Calling all USS Pennsylvania BB-38 fans

[chuck]

After Pearl Harbor, were the second hawse pipe on each side of the Pennsylvania removed? I see only one hawse hole on each side on the booklet of general plans.

[BB62vet]

Yes - see this photo - http://navsource.org/archives/01/038/013874a.jpg

Hope this helps,

Hank

[Tracy White]

Here's the overhead view, which also shows her rigged for Paravanes for those who are interested.

[harristotle]

I have Floating Drydock's 1945 Pennsylvania drawings. Last year I ordered them in 1/96 scale. Well worth the money, 3 scrolls. And they are huge. About 8 ft. long and 30-31 in. wide.

Thanks for that info. I'm starting adapting my 1/1200 Arizona hull into a 1945 Pennsylvania hull and will have to get a set of those plans before I really spend any meaningful time on it.

[daveseas]

I have a question for you folks, it is in regards to the Degaussing cables that are present on the Arizona hull near the gunnel. Now I have noticed in some of the photo's Pennsylvania had the same cables run in gunnels instead of outside the hull. Can anyone verify this?

Thanks
regards

[Tracy White]

Original design had them in the water channels but they were moved into the interiors of the ships later on during refits. Arizona didn't survive long enough for this to happen to her, but Pennsylvania did. Not 100% sure of when though as I haven't gone through her departure reports.

[daveseas]

Hi Tracy,

The reason for the question was the Arizona in the underwater hull survey those cables are in plain site on the bow area. As for accuracy I think the mention of this would apply to those who strive for accurate representation of this ship as it would have looked on 7 Dec. Moreover the Oklahoma had her cables on the outer hull as seen in Navsource.


Regards

[chuck]

Does anyone know where I can find a paravane rigging diagram for the Pennsylvania after the 1942 refit? If she was equipped like the Arizona then she would have had a set paravane tackles under her original forefoot already in her pre-war fit. But during the war a large new forward extension to the forefoot was added. This gave her underwater stem an unusually pronounced ram like profile, much more pronounced than any other American dreadnought battleship and matching some 19th century pre-dreadnoughts. The only reason for it seems to be to add another set of paravane tackles. Why?

Also, The available photos leaves me confused how the paravan chain works after the 1942 refit. It seems there are 2 runs of chains on each side. But each chain run simply loops around a pulley on deck. There seems to be no capstan or winch controlling their movement. How do they work?


Also, when the Pennsylvania was refiited in 1942, all her hull side scuttles were all plated over, and in exchange, it appears she acquired a number of new bucket vents on deck similar to those on new fast battleships to make up for the loss of ventilation. Does anyone have any photos of these vents?

[Tracy White]

Your best bet is going to be the microfilm plans at NARA in College Park, Maryland. There is a collection of about 30 rolls for the BB-38 class spanning pretty much their entire life. I took a look but it was way more work and cost than I could handle.

[chuck]

Hmmm, unfortunately I moved across the country to CA. So visiting college park is not really an option.


I have another question. There is a photo of the upturned bottom of the Nevada after she had capsized from being used as gunnery target in 1947 or 1948. It clearly shows the ship had multiple docking keels underneath her bottom. Nevada and Pennsylvania classes were in many ways very similar in design and layout. On some of the booklet's of general plans for the Pennsylvania, the midship transverse section clearly show two docking keels on either side of the hull just inboard of where the torpedo blister joins the hull. But I have not found any complete set of transverse sections showing the ship's cross section at other frames.

Unfortunately the docking keels are omitted from FDD's plans for the Pennsylvania. (Incidentally, FDD's profile also incorrectly draws the Pennsylvania with twin shafts, although the hull line drawings clearly show 4 sets of shaft brackets) Does anyone know where I can find any illustration of where the docking keels are on the bottom of the Pennsylvania?

[chuck]

Hi, David

Yes, i�ve Seen the midship section drawing with the two docking keels. I�ve not seen the other section drawings. However these do not show the docking keels.

This newspaper photo of the Nevada https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/data ... 1/0249.pdf, capsized and sinking after being used as gunnery target, shows several docking keels under her bow.

[chuck]

Does anyone know where the armored door to Pennsylvania's conning tower is? Is there any photo of the door?

In trumpeter's 1/200 Arizona, no door or hatch is depicted.


In booklet of general plans, also there is no indication of any door.


Is the conning tower accessed from below through a floor hatch?

[BB62vet]

Chuck,

The entrances (2) to the armored barbette on BB-38 are in the rear of the barbette on the Signal Bridge Level and also on the Emergency Cabin Platform. Here is a clip from her Dec. 1931 joiner plan:

I seriously doubt that there were any changes made to these entrances in her rebuild following Pearl Harbor's damage.

Hope this helps!

[SeanF]

Chuck,

I seriously doubt that there were any changes made to these entrances in her rebuild following Pearl Harbor's damage.

Hope this helps!

Well, not until they removed the entire armored conn, that is...

- Sean F.

[chuck]

Yes, the conning tower on the Pennsylvania was removed around late 1942, at the same time as the removal of her main mast and replacement of mixed single purpose 5" battery with a uniformed dual purpose one. I am using a combination of Model Monkey's post 1942 superstructure to model her in mid 1945, which leaves Trumpeter's original superstructure totally unused. So I am building that up separately to display on the side.

[chuck]

chuck, I presume you are also using Model Monkey's gun deck & forward superstructure for your model?

I intend to use Model Monkey's forward and rear superstructure, But I will scratch build the gun deck (former boat deck)

[chuck]

I am using floating dry dock's 1/192 drawings as basis, plus photographic reference.

[chuck]

i got the same plans & they are not accurate. 14" barbettes are in the wrong positions & some of the gun deck dimensions are wrong.

Yes. But the new deck will have to fit the locations of the barbette and break of f�c�stle on the trumpeter Kit. I am not sure the trumpeter Kit is very accurate either. Certainly the profile and contour of the rear ended of torpedo blister is inaccurate, and trumpeter deleted the part of Pennsylvania�s armor belt that protected the steering gear compartment.

I intend to use trumpeter�s original boat deck for locational point reference, so the new deck will fit correctly. Then use the dry dock drawings for the new shape. It seems boat deck�s main locating points didn�t change. So the locations of the new 5�/38 twins were right at the old 5�/51 singles. So adjusting the dimensions in the FDD plans to match those will at least ensure points on the new deck is located correctly relative to the hull.

[harristotle]

I've finished the CAD model for my Pennsy hull and succesffully printed it. I'm working on the details now. As I get ready to actually build the ship up I'm trying to plan ahead for painting and detailing. I want to do a 1945 build of her, but I hate the blue decks. If I do a post war, pre-nuke test build would it be reasonable to assume they had stopped maintaining the painted deck and wood was starting to show through, or do I need to suck it up and do the blue deck?

Thanks!

[chuck]

I've finished the CAD model for my Pennsy hull and succesffully printed it. I'm working on the details now. As I get ready to actually build the ship up I'm trying to plan ahead for painting and detailing. I want to do a 1945 build of her, but I hate the blue decks. If I do a post war, pre-nuke test build would it be reasonable to assume they had stopped maintaining the painted deck and wood was starting to show through, or do I need to suck it up and do the blue deck?

Thanks!

She was extensively stripped of half of her 5" battery and almost all of her light AA battery in her pre-nuke guise. She also lost her new Seahawks and had a couple of cast off King Fishers taking their place. If you want to be accurate you would end up with a very bare looking ship.