Calling all USS Nevada BB-36 and USS Oklahoma BB-37 fans

[Jeff Sharp]

Here is a view of the Portside crane. Similar to the Starboard crane but a little bit different. Not sure what is in those boxes.

[MartinJQuinn]

Anyone have any additional views or idea of what the area around this platform looks like? There's a platform here, missing in my OK kit, that I need to replicate.

Only view I can seem to find it this one, from a screen shot of the wreck that Jeff posted awhile back

[Frank Fowler]

The platforms connecting the large box structure forward of turret 3 and the forward main deck and gun/boat deck are also missing on the old Classic Warships/Midships Models/Blue Ridge Models 1/700 kits of Oklahoma and Nevada. However, the old HP Models kits of the Nevada and Oklahoma have them. If these are left off there is just a big open space between the two structures and no access to the upper deck compartments and the roof of the structure forward of turret 3. I am assuming Martin is doing a 1/350 model in his posting, but thought anyone doing the 1/700 versions might be interested in this information.

Since it leaked out at the Nationals this past August that Tom's Model Works might be doing these two ships in 1/700 with 3D printed superstructures there may be a nice kits of the two with the platforms in place. Toms bought the masters of the HP Models US warships and may have the more correct configuration.

[taskforce48]

Martin,

Jeff Sharp shared this image of the Nevada, not very clear but gives some details of this area on the Port side. I feel like I had another, will keep digging around.

[MartinJQuinn]

Thanks fellas. Frank - yes, it's the 1/350 ISW kit.

Matt - interesting photo of Nevada. Answers some questions I had about the movie projector room.

[Jeff Sharp]

Hi Fellas,
The vegetable lockers on all four of the tripod battleships, Penn, Ariz, Nev, Okla, were all different. Unfortunately what you see on the others is not how it looked on Oklahoma. Her design seems to be the simplest of the four. Finding detailed pics of this area on all four ships has been a challenge. The distinctive detail about Oklahoma's was that it was a simple box structure with this strange awning overhang around the top.










Here is a slight view of that platform in this shot. The sailors in white are standing on it.

[Jeff Sharp]

Martin,
Here is another look at her cranes.

[MartinJQuinn]

Holy cow Jeff! That's the best photo I've seen! Thank you! Great shot of the boat cradles too.

[MartinJQuinn]

I will admit that I've really never studied the salvage photos of Oklahoma before. Mostly because they are somewhat depressing. But now that Jeff Sharp pointed out that the area around the vegetable locker is wrong on the Iron shipwright kit, I've found some salvage photos that seems to show that the area was simply screened in, as Jeff surmised. So, FML, now that I've seen it, I can't un-see it. So, I've ordered some PE mesh from the web.

Some other questions, if anyone knows the answers (click picture for questions):

[Jeff Sharp]

This last photo that Martin posted shows another unique detail about Oklahoma's permanent Degaussing placement. Notice on the far left of this photo the degaussing lines actually leave the deck edge for a little bit, not following the contour of the hull, then comes back to the deck edge. Initially I thought that the cables were somehow ripped away from the deck in this spot but the lines are very taut and all of the railings around it are still in place. If the cables were ripped from the deck edge then it would have taken the railing with it.
Here are a couple more pics showing this unique feature.

[Jon C Ryckert]

Jeff, go look at Pennsylvania's pics at Mare Island in March 42. They do the same I believe.

[Jeff Sharp]

Wow! You are right Jon. That is really cool. Arizona�s was not like that and it appears that Nevada did not have any degaussing cables on her decks at all. I wonder if she had internal cables installed?

[Jeff Sharp]

Following up some more on the raft locations on USS Nevada
On 12/5/41 Dr. Eric Haakenson aboard USS Solace captured film footage of Nevada returning to Pearl still in MS-1/5. This still from that film confirms that 2 rafts were hanging from the signal bridge on the starboard side.

[MartinJQuinn]

Trying to decipher how the boat stowage that hung off either side of the aft end of the boat deck was constructed. Looks like two cradles mounted to the side of the boat deck with support poles holding it up. Anyone have any thoughts, or any other views, other than these? All these give hints of what's there, but aren't as clear as I'd like (the modelers lament).

OK boat cradle 5.jpg (33.32 KiB) Viewed 14377 times

OK boat cradle 6.jpg (22.46 KiB) Viewed 14377 times

OK boat cradle 1.jpg (29.35 KiB) Viewed 14377 times

OK boat cradle 3.jpg (31.02 KiB) Viewed 14377 times

[MartinJQuinn]

A few more shots of that area, this time on the port side, from photos or her being salvaged.

[Jeff Sharp]

Found another shot of Nevada rafts location. This is a view of the raft stowed on the portside casemate bulkhead just like the starboard one discussed earlier.


Also, thought I'd share some thoughts about the Tom's Modelworks USS Nevada kit presented in today's "What's New". The 3-D parts are what's really going to set this apart from the old offerings in this scale. My main concern with the kit at this point is the vegetable locker. The photos show how Oklahoma's was, not Nevada's. I'm hoping this was just an oversight and Oklahoma's photos were shown by mistake.
Nevada's vegetable locker was quite different from Oklahoma's.
In all of the kits of her that I have purchased over the years, Iron Shipwright's 1/350 version came the closest to the correct design but still didn't get it quite right.
Unlike Oklahoma, Nevada did not have wire mesh for bulkhead on the upper part of the locker. In this shot you can see it was solid steel with vent slots.

On the back end of each corner there was a large square vent. In this view, a sailor is writing on the trunk of the port side vent.

This view is a good look at the portside vent.

This view shows the starboard vent and it also shows another detail that is constantly represented wrong on kits. The large steel plated deck hatches that were outboard of the vegetable lockers on the main deck were not exposed and raised above the teak decking. Teak decking covered these hatches.

I'm excited to add this kit to my collection. It's awesome to see multiple companies collaborating on a kit like this.

[Jeff Sharp]

More USS Nevada vegetable locker fun!
Nevada had a square structure on the top deck of the veggie locker. Not sure of it's purpose yet but it was there as early as 1940. Here are a couple of shots where it is visible.

Sept. 1940 - square structure just forward of the two 14' Punt boats stacked on veggie locker top deck.


Dec. 1941


Structure seen on the far left in this shot.


Here is a fun little colorized pic of her. The deck color is of course wrong (it was blue) but this REALLY shows how extensively her forward decks were damaged. It's amazing she didn't suffer the same fate as Arizona!

[DougC]

The last photo does not look like 5D. What color is it?

[Rick E Davis]

As noted, the image has been colorized ... just ignore the colors, all are figments of imagination that the one who colored it has decided to use.

[Jeff Sharp]

Here is another look at Nevada's vegetable locker starboard side. This is very early on, before the structure between the two vents was added.