Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!att!cbnews!military From: welty@Lewis.crd.ge.com (Richard P. Welty) Newsgroups: sci.military Subject: [Re: Montana battleships] Message-ID: <7058@cbnews.ATT.COM> Date: 2 Jun 89 02:35:44 GMT Sender: military@cbnews.ATT.COM Lines: 102 Approved: military@att.att.com From: Richard P. Welty Bob Smart (vrdxhq!vrdxhq.verdix.com!bsmart@uunet.UU.NET writes: > In fact one problem with the >MO was that it ran aground in Chesepeake bay in 1952 or 3 and after getting >her off ( they used 750 lb depth charges to rock her off) She encountered >very severe vibration above 25-27 knots and was limited to a max of 27 kt. >I wonder if this was ever fixed? Some of this is documented in Breyer and >some came from USNIP during the reactivation debate. Summarized from _The Iowa Class Battleships_, by Malcom Muir, Blanchford Press, 1987, Dorset, England: The grounding took place on 17 January, 1950. The new captain of Missouri, William Brown, ignored the packet of navigational information he was given, and misinterpreted a set of spar buoys marking a shallow fishing channel for the buoys marking the acoustical range he had been ordered to run down on his way out to sea. Captain Brown ignored the frantic warnings of his Exec and Navigator, and ran Missouri aground on Thimble Shoals at 12 1/2 knots. all removable items and fluids were taken off, including about 8,000 tons of fuel oil. Various efforts, including dredging, high pressure air lances, and running destroyers up and down the channel at 27 knots (to stir up the water) were tried and failed (it is not clear in Muir to what extent explosives were used, but i have serious doubts about the assertion that 750 lb depth charges were used, as the only explosive damage was to the guages that measured the fuel level in the tanks.) On 1 February, Missouri floated off at high tide on her own. Missouri was certainly damaged enough to require a trip to dry dock, but many of the assertions made about her state (including those in USNIP) are categorically false. In fact, she received less damage than Iowa did in the Casco Bay incident of 16 July 1943. The following listing of damage is derived from the ship's report on the incident, dated 14 February, 1950: Grounding Damage: Strake G starboard damaged by scoring, indentation, and rupture between frames 99 and 114, including three holes: two 8-inch and one 20-inch ruptures (this was caused by an old anchor which had been buried in the mud where Missouri ran aground) Several fuel oil tank heating coils were damaged, necessitating replacement or repair A 4-inch indentation occured in the starboard keel at frame 104 NMC heads scratched, but operation not impaired [i'm not sure what the NMC heads are, actually -- rpw] paint on bottom somewhat scoured two TBM motor generator armatures burned out sand and debris plugged all injection and overboard discharges except for the after emergency generator set. Casings, rings, and bearings scored on four turbo-generator circulator pumps Packing journals, casings, and rings were scored on one bilge pump, one main drain pump, four cooling water pumps, and four fire and bilge pumps. Salvage damage: edges of propellers 2, 3, and 4 received minor damage from chain and cable passing. Salvage cables dished in the outboard sides of the rope guards of shafts 1 and 4. Explosive charges damaged 20 Tank-o-meter guages Minor damage to stanchions, scupper lips, etc., caused by salvage cables. the ship's damage report concludes: ``all damage incurred in the grounding and salvage operations has been repaired by Norfolk Naval Shipyard and by the ship's force of the vessel. On 8 February 1950, a fully successful post repair trial was conducted at sea'' One of the ships officers wrote in USNIP (June 1980) ``As auxiliary, repair, and boiler division officer of the watch, i can testify that the BB-63 made 32 knots and better on every occasion required in support of carrier launch/recovery operations during the Korean Conflict.'' (this officer served on Missouri from December 1948 to early 1952.) richard -- richard welty welty@lewis.crd.ge.com welty@algol.crd.ge.com 518-387-6346, GE R&D, K1-5C39, Niskayuna, New York ``Join the Navy, See Thimble Shoals''