Battleship Sized Propeller Shafts

In this episode we're talking about the shafts that turn the ships propellers, or as we call them screws.
For ship blueprints, go to:
matitime.org/doc
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[@terrydavis8451]

Every year Ryan is the curator he adds an inch to the dangly bit of his belt.

[@cf453]

Does your belt hang low? Does it dangle to and fro? etc...

[@SeanBZA]

Either the belt is stretching, or the curator is on the "Battleship Fitness" program.....

[@joe7497]

Belt weenie

[@JWCreations]

@@SeanBZA Ryan competes in Marathons, so makes sense!

[@RuralTowner]

@@JWCreations Races from one end to the other in an attempt to beat some carefully hidden speed record set by an unnamed sailor during battle drills?

[@Its-Just-Zip]

I'm glad you demonstrated "riding the shaft" because knowing several sailors myself I would not have guessed that to be the action that phrase was referring to....

[@rdallas81]

Lol

[@yanni2112]

As an MM I got to ride all 3 Ship's Shafts in Shaft Alley. Tripoli, Stein and Dixon

[@PhaseConverterampV]

Hardly anything dangerous to hit your head on if you fly off the spinning shaft.

[@MrGhendri]

Our shaft (CV59 #3 MMR) had a roulette wheel (including 00) painted on the shaft that could be viewed by an angled mirror in the control booth. Much fun and angst was had pulling into ports each time the shaft came to a full stop.

[@zoopercoolguy]

Sailors always seem to find a way to gamble. ;-)

[@Mr89netrom]

@@zoopercoolguy But what is the price? or the punishment?

[@wheels-n-tires1846]

What a fun idea!!! Love it!!

[@MrGhendri]

@@Mr89netrom $1 on port operations and $5 underway catastrophic or crash stop.

[@olliefoxx7165]

That's creative fun! Clever idea.

[@scottb8175]

I once went on a tour of a shop that had bought an ancient propeller shaft lathe from a shipyard in Scotland. The lathe bed was 125' between centers and the chuck was 6' in diameter. They bought it for the 6' chuck and never used more than the first 2 feet of the bed. Most of the time it was just used to spray weld and heat treat 5' diameter titanium alloy rocket motor o-rings (like the one that failed on the space shuttle). They still set up the entire 125' bed anyway, including the massive tailstock, but past the first 5 feet, it was only used as a storage rack for shipping pallets.

[@SeanBZA]

Alistairarc works with one of the Titanic lathes from V& B, which is still in daily use, having been moved from the shipyard, complete with the overhead gantry cranes it used. Modernised a little, but still that same century old machine, and accurate to within a hair as well. The kind of machine where the tooling is heavier than the operators, even for the "small" stuff.

[@TheScottbb1]

Hello fellow Scott b

[@danielmoorley8652]

Look up the lathe at cockatoo island (Sydney Australia) still one of the largest in the southern hemisphere

[@DEtchells]

Wow, I love stories of huge machine tools like that!

[@doobie9550]

The space shuttle o rings were made of silicone, not Titanium alloy

[@cowtailcalvin]

I always feel sad none of the engineering components won't ever come to life again .. the shaft and turrets are in their graves ... It truly is a memorial to classic components

[@MarkoDash]

at this point building a 100,000ton railgun armed BB would be easier than reactivating an Iowa.

[@RichieGonzales_28]

@@MarkoDash calm down world of warships fan

[@JamesF0790]

Agreed. It'd be glorious to see her able to raise steam, even if just for day runs out and back but the tragedy is that it's just not feasible. Plus the navy would have a fit

[@RealJohnnyDingo]

at least it's not turned into razor blades

[@Pamudder]

Similar components are still in active service on aircraft carriers and smaller warships.

[@williamgibb5557]

All of this was designed not by electronic computers but by slide rulers and the human computer. Absolutely amazing and scary for that shake down cruise to see if everything would work as planned. It worked well and through many "wars".

[@iansinclair521]

The sprng (or line) bearings are essential because, believe it or not, the shaft can whip at certain rpms -- you wouldn't think something that thick in steel could bend and flex, but it can. Without those bearings it would -- and the vibration would wreck stuff in short order.

[@SeanBZA]

When it comes down to it, everything is rubber, even things you think will never move, like entire ships, but they do flex, so the shafts have to be constrained so they flex the same as the ship does. That 2 turns is an exaggeration, the shaft likely only has around a half turn of stored torsion in it at full power, so all those bearings are there to keep it in line. Somewhere along that length of all those shafts is the engine torque sensors, wrapped around the shaft, and measuring the amount the shaft flexes in 4 inches, using strain gauges bonded to the shaft. There will be 6 slip rings to connect them, as it is likely this is a redundant system, with 2 sets of 4 strain gauges.

