Modelli in legno di battelli in scala 1:1

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Negli archivi del museo Mare Island Museum - Vallejo, California (  http://www.mareislandmuseum.org/  ) sono state ritrovate due casse contenenti una grandissima mole di foto che mostrano i modelli di cantiere in legno in scala 1:1  e 1:4 di alcuni battelli statunitensi.

In particolare si tratta dei modelli del Barbel, Swordfish, Scamp, Halibut, Grayback, Permit (Thresher) e Theodore Roosvelt. 

 

Dopo le foto inserisco il testo inglese pubblicato sulla pagina Facebook.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the library storeroom were two boxes, not yet cataloged, which when opened contained hundreds, literally, of pictures of “wooden submarines,” sometimes outfitted with “machinery and rope piping,” at other times wood or cardboard was used to simulate the machinery and pipes. What were these strange looking photos?

Upon closer examination it was discovered these were mock-ups and models of the submarines, Barbel, Swordfish, Scamp, Halibut, Grayback, Permit (Thresher) and Theodore Roosevelt which were built to exact specifications of each of the submarines seemingly to make sure that all the parts fit before they actually constructed the submarine. In fact, on the back of some of the pictures were notes – one indicated they had made an adjustment to accommodate a water tank. Some of the mock-ups were ¼ size and these were frequently “peopled” with wooden figurines which were jointed and could be bent in the same manner as a human body could move. On the Grayback mockup they even dressed the figurines in uniforms to denote sailors, chiefs and officers and some even had rank insignia on their sleeves. Amusingly the chief has a rather large pot belly – too much of that good ice cream submarines were noted for supplying to the men aboard! ¼ mock-ups were made for the Halibut, Barbel, Swordfish.

And while the ¼ mock-ups are amazing, the mock-up of the SSBN 600 Theodore Roosevelt is even more astounding. It is a full-size mock-up and both the mock-up, and the sub were built at Mare Island. The picture of the beginnings of the mockup shows the frames (“ribs”) of the submarine and the mock-up dwarfs the men working on it. Roosevelt was the first of her class to be built at MINSY. After speaking to Dan Danielson who actually worked in Building 271 where the full size mock-ups were built, we were able to ascertain the following – the original plans for the submarines probably came from Electric Boat in Groton, CT or Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in New Hampshire or Maine, depending on which side of the river you are standing. In fact, some of the photos are labeled Electric Boat. Once the plans arrived here Shop 64, woodshop, would begin to build the frame of the mock-up. The plywood was laminated, if necessary, so that it would be the exact dimensions and thickness of the frames when they were fabricated out of steel. Shop 38, Outside Machine Shop, would do the setting of the machinery which was usually built with steel frames covered with cardboard or plywood and painted, or in some cases made of plastic. All the piping would be constructed by Shop 56, the Pipe Shop. In the case of a pump, the flanges for inlet and outlet were made of steel, the exact dimensions and thickness of the metal which would be used on the flanges. They were then welded to the frames of a steel skeleton and the wood/cardboard shape of the pump fabricated around it. The skin of the submarine was usually made of sheets of metal only thick enough so that a workman could walk on it and only placed on the bottom or underside of the submarine. The thickness of the skin was not critical at this point.

When it was discovered that a part or pipe did not fit or line up properly, the workman would report the discrepancy to the design division who would issue an LAR (Liaison Action Request) to the yard which had originally designed the boat advising them of the problem and either asking for a fix or indicating the adjustment made here. It was much cheaper to make an error and/or manufacture a fix on a wooden submarine than on an actual submarine in the process of being built.

The SSN 594 Class (Permit) was renamed from the SSN 593 Thresher Class. This, of course, should have been the SSN 593 Thresher class because it was the first boat built in that class, but after a vessel is lost and stricken from the naval registry, the class is then named after the next boat in the class, and in this case it was Permit SSN 594 which was built at Mare Island. However, there are photos in this folder actually labeled Thresher. This mock-up was also a full-size mock-up and the Roosevelt and the Permit mock-ups were both in 271 at the same time. Code 240, Design, was in charge of the building of the mock-ups and Bill Bertino headed the Mock-up Group Interestingly enough, Building 271 had 12 foot wide mezzanines which went up five stories on the north side of the building. When they were finished using one of the ¼ mock-ups, Danielson thought it was the Grayback, it was simply stored on the third-floor mezzanine. Danielson wanted to go into the building years later to see if it was still there, but he was told the building was empty.

Most of the ¼ mock-ups and the 1/12 scale models were built on the third floor in Building 521 just behind the headquarters building. The Navy actually cut a hole into the north side of the building to install an industrial sized door which would allow them to bring in material and equipment. This area included a large open area and a woodworking shop with a table saw and drill press. In addition to the mock-ups they also built models, in absolute scale to the part of the submarine being built. For the ribs and framing of the Grayback there are at least ten different models of sections of the framing and then a model of the entire framing. They also tested the bunks by loading bags filled with sand to a weight of 500 and 1000 pounds to see if the shell of the bunk would break. The exact number of men who would be working in an area would be duplicated by the wooden figurines to see if there was ample room to complete the necessary tasks. There are models of Regulus I and II missiles being loaded and in flight after being fired from the sub. Nothing was left to chance. The result - the best submarines in the world in use at that time!

The above article was written by former Mare Island Museum Librarian Barbara Davis and it first appeared in the museum’s newsletter in 2015

Due to COVID-19 the museum is closed for now, but when this pandemic is history come visit Mare Island’s newest monument to the workers and sailors who won the Cold War, the historic Alden Park, St. Peter's Chapel, Naval Officers Mansions and the Mare Island Museum. On this first United States (US) Naval base on the Pacific Coast, you will be treated to one of the largest non-federal collections of official US Navy artifacts anywhere. Artifacts range from an anchor lost by the HMS CENTURION after her horrific voyage around Cape Horne in 1739, cannons captured in 1871 during a punitive expedition against the Kingdom of Joseon in Korea by the US Asiatic Squadron, to the control room of a Cold War era submarine constructed with actual components from Vallejo’s namesake, the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine MARIANO G. VALLEJO (SSBN 658). Stop by and check us out. We are located at 1100 Railroad Avenue on Mare Island in Vallejo and across the street from historic dry dock 1 (completed construction in 1891). Open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Saturday. We are closed on Sundays. #Navy #History #SanFrancisco #BayArea #California #NARFE #northbay #solano #sonoma #napa #vallejo #winecountry #military #tourism #oldnavy #museum

[Totiano*]

che meraviglia!

Se avessimo conservato il mokup del Toti sarebbe stato un goal tutto italiano...

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Avete visto i manichini? C'è anche un sottufficiale sovrappeso !!!