1275psi
Posts: 7979
Joined: 4/17/2005 Status: offline
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An interlude: Zuiho, the little ship. Its been two years since we last toured her, time, I think, for a recap. Flightdeck, two elevators, fore and aft, ugly gun bays hanging on for grim life along its length. A ridicoulous little box, flight control tower some call it perched on its starboard flank. Next deck down. Bridge, still that hidden dark cave, overlooking the long focastle. behind it, captains cabin, the comms centre, fwd damage locker, and the fwd emergency diesel. The hanger deck, stretching down her length, the ready room on the starboard side, a hundred wierd shapes along the flanks, vent rooms, fan rooms, overhead gantry cranes, scattered about the trollies, fuel hoses, spares, especially the propellers. Aft of the hanger, the chippies workshop, the aft emergency diesel, both looking out onto the quarterdeck. The next deck down, starting forward. The bosuns store and cells, gunroom, wardroom, seniors messdecks, the ships officers. Then the lower hanger deck, aft of this, the aviation machine shop, the stokers mess, the executives mess, the gunnery mess. And right aft, the steering machinery room Now we descend deeper, stores, the sickbay, the galley, and the fwd boiler room. Aft boiler room, and a break, damage control central, the lab, the switchboard rooms, then the port and stbd engine rooms. Auxiliary machinery room, a pump room, and steering And finally, the last "deck', fuel, feed, potable water tanks, the avgas tanks, more fuel tanks, and the bilge areas of the main machinery. Essentally just five decks, 10 main watertight baulkheads. 800 plus men, and barely a spare inch of space A jury rig design, but one that has worked. She flies her planes, she has killed. Now she steams at full speed again, seeking the dawn, still seeking glory, still doing her duty. The little ship that could The little ship that still can
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