T2 tanker framing

Modeling Subjects Ships
1

I’m building the Revell Mission Capistrano in a pierside diaorama, which includes a section of the hull plating shown cropped out. I’m going to show some framing details where the shell is cropped out, but cannot find any details on the frame configuration and spacing. I believe these ships were framed longitudinally, with beefy longitudinal stringers running fore and aft, beefy tranverse webs, and some smaller transverse frames between webs. I’m not after tremendous accuracy, but want a reasonable representation. Any ideas?

Also, did wartime T2s carry a ABS Plimsoll mark, and in their gray hull scheme, did they have red AF and black boottopping?

Thanks!

2

KP,

I found a cut-away picture in an old text book. It’s of a larger ship than a T-2 but it should be similar. I’ll try to scan it and send it to you. Basically you have it right. Small longitudinals along the shell plating, big transverse web frames with large longitudinals along the bottom - no doublebottoms.

Fred

3

Fred,

Thanks a bunch. I was in the wing tank of an old T2 about 25 years ago doing a similar repair and was trying to remember how it looked. It was actually the SS Washington, a SeaTrain conversion. I remember that the ABS surveyor dropped his expensive camera in the tank from up on high, and that was the end of that!

4

Pat Matthews has some info on the old Texaco Tanker models.

Some drawings are posted on his website also. If those are what you need, try contacting him and see if he can get you some high resolution copies.

http://www.geocities.com/y2patmat/textanker/

5

As for the boot topping question, of the pictures I’ve seen of tankers actually in Naval Service, they all seem to have boot topping. The civilian manned ones often don’t even show any anti fouling paint at all. Maybe, like the Libertys, they only put anti fouling up to a very shallow draft. (10 ft for the Liberty Ships)

The Navy Armed Guard site has a lot of interesting pics scattered around the site.

http://www.armed-guard.com/ag92.html

Fred

6

Thanks for the help! Got the framing details I need. Also just found a color picture of the Mission San Francisco. From the main deck down, looks like about 10-12 ft of gray on the freeboard then black boottopping from that point to the water and perhaps below. Since mine is a waterline model (although sitting closer to the light load line), looks like red AF would not be visible at this draft.

7

I think you’re right. As I understand it, it was customary for oilers and tankers to have unusually wide boot topping stripes, because their drafts changed so much on a regular basis.