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COMSUBBBS
Posts: 2561
Location: Rapid City, SD | Subject: As Rose on The Golden Girls said, "Can I ask a dumb question?"
When torpedoes were loaded into the tubes, were they lifted strictly by 'manpower,' or was there some type of crane?
I'm looking at a picture of the torpedo tubes on the Batfish, and they look as though they're about shoulder high, and I'm sure the torpedoes were very heavy.
I know..."and she's writing a submarine book?"
Cora |
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Great Sage of the Sea
Posts: 566
Location: Inyokern, Ca. | Subject: RE: As Rose on The Golden Girls said, "Can I ask a dumb question?"
In the old days, chains, hoists, come-alongs. In my time hydraulic rams and rollers. Lots of muscle still needed which is why TM's were recruited from the gorilla cage at the San Diego zoo.
Now days? They probably levitate them with their minds!  I've heard rumors of a rotary loader but never seen it (like the cylinder on a revolver pistol.)
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COMSUBBBS
Posts: 6180
Location: Summerville, SC | Subject: RE: As Rose on The Golden Girls said, "Can I ask a dumb question?"
When torpedoes were loaded onto or into a DB they were placed on "skids". These skids held one torpedo each and the skid was what you might refer to as a tray. These skids had rollers in them that would allow the torpedo to be moved forward or back on the skid and the skid had rollers from side to side so the skid could be shifted across the torpedo room on rails. Torpedoes, depending on the type weighed thousands of pounds plus the skid they were on so chain hoists had to be used to place the skid at the torpedo muzzle door. A block and tackle was rigged to move the torpedo into the tube. There were rollers in the tube "floor" to support the torpedo as it moved into the tube. The clearance between the torpedo and the tube wall was very close so positioning on the skid was very important.
Hope this helps.
Where have you been hiding? Haven't seen you around lately. We took real good care of Dex at the reunion. He was a very good boy and minded his manners right nice like. He even said, "yes Mamm and No Mamm" to the waitress' and used his knapkin when he belched. |
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Plankowner
Posts: 9165
Location: Upper lefthand corner of the map. | Subject: RE: As Rose on The Golden Girls said, "Can I ask a dumb question?"
In the really old boats they were lifted into position using chain-falls. Since the later "S" class boats the torpedoes were maneuvered into position by sliding the reload torpedoes on their storage skids resting on "rails" rigged athwartships in the torpedo room. If needed the torpedo can be lifted with the chain-falls from one level to another and placed on an empty skid. Once the torpedo in placed in front of the torpedo tube it is locked into position using pins and predrilled holes so everything will line up. WW II era and the old diesel boats used a block and tackle to get the fish into the tubes. The newer boats load the tubes using hydraulic rams. |
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Old Salt
Posts: 431
| Subject: RE: As Rose on The Golden Girls said, "Can I ask a dumb question?"
BlackBeard - 2009-10-24 6:21 PM
In the old days, chains, hoists, come-alongs. In my time hydraulic rams and rollers. Lots of muscle still needed which is why TM's were recruited from the gorilla cage at the San Diego zoo.
Now days? They probably levitate them with their minds! I've heard rumors of a rotary loader but never seen it (like the cylinder on a revolver pistol. )
BB
I always wondered why this skinny snipe ended up on the mine reload crew in the ATR.
Laying a mine field was WORK. Only did it once but that was enough. |
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Master and Commander
Posts: 1814
Location: Boydton, Virginia | Subject: RE: As Rose on The Golden Girls said, "Can I ask a dumb question?"
Cora, what the preceeding non-TM types left out (or perhaps didn't know) is that when the fish was pulled into the tube with a come-along (and that could be a chore on its own depending upon the angle of the boat, or on the surface in anything but calm seas), the last couple feet was manuvered by 2 TM's back to back, the first with his feet on the rear of the fish and the 2nd back to back with him adding leverage. The fish had to be positioned exactly in the tube to align the firing lever on the fish. No small chore, but us superior rate master TORPEDOMEN MATES could handel it deftly then continue on with mre important jobs like cleaning our finger nails and straining the pink lady for the evenings night-cap.
Steamboat (TM2 SS) sends |
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COMSUBBBS
Posts: 6180
Location: Summerville, SC | Subject: RE: As Rose on The Golden Girls said, "Can I ask a dumb question?"