[@ZGryphon]

1960s (and probably later) Chevrolet pickup trucks have a hanger bearing midway along the drive shaft that looks eerily similar to (albeit obviously very much smaller than) the battleship's spring bearings, and boy howdy, when that thing lets go--as it inevitably will, because it's in the wrong damn place and wears out faster than it should--you know about it _immediately._ Of course, those drive shafts also have a U-joint in the middle, which mercifully the battleship's do not, but still.

[@jameslong3351]

Ships have to bend or they break, along with the main shafts.

[@AldoSchmedack]

The torque on them is just incredible! Most people can't fathom it!

[@billb4135]

the name is "center support bearing". and yes you know when it goes bad.@@ZGryphon

[@robertgoss4842]

The level of your ship knowledge is quite remarkable. Videos like this one show your intricate understanding of the historic ship you curate. Which brings me to my question: How did you gain this deep grasp of the complex workings of a huge warship? Won't you devote a few minutes of one of your programs to letting us viewers know more about you and how you got to where you are? I have not seen a man who is more at ease in his work than you. Clearly, you are perfectly at home deep within the guts of a battleship. .

[@acester86]

He's done a couple videos talking about how he became curator of the New Jersey

[@starcarrier1874]

This guy is great. Mounting that shaft, he is the “Carl Spackler” of battleship curators. This truly is interesting information with a little humor thrown in. Great stuff.

[@TheFoxEssence]

Can we just agree that these ships are pieces of art?

[@olliefoxx7165]

Yes, they are beautiful, imposing symbols of power and strength. I love the pics of them firing off the big guns. Pretty awesome.

[@jaysdood]

I certainly can 👍

[@JoshuaC923]

Engineering is an art in itself

[@tfa8]

foe the ones interested: the "riding the shaft" topic starts at 7:42

[@paulloveless4122]

Thank you for the safety tips regarding riding shafts. I've ridden many a shaft in my life and at times there have been injuries.

[@haywoodyoudome]

Always use plenty of lube when riding a shaft.

[@satagaming9144]

Be glad you haven't broken one

[@brianb8060]

Did you get a big gold belt buckle?

[@paulloveless4122]

@@brianb8060 I'm afraid you might be a little unclear on what we are talking about here.

[@Tuck-Shop]

The best shafts are lubricated to reduce friction but that also increases the chance of slipping off of the shaft.

[@JoeyG1973]

I would love to hear more detail on the reduction gearboxes. When I went on the tour I believe you stated that they are technically owned by either GE or Westinghouse depending on who built them. Also if I remember correctly all the gears are hand scraped and as someone that has done hand scraping on machinery I find that to be incredible the amount of effort that would take. I believe there is one gearbox that no matter what they did it always had vibration that caused it to have to be rebuilt regularly.

[@richcruse2689]

Actually usually a reduction gear failure means you decommission the ship. They are too expensive and difficult to change. While we never had to have an engine replaced. We had an issue with engine bearings and spring bearings going bad. EMO4, #3 main engine had an issue with wiping bearings. They actually removed a spring bearing to help with this, although in my opinion, and some others who operated the engine, the cause was actually that the turbine was mis aligned to the reduction gear, not problems with the shaft being too short and causing stress on it, as was blamed and why they removed a spring bearing.

[@jameslong3351]

I was on the Midway and Kittyhawk. The boilers, main engines, reduction gearboxes, and generators were all leased from both Westinghouse and GE for 99 years.

[@harleyhawk7959]

was a B.T.on, an LPA. the machinist had to go into reduction gears housing, wipe them all down to be inspected. they had to count their rags upon entering the space, count them when they came out. they came out a rag short, they all had to re-enter do a search. one rag short. two marines were called in with m-16. the machinist involved were not allowed to leave the access hatch area. they had to re-enter the gear space. One guy finally remembered he had tied one rag around his forehead for a sweatband.

[@A50S2D]

Lignum Vitae is from the Caribbean and Central America. It was used because nothing else is better. I like to make pens from this beautiful wood.

[@Custerd1]

Well done! I’d also be interested in seeing rudder housings. I imagine they, like the propeller shafts, are also subjected to tremendous stresses - tens of thousands of tons of vessel all exerting angular momentum on them with every turn.

[@nomar5spaulding]

My cousin was a *very* low ranked engine room enlisted sailor on the Ticonderoga class CG USS Gettysburg and his dad got to go down to Mayport and ride on the ship from Mayport to some other place for a few days and one of the things my cousin did was he showed him all the engine rooms where he worked and at one point, when Gettysburg was only going like 8 knots or something my cousin jumped onto the shaft and was riding it for a bit. They weren't supposed to be doing that cause a bunch of sailors had gotten hurt. So later in the day, further out from port and going along at like 18 knots or something, my uncle and my cousin are up somewhere else in the ship and my cousin sees some LT who was like his supervisor or something and he introduced the LT to his dad, and the LT says, "So Spaulding, did you show your dad the engine room?" My cousin says that he did. The LT says, "So Spaulding, did you let him ride the shaft?" My cousin says, "Sir, you know we don't do that anymore." Apparently, the LT immediately says, "Bullshit!" and my cousin replied, "Not at these speeds sir!"

