Know anything at all about Battleships??? - Page 2 - Writers Forum

teflon · 10-25-2005, 04:50 PM

Respectable record.

Any of the Britain's battleships turned into museums, a la U.S.?

white-wolf · 10-25-2005, 04:53 PM

Thank you

The only one I know of offhand, and I edited my previous post to include it, is HMS Belfast which is moored between London Bridge and Tower Bridge in London.

teflon · 10-25-2005, 04:59 PM

Have you enjoyed L. Poyer's naval books? Is your naval experience, and memories, a source of romantic inspiration in your writing?

white-wolf · 10-25-2005, 05:07 PM

L. Poyer? The only author I know of who wrote naval books is David Poyer and, no, I haven't actually read him, I'm afraid LOL

Also, I don't write naval stories, myself. Horror and fantasy are my genres if I ever get one finished LOL).

In fact, I prefer reading about the age of sail so Horatio Hornblower and the like is my preferred choice. I have read several WWII naval novels but, for the life of me, I can't remember the authors although I think one was called Douglas Reeman

teflon · 10-25-2005, 05:23 PM

I was thinking of some other nautical writer by name of Leonard. Don't remember who that is. Was your service in RN not so romantic, then?

white-wolf · 10-25-2005, 09:10 PM

LOL No, I had a great time in the navy. Romance and everything it leads to

Travel to exotic places, good pay, plenty of time off. Damn, I really miss it LOL

teflon · 10-26-2005, 12:09 PM

BTW,
why do RN gunnery crews wear white hood s (of special material?) during firing?

why do you think RN never went for steam catapult aircraft carriers? Doesn't the use of the ramp makes the jet waste fuel on the takeoff, and decreases payloads?

is there a special culture or folklore in RN centered on boiler firemen? Would a such a fireman have a good job waiting for him after the service, as it has been the case in USA?

white-wolf · 10-26-2005, 01:07 PM

The white hoods are anti-flash hoods designed to protect the wearer from increased temperatures. Much the same as the hood worn by a race car driver. And it isn't just gun crews that wear them. In Action Stations (Battle Stations in America) all crew members wear them as protection in the event of a fire. Damage Control Parties also wear, (or I should say wore as I have no idea what they use these days) a heavy fire retardent suit that used to be called a Fearnought Suit. Those suits made you sweat like a pig but you could walk through fire in them -- I know as I had to do it several times in training and twice for real.

The Royal Navy used to have steam catapult aircraft carriers. HMS Ocean was one of them. In 1945 the first jet plane to land on a ship landed on HMS Ocean. If my memory serves me correctly HMS Ark Royal also used steam catapults. In fact, the Royal Navy is designing two new carriers (the last I heard about it was the end of 2004 so they may be in commission already?) who will be fitted with either steam, or EM, catapults.

I was a Marine Engineering Mechanic in the RN. Boiler Firemen were outdated even then LOL Boilers were fueled with Furnace Fuel Oil pumped into, and ignited inside, the furnace -- no shoveling coal for us, even way back then :p

As for getting a job easily, and I'm assuming you're talking about a rating and not an NCO or officer, in Britain the answer would be a resounding no. I guess the fire service would employ an ex-RN Marine Engineering Mechanic. After all, a British ships standing fire, and damage control, party was made up, primarily, of off-duty mechanics.

teflon · 10-26-2005, 01:53 PM

Regarding the firemen, or Boiler Technicians (BTs in USN), one such guy leaving service would know all about steam- gas- water- plumbing, valve packing, gauge service and calibration, eletcric controls, water treatment, and generally, welding. Is this the amount of skills for a British BT?

white-wolf · 10-26-2005, 02:54 PM

Yes, at least that's how it was in the RN. However, actually convincing an employer that you are the right guy for the job, given your skills, is a very difficult task in the UK. Particularly when the other choice the employer has is a young kid straight from school who he can mold into his company image and pay half of what he'd have to pay a skilled ex-Navy guy.

Job prospects are, or rather were, not good in England.

Personally, I left the Navy and joined the Police Force so I didn't have a problem. In my last 18 months of Naval service I worked with the Naval Provost (Naval Police) which gave me an insight into Civil Policing.

teflon · 10-26-2005, 03:08 PM

Man, you got to capitalize on your Naval experience. I think every person like you is a potential Conrad. He's a bit too flowery with words, isn't he?

white-wolf · 10-26-2005, 05:11 PM

LOL At times I almost write a story (whether it be a short, a novelette, a novella or, even, a novel) that incorportes life at sea in the Royal Navy during the '70's and, even, earlier. Then I think -- 'how boring' LOL In all honesty, I don't believe I am capable of writing an interesting sea story. Although my time in the Navy was, quite probably, the best time of my life, I still don't think I could grasp a readers interest should I attempt to write about it.

