This is my father at 1:15, Hans Karl. The Texas was his first ship in the US Navy and he was a rammerman in division one which is the first turret. What a pleasant surprise to see his photo on You tube. The photo was taken around 1927.
As a marine engineer with reciprocating steam engine time under my belt (Yes, there a few of us even in the 21st Century!!!) this was a surprisingly good introductory video to how these engines operate. Good job!!!
The Texas has been part of my family history for years. My step-grandfather was a cook on her at the start of WWI. You can imagine my surprise after my mother in law died we found a series of photos of the Texas in my father in law's photo album. My father in law was a store keep during WWII. From what I've been told he was stationed in Subic Bay. My guess is the Texas the pulled in for fuel and supplies. During Desert Storm I was in Bahrain with MIUW 202 and was able to go on board the USS Missouri and bought a ball cap in the ships store. I really love the battleships.
The Battleship Texas is like an old friend to me. I first tour her in 1972 on a school field trip. I visit her again when I got my driver's license. And just before I left for Desert Shield just days after she returned from 2 years of restoration. Have not seen the Ole Gal since, but hopefully someday...
When I was a child not long after she was berthed at the San Jacinto Monument My mom took me and my brother out to see her. At that time we were allowed free access to the majority of the ship and there were some sailors who had served on her giving tours. They had served in the engine room, main gun, and other parts of the ship. We were allowed to climb in the main gun turrets and on the Ack Ack gun an swing them to and from tracking aircraft flying high overhead. It was a trip I shall never forget and various trips later on. But I have not been there in over 50 years now. Hopefully they will be able to save her and do a restoration that will keep her afloat for future Texans and naval personal to see and tour.
James Maxwell Texas has already been to drydock and repaired. The park service is looking at a permanent drydock display currently where the ship resides. She's going to be around for a long time. See the RU-vid on the USS Texas restoration. The vessel that is in trouble is the USS Olympia, their having difficulty raising the funds to do the same thing with that ship.
I may be mistaken but did not not collect money from citizens to put her in dry dock for some needed repairs about 10 years ago? I seem to remember a effort to collect money to help stabalizer her and keep her safe. What happened to those monies?
Repairs done a decade ago on a hull then over 90 years ago were a stop-gap. Rust never sleeps. When these ships were in commission they were attended by a huge crew being paid low wages. There was a saying among swabbies in the USN: "If it moves, salute it. If it doesn't move, PAINT it!"
Love the photo at the end with the men's names, my Dad served in the Navy at the end of the war and has many photos like this. He is passed on, but I treasure these photos of young men, good friends, serving their country.
I've been down in the engines room aboard The Texas. Back in 72 it was not off limits like i believe it is today. I remember very well walking the catwalk between those two massive engines. Then and now i just think "Incredible !" LONG LIVE BATTLESHIP TEXAS !
As one could expect, everything on USS Texas is BIG !!! (36 foot crankshaft !!!) I suspect that she is one of, if not the only example of its class that us "landlubbers" can actually walk on and touch!!! My cover is off to those who have taken on the labor of love that is turning USS Texas into something that we can all enjoy. I toured the USS Alabama right after she was opened to the public (and several times thereafter)and among other things, learned why it takes so long for someone to earn the privilege of command of such a complex piece of gear. I could have spend days just walking the decks of that ship.
What's amazing about watching this demonstration of a piece of machinery that was built in early 1900's was the technology of the day. It amazes me how anyone from that time period and even before this time would have the know how the technology and the machinery to build something so elaborate. This was time before computers Yes I know that people made these computers and even that amazes me to. Where on earth are people coming up with these technical ideas. Makes you wonder a bit about our universe. Amazing stuff over 100 years ago
Nice to see a detailed view of the important part of a ship! Nice narration, thanks for positing! Been looking for something like this ever since I retired from the Navy.
You do realize that there are two parts to the power train? First you make steam and then you use it. A nuke plant is just a way of boiling water without using coal or oil. So all you would be replacing would be the steam boilers with a slightly different design. You might then think about replacing the triple expansion engines with turbines. But you could think about that using the existing boilers just as well.
