Calling all Iowa-class (BB-61) fans

[Fliger747]

The stripes you refer to are either an extension of a drain pipe, which varied from ship to ship from time to time. The other vertical stripes are gussets where 25 lb STS steel is joined, used for splinter protection. These are semi flush elicited to the underlying structure. All of the ships bb61-64 were constructed in this manner. There is some photography and discussion of the gussets some time earlier in this ship thread.

What ship and era are you concerned with?

Regards. Tom

[apfelzra]

Could any of you experts advise me on what colors (other than generic Haze Gray 5-H) to paint the individual compressed gas cylinders that occur in abundance along the midships main deck of the 1945 USS Missouri? I'm building the huge Trumpeter 1:200 kit and these cylinders occur in groups of three or more; I assume that these would be differently colored depending upon the gas within (oxygen, acetylene, argon, nitrogen, any others?). Or would the colors only apply to the tanks' labels, and if so, what color(s) would the rest of the tank have? A previous posting stated that the tanks were color-coded, but did not list the colors, and a Google search hasn't been very helpful. Thanks for your input.

Robert Apfelzweig

[DBlack]

The stripes you refer to are either an extension of a drain pipe, which varied from ship to ship from time to time. The other vertical stripes are gussets where 25 lb STS steel is joined, used for splinter protection. These are semi flush elicited to the underlying structure. All of the ships bb61-64 were constructed in this manner. There is some photography and discussion of the gussets some time earlier in this ship thread.

What ship and era are you concerned with?

Regards. Tom

Thanks, Tom. Yeah, I meant the ones from the drain pipes. Seems to me that I've heard them described with some official-sounding term, but I just can't remember what it is. :/ Anyway, from all the photos I've seen, BB-61 and -64 didn't have them (circa the 1980s/90s), and -62 and -63 did. Tamiya molds them onto the NJ hull, so to accurately represent the IOWA they need to be removed...

[NukeMM]

From a 1943 Bluejackets Manual..



From 1944 USS Barnegat Class AVP Seaplane Tenders Shipyard Plans......

[BB62vet]

D. Black wrote:

Thanks, Tom. Yeah, I meant the ones from the drain pipes. Seems to me that I've heard them described with some official-sounding term, but I just can't remember what it is. :/ Anyway, from all the photos I've seen, BB-61 and -64 didn't have them (circa the 1980s/90s), and -62 and -63 did. Tamiya molds them onto the NJ hull, so to accurately represent the IOWA they need to be removed...

Those are overboard discharge drains from various piping on board ship - sanitary drains, fresh/feed water drains, etc. They are on ALL the IOWA's, but vary as to location, length, etc. NEW JERSEY had hers covered with 1/2 round covers during her 67-69 commission and when the 4 ships were recomm'd in the 80's all got the angled/covered discharges. Going thru the Panama Canal in 68, NJ had hers actually cut off in order to pass thru w/o problems (tight fit!). The shorter pipes come straight out and end; the larger pipes had a 90 EL and were covered. This was to direct the flow into the ocean, not your next door neighbor. My guess is that beginning in the mid-60's, some sort of gov't. regs. dictated all this.

I would suggest you purchase a good set of 80's era plans for IOWA, possibly from Floating Drydock, if you haven't already. I would not rely on the kit plans/instructions for this kind of detail.

REGARDING THE LADDERS ON SIDES/FACE OF TURRETS - All the ships had the side/front face access ladders. If they don't today it is probably due to them being removed by the individual museum staff at that particular ship in order to keep the public off of the turrets. Once again, my guess is that the involved insurance companies have probably dictated this due to safety reasons. You can go IN the turret, but not ON the turret. Whoop-dee-doo!!

[DBlack]

D. Black wrote:

Thanks, Tom. Yeah, I meant the ones from the drain pipes. Seems to me that I've heard them described with some official-sounding term, but I just can't remember what it is. :/ Anyway, from all the photos I've seen, BB-61 and -64 didn't have them (circa the 1980s/90s), and -62 and -63 did. Tamiya molds them onto the NJ hull, so to accurately represent the IOWA they need to be removed...

Those are overboard discharge drains from various piping on board ship - sanitary drains, fresh/feed water drains, etc. They are on ALL the IOWA's, but vary as to location, length, etc. NEW JERSEY had hers covered with 1/2 round covers during her 67-69 commission and when the 4 ships were recomm'd in the 80's all got the angled/covered discharges. Going thru the Panama Canal in 68, NJ had hers actually cut off in order to pass thru w/o problems (tight fit!). The shorter pipes come straight out and end; the larger pipes had a 90 EL and were covered. This was to direct the flow into the ocean, not your next door neighbor. My guess is that beginning in the mid-60's, some sort of gov't. regs. dictated all this.

I would suggest you purchase a good set of 80's era plans for IOWA, possibly from Floating Drydock, if you haven't already. I would not rely on the kit plans/instructions for this kind of detail.

