The Keys to the World's Fastest Battleship: Unlocking the Reduction Gears

In this episode we've found the keys to the battleship and we're opening up the reduction gears in one of the engine rooms for the first time in decades.
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[@thomaslandin8888]

E6 Submarine Nuclear Machinist Mate here (76-84). I had the pleasure of doing inspection of my subs reduction gears several times in my 8 yrs. On my subs, the CO and Engineer were required to be present. Very strict controls. Always glad when the covers were locked back down and tamper seal installed. Love your videos. Makes me feel young again.

[@johnnyliminal8032]

Any new guy ever ask you for a machinist’s punch?

[@AldoSchmedack]

Did they have keys too or were they just required to be present?

[@thomaslandin8888]

@@AldoSchmedack absolutely! Double padlocked and tamper sealed.

[@seeharvester]

@@johnnyliminal8032 Lol. There must be one of those jokes in every trade.

[@williamorton7600]

On subs. The Engineer keeps the keys in his safe. As one said, ENG or CO had to be the final person in the containment area for the closeout. Those locks were the same on Sturgeon...a good old design. BTW everything taped up that can fall in...including hinges on your glasses and a lanyard on the glasses.🤔 Great video.

[@cripplecreeksawmill]

Ryan, the Navy policy that you mentioned about the techs not having buttons etc around open-cases is ubiquitous now in industrial locations that have large reduction gear cases and turbines (for either power-gen or turbo-gas-compression). These are called FME (pronounced like "eff-mee) Foreign Material Exclusion zones, where assembly/maintenance techs are not allowed to wear buttons, watches, rings, eyeglasses, hair clips, etc. Even the footwear/foot-coverings are regulated. As a side note related to FME zones: many many techs dropped wrenches/watches/nuts/bolts into turbines in the 60s/70s/80s and (fearing they would be fired) didn't tell anyone, closed up the steam-chests/gear-cases and let the companies fire up machinery. The results were catastrophic. Companies wised-up, and most contracts now have stipulations that no workers in the FME zone will be punished if they come forward admitting to losing something in the equipment. It has had the effect that it is now relatively rare for turbines to be trashed by foreign objects on startup (keep in mind some of the extra large turbine rotors are 20+ million dollars EACH). Keep up the good work. -Andy

[@SeanBZA]

Except a recent one was a NPP, where there was deliberate sabotage by a disgruntled tech, and it is sadly common thing, where they deliberately do a poor job, as they then get to fix it again, and make money on overtime, and cannot be fired because they have political power, saying that particular company, not the best, most skilled, or cheapest, must do that job, because they pay the best bribes.

[@davidschick6951]

No safety glasses? Due respect, I question that rule. Former NPP employee.

[@JeepWranglerIslander]

What kind of maintenance would actually be necessary under-way to necessitate access to the gears? Like, what do gears like that need other than to make sure all the lube nozzles are in fact still lubing?

[@TBrady]

@Dan B probably a visual inspection that the lubrication nozzles are operating correctly. If I had to guess, there was a worry that FOD could clog a nozzle and prevent lubrication to certain areas. In a gearbox that large with teeth that fine, improper lubrication could cause serious damage in very short time.

[@perstaffanlundgren]

You can open man holes in big ship engines when they are going , not so Common and there would be detection of open hatches/ alarms. There has been cases of cervice personal injuries deaths due to engines starting when somone was inside the cranc housing . (Yes, you can crawl in to the crank house of the really big ship engines....) In the case of the reduction gear I would suspect that opening them during full speed operation would result in a nice oil shower thru the inspection hole? Mayby they started the oil pumps during stand still ,shecking that the nossels where spraying oil , closing up and starting? The total oil pressure would be monitored I guess.

[@dogloversrule8476]

It’s fun watching how much joy Ryan gets out of discovering things about the ship

[@tobyw9573]

Ryan is a priceless asset. Thanks, Brother!

[@alexh3974]

He just loves this ship, its like his giant, giant toy or playground, thats also history

[@Histoventurer]

And how much respect he has for the ship and the future curators. He's awesome

[@jmd1743]

I hope you get people who served in the engine room to do a Q&A while they're still alive. You can't do that with the USS Texas because they're all dead. A reunion like that would be a cool drinking party.

[@BattleshipNewJersey]

We've got a few hundred interviews with crew here Oral History: kzbin.info/aero/PLALOZV63REeuCwSXu59LxGeDFv80GzVdX

[@briangulley6027]

Sailors don't drink.

[@Mike.The.Jeweler]

@Brian Gulley do you live in imaginary land? Or do you not realize at one point in time sailors literally didn't drink something without alcohol in it?

[@josephhacker6508]

@@briangulley6027 bro

[@member57]

@@briangulley6027 😂

[@dalesql2969]

Main reduction gears are one of the long lead time items that get ordered first. Grinding the gears took a long time, and there were only a few companies that could make them, and make them to the absurdly high precision needed. From what I was told, the actual manufacture of each of the gears took weeks, and I see lots of different gears in that casing. then the nitpicky process of fitting them all together. Multiply that by the thousands of ships that were being built during WW2, and I can see that being a production bottleneck. Glad you found the keys.

[@Ganiscol]

@@scottmunczenski9754 "they" could make better gears, given drawings and specifications. Which is probably the biggest issue...

[@MarkLawrenceKiefer]

@Scott Munczenski The US Navy still uses reduction gears in ships. We have the ability to make new ones, they are expensive so we don't like to. And yes, we make reduction gears that are that big still today. We have aircraft carriers. Are we phasing out reduction gear? Sort of, we are shifting a lot of vessels to electric drive which means the main turbines which use to turn the reduction gear and the gear turns the shaft now will have bigger or more electrical generators (steam turbines in the case of something like the New Jersey) and then the electricity turns a giant motor that turns the shaft.

