared to have been painted in a color other than the hull bottom color.

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Assessing the impact of new area rug under modeling table.

And my personal hang-up, seeing bright gold painted propellers on models. As the picture from Mr. Schönfeld shows, bronze is very dark and dull even when new or cleaned.

Timm

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Timm Smith
Learn something new about the ship or your job every day. Ignorance is not bliss aboard a warship in wartime. Ignorance could cost the life of yourself, a shipmate, or the loss of the ship.
- Personal Information Booklet CV- 38

Capt 652 is right, naturally. Only brand new, polished bronze has a somewhat gold-like colour. When open to the weather it gets dull, darker, even various shades of brown. When exposed to sea water and growth it gets grey.

Anti-fouling does not remain red very long either. When exposed to the sea water it slowly turns darker and then to grey too, as the barnacle-killing substance is 'eaten' away within two years by those organisms. Look for pictures of ships in drydock having their bottom scraped and re-painted: before the process starts there is hardly any 'red' left on the hull.

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"I've heard there's a wicked war a-blazing, and the taste of war I know so very well
Even now I see the foreign flag a-raising, their guns on fire as we sail into hell"
Roger Whittaker +9/13/2023

Note that more and more ships are fitted with slick foul-release coatings, not toxic anti-fouling coatings. The really toxic TBT-paints have been banned from 2008 onwards. Worked very well though, but had a negative impact on other forms of life along sea routes as well.

yes and yes and yes

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Chris

Paper,Paper and now Plastic

I think that the only Navy that left the shafts unpainted is the IJN back in WWII.

Back in the 80's, I have seen photos showing even the propelers painted antifouling red. This refers to the Kortenaer class FFGs the Hellenic Navy ownes. But I have not seen any documantation on this subject.

Perhaps it would be agood idea to move this thread to the color reference topic?

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NIKOS (NICK)
ΜΕΓΑ ΤΟ ΤΗΣ ΘΑΛΑΣΣΗΣ ΚΡΑΤΟΣ
(GREAT IS THE NATION THAT MASTERS THE SEAS)

Usually when painting the antifouling the zincs are covered in grease, everything is sprayed and then
the zincs are scrapped clean

The RN specified anti fouling in WW2.

Did IJN really left shafts in natural metal ?

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Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead! - David Glasgow Farragut

Not sure about the 'New' Type 45's, but on RN Ships such as Type 21, 22, 23, 42 (mostly all scrapped, sold, apart from the thirteen remaining T23's), the shafts had/have a protective coating applied with no Anti-Fouling' paint. The coating consists of a two-pack resin, which was deep, dark green in colour (color), and fibreglass bandage/strip approx 5 inches wide.
Resin was applied in a warm environment (shaft line tented in with 'space heaters' and shaft turning gear engaged), bandage wrapped overlapping, more resin applied over the top.
Horrible job, but result was very effective, usually lasting the whole commission between major refits. As mentioned, no anti-foul paint on them, some light barnicle formation......but the big Buggers clearly couldn't hang on for long.

So..........., Dark Shiny Green fresh out of Refit, fading a little in service.