ammoload

U.S.S. TEXAS - BB35

Replenishing The 14"

The projectile and powder magazines on Texas have been empty for more than 55 years. The goal of a recent project was to move six inert projectiles that were available into one of the magazines so that the appearance and function of the room would be clearer to visitors taking periodic hardhat tours. It also gave the museum staff and volunteers much greater insight into the techniques and difficulty of moving these 1,400 pound shells by hand down three decks and through narrow passages.

Scroll further down the page to photos and descriptions of the process.

Original hoisting equipment used on the main deck is missing and safety was by far the number one concern. Therefore, a concession to modern technology was made with the use of a forklift on the main deck. It allowed the easy and smooth movement of shells into position and a strong suspension point for the block and tackle used to lower shells to the ammo passage on the first platform. Otherwise, original equipment was used to handle them. One thing stood out. The force of a slowly swinging shell on the end of a block and tackle is dangerously deceptive, as was demonstrated through a very painful blow to a volunteer's shin. Fortunately, the close attention to safety resulted in nothing more that minor bruises.

There were at least a couple of rewards to this exercise. One is that it was pretty cool thing to do, especially since there were no injuries. It also pointed to a couple of very likely reasons for abandoning the handling system design on Texas and New York for other methods on latter ships. First was a fundamental safety issue. Heavy shells swinging on the ends of a blocks and tackle in any kind of seas are dangerous. It would be easy to assume that bruises were part of the uniform of the day for handling room crews and that serious crush injuries were not unheard of. The second lesson is that it is hard to believe that moving shells from magazines to lower hoists could be done at anything approaching the 45 second rate of fire given for the guns. This is regardless of equipment condition or lack of training for the volunteers. If this was the case, once the 15 rounds stored for each gun on the shell decks immediately below the turrets was expended, it is likely that Texas' firing rate would have dropped considerably.

	The photos to the left show projectiles stacked on the main deck and ready to be moved to a trunk that accesses the handling rooms and magazines for turrets 4 and 5. A close-up shows bow-tie shape slots in the base of the shells that allow removable padeyes to be attached. The shells can then be picked up and moved. Two padeyes can be attached so that the shell can be moved between different blocks and tackle or hoists without having to set it down. The last photo shows the volunteer crew being briefed on assignments, procedure and most of all; safety.
	The left photo looks down the trunk through the main deck, second deck, third deck, to the first platform. Note the thickness of the hatch on the red, second deck. It and the third deck incorporated about 1-1/2" each of armor to protect the magazines. The middle photo shows a couple of eager volunteers on the first platform with a trolley mounted block and tackle ready to take a shell. The last photo is looking up to the sky from the ammo passage.
	Battleships Texas and New York were unusual because their shells, handling equipment, magazines and handling room hoists were all designed to take and store shells nose down in an inverted position. The photos to the left show shells being positioned over the trunk and lowered to the first platform. The second photo shows one clearing the second deck on its way to the third. Crew are positioned at each level to make sure that the shell is reasonably centered and does not strike the edge of the hatch opening. The third photo shows a view up at a shell starting its trip down. The last is of the handling room crew manhandling it over so that it can be hooked to one of the trolleys.
	The series of photos to the left shows a shell entering the ammo passage, being transferred to a trolley and moved by crew along tracks leading through handling room #4 to a magazine. The right hand photo happens to show a shell next to a hoist in the handling room. This is where a projectile would be moved up and either stored on the shell deck or transferred to the upper hoist and moved to the turret.
	The last set of photos shows a projectile as it is moved into the magazine. It is positioned into a rack where its nose is placed into a steel cup welded to the deck. Hinged dividers are then pushed down on each side of the shell, firmly fixing it in place. The last photo shows a shell in a ready position, supported by a block and tackle and its nose in a cup for stability. The plan is to ultimately display the shell in one of the #5 lower handling room hoists.