Ship comfort!
Ship comfort!
Do anyone know how big the differences in comfort was on a battleship, diningrooms, sleeping rooms, kind of beds, hammocks etc. What happened in that area between 1915-1941 from Hood to Nelson and then KGV, what shipclass offered the best living comfort of all navys?
In terms of on board temperture, the KGV class were horrendous ships in the tropics.
The ventilation wasnt at all adaquete.
It was later improved after reports from men from the Prince of Wales but of course, POW didnt live to see those improvements.
The ventilation wasnt at all adaquete.
It was later improved after reports from men from the Prince of Wales but of course, POW didnt live to see those improvements.
God created the world in 6 days.........and on the 7th day he built the Scharnhorst
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Ulrich Rudofsky
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Dave Saxton
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Battleships designed for mostly Pacific operations usually had more amenities than battleships designed to operate in European waters. Crews of the Highs Seas Fleet lived more or less ashore, and not in the ships unless they sailed.
It has already been mentioned the problems Prince Of Wale's crew endured. There's a Victory At Sea episode that documented the living situations for HMS King George V. Most of the crew slung hammonics.
On the otherhand, USN battleships had effective air conditioning below decks, and in most cases bunks.
Probably the most luxurious living conditions were those of Yamato and Musashi. These warships also had climate controled living and working spaces. These ships had rather nice quarters for even the oridinary sailors. Musashi was nick named the "Palace" by envious crews of other IJN warships. There was a judo gym and a fitness center, something no other WWII warship had, AFAIK. On the Yamato class, there was a special elevator so officers didn't have to climb latters or stairs to acess the command bridges.
It has already been mentioned the problems Prince Of Wale's crew endured. There's a Victory At Sea episode that documented the living situations for HMS King George V. Most of the crew slung hammonics.
On the otherhand, USN battleships had effective air conditioning below decks, and in most cases bunks.
Probably the most luxurious living conditions were those of Yamato and Musashi. These warships also had climate controled living and working spaces. These ships had rather nice quarters for even the oridinary sailors. Musashi was nick named the "Palace" by envious crews of other IJN warships. There was a judo gym and a fitness center, something no other WWII warship had, AFAIK. On the Yamato class, there was a special elevator so officers didn't have to climb latters or stairs to acess the command bridges.
I don't know about the Yamato class, but one of us is mistaken about air conditioned spaces on US Battleships.Dave Saxton wrote:Battleships designed for mostly Pacific operations usually had more amenities than battleships designed to operate in European waters. Crews of the Highs Seas Fleet lived more or less ashore, and not in the ships unless they sailed.
It has already been mentioned the problems Prince Of Wale's crew endured. There's a Victory At Sea episode that documented the living situations for HMS King George V. Most of the crew slung hammonics.
On the otherhand, USN battleships had effective air conditioning below decks, and in most cases bunks.
Probably the most luxurious living conditions were those of Yamato and Musashi. These warships also had climate controled living and working spaces. These ships had rather nice quarters for even the oridinary sailors. Musashi was nick named the "Palace" by envious crews of other IJN warships. There was a judo gym and a fitness center, something no other WWII warship had, AFAIK. On the Yamato class, there was a special elevator so officers didn't have to climb latters or stairs to acess the command bridges.
I took a tour of the USS North Carolina this summer, and the tour material stated that most of the ship was not air conditioned. There were a few spaces that were, such as CIC and main and secondary plot. IIRC the Admiral’s staff spaces were also air conditioned, and since an admiral was never carried some of the crew slept on flat spaces in that area such as desk tops. There were bunks for the crew, and these were chained upwards when not in use. There was good forced air ventillation, and some of the crew slept on weather decks when possible.
I am pretty sure that one of the modifications made to the Iowa class ships when they were reconditioned for Viet Nam service and later was air conditioning.
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Dave Saxton
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Hi Steve,
You raise a good question as to what degree ordinary seamen got A/C in their living quarters on the new battleships during WWII. However, many if not most of the working spaces below decks were A/C equiped on the newer USN BB's.
When BB62 was re-fitting for her Vietnam service, one of the issues was finding parts for the 25 year old cooling systems below decks, in the working spaces. Note that these were not new systems for Vietnam, but systems dating back to WWII.
During the 80's re-fits, seven new brand new A/C systems were indeed installed on each ship of the class, and that included the living quarters of ordinary sailors. I don't know if this was a new thing for living spaces, or if they replaced pre-existing systems?
You raise a good question as to what degree ordinary seamen got A/C in their living quarters on the new battleships during WWII. However, many if not most of the working spaces below decks were A/C equiped on the newer USN BB's.
When BB62 was re-fitting for her Vietnam service, one of the issues was finding parts for the 25 year old cooling systems below decks, in the working spaces. Note that these were not new systems for Vietnam, but systems dating back to WWII.
During the 80's re-fits, seven new brand new A/C systems were indeed installed on each ship of the class, and that included the living quarters of ordinary sailors. I don't know if this was a new thing for living spaces, or if they replaced pre-existing systems?
This is a quote from a sailor on USS NC (My typos excepted of course):
"Below decks it was HOT, no air conditioning. Air was taken from topside and blown into the living compartments. At night when you slept in your bunk, you would sweat. Your mattress would get real damp. When you got up the first thing you did was cover up your mattress with a fireproof cover. This would be almost airtight, and after a few weeks your bunk became pretty ripe. At first chance the ship would air bedding. You would take your bedding topside and air it tied to the lifelines. I had a large air duct alongside my bunk. I cut a small hole in it and fitted a piece of a tin can to divert some air onto me. It helped."
- William Taylor; Boatswain's Mate First Class
"Below decks it was HOT, no air conditioning. Air was taken from topside and blown into the living compartments. At night when you slept in your bunk, you would sweat. Your mattress would get real damp. When you got up the first thing you did was cover up your mattress with a fireproof cover. This would be almost airtight, and after a few weeks your bunk became pretty ripe. At first chance the ship would air bedding. You would take your bedding topside and air it tied to the lifelines. I had a large air duct alongside my bunk. I cut a small hole in it and fitted a piece of a tin can to divert some air onto me. It helped."
- William Taylor; Boatswain's Mate First Class
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Karl Heidenreich
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In Doug Stanton´s book "In Harms Way" about the sinking of USS Indianapolis he states that the heat was so unbearable that the sailors slept over the weather deck and kept all the hatches and doors open to refresh a bit below decks, which was one of the reasons of the fast sinking of the cruiser.
And, thinking about it, one of the most famous mutinees in History was that of the BB Potemkin, in Tsarist Russia in 1905: the living conditions inside the predreadnought were such that the sailors rose and killed the captain and all the officers. There is a very famous movie (commie propaganda) about it, in B and W and no sound, but still a superb movie.
Best regards.
And, thinking about it, one of the most famous mutinees in History was that of the BB Potemkin, in Tsarist Russia in 1905: the living conditions inside the predreadnought were such that the sailors rose and killed the captain and all the officers. There is a very famous movie (commie propaganda) about it, in B and W and no sound, but still a superb movie.
Best regards.
An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.
Sir Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Churchill
I once heard of a case where either Nelson or Rodney was in the Caribbean on exercise (In the Interwar years) and due to the tropical heat one young sailor decided to sleep in one of the compartments that housed a cooler to cool the ammo somewhere beneath A turret.
No-one on the bridge was aware of this and when A turret was trained a few hours later, the young sailor was crushed to death
No-one on the bridge was aware of this and when A turret was trained a few hours later, the young sailor was crushed to death
God created the world in 6 days.........and on the 7th day he built the Scharnhorst