[@adamdubin1276]

This is why you entertain your sailors, otherwise they will come up with a questionable means of entertainment that will inevitably end with someone being sent to the sickbay.

[@SMOBY44]

We would ride the starboard shaft in #2 engine room where it passed through. We always sat on it both legs on the side turning up toward us. The fast the turns the more you had to lean forward and slightly slip further over until you either dropped off or friction gripped your ass and launched you back over the top.

[@NoahKuzel]

@@adamdubin1276 problem with that is that it is not the responsibility of the US Navy to provide entertainment for its' sailors

[@pteppig]

@@NoahKuzel Sure, that's why they have an RR budget

[@erikkaingebretsen5096]

The stern tube bearing on my ship, the Bryce Canyon, was lined with lignum vitae and leaked like a sieve. It had a bilge pump that ran most of the time.

[@asterisbampos5869]

Every day I’m more in awe of the American naval engineers & shipyard crews

[@tubester444]

Very impressive presentation, Ryan. You know your stuff. Thanks!

[@AldoSchmedack]

Can we have a thumb for Ryan? I mean he is like a walking, talking encyclopedia. Kudos to him and a big TY!

[@openmythirdeye]

Gives the terms riding the shaft and stuffing box whole new meanings. Great binge worthy material 👍👍

[@kumaflamewar6524]

"In the navy"

[@RealJohnnyDingo]

binge worthy.... or cringe worthy? 😂😂

[@donaldpetersen2382]

I look forward to more sailor antics being recreated for educational reasons.

[@Dingo500]

the scale of these things are awesome. Here's a bearing, it has its own 5kw oil pump.

[@bluemarlin8138]

The innuendo here is top-shelf.

[@davidschick6951]

Finally back to technical stuff about the NEW JERSEY.

[@Ex-LDS]

As a retired engineer, who sailed on the diesel-electric Polaris class, Dutch pilot vessels, I loved this!👍

[@vxrdrummer]

We always used to talk about riding the shaft, but I never saw anyone do it. I did find my mate Jacko led on the shaft asleep whilst we were alongside once. It was amazing as i had just found Dave Tippet asleep under the plates in the Aft Engine Room, and then went into the Aft AMR, and found Jacko on the Port shaft!

[@scowell]

50,000HP... that number rings a bell... that's how much HP is driving the turbopump of a Saturn V F1 engine. Loved this segment, really enjoy the nuts-and-bolts stuff (thinking of Tom Scott the older one!).

[@SuperAWaC]

Except the pump shafts on the F1 are only a couple inches in diameter, so think of the comparative power density.

[@Ganiscol]

HP isnt torque. You couldnt move a battleship with 4 turbopumps and that puny torque. The battleship needs the HP to get the RPM, but it needs the torque to actually move the water with its propellers at that RPM.

[@scowell]

@@Ganiscol Berra’s theorem: torque is the capacity to do work, while power is how quickly some strenuous task can be accomplished. In other words, power is the rate of completing work (or applying torque) in a given amount of time. Mathematically, horsepower equals torque multiplied by rpm. H = T x rpm/5252, where H is horsepower, T is pound-feet, rpm is how fast the engine is spinning, and 5252 is a constant that makes the units jibe. So, to make more power an engine needs to generate more torque, operate at higher rpm, or both.

[@Ganiscol]

@@scowell Battleship powerplant puts out 200,000hp (or 147,400kW) and through reduction gearing spin propellers at a max 225rpm, which results in 6,243,118Nm torque. 4 Turbopumps run at 5500rpm, put out combined 200,000hp (or 147,400kW) which results in 255,400Nm torque. Your got it in your formula: the variable is rpm. 1/24th of the rpm but same hp = 24 times the torque. What you would need is reduction gearing, but I'd be interested to see one that can handle 5500rpm and bring it down to whats needed to bring the torque up in order to move the ship. My original point was basically that: You cant look at the HP without considering rpm.

[@agt155]

@@Ganiscol 24/1 reduction gearing isn't much. The BIG difference is duty cycle - your Battleship engines will chug away 24/7 all year, your Saturn 5 turbopumps definitely won't.

[@richcruse2689]

A couple of corrections, having working in EMO1, I can completely say these things with confidence. 1. Spring bearings are made of Brass and Babbitt, not wood. They have 2 slinger rings to lubricate them from the oil sump on each bearing. There is no pressurized oil system on spring bearings. 2. The Lube Oil Purifier is NOT piped to the spring bearings. You manually drain and fill the bearing sump when the oil is dirty or needs changed. 3. Part of the reason engines don’t match the engine room is space. EMO1 and EMO2 are at the widest point in the ship, that way there is enough room for the machinery attached to the shaft to fit around the shafts. As you go further aft in the ship, the reduction gears/engines move thirds the center more, shafts 2&3, so the engine rooms can be narrower.

