The Ship Model Forum

Makes sense. According to Navsource, Essex's full-load draft was 28.5 ft. This should correspond to the top of the boot stripe. It's apparent, then that the three numerals (draft marks) that fall within the boot stripe are 26', 27', and 28'.

I postulate that the bottom of the boot stripe is approx. 25.5' from the keel, and the top is 28.5'. It should be close enough, in any case.

You're going to have to burden someone or pay them either way. According to WikiPedia's Entry for that location:


Now, these are more than just Navy records, but it gives you a bit of an idea of the scope of holdings they have there. They don't generally have staff available to research for people, but they can answer questions. For example, before deciding to go down, I asked if they had any records for (amongst others) CV-18. The archivist in charge of their records said yes, there were some. When I got on site, I found out that it was one photo in their "Historians Office, Mare Island" files of the ship while she was still on the east coast.

Not as much help as I had hoped.

Those records were well processed; they were arranged for each ship alphabetically, but then I got into some of the general correspondence records for both Mare Island and Pearl Harbor Shipyards, and those were unprocessed; files were organized by file code, not ship, and were generally disorganized and still in their raw format as archives had got them from the Navy. There is no good way for the archivist to go through them and answer as to what they contain... it took me a day and a half just to go through one box. This was in ONE accession that totaled at least 70 boxes.

Another story I overheard is that they have at San Bruno, the Mare Island Photo department's collection of photos from the early fifties to when the shipyard closed in the 1990s. It is 114 boxes long, each box being about 18-24" deep. The only way to find a photo of a particular ship in this group is through the photographer's logs, which themselves span SIX BOXES.

You can make some great hits if you've got the time. If not, it's definitely hit and miss.

Tracy,

From what I read on the Naval Historical Center FAQ page (http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq26-1.htm), there are micro films available for most of the US Navy ships that have been stricken. These are available from Special Media Archives Services Division, NWCS, National Archives and Records Administration at an average cost of $23.

Having read that, I got a little interested! But, I am realistic enough to know that if this were the answer to all our questions, then everyone would have copies.

Do you, or anyone here, happen to know if this is a good option for drawings of the Essex Class carriers? What can one expect to find on these microfilms? Do you know if there are films of most of the Essex class ships?

My expectation is that the rolls for a carrier would likely cost more than the average!

Thanks for any input.

Don

(While a "sin" perhaps on these forums,)

Hi all!

Would anyone know at what point the center paravane chain would terminate on the foc'sle deck for a long hull ship?

Thanks
Capt652

Any thoughts on "The Anatomy of a Ship: The Aircraft Carrier Intrepid" for help on the Yorktown? ...

I have a quick, and maybe stupid question.

On page 49 of Warship Perspectives: Essex Class Carriers in World War Two, there is a photo of USS Princeton (CV 37) in drydock. Just above the cradle, inboard of the shaft, there is some sort of opening visible.

Can anyone tell me what this is?

Around the hobby shop this afternoon the leading ideas are (tongue firmly in cheek):
1. Glass viewport to watch for submarines
2. Hatch to deploy frogmen
3. Exhaust port (watch out for the X-Wing fighters!)

TIA for any help.

Don

It's a cooling water discharge port for the after generators in after auxillarry machinery room.

EJ