USS Scranton - City class Bombardment Monitor

[Joe C-P]

Coming along oddly, in a good way.

[proditor]

Thanks! I'm digging the odd looking duck that's developing.  I also have a name for the other ship: USS Tucson (following the logic that these were named after "second cities" in the states of Arizona and Pennsylvania, since those were the parents to this class.)

I'm waiting on paint currently, as I made the decision to do the ship in Blue, and then realized I didn't have the right shade. D'oh!

So I ordered the Vallejo equivalent of Deck Blue, and once that gets here, I can get Scranton in her party dress.

I also need to cobble together a microscopically small little dolly for the other Kingfisher I'm going to have deck-parked in the aft.

[proditor]

And Paint. Next up, decals, shading, then dullcoate.

[NARSES2]

Coming on really well.

Glad to see she's got a wooden deck. Don't know why, but I am 

Is the red turret roof a recognition thing ?

[proditor]

 Yeah, they painted the turret tops differently based on the section/division you were in (at least at Pearl Harbor) so I figured I'd carry along with that, and also the red looks wicked. 

Here's a quick link to the Pearl BB divisions and turret colors if anyone is interested. http://www.researcheratlarge.com/Ships/S19-7/PearlHarborBatDivMarkings.html

[NARSES2]

Yeah, they painted the turret tops differently based on the section/division you were in (at least at Pearl Harbor) so I figured I'd carry along with that, and also the red looks wicked. 

Here's a quick link to the Pearl BB divisions and turret colors if anyone is interested. http://www.researcheratlarge.com/Ships/S19-7/PearlHarborBatDivMarkings.html

Didn't realise it was organisational as well as for identification. You live and learn  Thankyou

[jcf]

The Arizona plant consisted of eight turbines:
Two High Pressure Ahead;
Two High Pressure Astern;
Two Low Pressure combined Ahead and Astern;
Two Cruising, one on each outside shaft.

The machinery space was split by a centreline bulkhead
and a transverse bulkead forming four engine rooms.
Maximum hp at 21 kts was 34,000.

Source:
Steam Turbines: A Treatise Covering U.S. Naval Practice,
G.J.Meyers Lieutenant Commander, U.S.Navy, United States
Naval Institute, Annapolis, Md. 1917

The book is full of tech descriptions, installation drawings, photos, tables
and a shitload of plates and illustration, including large scale fold outs of
engine cross-sections.

[NARSES2]

Dad always said stokers lived in a world of their own. (he was a seaman) Now I know for sure. Never, ever realised that boiler layouts were so complicated. Having separate ahead and astern boilers is new knowledge for the data banks. Thank you for that info.

Steelworks boiler rooms were huge, perhaps I should have paid more attention ?

[zenrat]

I used to know a bloke who had been a stoker in the Royal Navy during WW2 & on the Palestine blockade.
He told me when posted to a new ship the first thing the stokers did was put on blindfolds* and learn how to get from their posts to the deck unsighted.


*is this not unPC?  Should they now be referred to as visually challenged-folds?

[jcf]

Dad always said stokers lived in a world of their own. (he was a seaman) Now I know for sure. Never, ever realised that boiler layouts were so complicated. Having separate ahead and astern boilers is new knowledge for the data banks. Thank you for that info.

Steelworks boiler rooms were huge, perhaps I should have paid more attention ?

Hi Chris, the schematic is the layout for the turbines (engines), rather than the boilers.
The ship had twelve boilers arranged in six boiler rooms (three each pt. and stbd.).

Tracy White's (an IPMS-Seattle member) site, which Proditor already pointed to re turret colours, has a reproduction of
the Book of General Plans for the Arizona:
http://researcheratlarge.com/Ships/BB39/BOGP/

[NARSES2]

Ah right. Cheers Jon

[Crackingjob]

Yes, I'd be putting another Aircraft in the back section, on either a dolly or track system, or possible just "up on blocks" so that Scranton would have 2 scout Aircraft embarked at all times.

As to a hanger, yes, there probably is space, but the aesthetic of the time doesn't really embrace them. We don't start seeing hangers until the first "modern" BBs like the North Carolina etc. Now the time frame is right for interwar cruisers,  as the Omaha had hangers, but see the next point.

As said above, two aircraft is a good idea and I agree re the hangar it didn't really start to appear until latter.

Can't comment on the speed issue but most monitors tended to be slow beasts, it was all about the gun. Indeed at least one of the Royal Navy ones used on D-Day was towed over as they'd removed the engine.

Not sure if one was towed to D Day but will stand corrected.....all had propulsion but very slow 12 plus knots.....it was all about GUNS and big ones. Various monitors were built with 6" guns and upto old ww1 15" being fitted to Roberts class in ww2 who also had radar fitted and AA weapons....don't remember any with aircraft...nice addition though as it makes sense for spotting fall of gun fire. though a lot were shallow Draughts to get close inshore and speed was not a major factor unlike ships of the line who had to move fast in combat.
The Roberts-class monitors were two ships mounting a single twin BL 15 inch Mk I naval gun turret built during the Second World War, featuring shallow draught for operating inshore, broad beam to give stability and a high observation platform to observe fall of shot.
See https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_monitors_of_the_Royal_Navy

Also https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_M33
This tiny monitor is preserved next to HMS Victory at Portsmouth and restored in ww1 condition with twin 6" guns....top speed was 9.5 knots!!!

Nice model keep going...nearly there...great concept.