[@largesleepermadness6648]

This is why all museum ships need actual snipes and former ships crew to describe the machinery and associated aux machinery correctly. Former snipe here on the Knox class frigates and a few CVs. I remember when the host grabbed a bronze dogging wrench and said he didn’t know why it was in the space he was in. He was in an ammunition space! Duhhh

[@wallacejeffery5786]

Thanks

[@mikemissel7785]

As a former hole snipe from #2 Engineroom I was thinking who ever told Ryan this is wrong.

[@richcruse2689]

@@mikemissel7785 which part Mike? Come on, I know you rode the shaft!!!

[@rodhennessy9428]

Did Iowa's have a locking device and bits?

[@bandhmo]

On the subject of shaft twist under load, I ran some quick numbers. 54000 Horsepower at 202 RPM would result in a torque of 1,404,000 foot pounds. Assuming a 1 inch wall thickness for the shaft, I get a shear stress of 11,500 psi, which I think is reasonable. This results in a twist over 340 feet of length of 0.26 radians or about 15 degrees. Assuming a 2 inch wall thickness: Shear stress = 6,300 psi, twist = 0.145 radians or about 8 degrees. Interestingly, if one was willing to run a shear stress of 30,000 psi (which would be doable with the right steel but very sketchy and not last long). This would result in a twist of 0.686 radians or about 39 degrees, and a wall thickness of only 0.361 inches.

[@JoshuaTootell]

Your math is under appreciated

[@KPen3750]

The shafts have about a 4 1/8" wall thickness. Also if I may ask, what formulas did you use?

[@bandhmo]

@@KPen3750 Torque (inchlb) =T = HP * 63024 / RPM, where HP = Horse Power and RPM = Revolutions per Minute. Polar moment of inertia (in^4) = J = pi * (OD^4 - ID^4)/32, where OD = Outside Diameter and ID = Inside diameter both in inches. Twist (radians) = T * L / (J * G), where L = length in inches and G = shear modulus of elasticity (11,000,000 lb/in*2 for steel). Shear stress (psi) = Tau = T * R / J, where R = Radius from center to outside of the shaft. So Torque = 54,000 * 63024 / 202 = 16,848,000 inlb or 1,404,000 ftlb. @ 4 1/8" wall, J = pi * ((32in)^4 - (23.75in)^4) /32 = 71,708 in^4. Length = 340 ft * 12 in/ft = 4080". Twist = 16,848,000 * 4080 / (71,708 * 11,000,000) = 0.087 radians or about 5 degrees. Shear stress = 16,848,000 * 16 / 71708 = 3759 psi. I am not surprised they are much thicker then needed given how bad a failure would be. That said, a shear stress of 3759 psi is very low. Of coarse any shock loads could send the the torque and stress much higher.

[@KPen3750]

@@bandhmo thank you!! I remember learning about that in my Mechanics of Materials class, I just couldn't find my notes on it

[@daveroberts7295]

You might want to redo your math. Ryan states the shafts were 32" in diameter with an 8" hole drilled down the center to reduce weight. A wall thickness of 12" ?

[@brucelytle1144]

@ 6:00 you talk about the "shaft lube oil pump". That is a Sharples lube oil purifier to separate water and gunk out of the oil. Haven't seen an old fire & bilge pump like that for many years either! I'm surprised to see how close the machinery layout in the enginerooms are so similar to Sumner class DD enginerooms. Spring bearings are babbitt, it is the strut bearings that were lignum vitia (Latin translation = "wood of life"). It is slicker than snot when wet with sea water. The spring bearings are oiled with rings that rotate around the shaft as it turns. I can't see in the video, but there should be two flip up lids on top of the bearing, open it up, look in and you will see (usually) 2 brass rings in grooves. You had to check them underway to make sure they didn't hang up and stop oiling. I never saw one (the oilers) fail in 40 years.

[@dakotaswain5026]

The name of the brass rings is slinger rings.

[@sdhlkfhalkjgd]

I was looking for another MM to have weighed in on the mislabeling of the LOP.

[@backho12]

Thanks for the good explanation. I'm sure the thrust bearings were some sort of Kingsbury swivel pad bearings.

[@brucelytle1144]

@@backho12 yep! Had to edit to clarify. Main shaft thrust bearings are the Kingsbury type (hadn't heard that term fir years!) I various types of turbine use them also, yet the majority of thrust bearings are much like the shell type bearing on an ICE engine crankshaft. On these old plants, they used steam pumps for all of the feedwater, oil pumps and forced draft fans. These used the shell type. They were made undersized, you had to hand scrape them to fit! The auxiliary systems had separate electric motors for independent operation. You could start up a generator by exhausting it to the main for start up.

[@Pamudder]

On smaller vessels, it was a common practice to tighten up on the stuffing box fasteners when the vessel was in port, to minimize leakage, then loosen them when preparing to get under way. Was this also the practice on the IOWA’s?

