Climbing 7 Levels of the Battleship's Conning Tower

In this episode we're climbing through 7 levels of the ship from inside of the armored citadel to the 05 level in the superstructure.
To support Battleship New Jersey, go to: www.battleship...
Some Supplemental Videos:
Our Visit to USS Charleston: • Fitting Out a Museum S...
The Ship's Library: • Ship's Library
40mm Clipping Room: • 40mm Clipping Room
Crawling Through the 16in gun Barrel: • Climbing through a Bat...

[@Odin029]

"now we're going to try to climb out of this armored tube like it was an emergency"... Oh bugger the conning tower's on fire

[@Willstangv6]

That reference, I get it

[@MoparNewport]

Getting the Chieftain on this ship, and channel, would be bloody awesome.

[@chopper7352]

The Chieftain would be proud.

[@willythemailboy2]

I'm sure there's some sort of track that needs tensioning on that behemoth.

[@chopper7352]

@@willythemailboy2You're right... I'd like to see "The Chieftain" try & tension the anchor chain 😄

[@ClarkPerks]

I’m always amazed at the new and innovative ways the staff tries to kill Ryan during these videos.

[@BattleshipNewJersey]

Don't try to blame us, you know Ryan begs to do it!

[@ClarkPerks]

@@BattleshipNewJersey just like the way toddlers want to play with matches!

[@BattleshipNewJersey]

I'll make sure to tell him that you compared him to a toddler.

[@DylanAmalfitano]

@@BattleshipNewJersey I mean... I have a weakness for the Iowa class. I'd gladly beg and contort myself into these spaces if given the chance. Ryan, if you can think of a space and want to do a "regular guy" video, I'll be there in a few weeks with my Dad and my best friend to laugh at me getting stuck! it'll be hilarious! On a serious note, I absolutely love these videos and how they document this living piece of history.

[@crazyguy32100]

Standard naval units of measurement: Speed-Knots, Depth-Fathoms, Diameter-Curators

[@daveh9083]

recently changed from calibers...

[@slinaho]

@@daveh9083 Nah calibers is their measure of length.

[@chopper7352]

Ryans safety warning...."that's a Big Pit of Death" ...🤸‍♂️ 😄...🤣

[@loosh5101]

Not far from the "bad ladder."

[@brolohalflemming7042]

Aptly named. Risers/trunks like that can have a habit of killing the unwary. A building I worked in needed more space for cabling. So they decided to knock the floors out of a column of toilets to create new risers. Sadly, someone didn't get the memo, a door was left unlocked, and someone fell about 12 floors. Found a short while later because she'd tried grabbing onto some cables, ripped some out and set off some alarms. Also seems like battleships share something in common with office buildings. No matter how you might think you've got enough space for cabling.. you don't. Oh, and cable management isn't a Navy tradition? :p

[@Eserchie]

around the 5 minute mark "see the huge honking bolts..." me - those look kinda large, but not that big... "..those hold the 16" thick trunk to the 6" thick deck" me - readjusts viewpoint and realizes the bolts are the truly gigantic hexagonal things my eyes had until then dismissed as part of the physical structure of the deck.

[@FrancSchiphorst]

LOL i was also looking at the human sized bolts in the hatch...... huge????? OOOOHHHHHH those giant sized ones........ yeah, they are huge! :)

[@fko1]

Think of the size of the wrench needed to tighten them

[@robertthomas5906]

@@fko1 The big guy that tightened them.

[@SportyMabamba]

@@robertthomas5906 better give Big Jim a call when you need to adjust them

[@brettcoles6462]

"The designers of the Star Wars Universe must have tried their hand at Iowa Class Battleships." That made me laugh. I'm glad I'm not the only one who has noticed Star Wars's fascination with bottomless pits without safety railing.

[@ZGryphon]

To be fair, if there's any organization in all of fiction where it's perfectly in character to have zero safety culture, it's the Empire.

[@Budley]

In 1986 I had to trace a short in the radar signal cable from Aft Main (Battery) to Spot 3. Eventually, I ended up climbing that trunk from Broadway to the 04 level. I want to say that I was in there maybe 2 hours checking cable integrity, but it felt like a week. My arms and legs were throbbing when I finally climbed out. At 160lbs with 28" waist, I did manage to circumvent the issue you had at the Broadway hatch, but it was still harrowing. I can't imagine doing that for fun, (or, in your case, for demonstration). Hats of to you Ryan! Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

[@mikekrolski2578]

A valiant effort! Remember that the average 18 year old in 1943 was a whole lot smaller than you are.

