Hey! Who let the Coast Guard cutter in?
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Ship Photo of the Day
- Thread starter Randy Daytona
- Start date
I’m sure many of you have driven over the Woodrow Wilson Bridge near DC on I-95. Did you know, however, that at base of the Virginia side was the location of the Virginia Shipbuilding Corporation? Created during WWI, the Emergency Fleet Corporation, developed to oversee a vast merchant fleet expansion, was put under the control of businessman Charles A. Schwab. The corporation would increase American merchant tonnage from a production of only 250,000 tons per year to a fleet that measured over 9 million tons.
At the Alexandria yard they built the Design 1015 vessel. With 402 feet of waterline and a 53 foot beam, the steel hulled ships were generally called the “Moore & Scott type.
A ship coming off the ways.
After the war most of the ships ended up as a ghost fleet in Mallows Bay, Maryland, just across the Potomac from MCAS Quantico.
At the base of the bridge you can see an outline of the type (part of the U.S. National Park site at Jones Point, Alexandria, VA.
At the Alexandria yard they built the Design 1015 vessel. With 402 feet of waterline and a 53 foot beam, the steel hulled ships were generally called the “Moore & Scott type.
A ship coming off the ways.
After the war most of the ships ended up as a ghost fleet in Mallows Bay, Maryland, just across the Potomac from MCAS Quantico.
At the base of the bridge you can see an outline of the type (part of the U.S. National Park site at Jones Point, Alexandria, VA.
Where is the peak of that? I'm having trouble finding it.
Not sure how you are trying to locate it. If using an online map find the WW bridge and zoom in on the Virginia (south) side of the bridge and look immediately to the north side of the bridge…you’ll see it there.
If you are driving, get to Old Town Alexandria, get to Duke Street, head east (toward the Potomac), take a right onto S. Royal St and follow it to the end…it turns into Jones Point Road under the bridge. Follow it to the left, park wherever you want, and take the path directly to the river…you can’t miss it. If you look you can find an old rudder from one of these ships on display just outside the bathrooms that you’ll see under the bridge to your right. Bonus side trip…walk over to the light house, go into the “front” (river side) yard and look for the old DC/Virginia boundary stone right at the edge of the river. Take the time to enjoy a nice meal on King Street!
DKK_Yeoman
New Member
Here's hoping they keep getting biggerEvolution of the Battleship.
Comparison between battleships USS New Jersey (top, as in 1944) and Yamato (bottom, as in October 1944).
Even though the Yamato-class battleships were the heaviest battleships ever built, they were shorter in length than the Iowa-class. Much of Yamato’s weight came from her armor and armaments. Each of Yamato’s 18 in turrets weighed around 2700 tons, about the weight of an Akizuki-class destroyer.
I read a biting critique of the Iowa's a while ago about how wasteful they were since building them took an extra ~10,000 tons of steel, 75% more power and ~200 ft of length that only bought them an extra 6 knots of speed over the preceding South Dakota-class. I was surprised by the critique at the time since most of what I'd read about the Iowa's prior to that was how awesome they were, but as time has gone on I've come to think it was a pretty good take.
That's insane
The noted historian Norman Friedman said much the same thing.
For consideration, our Navy already had more than double the battleline of the IJN with 12 Standards, 3 older battleships, 6 new, fast battleships and plans/contracts for 5 Montanas - with the US Navy still emphasizing protection and firepower over speed. We could afford to build 4 Iowas as a fast wing to specifically counter the Kongos. In the end, it was this 33 knot speed and ability to keep pace with the fleet carriers that would account for the Iowas longevity.
As for the armament compared to the South Dakotas, I have wondered why more 5”/38 calibers were not mounted considering the Iowas are 200 feet longer.
Comparison between battleships USS New Jersey (top, as in 1944) and Yamato (bottom, as in October 1944).
Even though the Yamato-class battleships were the heaviest battleships ever built, they were shorter in length than the Iowa-class. Much of Yamato’s weight came from her armor and armaments. Each of Yamato’s 18 in turrets weighed around 2700 tons, about the weight of an Akizuki-class destroyer.
One of the interesting things about the last class of battleships was the choice of secondary armaments. Axis battleships had dedicated anti-ship secondaries of 6" guns. Yamato (original design) had 12 (4x3) arranged in a diamond pattern (centerline fore and aft + 2 wing turrets), Bismarck had 12 (6x2) in a rectangle and Littorio had 12 (4x3) in a box pattern. The French Richelieu had 9 (3x3) all aft. British and US Navy went with smaller dual purpose guns 16 (8x2) 5.25" and 20 (10x2) 5" along each side.
USS Tennessee and USS Shenandoah.
What is the 10 count dial on the Tennessee for?
What is the 10 count dial on the Tennessee for?
That’s a “range clock” or “concentration dial.” The idea was that each ship in the battle line could see the clock on the flagship and know which direction to concentrate their fire.USS Tennessee and USS Shenandoah.
What is the 10 count dial on the Tennessee for?
Simplicity at its best.
And "0" is directly off the bow?
The face meaning could vary between ship squadrons or fleets. Some used the clock for range…for example the big hand indicated the large range (say 10,000 yard increments and the little hand more precise range (say 1000 yards). In those cases the ships had one forward and one aft turret that carried a directional arrows to show which way to point the guns. Others used a ball on the outer edge of the clock to direct either angle or direction and some used it as a simple direction aide. They didn’t last long in any fleet. I’m not sure when they went out of style in the USN battleship fleet.
From Battleship New Jersey: