Benvenuto Visitatore ( Login | Registrati )


Pagine : (2) 1 [2]   ( Vai al primo messaggio non letto ) Reply to this topicStart new topicStart Poll

> HMS Docks in Mediterraneo, situazione a fine 1941
WinstonChurchill
Inviato il: Venerdì, 12-Feb-2016, 11:44
Quote Post


Administrator


Gruppo: Admin
Messaggi: 3920
Utente Nr.: 1
Iscritto il: 22-Giu-2012



QUOTE (culverin @ Giovedì, 11-Feb-2016, 22:10)
(to be continued, in English [...])

Why not? Thank you very much Sean smile.gif


--------------------
“Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm”

user posted image user posted image
PMEmail Poster
Top
culverin
Inviato il: Venerdì, 12-Feb-2016, 22:03
Quote Post





Gruppo: Members
Messaggi: 25
Utente Nr.: 54
Iscritto il: 27-Ott-2013



Kiel VIII was duly delivered to the British and moored in the river Mersey off Sheerness, she was too large to proceed further towards Chatham.
She had seen much use in WW1, the Germans being more reliant on floating docks than the British, but materially her condition was not great. Machinery had been sabotaged before handover and she was useless with her as built capacity.
She was a 6 section dock, so building a new section should be straightforward. This would be inserted as a new centre section, designed by the renowned ex Chief Constructor Sir Eustace Tennyson d'Eyncourt and the funds were made available in the 1923 Naval Estimates to do the work at Chatham dockyard at an eye watering £420,000. There was no interest from private firms to get involved at any point.
This sum would include all additional reconditioning works to ensure this monster dock would be fit for purpose in her new location. Malta's Grand Harbour.
By mid 1925 everything was ready for the tow.
(To be continued. Next, the 2 tows)
PMEmail Poster
Top
WinstonChurchill
Inviato il: Venerdì, 01-Apr-2016, 09:30
Quote Post


Administrator


Gruppo: Admin
Messaggi: 3920
Utente Nr.: 1
Iscritto il: 22-Giu-2012



A little preview for Sean: I have found some pictures, even with the help of Marco Ghiglino, of G.O. 24 (maybe one, from my collection, with G.O. 21 at Massawa) and a drawing of AFD 27, with some intreresting informations. This weekend I hope to publish all the material found smile.gif .


--------------------
“Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm”

user posted image user posted image
PMEmail Poster
Top
culverin
Inviato il: Venerdì, 01-Apr-2016, 21:16
Quote Post





Gruppo: Members
Messaggi: 25
Utente Nr.: 54
Iscritto il: 27-Ott-2013



Thank you Nicola, should be most interesting.

AFD 8 - The 2 Tows.
First, correction to my last post. Sheerness is on the river Medway, not Mersey.
There remained doubts about the safety of getting the sections to Malta intact, so in 1924 a number of rolling experiments were conducted with scale models in a water tank. The outcome was positive.
The original refurbished ex German section left from Sheerness on 1 June 1925 assisted by the 2 admiralty paddle tugs Sandboy and Firm as far as the Eastern Thames estuary, when the Admiralty tugs St Day, St Mellons, St Clears, Roysterer, Retort, Resolve would tow to Malta, some 2300 miles, with destroyer Thanet as escort to Ushant, then Tomahawk to Gibraltar, then Med fleet destroyers. Arrival at Malta was 27 June.
A large crane was also taken.
The tugs did a prompt about turn, back to the Medway, where on 1 August the new centre section would follow the same route and routine with most of the same tugs, St Kitts, St Mellons, St Clears, Retort, Resolve, with arrival in Malta on the 22nd. Somewhat quicker, but the smaller new section was less an issue and lessons were learnt from the earlier tow.
So far, so good. Bolt the 3 sections together and put her to practical use.
(to be continued. Next, the location in Grand Harbour)
PMEmail Poster
Top
WinstonChurchill
Inviato il: Giovedì, 07-Apr-2016, 21:27
Quote Post


Administrator


Gruppo: Admin
Messaggi: 3920
Utente Nr.: 1
Iscritto il: 22-Giu-2012



I am a little bit late...Sorry Sean but I am very busy at work. First of all an artist's impression that shows the AFD 27 and some information about its "capture", both from the Commander Edward Ellsberg's book, Under the Red Sea Sun, Dodd, Mead & Company, New York 1946. This is a very interesting source because the Author conducted the salvage operations of the italian and german wrecks at Massawa.

user posted image

user posted image

user posted image



Messaggio modificato da WinstonChurchill il Sabato, 16-Apr-2016, 10:00


--------------------
“Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm”

user posted image user posted image
PMEmail Poster
Top
WinstonChurchill
Inviato il: Sabato, 16-Apr-2016, 09:58
Quote Post


Administrator


Gruppo: Admin
Messaggi: 3920
Utente Nr.: 1
Iscritto il: 22-Giu-2012



Some pictures that show the floating dock GO 24:

user posted image
Link to enlarge the picture: http://i68.tinypic.com/fefojk.jpg

user posted image
Link to enlarge the picture: http://i67.tinypic.com/1haz2a.jpg

user posted image
Link to enlarge the picture: http://i67.tinypic.com/2hxn2xg.jpg

Source: Vittorio Marchi, Michele Cariello, Cantiere Fratelli Orlando. 130 anni di storia dello stabilimento e delle sue costruzioni, Books & Company, 1997

The GO 24 at Massawa after the refloating operations:

user posted image

Source: http://pulpflakes.blogspot.it/2012/11/Comm...sbergpart3.html

To be continued...






--------------------
“Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm”

user posted image user posted image
PMEmail Poster
Top
Utenti totali che stanno leggendo la discussione: 1 (1 Visitatori e 0 Utenti Anonimi)
Gli utenti registrati sono 0 :

Topic Options Pagine : (2) 1 [2]  Reply to this topicStart new topicStart Poll

 



[ Script Execution time: 0.2641 ]   [ 19 queries used ]   [ GZIP Abilitato ]