Yeah sure John sure!! That's why you had to have other rates in there to help you guys.  Other rates had to be in the torpedo rooms, Cora, because we didn't want them to forget how to do it or do it right. We had to watch those TMs very close so they wouldn't hurt themselves...don't cha know.  |
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Great Sage of the Sea
Posts: 566
Location: Inyokern, Ca. | Subject: RE: As Rose on The Golden Girls said, "Can I ask a dumb question?"
Granted when other rates helped them it was usually a safety issue, like cleaning up all the banana peels the TM's had left on the deck... Wouldn't want them slipping around while handling those torpedos.
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Plankowner
Posts: 9165
Location: Upper lefthand corner of the map. | Subject: RE: As Rose on The Golden Girls said, "Can I ask a dumb question?"
I thought it was to put bandaids on their knuckles for them..... |
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Great Sage of the Sea
Posts: 566
Location: Inyokern, Ca. | Subject: RE: As Rose on The Golden Girls said, "Can I ask a dumb question?"
Only if there was non-skid on the deck...
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COMSUBBBS
Posts: 3202
Location: Alexandria, Virginia | Subject: RE: As Rose on The Golden Girls said, "Can I ask a dumb question?"
Corabelle, First you have a good friend in Ralph Luther, who's a man well worth having as a friend. We both had a wonderful conversatiohn about you. As I say, you can write the damn rapscallion down in your "respected friend" book. Next, When the torpedo loading hatch is opened and the section of the deck is opened to allow the fish to (Cora the term "fish" is interchangable with "torpedo") When the hatch is opened that section on the deck is hinged with the underside being grooved and becoming a tray guiding a torpedo (my day we shot MK 14's,MK 16's MK 27's and MK 37's most of it left over WWII crap but highly dependable) So an overhead crane usually located on your tender (mother ship) or on a folling pier crane, would lift the fish...that had either a nose hole or in the event its' warhead wasn't designed to have a nose hole...it had to to be temporarily fitted with a detachable nose cap that would allow a vang line to be fastened to the fish...The fish was taken from the torpedo trolley on which it was delivered to the pier by attaching a heavy duty cable to what was called a belly band and lifting it from the trolley. Once it became elevated it was like one and a half ton teeter-totter with the belly band as its' center of balance. The vang line allowed the swinging free fish to be lined up with grooved tray that in turn was lined up with a correspondingly simularly grooved tray known as a "torpedo skid" that had been elevated to the same angle as the folded back deck tray to allow the fish to slide into Forward Room (FTR Forward Torpedo Room) at the proper angle for acceptance by the rooms elevated storage skid. (To be continued) |
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Master and Commander
Posts: 1814
Location: Boydton, Virginia | Subject: RE: As Rose on The Golden Girls said, "Can I ask a dumb question?"
Dex, you forgot to hook up the 2 snubbers to the nose cone and wrap the other ends around the cleats of the loading tray to gently lower the fish into the room until it cleared the loading tray and was entirely onto the waiting skid, whereupon expert TORPEDOMEN MATES would in turn lower the skid level into the room, to be placed in desired location for storage, or loaded directly into a tube. This precise ballet could only be performed by a qualified TORPEDOMAN MATE. All other rates can only standby in awe of this TORPEDOMAN'S MATE ritual.
Steamboat sends |
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COMSUBBBS
Posts: 6180
Location: Summerville, SC | Subject: RE: As Rose on The Golden Girls said, "Can I ask a dumb question?"
Oh man......... it's gonna get deep here any minute....get your hip boots on....Dex and Steamboat are gettin warmed up. |
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Great Sage of the Sea
Posts: 566
Location: Inyokern, Ca. | Subject: RE: As Rose on The Golden Girls said, "Can I ask a dumb question?"
Steamboat with a bottle of lambrusco and a couple sawbucks in the waist of his crackerjacks and Dex with a rose in his teeth? Is that what you mean? *shudder*
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COMSUBBBS
Posts: 6180
Location: Summerville, SC | Subject: RE: As Rose on The Golden Girls said, "Can I ask a dumb question?"
Close...very close. |
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As Rose on The Golden Girls said, "Can I ask a dumb question?"