[@gonnagetya1433]

I couldn't get more than my feet to the knees through that top hatch. You did an amazing job getting as far as you did. I have a feeling that space was made for a skinny 18 yo, not so much for the old man.

[@steventoby3768]

This is a superb video, probably the best yet of the series! In my sea trial on the Iowa in 1985, I had lots of time on the 03 Lvl sitting in the Admiral's chair facing the armored tube, against which was braced an electronics rack that contained the trials computer that I had to start and stop taking data after the troops on the 04 level told me the RPM's and other inputs were steady. I was not aware there were powered mechanisms to open the armored door into the conning tower. On Iowa there is a wheel that you spin to open and close the door, on both levels. Now beginning to wonder if the wheel was just a control to start the hydraulic machine shown in this video. The wheel was on the inside, naturally. If the men stationed inside had it closed there wasn't a way to open it from the outside. The beveled door with the huge tenons that engage matching holes in the tube looked the same as in the video. I looked down the tube but decided it was too cramped for me to use except in an emergency. I was 28.

[@user-wl7pj7xt4v]

That makes my PC’s cable management look pretty

[@neil5568]

This is very interesting. In Ludovic Kennedy's book "Pursuit" he describes several men (Josef Statz being one who was rescued) escaping from the depths of Bismarck in its final battle by climbing the armored communications trunk up to the main conning tower.

[@BornToPun7541]

"No wonder the water won't work! These pipes are all clogged up with wires!!" - Curly Howard

[@robertthomas5906]

Moe might make it up that pipe.

[@s.marcus3669]

One of the classic Three Stooges shorts of all time!!

[@mokdumoknonsharrall1868]

YAY! This answers one of the questions I've had: How to get down from the top of the conning tower into the armored citadel in the event of heavy combat damage to the super structure! THANK YOU! Glad Ryan didn't get stuck.

[@Mystic-Midnight]

I love how at the start the Exit Sign by the hatch is mounted right and when Ryan climbs down it is knocked off its mount

[@jtaylor12711]

Amazed by all the big pits of death I've seen in these videos. Who knew there were so many ways to fall to your death "inside" the ship lol. I've been thru the NC several times but don't remember any on it...granted it's been several years. Love the videos keep up the good work!

[@belind0388]

I really appreciate Ryan's encyclopedic knowledge of all things naval history. It reminds me alot of myself, but I lack an interested audience to listen to me lecture haha. Keep up the content BB-62 because as a naval history nerd, I'm loving it!

[@iamnadexey]

As one of the compartment counters, this trunk in particular gave me fits. Glad to see you guys giving it some attention though!

[@RW4X4X3006]

You have to work up in there?

[@jbsmith966]

I sometimes wonder how many former Iowa class BB crewmen are seeing some of the spaces/rooms you show in these videos for the 1st time.

[@aa2339]

They should be capturing the oral histories of those vets as well before they’re all gone. Or even bring some of them back on board and have them do their reminiscing as well.

[@longrider188]

Ryan was in a very witty mood for this one!

[@WayneHarris]

I'd love to know Ryan's top five questions he would have for his counterparts on BB-61, BB-63 and BB-64.

[@robertthomas5906]

I know what would just about kill all of us. Top question - Which side is port and starboard on your ship. Fits in with that old captain joke. Cap would look in a safe every morning. Years later they found out what he was looking at - Port left, Starboard right.

[@steeltrap3800]

I expect as I'm slightly larger than you, Ryan, and probably closer than I'd like to 2 decades older, I don't like my chances. Mind you, I used to climb 2 storeys up a laundry chute smaller than that tube when I was young (don't ask) so it's not due to lack of willingness, LOL. You and your colleagues do make some excellent and very interesting videos. As impressive as battleships are from the outside, I think it's when you get some ideas of the astounding complexity on the insides that you can appreciate just what remarkable vessels they were for their times.