As for Conrad ... I am sorry to say that I have only read Lord Jim and, boy-oh-boy, did I struggle with it. Lord Jim himself was a likeable enough character, an idealist, a romantic, and brave, but the story - Oh Lordy. I mean, it wasn't linear, there are narrations within narrations, too much imagery and far too much detail. Marlow(e) relates and there are naratives within his narration - very confusing. Still, Lord Jim is a classic so there must be something about it that has gripped audiences for the last 100 years or so. It just never gripped me

teflon · 10-27-2005, 01:52 PM

So how do find yourself motivated to write horror and fantasy?

JustJim · 10-27-2005, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by white-wolf

The white hoods are anti-flash hoods designed to protect the wearer from increased temperatures. Much the same as the hood worn by a race car driver. And it isn't just gun crews that wear them. In Action Stations (Battle Stations in America) all crew members wear them as protection in the event of a fire. Damage Control Parties also wear, (or I should say wore as I have no idea what they use these days) a heavy fire retardent suit that used to be called a Fearnought Suit. Those suits made you sweat like a pig but you could walk through fire in them -- I know as I had to do it several times in training and twice for real.

The Royal Navy used to have steam catapult aircraft carriers. HMS Ocean was one of them. In 1945 the first jet plane to land on a ship landed on HMS Ocean. If my memory serves me correctly HMS Ark Royal also used steam catapults. In fact, the Royal Navy is designing two new carriers (the last I heard about it was the end of 2004 so they may be in commission already?) who will be fitted with either steam, or EM, catapults.

I was a Marine Engineering Mechanic in the RN. Boiler Firemen were outdated even then LOL Boilers were fueled with Furnace Fuel Oil pumped into, and ignited inside, the furnace -- no shoveling coal for us, even way back then :p

As for getting a job easily, and I'm assuming you're talking about a rating and not an NCO or officer, in Britain the answer would be a resounding no. I guess the fire service would employ an ex-RN Marine Engineering Mechanic. After all, a British ships standing fire, and damage control, party was made up, primarily, of off-duty mechanics.

I think maybe HMS Warrior also had the steam catapult, but I'm not sure. It certainly had a catapult because one task I had was, using a Bell & Howell 16mm movie camara, to photograph a Firefly being catapulted. They were having a problem with the strop that pulled the aircraft being caught as if fell from the aircraft flying up and hitting the aileron (sp). This then required repair before the aircraft could fly again. The decision was made to let the strops drop into the ogggin as they were cheaper than ailerons.

JustJim · 10-27-2005, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by white-wolf

LOL At times I almost write a story (whether it be a short, a novelette, a novella or, even, a novel) that incorportes life at sea in the Royal Navy during the '70's and, even, earlier. Then I think -- 'how boring' LOL In all honesty, I don't believe I am capable of writing an interesting sea story. Although my time in the Navy was, quite probably, the best time of my life, I still don't think I could grasp a readers interest should I attempt to write about it.

As for Conrad ... I am sorry to say that I have only read Lord Jim and, boy-oh-boy, did I struggle with it. Lord Jim himself was a likeable enough character, an idealist, a romantic, and brave, but the story - Oh Lordy. I mean, it wasn't linear, there are narrations within narrations, too much imagery and far too much detail. Marlow(e) relates and there are naratives within his narration - very confusing. Still, Lord Jim is a classic so there must be something about it that has gripped audiences for the last 100 years or so. It just never gripped me

Maybe your problem is in writing about the navy rather than people, with the navy being only the background. People like the drunken matelot on one of my ships. He had been put in a straight-jacket and as the Officer of the Watch, who happened to be the navigator, bent over to check to make sure he wasn't in distress of any kind he said.... No! Perhaps that's not acceptable on this board.

How about the gunnery crew who came back aboard after having a few and started gun drill with the dummy loader. The Officer of the Watch that time happened to be the Gunnery Officer. Rather than shout and scream, he merely gave the correct orders to shut the drill down, and the men obeyed.

It's the people, not the service. Having said that, I've only written one short about my time in the navy. Can't seem to get around to any more.

That's not true, I've written two. In the first, I had someone fall overboard. It was supposed to be serious but, when I read it aloud to the writing class, they all laughed. A bit of a downer. When I asked the instructor why they laughed he told me that it was the surprise of the fall overboard. I hadn't foreshadowed it.