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The starbord entrance to the bridge. |
There are 18 inches of armor on the front plate of the main turrets, and armor nearly this thick in many places. For the most part, one can't see it. There are relatively few good photo angles which give a good feel for the amount of steel and concrete that went into building a battleship.
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The park service guide claims the average age of the Massachusetts' crew during World War II was sixteen, but...
One South Dakota class design flaw fixed in mid-war was a lack of a bridge with good visibility. The battle bridge is behind this navigation bridge, to the left of the picture. The Battle Bridge is fully protected, with only narrow slits available for visibility. This is fine and necessary in battle, but presented problems out of battle in bad weather. A small platform was added during the mid-war refits, protected from the weather, but not the enemy.
One can spot early war pictures of the Massachusetts by the bare round conning tower behind turret two. Later in the war, the above bank of windows breaks the profile of the conning tower.
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As room on board a warship is at a premium, yes, all the stairs on board are this steep.
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This corridor runs the length of the four engine rooms. Another shot with poor light, brightened with Photoshop. Note the flood control and fuel valves lining the right side corridor.
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Shore - Dock -
Engines - Dry-dock
- Perspectives
Anchor - 16 Inch -
George - Turret 3
- Shells - Magazines
- Jean Bart - Armor
Hatches - Five
Inchers - Inside 5" - Quad
40s - Turkey Trot
AA Directors - Sky -
Spot - Radar -
Last Look - History
- BB Names
Massachusetts - Galveston
- Homepage - NavShips
& NavRing