Aft Steering 

This was my underway watch station during the 1986 cruise. Brings back some memories.

Stood many an underway watch in Aft Steering on an ammunition ship which only had single rudder. It was hot, loud, and lots of vibrations, which made it a challenge sometimes to stay awake during midwatch, as you were often alone with only the soundpowered phones (not a phone like on the BB After Steering) the only link to the bridge. There was an air raid alarm that would go off when the bridge decided to conduct a test of after steering that would wake the dead. I recall the process being the alarm would sound. The bridge would tell you to prepared to take control of the helm using which motor/cable (port or Starboard) and to steer either by rudder angle indicator or magnetic heading via the compass. You'd then turn a barrel switch to energize the designated motor/cable which was located opposite one of the two (port or starboard) steering wheels. Then you'd turn around and push the engagement plunger in the middle of the wheel and test your rudder left five degrees and then right five degrees and announce you had control of the helm to the bridge. You would steer a course either given to you over the phones using the aforementioned gyro compass located just above the steering wheel. Or the helm would engage the rudder angle indicator also located in front of you and above, which was a remote steering arrow that you'd see them moving and you would steer to match their movement. It worked well unless you managed to jam the rudder by turning it too far in one direction.

Fun fact: the steering is independently controlled. Meaning one rudder can turn one way and the other the other way. This is useful for what's called an Emergency Crashback (needing to stop the ship in the shortest distance, such as going full speed forward, then throwing into reverse). One Iowa-class, Missouri or Wisconsin, in being decommissioned (WWII I believe) decided to try using the rudders, as they weren't allowed before, as you'll see. So they turned both rudders inward, instead of them turning together. This helped with the crashback, however it damaged the rudders to the point there was a noticeable vibration in the aft end and steering. Thinking this was the last time (being commissioned) it was fine, but she was recommsioned and it was still there. This was only fixed in her 1980's refit.

Yall should get a sponsorship from wargaming. They help to fund tank museums by sending community contributors to the museums. Once everything opens back up, it should allow for a lot of extra content in the form of videos and interviews.

... as has been said. This site is like 'crack' (or so I'm told) - the videos are addictive!

safe is a relative term...if you’re steering the ship from down there you’re in deep trouble, vulnerable to subs as you’re limping along, and possibly flooding! it’d be a miracle to get out alive if the two most dreaded words were spoken: abandon ship

"Our superstructure is gone, our turrets are knocked out, but we have control"

This is why these things were so expensive, and so absolutely beasts to take down. There are redundancies for the redundancies for the redundancies. Compare that to a modern destroyer that is much more easily taken out and has far less redundancy (and far more reliance on electronics and computers that can be taken out). You could literally blow up half the ship, and the ship could still maneuver and fight.

That’s a good pitch-allows us to do restoration work and open more spaces! It’s the active language.

That was my GQ station...on Mine Sweepers. Just a little bit different in size!

Oh, awesome! Thanks!😊🙂

When I was in the coast guard the hydraulic systems in aft steering was my job during general quarters

After steering on my ship had a ridiculous little wheel that had to be cranked like 10 times for 1°, it sucked.

Nice!

I think the 08 level bridge is armored, just not anywhere close to the degree that the 03/04 level spaces are.

Can you do a video on how steering is actually transferred from one of the various places to the other

When I was underway onboard various Navy ships, we would only run one Hydraulic Power Unit (HPU) on each rudder during normal underway steaming. We would switch units at midnight for each rudder. Both HPUs on each rudder would be on during UNREPS or sea and anchor details. Did the Iowas do the same thing?

I assume the 0-8 level was the standard for non combat operations since it has the best observation. The 0-4 would the combat post and the other 2 as emergency back ups.

What about main engine steering ???

So do smaller, less massive ships use rams too, or is this a common practice? I think I saw a video of the last piston steamship that was in the UK once and I seem to recall that the rudder was run off a hydraulic pump that turned a gear which was connect to a partial gear thingy that was connected to the rudder by a shaft or something like that.

Is your belt hanging out as a signal to the ladies or because you have lost a lot of weight ?

Half of your videos are in the dark. What parts of the ship are lit? What is the electricity situation? How it is controlled now that you don't use the generators?

I always wondered who would be left to command the ship if the conning tower and other above deck steering locations were taken out. Sure you can steer the ship from aft steering but who is going to tell them where to go?

Before they overengineered the Klingon race in Star Trek: The Next Generation -- he has redundancy upon redundancy, 2 of everything! --, there was the Iowa Class Battleship! Man, with this level of redundancy in the steering, what else was overengineered?!? I thought a good chunk of the reason these ships were finally decommissioned was the cost of keeping them in top shape with all these systems. The only ship that sounds more complicated is probably the aircraft carrier.

Any closer to opening this space up? Is Ryan reading off of cue cards or does he rehearse? If not, he has an impressive amount of knowledge about that ship. 👍👍

If the ship was listing, or if "abandon ship" was called, how would you get out?

So how does control get switched from one steering area to another? How does the person in the depths of the ship SEE where they're steering the ship or or from? I've been watching several of these videos now and I kind of feel confused after watching this one

Better sound on this one. Maybe it's just the acoustics of this particular space.

Oba near by to

they should of shown each Individual Steering Positione/Location onboard the New Jersey as he was mentioning each of them, at least that way his viewers would know what each of the locations that the New Jersey could be steered from... Maybe they should just film those locations now with a brief summary and edit them into this Video..

Er... not for the claustrophobic 😂😂😂😂

Cant tell you how many times I sent steering control to aft steering for "Training Purposes" on the mid shitter. Yeah I know it was Dick move especially since I told the Conning Officer that they requested it.

Restoration work? It should be recycled into something useful.