Comments by "Steve Valley" (@stevevalley7835) on "The Drydock - Episode 100" video.

  1. It doesn't sound that absurd to me. Freighters have cranes anyway, for cargo handling, so I doubt anyone would twig if a Q ship had a slightly larger than normal crane for handling a hidden float plane. Probably no-one would twig that a freighter's cargo hatch is large enough to allow a floatplane to be lowered into the cargo hold that acts as it's hanger. A false deck, or "deck cargo" could be used to conceal the catapult. The cats themselves used effectively, big gun propellant cartridges to provide the thrust to launch the plane. The one snag is the combined weight of the torpedo, 1800-2000lbs and the floats, on the plane. I have wondered what the floats on the Arado 196 weighed, as it crossed my mind that the Arado might have gained enough payload by replacing the floats with a conventional retractable undercarriage to be turned into a torpedo bomber for the Graf Zepplin.
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  2. At what stage of construction of a BB are the boilers and engines installed? In the book "The Battleship Builders", the powerplant is said to be installed during fitting out, after launch due to reducing weight of the hull at launch and the more powerful cranes being located in the fitting out area. In the film "Corvette K225" there is a scene were a boiler is being lowered into place in a Corvette at this stage. However, in the Wiki entry on the North Carolina class BBs, there is a photo of the boilers being installed on NC, dated 16 January, 39, but NC wasn't launched until 13 June of 40. I have seen aerial photos of BBs being launched, and the midships area appears to be decked over, implying the boilers and turbines have already been installed. Thanks!
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