[@Mariner311]

Was aboard USS Reuben James (FFG-57) when she got a heavy line tangled round her SINGLE shaft in Pusan harbor - bent the shaft JUST a tiny bit, but it sure gave vibrations - we limped to Japan for a week in dry-dock where they replaced the shaft.

[@berniecostigan582]

I am in awe of the engineering that went into the design of this ship. And it was all done without computers.

[@BenZimick-fs5dp]

The engineering in that ship is absolutely amazed

[@objuan6]

ChiefS, excellent tour, you are down in my part of the boat, now, I can almost smell The bilge water!

[@chipworrell6025]

Had an oil pump go out on USS Sierra AD 18 back in the 70's. I had to stand watch in the shaft alley squirting oil into the cup 4 on 4 0ff until we got to port. We had the Lignum Vitae bearing blocks also.

[@MrEazyE357]

The NASA one in mountain view? Isn't it the only one that powerful?

[@centexan]

These are very interesting and educational looks at the different parts of a warship. It is greatly appreciated.

[@iamian9028]

Most impressive display of horsepower I ever got to see during my time in the military was a flight of 4 C-130's hooking into an airfield at Fort Polk, Louisiana so we could board them and then jump out of them. 4, ea, Allison T56 turboprops per bird developing 4,590 SHP a piece= 18,360 farm animals per Herc. Times 4 equals 73,440 shaft horsepower in the air. The most impressive display of power I've ever seen was when my late grandfather took me and my older brother on a tour of the coal-fired power plant where he used to work. Showed us the boilers, the coal pile, the big Cat bulldozers that worked it, the control room, everything. The plant, near as I can figure, was rated for 625 MW or 838,139 horsepower.

[@mattbartley2843]

When I visited the Midway museum ship in San Diego - comparable size and also powered by steam turbines and reduction gearboxes, the docents said that if you painted a stripe along a propeller shaft at rest, under power it twists so much that if you could look all the way down one it would look like a candy cane. That's enormously huge torque. Your descriptions of stuffing boxes and bearings reminded me of recreational boats with inboard engines, except hundreds of times bigger!

[@oldtugs]

Show how little most docents know and how little training they get before being let loose on the public.

[@nlo114]

I used to go inshore sea-fishing on a 1953 ex-admiralty cutter that had Ironwood for the stern-gland/bearing. No oil, just sea-water: When it was moored, the wood got wet and swelled, preventing leakage. Once power was applied to the prop, the friction heated the wood and drove off the excess water, giving a clearing between shaft and bearing enough for the water to maintain lubrication and sealing. Cheap but effective!

[@bluntmuffin1729]

**OMG THA K YOU FOR ANSWERING ABOUT THE BEARINGS!** when my brother and I visited recently we ask several people and nobody we talked to knew specifics. This was not only fascinating but exactly what I was wanting to know!

[@robertharker]

Great video. Nice explantion and walkthrough of a signficant subsystem of the ship. Thanks!

[@SMR3663]

Ryan, you will be in your 90's when you are done with all that can be done with with the New Jersey. I'll be watching all with a thumbs up! Drive on ! IE you next door neighbor 28th Id

[@kylecarmichael5890]

WOW! I had no clue some of the shafts were basically dang near as long at the ship. That is some engineering! Mind blown again that they used wood for a bearing.

[@nsconductor2007]

Attempting to ride the prop shaft seen this done on a DDG a bit after 2001. Zip tying new guys to the deck grating in the main spaces around that time. Engineers are quite the rowdy bunch 😂

[@vxrdrummer]

Great to see this. I was an Engineer in the Royal Navy specialising in Propulsion, and then conducted reliability Tranmission system studies for the new Ships during design and build. Very interesting to see its all still the same in many ways. Spring Bearings = Plummer Bearings/Blocks in the RN.

[@daveroberts7295]

I dismantled Plummer blocks on a destroyer to remove the lubricant prior to sinking it as an artificial reef. HMCS Chaudiere.

[@ntomenicgiorgo3598]

Could we have a video about what the noise was like in different parts of the ship when under way? Great content guys!

[@Nothingeverhappens84]

I've always wondered that. it would be a great video 👍

[@JoshuaTootell]

I can't even figure out how to describe the noises from my ships.

[@conantdog]

Amazing mega shafts 👀👍

[@WildBillCox13]

32" and 200rpm max. Stuff I hope sticks in my brain. Thanks, Ryan!

[@plateau2002]

thanks. One of your better segments. Really enjoyed.

[@garbo8962]

Back in the early 1970's took an engine room tour of now would be considered a small cruise ship ( less then 1,500 passengers ). Think it only had two propellers. They had at least one what they called Denny stabilizers on each side of the ship guess at least a few feet below the water line. They looked like airplane wings when extended into the water. Their only purpose was to keep the ship guess stable. Officer giving the tour told us when the sea gets too ruff they must retrace them back into engine room because they could break. See on TV shows that all the new cruise ships have the fancy electrically driven rotating propellers that a rudder is not needed. Between them & bow thrusters these Monster ships will dock themselves when tug boats go on strike.