@ 4"14, the throttle does not regulate steam pressure, it controls the volume of steam admitted to the engine. Steam pressure is regulated by safety valves on the boilers.
Steam pressure is regulated by the firing rate or the amount of oil admitted at the burners. Safety valves are there in case of over pressure on the boilers.
If you visit BB-35, the USS Texas. Make a point to go below and stand next to this massive engine. Just the sheer size of the Crankshaft, Connecting Rods and Low Pressure Cylinder will impress you. Been there done that.
its amazing all the wire cables tubing piping walkways living quarters etc etc someone designed too go into the interior of those ships the people who designed these must have been on the brink of madness :)
I wonder what condition those engines are in today. I doubt they could run again, but probably not because of the engines themselves. I've watched restoration working being done on steam locomotives that handle pressures at 250 to 315psi and repairing those boilers is a real chore. I couldn't imagine anyone reconstituting the boilers on Texas to a point where they could handle 400+psi again. It's a shame though. Seeing a ship like that move under its own power would be a once in a lifetime event.
All new British and German ships of the era had steam turbines for about 8 years already by the time this was built. The couldn't cut gears was the problem with US ships at the time and this engine is the result. Still very interesting. Once they could cut gears well the rest is history ...
@@ThePaulv12 Not necessarily the case. The U.S. unable to produce the turbines quick enough. Hence why you see U.S.S. _North Dakota,_ both _Florida_ class and both _Wyoming_ have geared turbines. But then the _New Yorks_ and _Oklahoma_ going back to expanding piston engines.
@@peterson7082 In the WW1 era my sources (plural) indicate there was indeed an incapacity to cut gears however I am unable to confirm my sources at this time as my reference material is in storage. A quick Google reveals nothing, however a book on battleship construction given to me by my son reaffirmed what I already knew. The first reference was perhaps the book Jutland by Capt Donald Macintyre (of the Royal Navy) but perhaps not. If you haven't read Macintyre's book it it is a hoot of a read. You can find it on eBay for a fiver. Great book particularly on fire control and gunnery. Most people are rooted in broadside firing in ship/ship combat but that's not how it generally happened. Broadsides are for public spectacles, propaganda and specific circumstances. Concentrated gunfire called rapid fire mode was used where once the range was found a shell left a single gun every 8-10 or so seconds. Even the two gun turrets fired individually. The individual barrel crew would signal fire control when ready and only when the fire control officer signalled back would they fire.
Blame funding and the standard battleship fighting doctrine. Those are the reasons why all the ships from the Wyoming's to the Colorado's were all slower than the rest of the worlds navies.
@@peterson7082 After the Kaiserliche Marine was dismantled, our battleships were slower than their counter parts in the IJN, Royal Navy and Marine National. Despite having the same rated speed as some of those navies slower ships , many of our battleships relied on the triple expansion engine which means they were not capable of prolonged high speed use like a turbine was. This became a problem as under the standard battleship doctrine, the US Navy realized that if an enemy ran, they could not pursue, and if we had to run, we were un-able.
@@airplanenut89 For the super dreadnoughts, there were only three out of the sixteen ships that had expansion engines, likewise only three of the six preceding dreadnoughts had such as well. U.S. ships were as slow as the _R_ class, _Iron Duke_ class, _Andrea Doria/ Conte Di Cavour,_ and the _Bretagne_ and _Courbet_ class dreadnoughts and super dreadnoughts.
At the time they built it, the triple expansion piston system was considered more reliable, as contemporary turbines had issues. Shortly after, the way turbines were engineered changed, so everyone swapped to turbines.
The old steam engines are fascinating. I had a chance to visit the Liberty ship John W. Brown when she visited Toronto a few years ago. Spent about an hour in the engine room chatting with the old fellas who steam her today. Turns out she crossed paths with my Father in the Mediterranean during the Dragoon landings on the south coast of France. Dad was on the opposing team aboard U-969.
So, when I'm looking at that 3D laser image, all the holes and daylight that I see in the scan.....Are those actually holes and cracks in the engine infrastructure that is still on Texas? For example at 3:50 and beyond. Or is it a cut away or something other? If that's rot, it's really sad. I am aware that Texas is in very rough shape. I truly wish the gov't would take steps to preserve her.
