Prewar USS Indianapolis Conversion

[aptivaboy]

Okay, I had to totally redo the flag deck and I'm still not certain that it's right. It's the old story, plans showing one thing and photos suggesting another. The bridge wings now all line up, a trait that I resisted as the plans DO NOT show that. Instead, they show the flag wings jutting out at a shallower angle than the other upper wings. However, the photos show them lining up, so that's what I'm going with.

Question: did the walkway at the very front, in front of the conning tower completely wrap around allowing access to the wings as I have it? Or, was the front closed off? The plans show the former, but again, photos are somewhat suggestive of the latter.

The images don't show all of the details as those are further down the parametric chain; my main issue now is ensuring that the deck levels are correctly shaped. Danged plans...

[taskforce48]

I think you have it right, from looking at photos it would seem like a thin bulkhead was there. I think this image shows that. Look how the shadow falls, if it was the deckhouse, the shadow would continue and not be broken. It probably served as some sort of windscreen in conjunction with the windows like the Northampton's and early fit NO boats had.

Keep up the great work, my wallet is screaming already!

Matt

[aptivaboy]

Thanks for the analysis. I think there probably is a little shield there, but oddly that means that they put a hatchway in the side of the conning tower!



Yes, this gives access to the walk around, but also weakens the tower, and the admiral can now not walk around to the bridge wings. They certainly did some odd things when designing these ships.

Bb

[MartinJQuinn]

Is that the top of a door I see just above your two arrows?

[aptivaboy]

Yup, that's what I think it is. It isn't on the plans, either, although the copy quality leaves something to be desired and I suppose I could be missing it. Any suggestions on how to CAD this? It would almost certainly be a heavily armored door since it leads into the conning tower, so probably something heavy that opens outward. I doubt there's a PE solution for this, so it will have to be represented on the CAD model.

Bob

[taskforce48]

Bob,

Great picture! No doubt about a bulkhead now. I think the door opens into the semi open deck behind and not the actual conning tower. That way it should be just molded as an open doorway and a pe hatch used to cover it.

[taskforce48]

Please forgive the crude modifying of one of your images, but this is how I interpret it.

Matt

[MartinJQuinn]

Bob,

Great picture! No doubt about a bulkhead now. I think the door opens into the semi open deck behind and not the actual conning tower. That way it should be just molded as an open doorway and a pe hatch used to cover it.

Interesting it looks like that level changed over time. Look at some of the photos I posted here: viewtopic.php?f=48&t=34505&start=160#p692527

That level looks completely open in the first picture. You may need to nail down a specific time frame for the conversion.

[aptivaboy]

Concur. Some photos show it, others don't. It's such a small feature that I'll likely just do two versions, one with that little feature and one without, everything else being the same (hopefully!).

Oh, do the funnels need redoing? The after one will with the fire control goodies all over it, but does the forward one?

[DrPR]

Bob,

Looking at the last photo you posted it seems that there is a bulkhead between the deck house and the open bridge bulwark. However, I agree with TF48 that this is just a light bulkhead with a door in it. Because it lines up with the wing of the bridge, and it appears that there are windows between the bulwark and the upper level on the bridge wing, my guess is the bulkhead served as a wind break between the open bridge forward and the wings of the bridge.

This is the sort of modification a ship's Captain can authorize, so it wouldn't appear on plans. It could be installed by the ship's crew, so the question is when it was added. Since the lower level is a flag bridge, the bulkhead and door could have been a privacy feature for the flag bridge forward. But I'd bet on the windbreak idea.

I appreciate all the effort you are putting into details like this.

Phil

[aptivaboy]

Thank you for the kind words. I work slowly (sometimes too slowly) but that's really because of the day job and I'm trying to get the little details right, or at least as close as possible while still being printable. I was gratified seeing two of my Sims conversions at Nationals this year, but I hope that the Indy conversion can be even better.

I'm thinking that this will probably be about a 1934-5 conversion date. She had AA directors in her birdbath as built, but according to Friedman lost these "shortly." Without any more details on the timeline, the mid thirties looks about right, further enough on that the regular directors were there, the AA directors being gone and replaced by a rangefinder for the 8 inchers. I can still do a version with and without that shielding as long as the builder understands the caveat that dates aren't known for sure.

After Indy, I'll either do an Astoria bridge conversion or a very early Gato fairwater, think Guardfish or Greenling with their high early bridges; lot's of little varieties there between SS-212 through 221. Then, the CVE/CVL bridges.

By the way, you have to find way to get your Cleveland printed. Seriously, that's amazing work.

Bob

[DrPR]

You think you are slow!? I've been working on the Oklahoma City CAD model for ten years now!

Back when I started 3D printing was in its infancy and far too expensive. I took a lot of shortcuts to keep file sizes down - but it is still going to be about a gigabyte when done. Much of what you see is just 2D polygons arranged to show the outside surfaces, and these are unsuitable for 3D printing.

However, all of the lines are there, and with the (mostly) correct dimensions. Most of the work was in figuring out where everything was and how things fit together. So it wouldn't be too hard to use the existing drawing as the basis for a new drawing using solids that would be suitable for 3D printing. I am creating 2D drawings from the 3D model, and I have made some photo etch parts from these drawings. But don't hold your breath, 3D printed parts are in the distant future.

Phil

PS: I saw a documentary on the Indianapolis on YouTUBE. It had several film clips of the ship.

[aptivaboy]

Just to let everyone know, I'm still working on this. Things have taken a turn for the worse, lately, with work. I'm still gainfully employed, its just that things have gotten really busy and difficult so there hasn't been much time to work on much. I've banged out a few sci fi CAD models, add ons to Trek kits, but those were super fast, in comparison. I'll get back to the Indy as soon as I get back from vacation in about weeks, and boy do I ever need it!

Bob

[taskforce48]

Glad to hear you are still at it!

Look forward to updates,

Matt

[aptivaboy]

Give me a couple of weeks. Seriously, work has become a living Hell, and I'm considering quitting. It's been that bad. Sorry for venting, but it's really deteriorated. That's what's been slowing down progress. There have been some days when I just come home from work and put my head in my hands.