[@appleintosh]

@Scott Munczenski They could definitely be replaced. Lots of things these days use steam turbines, and most of them need reduction gears like this one.

[@wookychewbacca5184]

@Scott Munczenski New ones could be made but really really expensive as the tolerances are really tight and Ryan mentioned something as small as a gasket could wreak havoc on the gears meshing as they should

[@alexh3974]

@Scott Munczenski They could but gears this big, and rated to that much sheer power are rare. the only ship that could have gears his hefty would be a aircraft carrier

[@adamdubin1276]

The absolute relief in Ryan's voice when he sees that the keys are engraved... I can only imagine how frustrating making this video would have been otherwise.

[@NoewerrATall]

Would have been a lot longer. Not that one, not that one, not that one. . .

[@DocbritoFMF]

Ryan, the bars are there for the crew to tie off all tools via lanyard to when these covers are open. Because this is such a sensitive and vital part of the ships engine system procedures for accessing the reduction gears are followed in a step by step method and great care is taken to prevent debris and unwanted items from getting into the reduction gear housing. Even things like safety glass are lanyarded to the crew and secured with duct tape to prevent them from falling into the porthole. These gears are so expensive the Navy actually or at least used to lease them from there manufacturer Cincinnati Gearing or Philadelphia Gears. Years ago the USS Ranger was believed to have been intentionally sabotaged by a Fireman who dropped two bolts and a paint scraper into the reduction gear housing. The case was found open and the paint scraper was visible which made it believed the intention wasn't to cause serious damage but delayed the ship from leaving port so that a inspection could be preformed.. how ever the crew didn't follow strict procedure and did a partial inspection removed the scrapper and turned the shaft over the two unfound bolts caused 500,000 dollars worth of damaged and delayed the ship from leaving nearly three months. I'm no expert on this but from what I do know access to this space is so limited that to open it the lead engineering officer and staff enlisted officer usually a senior chief or higher would be present with the keys and only limited personal strictly involved with the process would be allowed into the space

[@jimdennis2451]

I was told my ship's reduction gears were leased too. I thought that might have been a 'no shitter', but from other comments, people believe it is true. My ship is now at the bottom of the Pacfic following a SINK-EX. I assume her gears were removed first. I wonder if they are reused.

[@brianc9642]

During a forever to be appreciated “sneak detour” while visiting the USS Salem CA-139, we got access to a boiler room and turbine/reduction gear space. I was impressed when our guide explained the safety/security measures taken with an open reduction gear. Underwear, no buttons, nothing in pockets, every tool, etc inventoried, lanyarding, all under supervision of a marine guard or two. After seeing those amazing gears inside and what must be extremely close tolerance, I now have an even better sense of why. Pretty amazing going through armor deck hatch opening & realizing the measures taken to protect vital areas. My biggest impression? The brilliance, ingenuity and manufacturing might that was mustered, calculated with slide rules!

[@DocbritoFMF]

@@jimdennis2451 ya they were most likely saved returned or used in another ship, if I remember right on one of the incidents in which the gears were damaged they took replacements from another ship of the class being built. It is kinda amazing though when you think of the money spent on building these ships that they don't purchase them out right, prehapes it has something to do with a warranty that keeps the manufacturer on the hook should there be any issues in the future, there will always be a expedited replacement set in inventory

[@JeepWranglerIslander]

So when he opened that port and just casually stuck his noggin and camera in there all the chiefs of engineering past and present around the world just felt a disturbance in the force. How bout we not leave that open to the public eh?

[@resurgam_b7]

First the fire control computer, now the engine power train, you've been showing of some stunning machinery clockwork and I am totally onboard for more of that 😊

[@howardr222]

Nuke on a Lafayette class Submarine in the 70’s and 80’s loved the video. Show the jacking gear next. I remember “ Maneuvering Con Rotate the shaft as necessary do not put way on the ship” “T ave is in the green band ready to answer bells on the Main engine”

[@randygreene5977]

When i was in the Navy I saw the inside of the reduction gears once when we were in dry dock. It never fails to amaze me how beautiful they are.

[@eddieb1323]

We recently had an engine room #2 guided tour with Jill, and she gave us some background on the locks, unknown location of the keys, and the armed marine in attendance anytime the reduction gear was opened. I have been looking forward to you making this video ever since!

[@bretsk2500]

Main Engine #4 is in Engine room 2... fun facts.

[@eddieb1323]

@@bretsk2500 Yes, I do remember that fact when you mention it. Thanks!

[@marclowe724]

They told me the same thing when I took the tour in June.

[@christianweagle6253]

Armed marine!

[@christianweagle6253]

Like a 'no lone zone' in missile silos.

[@shelleyking8450]

What an amazingly precise, finely-designed, HUGE set of gears! This is an engineering masterpiece to say the least. A Swiss watch capable of thousands of pounds of torque.

[@kevincrosby1760]

If memory serves, everything in those Reduction Gears are lapped in together as a matched set. You don't just order a gear and some bearings, you order a complete Main Reduction Gear assembly. It's actually not just a reduction gear. The propulsion turbines are two-stage, so you actually have TWO turbine shaft inputs being combined into one output, with all of the gear ratios figured out so that everything is rotating at its most efficient speed. Another amazing piece of engineering are the thrust bearings. As the propellers push against the water, that thrust is transferred to the propeller shaft. The thrust bearings are what transfer the thrust of the shaft to the actual hull of the ship to move it through the water.

[@DavidVerch]

we were doing some ops where speed had to be controlled very precisely. I was sitting under the reduction gears and you could hear the backlash in the gears as they opened and closed the throttles. Considering how many tons the bull gear is and to hear the slapping noises the gears made. Very robust indeed.