The gaps are almost certainly artifacts of the 3D laser imaging - they'll set up the later in different places, but still might not get good reading of every square cm of every surface. Of course it is possible to clean up the result by hand, but this can be very time consuming.
lots of steam. emery paper, grease, and a Dept of Parks and Wrecks that knows a thing about ships. Ships have funnels not stacks, and VTE steam engines only use the pressure expansive attritube of steam and not thermal. That is something turbines do
I am proud to be a Texan and am proud of the mighty battleship. But I am ashamed to see her in the condition she is in now. Texas Parks and Wildlife needs to get their heads out of their backsides and allocate at least $10 million dollars to the resoration of the pride of the Texas Fleet but I know that will never be done because of polictics and due to that people now adays do not care about history. The battleship USS TEXAS BB 35 needs to be restored before it is too late.
HMS Dreadnaught already had steam turbines years earlier. The US Navy didn't want to experiment with those 'new-fangled' contraptions. Reciprocating engines suffered from high levels of vibration and need for more frequent overhauls. They were totally unsuited for the high-HP demands of later 'fast' battleships.
Russ G Actually, The US did experiment with steam turbines starting with the Delaware class-battleship USS North Dakota which had steam turbines while the Delaware herself had reciprocating engines, the Florida class was the first to be built with steam turbines (both ships using them not a mixture like the Delaware class) along with the Wyoming class. The US was not sold on the idea because they were not fuel efficient and it lacked the extensive coaling stations that the British and French had access to coupled with patrolling both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans (the Pacific especially, which also brings the added danger of needing coal and not being able to purchase it from a third party either because they are not allowed to due to their country’s laws or they refuse to such as what happened to Russia during the Russo-Japanese War when the Russian Baltic Fleet made the mistake of firing upon a group of British trawlers which angered Great Britain or the possibility of running out in the middle of the ocean far away from a suitable port to go along with it) which is why the reciprocating engines were used in the New York class. The US went back to using turbines when the Nevada class was introduced due to the technology improving and they became more fuel efficient. The Nevada class was the second and last time that the propulsion mixture was used with Nevada having turbines and Oklahoma having the reciprocating engines to test which one truly was better. Of course every ship after Nevada used turbines. The adoption of oil probably helped as well because refueling ships with it is much simpler than trying to transfer coal between ships (all you really need is a hose), plus its easier to transport and you can carry a lot of it.
Interesting that you didn't mention WHY Texas had recips instead of turbines like the previous class of US BBs. That's an interesting story in itself ;)
+Thomas Hockin yes and no,the Titanic used two triple expansion 4 cylinder engines but they were much bigger standing nearly 40ft tall they also used exhaust gasses from the triple expansion engines to drive a turbine which powered the Titanic's center shaft.
+Jesse Ramsay: Actually they're Quadruple Expansion engines-one high pressure, two intermediate pressure and one low pressure cylinder if I recall correctly. A classmate of mine once got a personal guided tour of Texas's engine rooms something I am still quite jealous of . . .
Actually, Joseph Greeley, they are 4 cylinder triple expansion engines, as the 2 low pressure cylinders work together. If they were quadruple expansion engines, the steam would go to the high pressure cylinder first, then the first intermediate pressure cylinder, which is larger, then the second intermediate cylinder, which is larger again, then the low pressure cylinder, which is the largest. There were a few quadruple expansion engines made, but they're very rare as the advantage over a triple expansion engine does not justify the extra cost of manufacture and extra complications. The Titanic could be called a quadruple expansion set, as the turbine was an extra stage, but it wasn't part of the two reciprocating piston engines which were also 4 cylinder triple expansion engines, so it doesn't really count that way.
Why does the piston size get bigger for each stage when the steam pressure is gradually getting lower? Wouldn’t you need consecutively smaller pistons to help maintain the same pushing force for the gradually lowering steam pressure?
The force the input piston puts out is determined by the pressure of the steam in PSI times however many square inches the piston face has. So bigger pistons will give a bigger force other things equal. In hydraulics you also have an output piston where the reverse is true; perhaps you are thinking of that.