[@Xechran]

A modern in service tie in: the Queen Elizabeth class carrier Prince of Wales is tied up going to dry dock for repairs because of an issue with her shaft which caused extensive damage to the ship. Her prop struck her rudder, indicating the shaft was walking far out of alignment.

[@Simon-ho6ly]

The other ship of the class ripped a thrust bearing/brake assembly off its mountings too and had to have substantial repairs

[@sethgrandeau9267]

@@Simon-ho6ly I didn't realize that both ships were out-of-service. Not a good start the Queen Elizabeth class.

[@MarvinRB3]

@@sethgrandeau9267 They're not out of service concurrently. HMS Queen Elizabeth took over duties for HMS Prince of Wales.

[@jaybee9269]

They were SO smart going for a two shaft layout!

[@michellelehky2374]

I'm not familiar with the design, but that seems like a pretty significant of walk.

[@jmoore6561]

Thanks!

[@alanworland9478]

Love info like this, thanks. On a cruise ship a few years ago I asked to visit the 'engine room' they charge $100!

[@daveroberts7295]

Any warship would be more interesting. The amount of machinery jammed in a warship is truly remarkable. No space is wasted.

[@rp1645]

RYAN thank you so much for your props tour. It is so interesting to see all the wear bearings that just make her work properly.

[@ophiejean]

I hope all these videos you created. Are all being archived in the library of congress for future generations.

[@Tankerpaul223]

I live near whats left of the mothball fleet in northern California. We had the Iowa up here for a while about a decade ago. I would of loved a chance to go aboard. The bay area turned her down as a museum ship, It was upsetting. We have room for her in Alameda next to the Hornet. I really appreciate these videos, i have to go down to SoCal to see the Iowa.

[@christopherrasmussen8718]

I was stationed at Little Creek. They had a field of plastic wrapped screws. I saw one spare for Iowa class. This was 17 years ago.

[@lovetoall8852]

In these days if constant vitriol, these videos are such an awesome break. So interesting and, in a very good way, neutral! Thanks for creating them!

[@JohnSmith-w8u]

This kind of reinforces the idea of complexity of this vast machine and why it took a crew of thousands. Also why it would be difficult (not impossible) to start it back up.

[@Odin029]

I really love that even in the 1940s ships were designed with something like wood as a bearing material. Yes its a certain type of wood, but these days engineers would spend LOTS of money to come up with a manufactured material that may or may not work.

[@haywoodyoudome]

A manufactured material that may or may not work but would most definitely cause cancer when exposed to heat, air, or water.

[@FireStormOOO_]

In defense of modern engineers, most stories like that have to do with limited supplies of some exotic natural material or another that just can't be sourced with the kind of reliability and cost effectiveness we need today. And that gets really expensive if exotic natural material is overexploited until it just runs out or becomes super expensive and there's a scramble to replace it.

[@beeber4516]

On the contrary today's engineers have much more materials to choose from and at little cost and the wood that you speak of would be expensive. Times change.

[@michaelmoorrees3585]

As an engineer, many very important design decisions are based on availability, and best estimate of future availability. Try to stick with most common materials, the design allows. That use to be the case with semiconductors, until fabrication costs, limited the actual part manufacturers to a small handful, and 65% of them coming out of Taiwan, which now mimics a unique exotic location. Up to the late 1980s all the companies in the Silicon Valley made their own parts. Now most semi "makers" are fabless, which design their own parts, but contract the fabrication to the likes of TSMC. If China decides to attack Taiwan, the worlds chip supply will quickly go to zip ! Hence, Biden's recent semiconductor maneuvers. Success is to be seen. I didn't vote for the old coot. Didn't vote for his orange hair opponent either.

[@1903A3shooter]

WE used that wood on Aircraft Carriers until lately and switched to rubber for the stern bearing.

[@kenboydart]

I think this is one of your best reports Brian . I learned answers to many things I wondered about

[@thestrum71]

An enginering marvel on its own, the entire ship. Wish I could do a grand tour inside and out...

[@wheels-n-tires1846]

"Riding the shaft"... Instantly I thought of that scene from Armageddon, where the space dimentia stricken fellow is "riding" the nuclear weapon. If you remember it, youll know the quote and why it came to mind LOL!!!

[@UnderGround3491]

As a Navy veteran we were told in boot camp that propellers are on aircraft. A ship has a screw.

[@Seiskid]

Totally depends on what country you are in. Commonwealth countries have props on their ships. A bit like they way their railways sit on sleepers and their carriages ride on bogies, whilst your railroads use ties and your cars ride on trucks. :)

[@wintrparkgrl]

that's a nice shaft you got there, Ryan😉

[@josephbrands6303]

Nice De Laval oil/water separator you got there

[@garyausher]

Which brings up the next video: Gear reduction. I remember hearing the Navy leased the gear reduction units on Spruance class destroyers because they were so expensive. Zero to 60 in those big tin cans was impressive!

