At 'Em Arizona Fans!

[ModelMonkey]

Here are some photos of the interior of USS Texas' fighting top.

[Jeff Sharp]

Thanks for posting these Steve! It is interesting that the decking for the middle level (Battle Lookout Station) is grating and that the three tripod legs are completely enclosed with bulkhead at this level. The plans for Arizona show the exact same thing.
VERY interesting pics!

[ModelMonkey]

You're very welcome!

The photos come from a Facebook page found by Martin Quinn.

One can easily image with the actual fire control directors installed inside (they are presently missing from Texas' top), the interior of the fighting top was a very busy and crowded place during operations. Given the height and how much it surely swayed in any kind of sea, it's definitely not a place for those who suffer vertigo or motion sickness.

Below are some photos of USS Pennsylvania's tops as they appeared in early 1942 for comparison. This is likely very close to how Arizona's fighting tops appeared at Pearl Harbor. They are structurally very "busy" with lots of reinforcing straps, window fittings, and festooned with rivets. Notice that the lower levels' strap and rivet pattern differs between the fore top and the main top. The two tops in detail are not identical.

Below is a photo of Pennsylvania's modified fore top, with most of the lowest level's shell cut away. Some of the interior of the upper two levels is visible. The features compare very favorably with those of Texas' fighting top.

[BB62vet]

Thanks for posting these Steve! It is interesting that the decking for the middle level (Battle Lookout Station) is grating and that the three tripod legs are completely enclosed with bulkhead at this level.

This brings up a few other obvious conclusions:
1) It was probably colder than Hell up there with only steel grating for decking. Probably no heating system at all (why would they with the open grating?).
2) As such, all that electrical & instrumentation would be exposed to the salt air & moisture - must have been a real problem for mainenance and reliability.
3) Wind and salt spray would have also been a major problem if manned and the windows were open during heavy seas or storms - hearing must have been extremely difficult.

Now I know why I didn't strike for an FT rating!!!!!

Hank

[ModelMonkey]

Thanks for posting these Steve! It is interesting that the decking for the middle level (Battle Lookout Station) is grating and that the three tripod legs are completely enclosed with bulkhead at this level. The plans for Arizona show the exact same thing.
VERY interesting pics!

Cheers!

[Tracy White]

only steel grating for decking.

For what it's worth, the lower level (aka "Secondary Battery Control Station") had a solid deck, so the space was actually enclosed. The Main Battery Control Station one level up and Main Battery Director stations above that had the grated decks.

Also, here's a larger copy of the BOGP plans for the fighting tops:

Fighting Tops only

[Timmy C]

"Grabrods" - huh, never heard the term, but guess it makes sense in reference to what we'd call "rungs" today!

[Tracy White]

It's very possible that the two were distinct nomenclature in USN drawings at the time, but I haven't seen supporting documentation to confirm it. It's one of the fun things about going through the plans though, seeing new nomenclature or specific uses of it and learning more about the design and thoughts that went into the ships.

[Jon C Ryckert]

What gun directors were used on the Arizona and has anyone ever seen a picture or drawings of them. Would be nice if there were 1/350 offerings of them.

[FFG-7]

you mean these? https://www.model-monkey.com/product-pa ... -directors

[Tracy White]

See also - http://www.researcheratlarge.com/Ships/ ... 9Director/

These are not the directors inside the fighting tops, however.

[Jon C Ryckert]

Sorry, I should have been more specific. I was wondering about the directors in the fighting tops. Was it possible that when the new enclosed directors appeared, that it was just an empty space up there, or were they still there? Just wondering.

[Jeff Sharp]

Hi Jon!
Judging by the post attack footage where we can see that the face plates on the Forward fighting top were removed and the side plates on the Main fighting top were removed, I'd say there was definitely something in there that they salvaged out of the tops.

[ArmchairAdmiral]

Anybody know where I can find some 700th scale range clock pieces, or range clock decals?

[TZoli]

As I cannot search in a certain topic, I had to ask.
What is the designation of the Pennsylvania class catapults in their 1930's state (Aka Arizona's catapults) both the turret top and stern catapults?

[FFG-7]

Type P Mark 6 catapult?

[Tracy White]

Just in case it is of interest / helpful, the "Type P" catapults were powder fired, as opposed to the hydraulic "Type H" that aircraft carriers used.

http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/57l.htm

[TZoli]

Based on the official plans it's not Type P the rotating structure is around at the half point of the catapult not 2/3rd or 3/5th aft:

[SeanF]

They could still be P-6 catapults, just mounted differently. The mountings for naval guns, radar, and, I'd expect, catapults, often had their own Mark #.

I am curious, though, about the P-6: I keep reading that P-6 was the standard for US WWII ships, but aren't the ones mounted on the fast battleships longer than the ones on the cruisers and the slow battleships? Is there a P-6 Mod-# series that might rack some of these variations?

- Sean F.

[Tracy White]

From a May 1942 Pearl Harbor Navy Yard report on salvaged Ordnance materials - note that the count is *one* on each.