Subject: SMML VOL 2703 Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2004 02:28:39 +1100 The Ship Modelling Mailing List (SMML) is proudly sponsored by SANDLE http//sandlehobbies.com For infomation on how to Post to SMML and Unsubscribe from SMML http//smmlonline.com/aboutsmml/rules.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1 Trouble in Trinco (4) - HMS Valiant and A.F.D.28. Sequel 2 Variations among Spruance-class destroyers 3 John R. Haynes Fine Ship Models 4 Christmas greetings 5 Re Landing craft 6 U.S. dealers only 7 RN submarine plating - flush or lapped? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD INDEX 1 GMM Nimitz 1/350 PE sets ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From "Tony Ireland" Subject Trouble in Trinco (4) - HMS Valiant and A.F.D.28. Sequel Thanks to Lt.-Cmdr.Peter Keeble's 1957 autobiography 'Ordeal By Water' I learnt how our crippled sister-ship managed to get from Trincomalee back to the U.K. , also the reason her forepart was flooded when I viewed her at dawn. The collapse of the dock was in fact even more catastrophic than I conjectured as we cruised around it, unaware of what was happening on board, and alternately blinded by searchlights and squinting into the dark cavernous dock floor interior. Facts are curiously hard to unearth, I've found. One Google reference states that Valiant was damaged in *dry* dock... Judging by the Admiralty floating dock bombed and sunk in Malta's Grand Harbour in 1940, I imagine that A.F.D.28's dimensions were at least 960 feet long, 180 feet wide, and with side tank walls 70 feet high. An aerial photo of A.F.D.24 - wrecked on the north African coast in 1941 while under tow from Malta to Alexandria - reveals that her main central 2/3 portion was carrying two bow and stern extensions that would provide the other 1/3 lifting capacity after being welded in position. By coincidence, the central dock would thus have been the same length as 'Valiant', viz. 640 feet. And 2/3 of its 50,000 tons reported lifting capacity would equal 33,000 tons - exactly that of the battleship. I t seems strange that the procedure to un-dock 'Valiant' was begun in the evening, with the crew mostly asleep during the hours the flooding valves were slowly submerging the dock. Even stranger is the fact that not only the aft tank's valves failed to open - but so did the forward ones, it seems. Thus the aft section was torn away and smashed upwards against the ship's propellers and rudders, as we saw, but the forward tanks also burst upwards into the ship's bows, holing and flooding them. The flooding was quickly mastered, but the two inner propellers, being lower than the outers, had their shafts bent and seized up. One rudder post was driven several feet upwards and jammed likewise, but the other could be turned slightly. The stern of the huge ship must have pitched down sickeningly and then reared up following the loss of the forward tanks. Terrifying for the crew sleeping aboard her. I wonder if anyone ever published details of these moments. Having never previously had a close-up view of the dock, or been told its exact dimensions, I failed to realise that its forward one-sixth portion had vanished - ripped off cleanly - and lay 180 feet down on the sea floor. I read somewhere that the 'Richelieu' had been scheduled to use the dock, but her captain refused to do so, and 'Valiant' was chosen. He must have had psychic powers. It makes me wonder whether this was the first time the dock had been used since being towed from Bombay. I never witnessed 'Valiant' sail out of the harbour for a test run. But this showed that the drag of the two inner props forced her to keep her speed below 8 knots to minimize destructive turbine vibrations. Eventually she sailed for Suez, with three escorting destroyers, on a slow, tedious voyage, steering by using her outer propellers. The plan was to repair her in the dry dock at Alexandria, if they could coax her through the canal. But when she arrived at Port Tewfik in early October they realised she was too bulky and unmanoeuvrable. So Peter Keeble was summoned to Admiral Cunningham's HQ in Cairo - from his salvage work in the mine-infested Athens port of Piraeus. He proposed cutting off both inner propellers and 18-inch-diameter shafts and heavy steel A-brackets, using an underwater oxy-hydrogen cutting torch he had perfected. The naval staff were sceptical, as such heavy steel sections had never before been cut under water. Keeble and his assistant diver, Petty Officer Nichols, set off for Tewfik with all their gear and installed it on Valiant's quarterdeck - with many cylinders of hydrogen gas from a nearby army A.A. barrage balloon unit. Valiant was anchored in 100 feet of water and the propeller shafts were nearly 30 feet below the surface. Because of the downward slope of the stern to the gland where the shaft emerged from the hull, the divers had to sit astride the shaft, facing forward, with their helmets almost touching the hull, to begin the cut about five feet out from the gland. First, P.O. Nichols spent six hours cutting into the shaft, in darkness except for the showers of fiery metal particles that burned his thumbs. Cutting into the central bore of the shaft caused a jet of scalding steam and particles to hit his face glass. He came up, exhausted, and Keeble dived and spent six more hours completing the cut. Next the pair spent four hours cutting through the vertical bracket below which was suspended the huge shaft bearing ahead of the propeller. Then came the most tricky job - firstly cutting halfway through the horizontal bracket holding this bearing, close to the hull. Nichols