[@lornezanis4930]

Ryan, I love these videos and all the work the whole crew does to keep the ship and the channel up to date! I stayed overnight on the New Jersey years ago when I was in the third grade and just recently discovered this cannel as I'm working my way through college. Hopefully when the virus is through I'll have a chance to come visit the ship again! You all are doing an incredible job!

[@SealofPerfection]

So now I want to know what the "graphic" picture was.

[@wdcjunk]

I too want to know what this graphic sailor art is.

[@jeffandjoannbauer9567]

@@wdcjunk Probably Wagner...

[@ghost307]

18:20 - That's the largest universal joint that I've ever seen.

[@williamm374]

Watching this, for a 20 year old sailor, yeah... at 53, no way could I make it through this. Great video!

[@haljames624]

Thank you.

[@howitzer8946]

I know I could not do what you just did, but thank you for your hard efforts . What a great video

[@PhantomP63]

I was a little surprised to see tile in the Iowas. After Pearl Harbor, ships were "stripped for action" by removing flammables and decorative trim. It makes sense to hear it was added after Vietnam.

[@ConardCarroll]

"Look at these bolts!" I wonder if there's a better(?) name for bolts that size. Fastening two pieces together has been an evolving science for....a very long time, and a battleship is a great example of many of the different ways to do so. I just can't imagine ever removing that bolt, long story short. I love this content, still probably have just another 1500 videos to go but learned to comment just because Ryan et al deserve it. Keep it up team!

[@MoparNewport]

I absolutely love these nitty-gritty videos! Being able to get a close look at the deepest innards is fascinating to me. Huge respect to Ryan and crew to pull these vids off! Side note, If I may pass along to Ryan, regarding, of all things, tearing of pants - I would suggest looking up Duluth Trading Company, in the US, they are a clothing retailer and one of thier lines are the, and I quote, "Fire Hose Relaxed Fit" in cargo and other styles. These are fantastic pants as they stretch, flex, and take a dramatic amount of abuse to tear. I actually order these and have them shipped to the Yukon territory here in northern Canada, as being a mechanic I destroy clothing. Believe it or not, it was Paul Harrell that I learned of these from. Yes, I know, completely random segue. Anyway, keep up the excellent work!

[@RW4X4X3006]

Real sailors wear leather chaps for a reason.

[@captiannemo1587]

I think the bigger catch with that access plate at the bottom is big F-No, Hell-No somebody did when they last had to access it. Look at how few bolts are in it. Compared to how many could have been in it. I am betting that at somebody people just fished new wires up the trunk with the understanding that nobody would ever be able to get inside it again.

[@eugenecbell]

Your videos are fantastic. You go all the places, I would want to go if I were not 6'4", 300 pounds, and 60 years old. thank you for sharing and keep up the great work.

[@carolynwertelecki698]

What a beautiful ship.

[@davidatkinson47]

I happened to be in center city Philly yesterday for family business and had the chance to get to the waterfront. Our old girl (Across the river at the time) is so beautiful. If you don't get the chance, make the chance. Go and see her or one of her sisters.

[@ryanschweikhardt]

Don't fall in the pit. You saw what happened to the emperor 😂

[@stab74]

He comes back in a later movie? 🤔

[@thayerthacker6858]

Now I know why Ryan’s sweatshirt is always grubby😆. You’ve got the best job on the planet!

[@IamJunius]

Top level of the conning tower on US Battleships was designed to be the battle station for the ship's gunnery officer. He could designate targets and coordinate with all gun control stations

[@camickelson]

I'm Glad you got back up to the top

[@o-h7567]

Thankfully I never had to do that in rehab...impressive video.

[@steffennilsen2132]

It's mind boggling to imagine 2500 men running around in this steel behemoth under duress

[@richardpehtown2412]

11:46 Aboard a "busy" ship, often an outfit has to settle for whatever spaces are available. On my 1971-1972 Westpac cruse on the USS Constellation, our A-7E Corsair II squadron's Avionics, Electrical, and Supply shops (about 20 guys per shift) were crammed into a compartment of around 16' x 20''. Located on the outer port 02 deck, amidst major catapult plumbing, it was stifling hot and rather crowded. Especially during a GQ. The space's door nomenclature label was "Parachute Drying Room". CVA-64 was a "busy" ship that cruise, with about 6,100 crew aboard.

