USS New Jersey Turret Foundation
Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2021 2:55 am
This is from an extremely difficult area to reach beneath turret no. 1 on USS New Jersey. Turret fit was a major problem with the Iowa-class design. The redesigned turrets barely fit within the hull. Turret no. 1 had to be adjusted to fit. The bottom of that turret is truncated at either side. Unlike the other turrets, you cannot walk all the way around the powder passing ring at second platform on turret no. 1 as you can with the other turrets. (I don't know of any published references that show this feature.)
The foundation for turret no. 1 has a row of angled arches that match the slope of the turret side. Here is the gap between the arches of the turret foundation (right) and torpedo bulkhead no. 4 (left). The arch in the background bulkhead leads to another group of turret support arches. It's a dead end.
The areas under the turrets are known as "the catacombs."
The foundation for turret no. 1 has a row of angled arches that match the slope of the turret side. Here is the gap between the arches of the turret foundation (right) and torpedo bulkhead no. 4 (left). The arch in the background bulkhead leads to another group of turret support arches. It's a dead end.
The areas under the turrets are known as "the catacombs."