[@fredinit]

Add a zero to that... but, you're right - a very large piece of machined metal to extreme tolerances ... done with 1940s' technology. No 5-axis CNC lathe. A couple of guys, a crap-load of dial gauges & very large micrometers.. and a whole lot of patience.

[@davidburroughs2244]

The reduction gears on the destroyers, the Arliegh Burkes, were 7 million dollars each and they had two of them, designated port and starboard, for the screw they serviced. I agree, those are multi-million dollar "Swiss watches." And, if the old BBs were brought back into service, the main reduction gears are among many of the things it is best that they still will work, and work well, as there are no extra ones, to my knowledge, laying around in storage, any where.

[@SeanBZA]

@@fredinit Done entirely mechanically, with a gear cutter on a mill, and a dividing head to get the spacing, plus an extra input to the dividing head that rotated it according to the table displacement, though those gears most likely were hobbed by the same dividing head and linkage, just this was attached to a massive shaper, that gradually cut the gear tooth into the blank, then was advanced and reset height wise to cut the next one. then the rough blank was hardened, and the final 0.05in of shape was done with a large surface grinder, using the same rotary table and gear hobbing set, to get the finished hard toothed gears, but with a softer more tough steel core. Shaper might take 0.05in with every pass, but you have a lot of passes to cut that deep, plus all those teeth as well. Remember as well no carbide tooling, all made from HSS steel, and needing to be reground every 1000 strokes to keep cutting well, so likely next to each machine there was a trolley with newly sharpened tools, and another worker who spent the day walking a new one every 5 minutes to the tool shop to have them ground again to sharp.

[@johnknapp952]

After many years of dealing with too much vibration with one of it's reduction gears, the USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) in '93 decided to remove and either repair or replace (I don't remember which) the gear. They spent something like 6 months cutting big holes from the hanger deck to engineering which included removing or moving all the cables and pipes that were in the way. After all that I can't tell you if it was successful or not (not my department) but we did go back to sea and the Kitty Hawk later was homeported in Japan.

[@NoName-zn1sb]

its

[@Mike-zl4zs]

Just wanted to say those were some very pretty gears, someone (likely multiple people) must have taken great pride in manufacturing those

[@Imbeachedwhale]

Offhand I don’t have the turbine specifications for an Iowa, but I do have that for the Mogami and Tone class cruisers handy. The High and Intermediate Pressure turbines were rated for 2,613 RPM, the Low Pressure 2,291 RPM, and the Cruising Turbine 4,796 RPM. The reduction gears brought that down to 340 RPM. Cavitation is a minor problem compared to the material strength required to get the propeller and propeller shaft (hundreds of feet long) spinning that fast. The propeller would shatter at that RPM. I’ve recently been digging into some War Diaries on the National Archives and found an example of reduction gear problems. On her way back to Pearl Harbor from torpedo damage repairs on 12 June 1944 Intrepid suffered an unspecified casualty to the No. 2 reduction gears that required stopping the shaft. After arriving in Pearl she spent a week pierside undergoing repairs, but on 21 June she was drydocked, the No. 2 propeller removed, and the shaft locked. Whatever the damage was would have taken too long to repair, so the carrier was sent on a ferry mission to Eniwetok and back. She returned to the Navy Yard on 11 July and after pierside and drydock repairs went on full power trials on the 29th. The Intrepid website notes a lubricating system failure caused the reduction gears to overheat (the diary doesn’t specify), so it was back to the Navy Yard until 13 August for more repairs. The reduction gears essentially kept the carrier out of combat for another two months, making this the second longest time out of action for any damaged US carrier of the war. As of yet I’ve found no report tying this to the aerial torpedo hit in about this area during the Truk raid in February 1944, but there’s some circumstantial evidence that this started from minor shock damage that was magnified by the vibrations that steering by engines required and went unnoticed as the starboard shafts were run at low speeds after the damage (Intrepid kept turning to port).

[@thos.bennett567]

Note about these locks, these are Sargent and Greenleaf, shackles are hardened steel. The cylinders are medeco keys. Takes 30 minutes or more to pick. Takes a hardened cobalt drill to gut the cylinder. Magazines and the armory were under lock and key.

[@stephenhood2948]

This guy has the coolest job of all time!! I would be absolutely stoked to spend everyday checking out every operating system on that ship. PLEASE HIRE ME!!! I'll swab the decks or batten down the hatches or something, hoist the jib line, I don't even care.

[@seafodder6129]

There was a PMS check to clean out any accumulated debris from the L/O sump periodically. You had to use a flashlight 'cause well, it's pretty dark in there. The flashlight had to have a lanyard on it so if you dropped your flashlight (surprisingly easy to do in a lube oil sump) you wouldn't just drop it. As Ryan mentioned you had to count everything that went in (including the number of rags you took inside) and they all _had_ to be accounted for before it was buttoned back up.

[@stemforeal9987]

USN Nuke here... I was a nuclear mechanic/ELT and this was one of the many things we were in charge of. I was always fascinated by the intricacy and precision of our reduction gears. It's interesting that the gears and the box itself look extremely similar to modern day units. The double-helical design and the gearing layouts are extremely similar to what I worked on. Just as Ryan is saying, we kept them EXTREMELY secure and had to be EXTREMELY careful and methodical with any work done involving the reduction gears. Also, we had several additives that could/would be added to the lube-oil for the RG's such as a detergent additive or and anti-foaming additive and so on... One last interesting piece of info: when I was actively serving (20+ years ago) the way it was explained to us was that the RG's were so precise (laser-cut) and so outrageously expensive, that the USN couldn't actually afford to purchase them outright and had to lease them instead from General Electric or Westinghouse or DeLaval. Think about that. Think of the huge budgets the USN has to work with. Think of all the things they can afford to purchase outright and fully own. The RG's were so expensive the Navy had to lease them. That always blew my mind (and as a Nuke there aren't too many things that blow my mind). I can't vouch for the validity of that story, but I can say to a 100% certainty that that was the way it was explained to us back in the day. Reduction gears are super-rad, and are definitely one of the most expensive, crucially important, and underrated parts of any USN ship. Thanks for the great vids from Ryan and the team. Keep up the great work!