[@richardmerrill4036]

You gave me stomach cramps just watching. The jaws of life is not going to cut you out!

[@michaelimbesi2314]

The last time I was this early, New Jersey was still stuck in the mud after her launch. XD

[@WayneHarris]

that's a while back... :)

[@shelleyking8450]

Many occurrences of "pits of death" on a battleship. Much more deadly than any Star Wars vessel, for sure.

[@stab74]

You would think they would just turn off the artificial gravity at the bottom of those pits, but what do I know. 🤣

[@fko1]

People were smaller back in the 30s and 40s. Most of the crew was probably around 5’6 to 5’8 and 140 to 170 pounds

[@bluemarlin8138]

Maybe a little bigger than that height-wise, but the average height and weight was slightly smaller than today. Lots of kids grew up during the Depression without enough food and doing a lot of manual labor, which isn’t the best recipe for reaching your full growth potential. Plus a lot of kids aren’t filled out by age 18 anyway. My grandfather served on USS Washington and was 6’0” but only about 120 lbs at the time. He could (and did) ride in the powder hoists!

[@RW4X4X3006]

@@bluemarlin8138 Exactly. In the Army at age 18, I was 6.3 at 190 lbs. Today I'm 230 lbs, and by no means chubby. The body gets more dense as you middle age - and you feel aches in places you didn't know you had. I could never dive through a fighting vehicle today like I did back then.

[@bigfoot1465]

I’ve got guilt a few pictures of my father and father-in-law taken during WWII. Although they both were considered about average weight and height as I knew them, I’m totally amazed at how skinny they and their friends were during the war. Dad served in Germany and France and my father-in-law in Africa and both were enlisted. I’m just not sure we are aware of how much lighter in weight people were during the War than we are now!

[@carolynwertelecki698]

Think of all the craftsmanship and love that went into building her.

[@johnknapp952]

With the Conning Tower locked down during GQ, I wonder if they used that wiring tunnel to hoist food and such with a rope and bucket?

[@ghost307]

If that was my ship that would make an excellent sandwich delivery trunk so nobody would have to leave for a snack.

[@jetdriver]

The answer is no.

[@gr3123]

They probably had a few days of food stored in there. Cans or something.

[@Srinathji_Das]

Excellent video! Thanks so much for doing what you do! 👍

[@Rammstein0963.]

I love this video, one thing I always wonder is what a ship's superstructure is like inside, I mean things like corridors and various rooms in the hull are known, but it seems like little attention is given to things like the bridge, the radio room, fire control, etc. Many thanks.

[@FredVanAllenRealtor]

I would like to see a video of the Signal shack.

[@divarachelenvy]

would love to see the spanner they used on those huge bolts... omg

[@Lord_Ronin_The_Compassionate]

When he started to ready himself for the drop an old phrase came to mind - “strip him off, grease him up, and he’ll slip through there like a Jack (navy guy) with a 10 shilling h**ker”. I think I may have spent a bit too much time attached to the RN, but that’s the price you pay for being RMC. No way in hell would I attempt that climb, I used to think torpedo tubes were snug but they look a damn sight more spacious than that! Thanks very much for trying it out Ryan.

[@nomar5spaulding]

One thing that blows me away about the battleships I've been on (which are admittedly only Missouri and Wisconsin) is that the chart room is a completely seperate room from the navigation bridge. I'm a former merchant marine deck officer on US flagged container ships, so the bridge is pretty much where I lived for 1/3rd of my time at sea. I've been on some ships with a seperate chart room, but it was more like an area of the bridge that was walled in, often with most of the forward wall able to be opened or closed so you could look out into the bridge and out the bridge windows to see forward or to talk to your helmsman. The Maine Maritime Academy training ship, the TS State of Maine, which was also built to milspec (admittedly, 1980s milspec, and not as a combatant, and certainly not armored) also has a completely seperate chart room, but with a door into the bridge. Just that alone was enough of a PITA to work with. The more newer, modern container ships I worked on didn't even have a chart room. They had plenty of large charting tables, but no sperate chart room. I can hardly even contemplate being the officer in charge of the navigational watch where the charts aren't even in the bridge. It just blows me away.

