Hi everyone,
Thank you, David, for posting your comments and posing your questions.
I'll try to answer what I can. You asked:
dhenning wrote:
I am flipping between your different builds and had a question on the exhaust outlets on the sides of the hull (I think this was on your LCI-30 build). Have you found any detailed photos or drawings of this area?
Photos are hard to find of the exhaust area. Here is one of the 443:
Attachment:
File comment: Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find any straight-on photos of the hull in this area. This photo is courtesy of Navsource.org
LCI(L)-443 02.jpg [ 101.19 KiB | Viewed 1757 times ]
Here's another photo of a 351 class ship:
Attachment:
File comment: This is a poor photo, but in this photo, the exhaust area doesn't have the upper and lower rubbing strips. This photo is courtesy of Navsource.org.
LCI-419 01.jpg [ 189.6 KiB | Viewed 1757 times ]
In contrast, here is a photo of the LCI(L)-1091, which is a museum ship in Eureka, CA.
Attachment:
File comment: The 1091 is of the 691 class. Note that like the photo of the 419, the exhaust port area doesn't have the upper and lower rubbing strips. This photo is courtesy of the USS LSIL-1091 Navy Museum Ship facebook page
1091 photo 1.jpg [ 142.2 KiB | Viewed 1757 times ]
Here's a photo of the LCI(L)-713, which is a museum ship in Portland, OR.
Attachment:
File comment: Once again, no rubbing strips. In this case, the exhaust ports are blanked off. This is my photo.
LCI-713.jpg [ 194.86 KiB | Viewed 1757 times ]
I have drawings of the LCI-1 class, LCI-351 class, and LCI-691 class, and dimensions of the exhaust area are different on each. On the LCI-1 class drawing, the area is approximately 120 inches X 18 inches. On the 351 class, it is 130 inches X 18 inches. On the 691 class, the area is 150 inches X 18 inches.
dhenning wrote:
What are the two valve handles P & S on the bow bulkhead? There doesn't appear to be any valve body on the exterior of the bulkhead. The bow section was hit by Japanese mortars on the 449 at Iwo Jima and "The Heart of Hell" talks about the ammo stored in this area and the engineering officer flooding the compartment to prevent stored ammo from igniting. Could they be for that purpose?
Well, you've got me stumped. I've noticed those, too, but haven't been able to find any description of their function. I'll let you know if I find the answer.
It's great to hear about your progress on the 449 model. I've said it before, but I'll say it again: I hope we get to see some photos of it on MW!
John