[@tsm688]

when zero to 60 means RPM ;)

[@MichaelHughes-dy1it]

The inner 8" bore is not for weight savings. As the 32" diameter shaft is spun by the reduction gear the resistance from the propeller will add resistance which will cause the shaft to start twisting.; to two to three times (or more, depending on the shaft length) when full speed is achieved. This causes a large amount of stress to be concentrated in the center of the shaft. Think of it this way. The outer circumference of the shaft is 32" X Pi = about 100 inches around. As the center of the shaft is approached the stress due to the torque will increase. The very high stress concentrates at the center of the shaft. The center bore removes this high stress location and allows greater torque to be applied without reaching the point of failure.

[@billkallas1762]

A company that I used to work for sold couplings just like the one at 9:37, but "slightly" smaller (like 6" to 8" OD)

[@redtailpunk]

especially enjoyed the banter in this one! keep it up :)

[@alexkitner5356]

Was cool to see when we were aboard. Places you find yourself in when you're exploring on the morning after an overnight and someone the night before on the all access tour doesn't put the off limits sign back up in the open hatch making it impossible to see until you're heading back out and find it swinging behind the knee knocker...

[@shoominati23]

I see you have come to grips with your Shaft, my Dearest Ryan. I think you should like to do some Caber Tossing, in your newly favoured Country, Scotland.. Yours Aye.

[@ImpactWench]

Wait, a 32in diameter shaft had a crazy complicated high-precision boring operation done on it to get rid of a core 8in in diameter for weight savings? Even knowing that that core doesn't really contribute to torsional rigidity, that's barely more than six percent of a weight savings, and a zero point four percent savings in moment of inertia. Seems like an odd decision to have made. Are we mixing diameters and radii, or am I misunderstanding something else?

[@Zhukov-3]

Very interesting! Thank you for your work!

[@chadpaddock9968]

My vette has 600 hp at rear wheels. A car truck looses horse power from engine to rear wheels, automatic trans around 20% and manual around 15% hp. U buy a super charger and install on engine, it says 200 added hp, at rear wheels u may get 100 to 120 hp. Great show love them all. Questions NJ second ship of class, Mighty Mo last, why was NJ in best shape of the class when second oldest? Thank u. Chad Paddock Naples Florida thank u for saving the four grand sisters, all class each one. Should have two new BBG built. Reduce carriers by one gives u crew for two BBGs

[@sd906238]

A co-worker of mine was on the USS Nimitz during the 80"s. He told me they duct tapped a guy to the prop shaft. The shaft started rotating because the ship was getting away. The guys who did the duct tapping had looks on their faces like the kids from "A Christmas Story" when Flick got his tongue stuck to a frozen light pole. Then they all just took off leaving the guy tapped to the rotating prop shaft. Eventually the duct tape broke and the poor guy went flying.

[@woodywoodman2319]

Any chance of a tour of the Fuel and Water testing labs (Test Lab)?? Maybe show what tests are done, and how? As a retired BT who spent time as ships Oil King and also Water King... for both Boilers and potable water... I'm curious! Any idea where I could find the literature on the required test procedures, frequencies and Legal Log keeping?

[@tsm688]

I know nothing on battleships but am just curious. Were you already using DPD back then? It's funny that in 21st century we're still squinting at colors in test tubes daily because it beats the pants off most direct electronic sensors. A lot of jobs have remained the same

[@TheBenzKid]

Never thought I'd watch a grown man ride a 32 inch shaft, especially because I'm watching this on KZbin.

[@moefuggerr2970]

Got to see the ones on our aircraft carrier. The Dwight D Eisenhower. They are several times bigger than those.

[@aclevername9381]

All of these items (well, most of them) are things I see in my job as a yacht mechanic. Although tallow rope stuffing boxes are getting pretty rare these day. They really DO wear on the shafts.

[@billb5669]

Another good pitch but not 100% accurate. Lignum Vitaeis only used for bearings outboard of the hull (strut bearing and shaft bearing outboard of the shaft seal). All spring bearings are babbitt lined and have lube rings that run through an oil sump. The spring bearings are not force lubricated. The "machine" that is identified as a lube filter is a centrifugal lube oil filter that is used to remove dirt and moisture from the reduction gear lube oil. As a retired MMC I've inspected, relined and serviced my share of shipboard bearings and not much has changed with shaft or thrust bearings in the last 100 years.

[@johnjensen2217]

100% correct. Thank you for your comment. Saved me the effort…👍

[@SMOBY44]

The little ship I was on produced 70,000 shaft horsepower and had two shafts. I believe the screws were 12 feet in diameter. Our max listed turns was 305 to make 35 knots. It's a shame they don't let you use the jacking gear to turn those shafts over from time to time.