[@pscwplb]

I have a question about Nuclear Test Baker and New Jersey. Test Baker showed that structurally, naval warships could survive a nuclear blast at relatively close ranges. The crew, not so much. Assuming that New Jersey had functioning NBC filters, how protected would the crew in the engineering spaces in the citadel be from the radiation and fallout of a nuclear attack?

[@BattleshipNewJersey]

Minimally. They don't have wash down systems in place. Theyd rig some fire hoses up and hope for the best. So would they live? Yes, mostly, for a while. Would the get radiation poisoning? Yeah.

[@pscwplb]

@@BattleshipNewJersey so the crew that stayed below decks would still get exposed?

[@BattleshipNewJersey]

They never really found a way to decontaminate the exterior. So when they left the ship they'd be exposed then for sure. Hard to say exactly how safe the interior is.

[@pscwplb]

@@BattleshipNewJersey I was in the army, so I don't know how relevant this is, but we had drills on how to decontaminate vehicles that had been exposed to NBC agents. It entailed hosing and scrubbing down the exterior. As long as the vehicle was kept buttoned up, only the filters would have to be handled from there. I don't know how similar that would be to a naval asset, but I suppose sailing the ship out of the contaminated area (which you've demonstrated can be done 100% from below decks) to a ship that can turn fire hoses on the exterior of the NJ might be a start. You might actually have a manual on board somewhere that details that exact procedure.

[@BattleshipNewJersey]

They did lots of drills with hosing down these ships but they're a lot bigger than tanks so you end up with a lot more contaminated water, water that likes to wash off onto the lower levels where someone else is scrubbing.

[@Aenonar]

Hope nothing happened to the mic when it got stuck, some audio glitches there ^^'

[@BattleshipNewJersey]

He has a habit of smooshing it against stuff but it usually restarts ok eventually.

[@jedironin380]

Climbing up through there reminds me of the crazy places Mike Rowe got in to in his series "Dirty Jobs!" Glad to hear you have some caving experience (so do I), I think that should just about be a required skill to work on this ship! It would be a nightmare for me to actually get stuck in a spot like that! Makes me wonder if any crewmen were actually lost (perished) in some of the odd little spaces within that ship? I certainly hope not!

[@tommytorbet9349]

From what I have been told of the legends of these ships is that they are alive almost more so than the men who sailed them it is good to see one preserved rather than scrapped or sunk because it has outlived its usefulness I do not know much more but the army has legends if a man is killed in a vehicle it becomes cursed

[@johnslaughter5475]

When I was in the Navy, 50+ years ago, I was about 50# lighter and correspondingly skinnier. I did not suffer from claustrophobia or fear of heights then. Now is an entirely different matter.

[@RW4X4X3006]

I can imagine while underway with crew, these spaces were busy and crowded. Damn.

[@notme123123]

Ryan, you have an amazing ability to make me feel claustrophobic. Thanks for another fun video.

[@davidparadis490]

"911, whats your emergency?"..."umm, yeah, um, this is the battleship n.j. museum. Um...our curator is stuck..."

[@PrincessPumps1]

Really shows you simply how much bigger people are these days than when the ship was first built. People are at least 20% bigger just in natural skeletal stature than they were in the 1940s and earlier. One of the best examples of this is in the movie 'Titanic' believe it or not. The Grand Staircase in the movie was 30% wider than the original staircase so it would appear correct against the modern actors broader structure.

[@UnitSe7en]

lol no. Not in 60 years. just lol

[@nohandle62]

You always give me claustrophobia.

[@leftnoname]

I tend to agree with Iowa class designers - protecting your communications and battle conn is the top priority and it may be allocated the thickest armor protection. Bismark class didn’t have their communications adequately protected and everybody knows how that turned out.

[@anatolystepanovichdyatlov1747]

As far as I know that didnt play a role in Bismarcks sinking. Although you are defininetly right that this was a major design weakness, that would have failed given other circumstances/hits on the ship. If Iam mistaken here and it did indeed play a role, Id love to know more.

[@pjbth]

16:29 all I see is active rust protection ;)

[@Stoic_Zoomer]

so glad you didnt get stuck. if there was current in those wirers you might have been shocked! (hopefully not electrocuted)

[@wdcjunk]

Few questions for you guys: 1) Is there a video explaining the hydraulically operated armored doors? 2) How much of the wiring in the armored trunk is original would you estimate? Side question: under peacetime operation, not GQ / wartime scenario, would the conning tower helm station or for that matter the armored conning tower stations in general be manned in addition to the bridge?

