Re: My dealings with

On 11/14/2011 4:54 PM, Paul F Austin wrote:
On 11/14/2011 4:32 PM, Eugene Griessel wrote:
On Mon, 14 Nov 2011 21:21:54 +0000, "Paul J. Adam"
<paul.j.adam@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Paul, we have been having a discussion on portholes vs scuttles on
another thread - "more photos from Varyag" - and need your expertise
vis a vis a round hatch cut in a square hatch. Do they still have
those?


USN Sailor 101: Doors go through vertical walls, err, bulkheads. Hatches
go through floors, <ahem> decks. A scuttle is a small, usually circular
passthrough, most often in a hatch but sometimes in a door. A scuttle
can be used to pass people or material when the main hatch or door is
closed in conformance with the material condition set at the time,
minimizing the risk of flooding while the scuttle is (briefly) opened.

Paul
My recollection was that the openings in vertical walls or watertight bulkheads were referred to as doors or as watertight doors as appropriate. Openings in the decks/overhead were hatches, large rectangular watertight things. Often with a smaller circular hatch in the middle of the thing. Usually referred to as the escape hatch. Also scattered throughout the spaces would be small circular escape hatches. These were provided so that every space that was manned during battle stations had a second escape route to the outside of the ship in case of battle damage blocking the primary exit.
As I understand it, adding of escape hatches, that could be operated from underneath, was added to USN design practices during WW2, when the after action investigations showed many sailors were trapped in compartments in sinking ships during the surprise attack on 7 december.
There were plans for damage control parties, who were supposed to open up these hatches if the ship was sinking, but in practice, it didn't work so well.
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: My dealings with
    ... vis a vis a round hatch cut in a square hatch. ... A scuttle is a small, ... most often in a hatch but sometimes in a door. ...
    (sci.military.naval)
  • Re: My dealings with
    ... vis a vis a round hatch cut in a square hatch. ... Doors go through vertical walls, err, bulkheads. ... A scuttle is a small, ... most often in a hatch but sometimes in a door. ...
    (sci.military.naval)
  • Re: My dealings with
    ... vis a vis a round hatch cut in a square hatch. ... A scuttle can be used to pass people or material when the main hatch or door is closed in conformance with the material condition set at the time, minimizing the risk of flooding while the scuttle is opened. ...
    (sci.military.naval)
  • Re: More photos of Varyag and Algonquin
    ... that's what you get aboard a P&O ship. ... If you are talking about a vertical opening cut into a hatch - I ... We had, on several classes, a permanent round plate ... The tag indicates the scuttle is part of the X-Ray list for securing ...
    (sci.military.naval)