[@jameslong3351]

Why would you want to jack a shaft over that isn't going anywhere? The propose of jacking gear is to get the lube oil going through all the components before steaming at sea.

[@mastermnd22]

@@jameslong3351 to keep it lubricated and stop it from seizing up? It's almost like you're trying to be stupid

[@mathiashaland1719]

To make sure it wont bend out of shape

[@Kpoole35]

@@jameslong3351 prevents bending, corrosion etc.

[@nohandle62]

I like the hands-on demonstration. 😂

[@danmathers141]

Thank you for your videos!

[@tfa8]

8:06 "... and see if you can hang on for a full revolution without being thrown off, obviously there is a heck of a lot to hit if you get thrown off the shaft..." 😂

[@31dknight]

Another great video from the battleship. Keep it up

[@alucarder]

Great video

[@larryhutchens7593]

First an engine/ gear reduction story. USS Coral Sea, deployment to Yankee Station, 69-70. One of the main engine turbines shucked out a couple of blades (stater or turbine blades, I don't know) & they had to shut down that engine & lock the shaft so that the engine wouldn't totally destroy itself. We were flying combat ops at the time so the skipper decides to continue wit flight ops while dragging a stationary screw. Ship couldn't make more than about 24 kts and couldn't properly launch aircraft at that speed, needed about 30 to 32 kts. Had some scary incidents with A-7 Corsairs carrying bombs. At speed while dragging that dead screw the ship would shake violently. After a couple of days they got the coupling unbolted and we could make about 30 kts on 3 engines. I have a lot of the deck logs from that cruise and it is funny reading some of them during that time period. An aircraft carrier can only be captained by Naval aviators, you have to wear the wings to drive one of those things. Many of the comments when an officer stands the bridge watch mentioned something like this when first recording the log on his watch: Propeller engine (number such & such) still windmilling. It's under water so how can it windmill. I was in aviation and I even know that it is called a screw not a propeller. Thanks for the videos, they kept us real busy on the flight deck so I didn't have a lot of leisure time to visit below decks.

[@NotAGeologist154]

Great video as usual. However, you had a perfect opportunity with this one to slip a "giggity" in whenever you said shaft. lol

[@robertf3479]

Readers here may not be aware, though I'm relatively sure Ryan is ... but Iowa class ships even at the end of their service lives were capable of speeds in excess of most of their GAS TURBINE powered escorts. When we were exercising with USS Iowa after her recommissioning, our Spruance class (gas turbine powered) destroyer was easily capable of out accelerating Iowa, but when she was given the opportunity to build up speed Iowa began pulling away from us even though we were maxed out. Ryan is correct when he said it took New Jersey and her sisters "quite a while" to get up to top speed. A modern tincan or cruiser can hit her top speed in less than three minutes, maybe two estimated. Our Spruance was twin screw with 40,000 hp on each screw from two 20k hp gas turbine engines for a total of 80,000 shaft hp vs an Iowa with 212k hp. Caron was 7,800 tons vs Iowa at about 50,000 tons or 58,000 tons full load. I still can't tell you how fast we were going because Spruance type hulls and powerplants are still in service in Ticonderoga class cruisers, it is classified. Iowa had us by about 2 knots more or less. Only nuclear powered carriers are faster to my knowledge.

[@GilmerJohn]

Well, a large factor in the maximum speed of a hull is the LENGTH of the hull. When you get near that "hull limit" the amount of power it takes to make you go a bit faster ramps up quickly.

[@jamespollock2500]

The 2 1/2 twist of the shaft is when your underway full throttle. Aoe6 port shaft at full throttle twists 1 1/2,. We had a strip painted the length of the shaft and could see the change in mer 2 as speed increased decreased.

[@floydhenderson9441]

God I love this channel.

[@dave8599]

Your technical content is fascinating. Thank You!

[@RichardAutry-b1d]

When I was on the Midway and the Coral Sea, We called them shaft bearings. They had the lube oil contained within the bearing case, but there was no pump like on the New Jersey. Perhaps a pump was contained within the bearing case, I don't know, I've never seen inside of one.

[@johnmcnaught7453]

My experience on other naval ships lends me to believe there is babbitt in those spring bearings, not wood, thus the oiling system. The wood you describe is used on strut and tailshaft bearings exposed to seawater.

[@suma4m]

What a marvel of engineering!

[@juha3064]

Very good and interesting video. However I would think that intermediate bearings are with white metal linings instead of bockenholz or ebenholz wood. Altough this material is commonly used for seawater lubricated tail shaft bearings outside of ships hull.

[@Moredread25]

I never knew there was so much to know about shafts.

[@TAllyn-qr3io]

Does it make me a bad shipmate if I didn’t go to the snipe spaces as I should have? I was a twidget and was very busy in our spaces. Once I started my ESWS I started seeing the other spaces of the ship. I just remember that when underway, we would be wearing cold weather jackets for chow and they were sweating like it was 140° in their spaces. Lower sonar was nice and cozy and perfect for that nooner.