[@BattleshipNewJersey]

Heres a video on the hatches. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oHm4ZXesYrprj7s I'd say all of the wiring in that trunk is from when the ship was active. So original in that sense. But not sure how much is from WWII. The bridge is the conning tower on the 04 level. So it would usually be manned. Even if they were steering from somewhere else there would still usually be somewhere there.

[@johnlansing2902]

This is great .... thank you.

[@X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X]

Hell no! What an utter nightmare to climb through seven stories of ladders in a steel tube.

[@adamlewellen5081]

As a resi solar wire monkey I'm loving it.

[@christophermarsh6983]

Is it even possible for a person to unlatch and open the hatch from above? Seems like there isnt enough room to bend down to reach it.

[@flywelder]

For Ryan to be so flexible and ableto fit through these small openings, He must be double jointed! And he can't be very old, can we ask how old Ryan is? He's doing a great job in these videos!

[@BattleshipNewJersey]

Hes 31

[@witeshade]

If somehow a piece of shrapnel managed to get through and slice up some of the wiring in that area, how long would it take to repair? Those bundles of wires look utterly insane and utterly unmaintainable.

[@riffraff60]

Who knew that the Iowa class had Jefferies tubes

[@pinhedd]

So Ryan has climbed through a 16" gun barrel, inside of a boiler, and now through a wiring trunk. What tiny space are you going to squeeze him into next?

[@BattleshipNewJersey]

There are 1000 rooms on this ship, there are so many tight spaces to squeeze him into!

[@FrancSchiphorst]

Well there are the 5" guns.......

[@PRH123]

I was having a claustrophobic panic just watching this video. I could not have served in the navy then.

[@eherrmann01]

The thickest steel I ever cut was 8-1/2" when I worked in the shipyards. It took a lot of patience and a good bit of knowing what the heck you were doing. I'd really like to give 17.3" steel a try.

[@mrdriver511]

Would you cut that with a very large cutting torch?

[@eherrmann01]

@@mrdriver511 It's the tip orifice size that matters. That controls how much oxygen is delivered. The oxygen is what actually does the cutting. When I was cutting thick steel (4" and up) I used a #5 tip, with a 5mm orifice. Oxy/fuel torches can cut 12" plate and sometimes thicker, but I expect that the 17.3" armor plate that were used on the Iowa class battleships was cast rather than cut. At the time that they were built, they didn't have the computerized CNC machines like I used, and it would have been extremely difficult to do with a torch mounted on some type of track with the feedrate controlled by hand.

[@crashthewagon]

Imagine the news article if he'd gotten stuck and needed the Fire Dept to rescue him.

[@davidncw4613]

Fascinating TY!!

[@thejoshknight]

Somebody is gonna have to make a horror movie set on a battleship. This is not a place I’d like to be stalked by a monster

[@hunterfigueroa9500]

Probably at the beginning of her career there was less wiring in that space and the hatch could open farther. But with upgrades and more wires take up that space.

[@HaddaClu]

So during the recommissionings and overhauls did some poor souls have to crawl though the trunk and associated spaces mapping out where every wire went or was connected to? Everytime the camera turned towards a rats nest of cables I kept wondering that they had to have tested each line right? They wouldnt have put her back into service with 40yo cabling without looking for fraying or anything right?

[@BattleshipNewJersey]

Sometimes yes. Sometimes no. If a cable couldn't be identified they just run new cable. Which is why there is so much.

[@joshuavinicombe5774]

Running new cables without removing the old - gross

[@Grisu1805]

@@joshuavinicombe5774 "I won't touch what I don't know" actually isn't that uncommon in any trade, especially electricians.

[@FrancSchiphorst]

@@joshuavinicombe5774 problem is that you do not know for sure that it's old if you don't know what it does. Could be nothing, could be the secondary gyro compass feed that only kicks in when the primary is down and ship is in GQ. Somewhere there may be a blueprint from WW2 on the ship or on one of the other mothballed ships or it's been lost for ever.