[@MrMopar413]

The navy has been leasing reduction gear box’s for who knows how long. Along with the lease contract the manufacturer generally preforms all required maintenance on them. One thing is for sure if the ship is lost the US Goverment has to pay for the marine gear. Another item the government leased is the ICBM missiles on our nuclear submarines are leased from Lockheed/Martin but the government owns the nuclear warheads. We only have to pay for the missiles if we use them.

[@stemforeal9987]

@@MrMopar413 Thanks for the info. I was in the fast attack pipeline and never served on a boomer (other than qualifying on the floto-types which have the missile sections cut out). I don't recall ever hearing that info about the ICBM's but it makes since. Thanks for your input! Cheers!

[@stephenhood2948]

Yeah, that is crazy, but someone in a comment above said the same thing, they are so expensive they are leased. Thank you for your service.

[@4GSR]

Those gear teeth are not laser cut! They are machined on specially built gear hobbers. Teeth are flame or induction harden then ground. Last, they lap the teeth to the mating gear for the ultmost precision accuracy specified by the government. They are matched sets when completed. Gear boxes are pre-assembled in a clean room before putting on the ship. Now days, they may use lasers for measurements and that's it.

[@DavidRas]

Am I the only one that was having a heart attack the entire time the port was open? Thanks for the memories, I can still smell the 2190TEP (Turbine Extreme Pressure, icyww)

[@mrkeiths48]

I recall that there was a compartment bill for each space which provided instructions to be carried out if the ship was about to be taken by the enemy. For our engine room, I believe dumping tools into the reduction gears would be in order. Great video on the importance of keeping this critical equipment secure.

[@AllAmericanGuyExpert]

A few pounds of sand and some metal shavings would be even better

[@PrezVeto]

​@@AllAmericanGuyExpert Don't forget a grenade

[@AllAmericanGuyExpert]

How about 100 gallons of salt water? I'm thinking of things that you could slip inside and won't be noticed until it's too late.

[@the_retag]

@@AllAmericanGuyExpert tools will be readily available in the engine room Sand maybe for fires. Shavings buckets maybe empty Salt water may take minutes to collect and do little damage to luvricated gears if flushed i time. Same with sand actually, it needs to be ground in to be effective

[@stradplayer90]

@@the_retag I agree completely with this. I do not think you guys had a bucket of shavings sitting there for fun.

[@PorqueNoLosDos]

My God those gears are beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing. Worth the wait. 😀

[@PortCharmers]

On HMS Belfast, there is at least one reduction gearbox open to admire. There were lots of copper pipes delivering oil to where the gears mash from a pump the size of a motorcycle engine. And my memory of RMS Queen Mary gets a little old, but I do remember seeing some inanely large gears there, too. Has such a gearbox ever been damaged because a padlock or a bunch of keys fell in it? Not very likely but I would appreciate the irony.

[@Vile-Flesh]

I can totally see some dipshit dropping the lock with the ring of keys attached into the gears and being hazed into oblivion for it.

[@ytlas3]

I remember each cover not only had a lock, but they had the fine wire seals to prove the cover hadn't been tampered with. I've never seen yardbirds stripped to their skivvies when they had a hatch open. I have seen the Marine Machinists (Shop 38 yardbirds) use nylon line to tie a tool or rag to their wrist.

[@Riyame]

A bit of info about those locks. They should have all been issued with 3 keys. 2 round bow (head) that operated the lock normally and allowed the key to turn clockwise and a square headed control key that could turn CCW and enabled the disassembly of the padlock. I show how that is done on an older with only 2 keys variant in this video if you are interested. v=DW1SVPIPQsk The 2 round keys would have been issued and the control key would have been kept somewhere safe, usually whoever was in control of issuing the locks. I managed to get a lot of 25 of that particular model years ago, with no keys. They are quite rare to find and it is nice to find out what they were actually used for. The thicker shackle models were considered the medium duty high security padlock of the mid 70s to mid/late 80s. You may also have the dual control NAPEC padlocks aboard on arms rooms etc. Now they use the S&G 951 padlock with a special hasp which is the latest model in production.

[@leland818]

S&G 826C Padlock with Medeco Classic core

[@Riyame]

@@leland818 Yes, one of the "thin shackle" versions that is stamped 826C but has the shackle from an 826A

[@SeanBZA]

Yes no need to cut the locks, just call your local locksmith to pick them, or invite The Lock Picking Lawyer to come and do a demo on just how fast they can be picked. The locks are there to keep honest people out, or prevent accidents, they would not be pickproof, just there to show the area is closed off. Ryan can easily order the pick set for those online, and do a few hours of practise, never needing to cut off a lock again on the ship, unless it has actually rusted into a ball of corrosion anyway.

[@Riyame]

@@SeanBZA These are 6 pin Medeco locks, not something you can learn to pick in a couple hours. It takes a lot of experience and sometimes customized picks to pick them.