slowly continued this, while Keeble stood on the shaft peering closely at the gap between the cut end of the vertical bracket and the hull above it. The moment he felt this start to widen he tugged the rope signal and Nichols shut off the flame and rose to the surface. The 26 tons of the shaft/propeller/bracket assembly was ready to bend and fracture the weakened horizontal leg. Keeble now risked a diver's horrifying death by 'Squeeze' if he was accidentally dragged 70 feet down when the horizontal leg finally broke. All his body fluids would be compressed and forced up into his helmet... So he wound around the weakened partly-cut bracket a canvas hose packed with 15 pounds of gelignite, with its detonator wired to an exploder box up on the quarterdeck. After surfacing and being helped out of his suit, he invited the ship's Commander to push down on the plunger. The muffled explosion severed the horizontal bracket and the 26 tons of metal buried itself in the mud. Next day the two divers tackled the other propeller and successfully removed it plus its shaft and brackets. Speed trials showed that Valiant now could steam at 17 knots with course corrections by juggling the revs on her outer propellers and using the restricted movement of her less-damaged rudder. Thus, surprisingly, she managed to pass through the Suez canal. She reached Devonport dockyard in early February, 1945, ending up as a training ship for stokers before being scrapped in 1948. Peter Keeble received the award of the M.B.E. for his salvage work in north Africa and the eastern Mediterranean, and in Massawa in ex-Italian Eritrea - and for his underwater surgery on HMS Valiant. I hope P.O.Nichols' skill and courage was recognised, too. Happy Christmas, everybody, Tony ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From Mike Potter Subject Variations among Spruance-class destroyers Hello, Werner To model Spruances, either you may state a configuration and then identify a ship among those that looked that way; or you may choose a particular ship and date and make the model to suit her. In their early years all the Spruance-class destroyers mounted ASRoc forward. Several mounted CIWS guns and a Mark 23 radar on the mainmast. All but one of the Spruance class underwent a mid-life modernization to support one or two SH-60B helicopters. Most also received a vertical launch system. All mounted CIWS guns and a Mark 23 radar on the mainmast after this modernization. Late in life the ships mounted new SatComm domes and a few mounted a RAM launcher. Several ships remain in service. If you e-mail me directly or on list with your specific preference, I will tell you what is realistic. Cheers, Mike Potter ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From JRKutina@webtv.net (John Kutina) Subject John R. Haynes Fine Ship Models http//www.johnrhaynes.com/index.php Regards, John Kutina ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From Fkbrown90@aol.com Subject Christmas greetings A B C D E F G H I J K M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z . ( i. e., no ell, Noel, get it ? No? Aw, forget it. ) Franklyn ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From "Chris Hughes" Subject Re Landing craft Having seen the kit that sparked this thread, plus quite a few others at Telford, can anyone point me at 1/72 or 1/76 or even 1/35 scale plans of the sort of landing craft used during D Day? I can't afford the high prices asked for the resin kits and would like to have a go at scratchbuilding! Regards, Chris ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From JRKutina@webtv.net (John Kutina) Subject U.S. dealers only Need help. I need some WW II ship fittings in 1/160 and/or 1/144 scale. Any help will be appreciated. Regards, John Kutina ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From "Stephen Allen" Subject RN submarine plating - flush or lapped? The question is specific to building a 'U' class submarine, but is general to all RN subs before welding became common. Would the pressure hull be made up of flush-butted plates, or would they be laid in 'in' and 'out' strakes like a rivetted hull surface ship? Were the joints reinforced in any way? I am looking for some clues as to the most appropriate way of adding some visual detail/depth to the hull - either by depicting in and out strakes or otherwise. Merry Christmas to all regards steve ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From Loren Perry Subject GMM Nimitz 1/350 PE sets Gold Medal Models two new 1/350 scale USS Nimitz photoetched detail sets are now in stock and shipping. Sets 350-28 and 350-29 here arrived today and a number of review samples have already been shipped out to various magazines and websites, so look for them in the coming days and weeks. All back-orders and advance orders have also been filled and were shipped out today (Monday, December 20th.) For more information, see the What's New section of the GMM webpage www.goldmm.com Also, see the February 2005 issue of FineScale Modeler magazine for a four-page review article on Trumpeter's 1/350 scale Nimitz by Senior Editor Paul Boyer. The model was built out-of-the-box and the review appears on pages 18 - 21. Eight photos are featured (six in the article itself, one on the cover, and the remaining image on the table of contents page. And look for a startling bit of information on how this model was painted! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Check out the SMML site for the List Rules, Reviews, Articles, Backissues, Member's models & Reference Pictures at http//smmlonline.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- End of Volume