[@ionstorm66]

@@BattleshipNewJersey I bet as built that hatch opened more without so many cables?

[@RickLowrance]

Awesome as always.

[@ricdintino9502]

"approximately one curator wide"

[@mokdumoknonsharrall1868]

Here's a "What if"/combat tactics question for Ryan or whoever enjoys it. The real point of this question is "how much damage could New Jersey's super structure take?" Setting World War II. New jersey is operating mostly alone (she may have a couple accompanying ships), with no air cover. She comes around an island to find a fleet of 100 Japanese ships heading towards her! However, they are 1) entirely surface ships, 2) have no air support either, 3) are all lightly armed with guns that cannot penetrate New Jersey's armor, 4)have armor that will not defeat New Jersey's 16 inch guns. (A quick skim of wikipedia tells me this probably means the Japanese ships are heavy cruisers, light cruisers, destroyers, Torpedo boats, etc, but there could be battleship if the guns and armor are no match for New Jersey's.) The closest air support for either force is 2 hours away. This is strictly an old school surface combat. During the engagement, none of the Japanese ships score "magic bullet hits" on New Jersey. By the time New Jersey is ready to fire, the enemy ships are within firing range with their own weapons. Should New Jersey run? Should she stay and fight, protecting her propulsion avoiding collisions, and shooting the attacking ships with her 16 inch guns like they are fish in a barrel? What kind of damage could the attacking force inflict on her lighter armored areas? Could they mission-kill her with out sinking her? Could she be SO badly damaged and immobilized that the Japanese forces could board her?

[@SomeRandomHuman717]

NJ is sunk in less than 30 minutes--death by torpedo.

[@chopperguy16]

Love the term “pit of death”

[@willett786]

People don't seem to appreciate how funny Ryan is.

[@cameronmccreary4758]

NO way am I going down that hole from the conning tower. I am disabled for one thing and I can't go through MRI tubes without sedation. I saw you try and my measurements are close to yours but, I also have too much belly. That ship is very impressive!

[@windaubessss]

at 27:37 I'm not sure but I think that in case of an emergency you would be able to pass throught that, maybe not without some scratches, but that would be possible.

[@donaldparlettjr3295]

Could you imagine getting really stuck in that tube and you gotta call the fire department for rescue?! Claustrophobic? No need to apply.

[@jordanrodrigues8265]

I've worked confined spaces and thought I had completely lost my fear of tiny spaces and heights. But when he said he tried it from the top, oh, I felt that. Scariest place I worked was the top of a vertical missile tube. You have to wear fall restraint. There's a wooden ladder stuffed down the tube so you probably wouldn't hit the bottom - that's not the reason why. The harness is mostly intended to give rescue a way to pull you out.

[@michaelsommers2356]

It will take them a while to cut through those 17 inches of armor.

[@SuperNetSpyder]

Oh you know, just climbed 7 stories exclusively by doing pull-ups.... LOL - I bet that job used to go to the littlest guys on the ship!

[@Pamudder]

I know the USN used to have maxium height and weight requirements for submarine personnel. Was there anything similar on the battleships?-- it would seem scarily easy for a tall or large man to get stuck and block the tower for himself and everyone else.

[@davedennis6042]

Could I fit in that conning tower? When I was younger as these sailors would have been, yes. But now I'm older and fatter, so no. And the claustrophobia was setting in just watching you, Ryan.

[@IvorMektin1701]

USS Claustrophobia

[@beefgoat80]

Turret number twoooooooooo

[@vrod665]

I don’t think that claustrophobia would be an issue. Submarines / crawling down torpedo tubes. I would just be the guy that got my belt loop hooked on a metal wire tie and wouldn’t have enough room to get my hand to free it or wiggle room to break free. Speaking from experience.

[@GrockleTD]

This channel really doesn't get the views it deserves.

[@WayneHarris]

agree

[@s.marcus3669]

We ought to get you and Brent Underwood of "Ghost Town Living" together to do a video on how to maintain your sanity while crawling through ridiculously tight spaces...

[@imark7777777]

28:33 apparently there's at least one other person who went through there. I had of been ""fun"" running new cables through there and having to secure them every so often.

[@WillPittenger]

Does New Jersey still have the space where the Admiral would command the fleet from during combat?