[@AldoSchmedack]

@@SeanBZA takes a long time to learn, so no

[@DavidVerch]

On the submarine I was on for 4 years,. we opened them up once for inspection. Since they are so rarely opened we had all the guys in Machinery Department (M-Div) come and take a look. To do this you do an exclusion zone, you have to take averything out of your pockets, we took our shirts off so no chance of a button falling in. Taped up the zipper on our pants, and put tape on the screws to our glasses. There is a watch at the entrance to the exclusion zone who will log everything in and out. In any case it was my turn and the M-div Lead Petty Officer (LPO) opened the hatch. We did this with the lube oil system running and the main engines on the turning gear. I got a whiff of that oil and nearly threw up. I was wow that looks great see you later. The LPO wanted to show me stuff. I just wanted to high tail it out of their because of all the lore that went into the reduction gear I did not want to think of the consequences of throwing up in the reduction gear. There is a story that I believe it was the USS Memphis, they had a screw get loose during a refit and the damaged the gears. They fixed it by grinding a second groove in the helical gears and limited the bell it could answer.

[@samthemultimediaman]

Should use a thick polycarbonate cover over that, it wont crack or break like plexiglass does. it would be a nightmare picking plexie shards out of there...

[@christopherscott5652]

I worked in engine rooms just like this on USS JOHN F KENNEDY CV67 & USS INCHON LPH/MCS 12. Working on the reduction gears had the highest level of quality control there is in navy. If I remember correctly there should be 16oo gallons of lube oil in engine sump

[@jwm05281971]

My dad was a outside machinist at Norfolk naval shipyard 71-91. Whenever IOWA had work needed on it’s steam turbines, generators, or reduction gears, he’d be the lead from shop 38 on the job. He told me that on the steam turbines the clearance between the turbine blades and the packing around it was about the thickness of three sheets of paper. On the reduction gears the navy specified a tolerance of about half a sheet of paper thickness. The reduction gear lube pump that sprayed the lube oil on the gears circulated a few hundred gallons of oil and pumped like 100 gallons a minute. When the covers were open an armed marine guard was present to prevent sabotage.

[@Jammermanne]

This. This is truly amazing to rediscover.

[@nsconductor2007]

I had the privilege of being present for a DDGs reduction gear being opened when i served. The procedure for the ship i was on was that only the Chief Engineer (Cheng) had the keys, and either he opened it, or he was present for the opening. The gears are so immaculate and finely made. During inspections you have to remove jewelry, belts, watches, anytime that would pose a hazard. It was explained to me that they were so expensive the NAVY essentially rented them. That could have been just scuttlebutt.

[@pepperjack6421]

The MRG is the heart and soul of the ship, I’m actually impressed it’s still locked with the original medeco locks and that you found the keys. Career navy CT, also a navy locksmith so I find this video very interesting and would love to talk locked spaces anytime

[@douglasboyle6544]

Ryan's going to get a visit from a Marine contingent for opening that engine hatch. Seriously though I love your enthusiasm for finding new things and exploring bits of the ship, you're like a kid in a candy store.

[@dogpatch75]

Cavitation, prevented through the correct speed reduction afforded by the reduction gears along with correct propeller design, is actually not air bubbles on the propeller. Cavitation describes what occurs when the static pressure of the water flowing along the propeller blade's low pressure surface falls below the water's vapor pressure, instantly turning it from liquid to vapor. These water vapor "bubbles" are essentially vacuum pockets that rapidly form then violently collapse as the vapor changes back to liquid, causing shock waves that severely pound the propeller. Cavitation causes vibration and excessive wear on the propeller and shaft components, and if severe enough can eventually cause catastrophic failure. Cavitation can occur on any size propeller, from outboard motorboat to battleship.

[@aserta]

Good things come to those who wait, patience is a virtue. 7:12 the tubes are likely pressurized oil ports to lubricate the gears in use.

[@tastyechos1018]

This is correct

[@AldoSchmedack]

correct

[@paperburn]

I lost it when you said Righty tightly, lefty loosie I was touring the North Carolina and on one set of gears they had a window so you could see inside. total awesomeness. everyone in the group that had done any machining jus stood there and stared , gobsmacked.

[@BlackheartCharlie]

Good thing you found those keys, otherwise, you'd have to call the Lockpicking Lawyer! Great video - thanks!

[@alwaysbearded1]

I heard a story of a guy who was working on or near a camshaft for a large marine engine. He put a socket down on the gear. He forgot to remove it. The gear was damaged and basically skipped a tooth causing the valves to crash into the pistons. A very expensive mistake! I'm glad they took so much care with these gearboxes.

[@markstice8599]

I remember back in the late 80s or early 90s a sailor who did not want to deploy, opened one set of reduction gears on one of the San Diego based carriers 9at the time Ranger KH, or Connie) and threw in nuts and bolts. Destroyed the gears. The reduction gears are toward the very bottom of the ship and needed to be replaced. Cutting from the top, the yard cut through all the intervening decks from the hanger deck down, removed each level before pulling out the housing and replacing it with a spare. Not something found on the shelf at the local parts depot. It was an amazing job. Left me in awe of the knowledge and skills of the contractors involved. It was soon after that that that the gear housing were locked.

[@nomar5spaulding]

When I was going to Maine Maritime Academy they told us that the reduction gear in the TS State of Maine (formerly USNS Tanner) would be so costly to replace that if it was damaged to that degree, MARAD was more likely to convert a new training ship to replace the old one rather than having new reduction gears custom made, dry docking the ship, cutting open the hull and pulling all the associated gear out to install the new ones.

[@DavidVerch]

They gears are sort of like herringbone gears but are actually double helical this is the strongest type of gear and the smoothest because so many teeth are engaged at once. The groove between the angles are a relief path for the oil so the gears can go in reverse as well. If they were true herringbone gears the oil would get caught at the point of the herringbone and cause the gears to hydraulically lock.

[@charleshettrick2408]

Also aids manufacturing and precision lapping.

