Calling all Iowa-class (BB-61) fans

[Fliger747]

Looks pretty good. The wave guide might be a bit thin, usually they are about maybe a 1:2 or 1:3 width height ratio, just a dim recollection. Amazingly we used to have wave guides laying about the house when I was a kid...

The real guts of the system were the analogue computers deep in the ship and especially the MK 8 stable element which automatically accounted for ships roll and course changes.

Cheers. T

[BB62vet]

Randy,

Well done! I do believe you've captured the essence of the beast! The one thing about 1940's era navy ships up 'til the early '70s is that they were very manpower intensive - analog radars/radios/fire control equipment took fairly large crews to operate. If you get into the Secondary Battery Mk. 37 F.C. Director design very extensively, you'll find they also had several men inside the director as well as in the internal computer spaces in order to operate that system. Here is one more photo I don't think I sent you last week (I didn't know how detailed you were going to go on this!)

This shows the break between the forward and after parts of the radar housing. FYI - this is a hard shell cover with a Herculite type of material stretched over a frame to form the top cover. Here is a shot of BB63's MK. 8 from below. The upper top portion of the unit is uncovered:

One other note - this is the current radar that was installed in the early '50s - you probably need to find pix of the original radar unit (as depicted in the kit). If I can find some photos, I'll email you with them.

Hank

[RandyM]

Tom - thanks: thickened the WG up a bit and rounded the edges slightly.

One (of many) area of confusion for me is the mk8 radar antenna itself. NavSource says the mk8 comprised the fourteen "trident" tubes up until just after WW2, when it was replaced by the (dish-type) mk13 antenna. I have photos showing the mk8 antenna without a cover, AND photos showing Missouri with cover in place - and of course in these photos I have no way of knowing which antenna was inside.

Was the mk8 antenna used with the cover? Why do some kits depict it without?

[BB62vet]

Randy,

The Mk. 8 is the NEWER radar unit - the one you actually have drawn.

The Mk. 13 is the older unit comprised of the Trident Tubes projecting from the rectangular housing. Here is a photo of NEW JERSEY (1944) with her Mk. 13 array:

Hopefully, you have gotten the email I sent you w/photos earlier today.

Hank

[Fliger747]

Randy

Not sure why the radar antenna was covered, presumably due to help preserve the antenna elements against the weather. I suppose the thing to do is try to find some photos relevant to a particular range of dates to set the ship up the way you want. The uncovered antenna is a great small detail piece in PE so I can see where modelers might prefer it.

Cheers. Tom

[Fliger747]

Wonder what the diving board at the front of the 010 level was for?

T

[James M]

The diving board is for a TDY antenna.
http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/016317c.jpg

The Missouri carried MK8 Fire Control Radars on both her rangefinders at the surrender and the're still installed in New York for Navy Day. Looks like she got them replaced shortly after that.

http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/016315c.jpg
http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/016315c.jpg
http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/016315c.jpg

James

[RandyM]

Hank:

Received - THANK YOU. Very helpful. I think I'm now ~95% complete with the mk38 directors. First link below is a close-up of this component, other two links are views of the current "state of the ship." Lots done, lots to go.

James: crap. Looks like I'm creating the other antenna... (thanks!).

Mk38 director:
http://www.nulspace.com/hobbies/missouri/102514c.JPG

Quarter-bow:
http://www.nulspace.com/hobbies/missouri/102514b.JPG

3/4-quarter stern:
http://www.nulspace.com/hobbies/missouri/102514d.JPG

[BB62vet]

Randy - Really nice work!!

James M - I stand corrected - I got the Mk. 8 & Mk. 13 backwards - the Mk. 8 was the older, original radar fitted at commissioning - the Mk. 13 is what was replaced on the IOWAs after WWII. Sorry for the confusion.

Hank

[Guest]

When I was aloft the other week I took some shots of the backside and underside of BB-64's forward director. I'll post what I have tonight. Hopefully it'll help a bit.

-Cliffy

[Fliger747]

From Washington or North Carolina, but labels the plethora of small antennas and sensors of a WWII era Fast Battleship.

For Cliffy or anyone who would know, do any of the Iowa Class still have the large whistles on the sides of the fire control towers?

Cheers: Tom

[BB62vet]

Tom,

Re. the main steam whistle on the Fwd. Conning Tower - according to my contact in Long Beach, NEW JERSEY's main whistle, loc'd on the stbd. side of the conning tower was reinstalled in '81 and appears in Commissioning photos from Dec. 82. Later photos of her in '85 and '90 do NOT show the whistle. My photos from 2001 do not show the whistle in place. There is a passage in Landgraff's book re. LBNSYD about the installation of the missile systems on NEW JERSEY and the use of LP steam lines - I'll have to re-read that section.

Hank

[Fliger747]

Thanks Hank!

Will have to look at my photos but I do not recalls seeing them or the heavy lines leading up the side of the fwd tower.

Not related to the Iowa, but a very interesting article on the loss of the Prince of Wales and the vulnerabilities of protective systems and the importance of detail design by Garzke, Dulin et al. .

http://www.pacificwrecks.com/ships/hms/ ... update.pdf

Regards: Tom

[RandyM]

Here's my rendition of a mk8 radar antenna... perhaps 75% complete. Based on what I can tell from photos at my disposal, the assembly basically comprises conductors from each antenna triplet back through some phase shifters (probably compensators?) then back out to the main input line, plus some electro-mechanical contraptions the purpose of which I can only guess at this point.

I modeled the lower row and part of the upper row of guides: for some reason the upper row of antennae are not wired consistently: I found an OP for this radar but haven't read it yet.

First two links show the radar, third is a mock-up of the photo James provided

http://www.nulspace.com/hobbies/missouri/102614a.jpg

http://www.nulspace.com/hobbies/missouri/102614b.jpg

http://www.nulspace.com/hobbies/missouri/102614c.jpg

[Fliger747]

Probably had too many sea gulls pooping on the antenna...

T

[Cliffy B]

Here we go. Case Sensitive password: Battleship

http://s647.photobucket.com/user/Cliffy ... %20Forward

[RandyM]

Cliff:

Holy cow - that was with a zoom lens, right??? Outstanding photos.

Here's the last for the weekend from me. I added the signal yard - I never knew it wasn't actually part of the foremast - and some of the antennae, the bracing for the lower end of the upper portion of the foremast, and some other structural elements. Time for a backup run.

http://www.nulspace.com/hobbies/missouri/102614d.JPG

[Cliffy B]

Told you I had to play with the forward up and overs. I always have my camera in my pocket

By the way, the additional signal flags in two of the photos are, "Code Alpha" with a Dutch Flag. We had a team of Dutch and Norwegian Navy divers dive on the hull yesterday to conduct some repairs to the cathodic protection anodes and some other sundry issues. They were in town for a NATO exercise and decided to come help us and have some fun. Big round of kudos to those guys

[BB62vet]

Randy,

Your Mk. 8 unit looks really good - wonderful work!! Only one thing I can comment on - see the below illustration - you need to add the connection bands (in yellow). I think that would complete your work.

CliffyB - Nice photo work on the Mk. 13 - I'm guessing that the conning tower is off limits now. That's a shame, the 011 level was one of my favorite places to go on NJ.

By the way, back to another subject - any chance you can get measurements on the gusset plate location from the first one up forward?

Thanks,

Hank

[Fliger747]

Mark 8 looks really Large on a cruiser director. Wonder if you could print those?

Cheers. Tom