Catapults

The Arizona had 2 catapults to launch the floatplanes. Why not just lower the floatplanes into the sea and have them launch from the sea? Well it was dangerous to try to take off in rough water so the catapults were used to get the floatplanes airborne.The planes did land on the ocean. The ship would make a shallow turn in one direction which would make a smooth area on the leeward side of the ship for the plane to land.The plane would land and taxi up to the ship and then would be loaded onto the ship with the crane.

The catapults were powered with black powder.This was just a 5 inch charge that was used in the 5 inch guns.The projectiles for the 5 inch guns were split into projectile and charge so they could be carried around the ship by the sailor.So there was a ready supply of charges to use for the catapults.In fact is is theorized that when one of the bombs hit the Arizona it detonated the catapults charges which then led to the detonation of the powder in the main magazine.This caused a massive explosion which destroyed the whole front section of the ship.

Launching a plane was quite a complex procedure.The charge was loaded into the firing mechanism that was attached to the truck that the plane was mounted on.The deck was cleared except for the catapult officer and two men at the breech.

The catapult officer signaled to the pilot by waving his arm overhead in a circular motion.The pilot then throttled up the plane to maximum.Once the plane was at maximum throttle the pilot extended his arm horizontally to indicate he was ready to launch.The catapult officer waited for the pilot to withdraw his arm into the cockpit and then he watched the roll of the ship to ensure the launch track was horizontal or slightly pitched up and then he signaled to the man at the breech who pulled the lanyard to fire the charge.

Once the plane was airborne the truck was winched back to the start position and the firing mechanism was dismantled.


The kit.
Both of the catapults were quite nicely molded in plastic, but were a bit thick and seemed out of scale so I used the photoetched parts. The catapult on the stern was relatively easy to build, but the one on top on the 15 inch gun was much more complex.The photoetched parts were very delicate, but once it was assembled it was a surprisingly strong assembly.

SO here are some better pictures of the finished catapults.

There are tiny trucks that sit on the catapults that I will attach to the planes and then to the painted catapults at the end of the build.

The control towers were high up because they contained the range finding and weapon control systems on the Arizona.Telescopes were used to sight enemy ships and then shots were aimed based on the measurement taken by the firing tower sailors.When a round was then discharged the firing control could see where it hit and adjust the aim accordingly.They were armored as best as they could be, but they were still vunerable.Since the range of the 15 inch guns was several miles they needed to be high up to spot where the rounds landed.

Arizonas fire control towers were replaced in the 1903s.I will go into more detail when I have finished adding the details to the kits towers.I did use the photoetch armor which was more detailed than the plastic exterior of the towers.


Carl

The german battleships used compressed air instead of black powder and then they all transitioned to steam catapults.

Carl

Hi Carl,
Looking really good. Coming along nicely.

Chris

Here is a close up of the fire control towers.The photetch armor looks much more in scale than the molded detail and the braces underneath were replaced with photoetched parts.There are some additional details to add, but they are very fragile so I will wait until the towers are mounted to add them.



Prior to 1929 the observation posts were mounted on cage masts.The cage structure was thought to make the masts less vulnerable to damage from shells and also decrease the vibration from the main guns firing which could interfere with the delicate instruments in the firing towers.In reality these masts were very susceptible to weather damage,especially hurricanes and typhoons

USS Arizona was also upgraded to the tripod masts and firing tower due to the increase range and caliber of the main guns which meant heavier rangefinders need to be used and the cage masts could not support the extra weight.The firing towers also has external armor to protect the sailors from smaller caliber fire and this also added to the weight that needed to be supported.

The iconic images of the pearl Harbor attack showing the Arizona on fire clearly show the firing tower engulfed in smoke.

Here is a close up of one of the fire control towers after the 1929 upgrades.I think Trumpeter did a pretty good job with the accuracy of the kit here.

Looking good, I think I saw aftermarket etch or resin cage masts for 1/700 kits a while back

The kit does not come with a stand.The bottom of the hull is pretty flat so it does sit quite nicely without a stand.However, I am concerned it may tip if it is nudged so I glued some magnets to the inside of the bottom hull piece so I can either make a stand or embed the magnets in the display base to prevent it tipping over.