[@4GSR]

Those are herringbone gears. They, as you said, put the space between the gears to prevent oil hydraulic lock. But you also have to remember, all gears are made with relief at the bottom or root of the teeth, which allow exit of oil and such.

[@skyb2149]

Best episode in a while and that's hard to say.... Thanks for everything you do Ryan 🇺🇸

[@lesliemacmillan9932]

Outstanding! Like opening King Tut's tomb when those beautiful reduction gears came into view. I almost cried.

[@ut000bs]

Well, I have to say as an airedale I had no idea what battleship reduction gears looked like. I bet Dad did. He was a destroyer machinist mate for 17 of 20 years, 1937-1957. A lot of people will not realize just how epic this is. That is how epic it is. lol

[@sanjukr3315]

I have always wondered what these bars were.....the smile says it all😄

[@BillSimms-t4g]

Spent 11 months of my 23 year Navy career on a DER (Destroyer Escort, Radar Picket), unceremoniously known as Diesel Engine Riverboat. The big destroyers had steam boilers that had to be manually lit; we had four diesel engines for propulsion (big diesels). We were prepping for getting underway, and it was time to start the diesels and warm them up. All the seasoned Snipes(engineers) told the new guy - first time on ANY ship - to go to the bridge and ask the Captain "for the keys to the engines". He trudges up to the bridge, which was a total "organized chaos" getting ready to get underway and salutes the Captain and requests the keys to the engines. The Captain was NOT amused ! BTW - the diesels were started with high pressure (3000 psi) air. To go in reverse, they were stopped and started in reverse. One did not do too many reversals of the engines or would find oneself out of air and have to wait for it to build. Not good when maneuvering in port !

[@patrickhenry4675]

I commented on the reduction gearbox keys as a possible next key video on your nuclear permission key video only a couple of days ago. This is great service!

[@gasengineguy]

Holy shit, what beautiful gearing, especially considering the use they have on them. Thanks so much for showing inside, I've always wanted to see what gearing they had in there to handle 50,000 plus HP

[@keresztesbotond740]

These gears are a literal work of art

[@christianweagle6253]

I wish that you could hear me clapping once you showed the view through the first inspection port. I could hear the pride in your voice. Nice work!

[@travisruble6873]

Them the same locks we used for our arms rooms in the army, and as soon as Ryan opened it up I saw why!

[@randybentley2633]

Looks absolutely pristine inside.

[@williamlloyd3769]

Reduction gears are a work of art!

[@36736fps]

The lube oil system for these gears is incredibly clean. I had the (mis) fortune of monitoring the initial cleaning of a new lube oil system on a couple of electrical power plants on land. The whole process took about 200 hours with samples taken of the lube oil every hour to determine when it was finally cleaned of all debris and residue left behind from fabrication and installation. The gears are beautifully polished as they run. I am not sure what the sailor with the file is doing to the gear but he should not be anywhere close to it with a file. A fine stone maybe but not a file.

[@davidburroughs2244]

Nearly commented, glad I didn't rush, great explanation of the hundreds of keys to many of the various components in the numerous engineering compartments. Those for the Red Gears are for the little armored doors that allow protecion, inspect and servicing of the part of the reduction gear below each. The process for getting to those involve people, with permission of the ChEng, to go at them, with the preparations you mentioned, and more, before and while doing that work.

[@phillipbouchard4197]

Thank you to all video staff of New Jersey for this video. I have always wanted to see what the double reduction gearing looked like on the Iowa's. It should be noted that to my knowledge the U.S. Navy was the only Navy in W.W. # 2 to utilize this type of gear reduction system on their ships , all other Navies using single reduction gearing which was not as fuel efficient. This double reduction gearing contributed to the superior range of our ships.

[@4GSR]

Those Sargent & Greenfield locks used on those covers bring big money on some of the auction sites out there. Please don't cut them off!!! There are professional locksmiths out there that can pick those locks if the need ever arises. Thanks for sharing!

[@paulreuter7763]

as a Navy ChEng/LDO I find this interesitng . You did a good job in telling the story

[@yellowmonkee0]

Keep going Ryan. Unlock all of those and fire her up!

[@rudyjavurek2817]

Started my career at Nooter Boiler in 1988 before they moved overseas . Was hired on last two of five gear reduction boxes being fabricated. Large assemblies possibly 25 tons each. Our machine shop did rough machining, not finial machining on assemblies Never knew where they ended up.

[@zonavarbondagoo4074]

That's awesome you found the proper sets of keys!

[@davidlmorgan9450]

When we where in at Hunters Point ship yard the Ranger came in after someone tipped a tool box into one of the main reduction gearbox . But in about 10 days it had been replaced .

[@bobdexter1029]

Herringbone gear set. They run quiet and no axial thrusting to worry about. The protocol you are referring to for servicing is called FME (Foreign Material Exclusion).

[@sanjukr3315]

My brother...i understand the tolerances issue...but lets not forget those gears being hand filed...it is quite astonishing achievement

[@imark7777777]

So just as well organized as I thought they would be.

[@Williestyle-RobotechxMacross-x]

I knew there would be something like this when Ryan said in the last video they had found something like 20 pounds of keys, but wow! To actually have nearly *all of the engineering department keys* is amazing. ( you should see the recent video where Ryan shows the "nuke" keys, as well ) I do not remember where or when Ryan mentions the top speed achieved by Battleship New Jersey, so I have got some searching to do ( or he could have just said what that "fastest" speed was on here,lol ). Thanks for such an in depth look at some of the engineering keys and reduction gears Ryan, and kudos to the new engineering maintenance crew for finding all these keys!

[@Williestyle-RobotechxMacross-x]

Also, we should check with the other Battleship Museums to see if they have Keys like Ryan and team have recently found...