REGARDING THE LADDERS ON SIDES/FACE OF TURRETS - All the ships had the side/front face access ladders. If they don't today it is probably due to them being removed by the individual museum staff at that particular ship in order to keep the public off of the turrets. Once again, my guess is that the involved insurance companies have probably dictated this due to safety reasons. You can go IN the turret, but not ON the turret. Whoop-dee-doo!!

Yep, all the ships had the drains, but NJ and MISSOURI were the only ones with the long vertical covers over them. Here's IOWA with just the pipes sticking out of the hull, no covers: http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/0161007.jpg

And I'm going to have to disagree with you about the ladders. IOWA definitely didn't have them on the sides of Turrets 1 and 3--at least between 1984 and 1990. Here's a few shots where you can clearly see them missing from Turret 1: http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/016160.jpg , http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/016109v.jpg , http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/016169x.jpg . I can't quickly pull up any that give a good view of Turret 3, but trust me: I looked at enough reference pics when building my own IOWA out of the NJ kit that I can promise you they weren't on that one, either. Just Turret 2, plus the four on the front side of all 3...

[BB62vet]

D. Black wrote:

And I'm going to have to disagree with you about the ladders. IOWA definitely didn't have them on the sides of Turrets 1 and 3--at least between 1984 and 1990. Here's a few shots where you can clearly see them missing from Turret 1:... I can't quickly pull up any that give a good view of Turret 3, but trust me: I looked at enough reference pics when building my own IOWA out of the NJ kit that I can promise you they weren't on that one, either. Just Turret 2, plus the four on the front side of all 3...

I stand corrected - the IOWA and WISCONSIN had their side ladders removed prior to mothballing in the mid-50's. After reviewing those (and other) photos, my guess would be that the double life raft racks on the turret sides took up too much space for the ladders to be retained (post-Korean War era?). We did have all of them on NEW JERSEY in the 67-69 era as originally constructed in 1943.

Hank

[apfelzra]

Thanks, Carl, for the charts of compressed gas cylinder colors. I suspect that the gas tanks aboard the USS Missouri in wartime would be mostly acetylene, oxygen and carbon dioxide (little need for nitrogen, helium, hydrogen, freon or chlorine), but please correct me if I'm mistaken.

Bob Apfelzweig

[Fliger747]

Nitrogen might have been in the mix of bottles. Filling wave guides and various equipment such as optics etc.

Cheers. T

[Cliffy B]

BB-64 has all 4 ladders on the front and 1 on each side of each turret. I know; they're fun to climb

[BB62vet]

Cliffy B -

Goes to show - the best laid plans, etc. etc. Well, after looking AGAIN at the Navsource photos, the ladders are there on WISCONSIN in 1988, 1990, 1991, 2000, 2003 and later. So, if IOWA didn't have hers, someone obviously STOLE THEM!!!

We need to send the D.O.J. on a full scale investigation and FIND THOSE STOLEN LADDERS!!!!

Hank

[Cliffy B]

Tell them to find her bloomers too!!!! They went MIA while she was mothballed and what they have currently is well....yeah.... They need to be found!

[Michael Potter]

Alas, Tamiya erred in the painting guide. The dull black trapezoid on the starboard side aft is too large: the actual forward apex was abreast the muzzles of turret 3. The painting guide inaccurately places the apex instead near the mantlets.

[BB62vet]

RE: VARIOUS GAS CYLINDERS, Etc./Bob A. -

I brought up the same question re. the gas cylinders to an acquaintance of mine who is on the IOWA staff and was at LBNSYD for 42 years, working on all the IOWAs at various times - this thread is somewhere on the forum - but his answer was basically what Carl posted - I have the same charts for the cylinder paint schemes - military/commercial - all the same.

Too bad there isn't a search query box on this forum for keywords to previous threads.

Hank

[navydavesof]

Tell them to find her bloomers too!!!! They went MIA while she was mothballed and what they have currently is well....yeah.... They need to be found!

Lol don't forget. They're not called "bloomers". They're "bucklers".

[Timmy C]

Too bad there isn't a search query box on this forum for keywords to previous threads.

Hank

Look at the top right of the page

[BB62vet]

Look at the top right of the page

Shazaam!!! If it had been a wall, I'd a walked into it!!!!

Time to refocus my triphocles

Thanks, TC!

Hank

[Cliffy B]

Tell them to find her bloomers too!!!! They went MIA while she was mothballed and what they have currently is well....yeah.... They need to be found!

Lol don't forget. They're not called "bloomers". They're "bucklers".

Bah!!! I should know better than that..... Please forgive me oh master!

[navydavesof]

Bah!!! I should know better than that..... Please forgive me oh master!

Hahaha. I knew you would kick yourself for that one

[Fliger747]

Perhaps Cliffy was distracted by a young lady attractively garbed?

Cheers: T