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NavSource Online: Battleship Photo Archive

AC & Boat Crane

Size	Image Description	Contributed By And/Or Copyright
228k	Up and away at a slow pace: A Vought OS2U Kingfisher aboard the South Dakota (BB-57) while being transferred to the catapult off Scapa Flow, 1943.	USN photo courtesy of Pieter Bakels.
795k	Blueprint of Aircraft Crane section onboard the Massachusetts (BB-59). The AC crane is located on the after end of the Main Deck as shown on the arrangement plan of *Massachusetts* and consists of a rotating kingpost and a boom connected to the upper end just above the Main Deck. The boom folds down and is stowed on the Main Deck when not in use. The machinery for operating the crane is located directly beneath on the Second and Third decks and is of the electro-hydraulic type. The power plant and the rotating machinery are located on the Second Deck and the hoisting machinery on the Third Deck. The boom has a fixed topping lift and is provided with a single hook with the capacity of 9300 pounds and a hoisting speed of 120 feet per minute. It has an outreach of 40 feet. The empty hook can be taken in and let out at the rate of 235 feet per minute. A special tensioned device is provided which operates with a line tension of 900 pounds and a maximum rope speed of 235 feet per minute. The boat-crane located at the starboard side between frames 105 and 109 aboard *Massachusetts*, was used for handling of all boats except the 24' personnel boat, stowed on the Main Deck center-line between frames 149-155 on a portable truck, which was handled with the stern airplane crane located on the center-line between frames 166 and 168. On the Main Deck aft, provision was made for the stowage of 3 aircraft, one on the center-line on a handling truck between frames 148 and 151 and on each on the port and starboard catapults. Normally only 2 planes were carried. The aircraft crane was provided to handle the aircraft from the water to either the catapults or the deck trucks for stowage or from the deck trucks to the catapults for launching. Three recovery sleds and nets were provided for assistance in recovering planes from the water. When in use they were rigged up to the boat boom with a tow rope operated from the winch.	Photo courtesy of Pieter Bakels. Text Source: General Information Book *Massachusetts*, 1942.
208k	Fantail area photo showing New Jersey's (BB-62) AC crane at Puget Sound on 24 June 1945.	USN photo submitted by Pieter Bakels.
126k	Aircraft Crane Control Stand on-board the New Jersey (BB-62).	Photo courtesy of Pieter Bakels.
265k	Plan Hoisting Gear Platform.	Photo courtesy of Pieter Bakels.
219k	Plan Reduction Gear Platform.	Photo courtesy of Pieter Bakels.
267k	Plan Topping Gear Platform.	Photo courtesy of Pieter Bakels.
272k	There is only one Starboard Boat Crane left on the Massachusetts (BB-59). The crane consists of a rotating king-post on which there are four platforms, two of which are below the Second Superstructure Deck. The boom is mounted on one of the platforms and has two hooks, a boat hook with a capacity of 27000 lbs. and a whip hook with a capacity of 7000 lbs. The maximum outreach of the boat hook is 52’-3” from the center of the king-post and 57’-0” for the whip hook. The boom can be topped to 70 degrees above the horizontal under full load. The power drive for the crane is of the electro hydraulic type. There are separate power units for the hoisting, topping and rotating machinery units.	Photo courtesy of Pieter Bakels. Text Source: General Information Book *Massachusetts*, 1942 & Revisions to October , 1946.
253k	Note drum and gear case.	Photo courtesy of Pieter Bakels.
36k	Hoist and control stand with an emergency brake lever between them.	Photo courtesy of Pieter Bakels.
37k	AC crane & ladder.	Photo courtesy of Pieter Bakels.

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