[@chemputer]

If you have a lock you can't find a key for, please don't cut it off. They can be picked! I'm sure there are many people in the locksport community that would be happy to help! I'm pretty sure if you offered Deviant Ollam a private Curator's tour that just happened to go by locks that you casually mentioned you don't have keys for he'd pick them on the spot just out of curiosity. (Or just politely ask him for help, dude is extremely nice and generous and if he can't help he will know someone who can.)

[@62Cristoforo]

Deviant Ollam, or The Lockpicking Lawyer could do the job.

[@KingdaToro]

"This is the Lock Picking Lawyer, and today we have an Iowa-class battleship..."

[@CommandProMC]

@@KingdaToro That would be a cool collaboration: Lock Picking Layer and Battleship New Jersey

[@CalifgalCindy1]

It’s kinda cool that after all the years the keys were found on the ship and still work.

[@cabalcore2555]

This channel is so fricken cool. I hope I get to see Jersey in person some time.

[@johnfetchko2468]

Ryan, I truly appreciate your and everyone else involved’s work, in preserving the Battleship, as well as the online presence. I’d rather you keep it locked up, but take some good pictures. Display them on a podium to match the gross camera angle. Let’s talk about me making a wooden podium to donate? How much of that handrail was added to the space through the years?

[@arkansasboy45]

No doubt about it. You have one of the coolest jobs ever.

[@Chris-ji4iu]

Those reduction gears are beautiful!

[@chrispistel5221]

You should discuss why the gears are set up in that fashion. Herringbone matters. Well thought out. Brilliant designs. Pretty impressive machining in the pre-CNC days.

[@fredinit]

Double-herringbone - left and right. Keeps the axial thrust to zero. Both, the hardest to machine (left and right gear geometries) and get settled into the bearing blocks. Also, you have four degrees of freedom to account for - pitch, yaw, distance between centers, forward/aft along the axis. Now, multiply that times the number of gears in the set - two turbines, each with two output shafts (high & low RPM), the shaft, and you're at 12 separate adjustments each within a couple of thou. Very impressive, indeed.

[@SeanBZA]

@@fredinit Plus the US was probably paying royalties for the design to Citroen, the original developer of the zero side thrust helical gear, as those patents were likely still in force when that gear was designed.

[@jpilot64]

At the 12:00 point. Comparing a Honda oil capacity to the lube oil storage tank would be mostly incorrect. The better example would be to compare the 5 gallon bucket of oil in your garage to the lube oil storage tank. Much like your car, the Main Engines & Reduction Gears share an oil sump. Oil would only be transferred from the LO Storage Tank if it was needed to makeup some volume in another system (like the Main Engine/Reduction Gear Sump. With that….i think it would be cool and interesting to go below and show us the sump. I’m a submarine engineering sailor by history, but I’m assuming everything is very similar. Same reduction gear covers and oiling setup. As always, great job! Love the Engine Room tours

[@geofftitto]

Gorgeous engineering. I'm ex general, ex Nuclear and ex Oil and gas. Ex Nuclear was Submarines so I can appreciate the engineering and skill.

[@jimcat68]

I must admit that when I saw the title of the video, my first thought was the initial thing that you mentioned: a key that just "starts up the battleship". Pretty cool to see those precision gears, though, and to remember that they were made with 1940's technology!

[@Rob-fx2dw]

Those Gears - Wow !! Good one Ryan and crew.

[@peterkwolek2265]

Reminds me of when on of our senior facility staff was caught stealing from the “family event fund” which a lot of staff paid money into so it was an unpleasant termination. Fast Forward a week or two and we needed to get into stuff he always unlocked. (in my case it was a trophy case and I needed to fix a tall one that fell and domino-ed a few small trophies with it. Got about 400 keys visually ruled out and 25-50 tested cause they looked close.) In the end i looked silly cause it turns out our “cold-war era” cases can be opened w/o key.I also discovered that not a single key since the cold war has been properly marked/discarded when replaced.

[@dannyl2598]

Someone may have already mentioned this, but those keys look like Medico keys which have angled teeth that not only lift the cylinder pins to the right height but also rotates the pins so another set can engage properly. That is some very high level security. Those locks are not easily picked and those keys are not easily duplicated.

[@62Cristoforo]

Yes, they look like MEDECO keys to me

[@DavidRas]

@@62Cristoforo The locks are probably made by contract specifically for the military. Imagine the lock for the reactor compartment door :)

[@binaryguru]

High speed gears are still hand scraped to this very day. Hand scraping is the most precise way to make parts fit perfecly. A job no robot can ever do surprisingly.

[@allenkatz5652]

Ryan- Back in 1998 I was chatting my Dad’s boss about calculus and I showed him the TI-86 I was using for the course. He told me that in 1944 he was the navigator on a ship (I wish I had asked him which one- unfortunately he died in 2018) and he had to get the ship across the ocean to Normandy by D-Day. He told me that trigonometry textbooks at time had the sine, cosine and tangent values accurate to three decimal spots. The US Navy had invested millions over the course of a few years to have the values calculated out to six decimal spots- but this was a top military secret. He said that he had the combination to the ship’s vault and could only take out the tables at night when he would used them (along with the stars) to chart their direction. Once done he has to lock them up again. He chuckled at the thought that for $120, the price of a TI-86 back then, I could create tables that were 1,000,000 more accurate than what they Navy had (and much faster). (He did get them to Normandy on time.)

[@Bladexruless]

definitely keep if covered till a proper plexiglass cover can be made...gotta keep that one in a million chance she sails again

[@DavidSmith-cx8dg]

Very high security needed if a gearbox is opened . The consequences of damage or failure could be catastrophic . A fascinating video of one of the most important components of any ship .