It was the hushed rubbing sound of oil sliding through oil on a score of bearing surfaces. The slide valves and piston rings made a drier, muffled whispering. Steam blowing through ports and receivers roared hollowly far off, like a million hoofs drumming a distant prairie. The scores of valve gear bushings made a lisping, oil-muted chatter. All the sounds sang together. The quick, light throb of the circulator rustled cooling water through the condenser tubes like a woman walking in silk. The air pump plunged and all its bucket valves clanked shut and it rose straining and gasping to sluice the condensed steam to the hot well for the groaning feed pumps. Air wheezed out of the hot well vent with the wet smell of steam and the wet hay smell of oily loofa sponges, and it mixed with the burnt rubber smell of hot packing and hot swabbing oil. From the fireroom came the hiss and the sulfur smell of coal smoke and water on hot ashes, the scrape of shovels and the clang of fire doors, and the shrill voices of the stoker coolies calling each other lazy turtles. All the voices sang with the engine. And then, standing with eyes open, to stride with the rods and plunge with the crossheads and jog with the valve gear and catch the intricate play of light and shadow as the wild horses spun whitely aft into the dimness of the shaft alley. And to take in through feet and fingertips the same white horses, transmuted by screw thresh, spreading from the thrust block to join the slower, smoother engine vibration feeding down through the soleplate chocks. To have knowing in their bones the same vibration that trembled water in glasses topside, and rattled loose windows, and worked rivets and stringers and frames minutely rubbing and creaking and whispering the old ship’s secret life through all its structure, there knowing and controlling and almost being the source of the ship’s life-that was how it was. “The Sand Pebbles” Richard McKenna
I say thing one time from a distance but it's a super dreadnought? and is the only surviving Super Dreadnought type battle ship left and she is like ether 100 years old or nearly 100 years old
Inferior to the turbines that powered other navies battleships but it would be cool if those could be made to work again. I trust they would work as well as the video claims.
According to a book I read years ago, the US Navy was "hidebound to tradition". They knew about turbines. GE would have gladly made them. But, triple expansion technology was trusted. It wasn't untill the Nevada that the Navy switched to turbines. Nevada's sister ship Oklahoma still used VTE engines. Hence she was never considered for rebuild after Pearl Harbor.
up to 85% deteriorated at this point in places. The state has given her a large sum of money to be moved to Alabama in order to repair or replace her hull and make other repairs before returning her to Texas.
Pretty sure the HMS Queen Elizabeth with her eight 15" guns was afloat before Texas, which means Texas was never the powerful afloat. Yes, two more guns, but the weight of fire, range and accuracy of the 15" guns was unmatched, and the QE class were better protected and with more modern engines.
Technicalities here....... USS Texas was Both launched and Commissioned before HMS Queen Elizabeth, so what the video said "For a time, was the most powerful" is correct. Prior to QE, the British ships were armed with 13.5 inch guns, again, making the 14's on Texas and her sister New York, the trend setter. When the Brits went to 15 inch, we went to 16" in the Colorado class.
A good engineer to go over it once. It was mothballed in running order. But why? They recommissioned 3 of the Iowa class back in the 80s, only to decommission them 10 years later. They do look super cool, I will say that, but they are floating targets in modern warfare. Airplanes, and submarines are the nay's new weapons.
Unless the shafts have been routinely rotated, then you would need to do more that "to go over it once". You would probably need to strip the entire engine down, check for corrosion (after all, mothballing just _delays_ corrosion, it doesn't permanently stop it), lubricate everything, and reassemble it. Not a small job...... Later, Matt
Much of the triple expansion engines are coated heavily in oil inside and out which prevented wear. though it is noted that after thousands of miles these engine would, 'shake themselves apart'. and then would need medium to heavy maintenance as pistons and support wore down before continuing to perform.
@@tomjones4318 water used in these engines ran on a closed loop system, and was constantly reused after being made into steam. so it likely wasn't soluble if it made it that far. but it wouldn't really matter as it'd be burned off in the boilers.
There is a plan to move this ship to a dry site so that it can be preserved easier. This needs to be done sooner than later. Money is the problem. It seems that Texas has plenty of billionaires that could get together and fund this project. You have these rich people spending millions on pro sports. This ship is a worthy cause that all the people can enjoy.