[@BlitzPig23]

My neighbor when I was growing up served aboard USS Alabama in WW2. He worked in Engine Company C as a petty officer. He said that when the reduction gear cases were opened, all normal personnel were ordered out of the compartment, and only officers, with side arms were allowed in.

[@robertf3479]

Ryan, I cannot think of anything more critical to the ship's function than the reduction gears, there is redundancy for nearly everything else. A sister ship of ours suffered the kind of sabotage that you mentioned, she was preparing to sail for an exercise with 2nd Fleet to be followed very shortly afterward by a scheduled deployment to the 6th Fleet. A sailor literally "threw a wrench into the works," one of her main reduction gears and NO ONE NOTICED until that engine was spun up and the reduction gear thoroughly trashed. Our sister was sent to Norfolk Naval Shipyard to have her side opened in a drydock and the reduction gear replaced with one brought in from Litton at Pascagoula, I think one that was supposed to be installed in one of the Ticonderoga cruisers (Spru-cans from the main deck down, same main machinery.) We sailed in her place for the exercise on one day notice and another squadron mate took her place for the Med cruise on two weeks notice.

[@leong108]

USS Comte de Grasse in 1994.

[@flabiger]

NJP for said sailor?

[@31dknight]

Another great video from the battleship. Thanks

[@pdmacguire]

New brooms sweep clean.

[@davidnadeau6441]

I put the USS Donner LSD 20 out of commission as a MM3 in 1970. One duty was to fill the reduction gears with about 200 gallons of cosmoline for rust protection. Nobody cared that we had the gears open. She was built in 45 I think and finally scrapped in about 2005 with shiny gears.

[@bobuncle8704]

I’ve done some work with much much smaller gears, and I’d have to say that those are simply stunning. Can’t even begin to imagine the number of hours it’d take to make those and then have them mate up. Mind boggling

[@davepotanko5514]

Yes, skivvies to clean and inspect L.O. sump. When opening the top access points , CHENG and XO/CO, master at arms if left open, normally does not happen as doors can be buttoned up rather easily. When working on them you had to have all your seams and cuffs taped closed to prevent buttons from falling off. Normally just T-shirt and pants with no belt or coveralls. No hats, watches rings, and such allowed in the space when engine was opened. Also anytime we went in a tank or header all tools inventoried I was also under the impression that the gears were all measured by one person start to finish to eliminate variables in measurements.

[@nndorconnetnz]

That is so awesome to see a museum hold equipment in near to full working order with the likes of a battleship in case of a call to arms. Hats off to Ryan, that is no small order to do on any measure!

[@richardcurtis556]

THANK YOU FOR THAT peek into the reduction gearbox. The double herringbone gears are the epitome of the gearmakers art. I have seen them before in other applications but without the fine pitch on those gear sets. That type of gear can transmit very heavy torque loads and be quiet while doing so.

[@scottyfromthe80s]

There’s just something satisfying about looking at finely machined steel

[@Jim-dr2ec]

If you have any locks you can't open an alternative to destruction might be a team up with the lock picking lawyers channel. He's an incredible guy with phenomenal skills at non destructive lock opening.

[@garywayne6083]

So glad you found those keys! I know that was a huge thrill for you judging by what you said on a tour.

[@mbterabytesjc2036]

In the 1970s I visited a plant in Sunnyvale CA that had the machinery to cut the teeth to an approximately 12 foot diameter navy ship reduction gear. Each tooth as only about 3/4" across and deep with a curve to allow smooth quiet gear engagement. The machine setup took into account the vibration from a nearby road. Unfortunately the first gear that was cut on the machine was off by about 1/2 of a gear tooth diameter when the machine got all the way around the gear. Talk about an expensive goof. 😒😜

[@hirisk761]

Ryan now has the keys to the kingdom! he is unstoppable!

[@z185284]

Beautiful. I hope you place some acrylic over the opening to keep them so nicely preserved and dust free.

[@TairnKA]

Thank-you for sharing this detail and any others. ;-)

[@riffraffselbow]

if you've got any more locks you want open and are considering cutting, you should reach out to one of the several excellent lockpicking youtube channels (Lockping Lawyer and Deviant Ollam come to mind though there are others) about a collab video, which I suspect any of them would be happy to do, and make great content/promotion for the museum.

[@benjaminshropshire2900]

Give what those keys looks like (diagonal cut key bitting) I don't think even LPL will jiggle them open on the first try (and if he did it would certainly be a fluke).

[@DavidVerch]

@@benjaminshropshire2900 I don't know he makes 2 minute challenge videos and talks for over half and still gets them open before the end.

[@benjaminshropshire2900]

@@DavidVerch he might be able to *pick* them in a minute or less. Joggers? Nope.

[@michellelehky2374]

@@benjaminshropshire2900 Pretty sure he's got more than a few videos picking Medeco locks

[@Simon-ho6ly]

@@benjaminshropshire2900 not jiggle but there other pretty quick methods we could use to open them

[@iaincaveney7162]

The reduction box is double reduction to get from 5 or 6K rpm to about 200 rpm at the propeller, the input off the turbine is divided into two shafts called quilt shafts , and the turbine gear is smaller than the gears on the meshing quilt shaft gears togive the first stage reduction, then the other end of the quilt shafts meshes with the thrust block / propeller gear and that is the second reduction which is a greater ratio than the first as seen in the photo of the bull wheel gear wich is in the thrust block Padlocks also on the turbine side steam space of the main condensers

[@brucereynolds7009]

I think that the word you want to use is "quill".

[@iaincaveney7162]

I spelt quill with one "l" and the phone changed them to quilt

[@paulfollo8172]

The reduction gearbox is absolutely amazing! 👍