Tarawa's flight deck

[Dundradal]

@Marc: Yeah, I am really planning on doing so.

That just made my day...but what ship will it be??

 

[elend]

Oh my, I am not sure yet, really.

 

[LeHah]

Was actually thinking about this project of yours a week or so ago, Marc. Man, it looks even better now and thats incredible to me, considering how good your originals looked.

(You should hide your original Eel flag somewhere on the deck as an easter egg.)

 

[Marc]

 

[elend]

@Marc: Btw, I am new to this board and may have missed the whole point of those renderings. Are those pictures of the Tarawa for some kind of WC Mod / TC or your private use / general use in pictures?

 

[Marc]

At first I was trying to flesh out Tarawa's flight deck because it only existed in the novels. And it was pretty useful as many members had different notions on how it was layed out.
(the TCS Tarawa was never visually featured in an official Origin/EA game, so there are infinite ways the deck could be.)

Since then it's become an ongoin obsession of mine.

another way to answer your question would be to say it's become a hobby of mine. - "nothing to do? load up the Tarawa model!"

 

[elend]

That's a great hobby, I might add. Seriously, looks very great. And when I feel the urge to build a scale model out of it (30 inch long at least), I'll contact you.

 

[ChrisReid]

Pictures are amazing! But that control tower in the middle of the bay seems a bit precariously positioned in the event a landing craft doesn't quite stop in time.

 

[gevatter Lars]

I like the new approach. It now feels much more like a converted freighter then before, good work!

 

[Marc]

Pictures are amazing! But that control tower in the middle of the bay seems a bit precariously positioned in the event a landing craft doesn't quite stop in time.

yeah, it'd make those safety nets that shoot out of the deck a real good idea.

still not certain if I've got that one nailed down or not.

 

[Sylvester]

Why don't you have the control booth mounted to the ceiling of the flight deck instead of standing on the flight deck?

 

[Marc]

Because the End Run novel describes it as being an "elevated" platform facing the airlock.
I imagine it would have read "hanging" or "suspended" if it was the way you describe it.

plus, given the average height of flight decks in WC, it'd be a hell of a long ladder climb (the novel also say there's a ladder)

of course, I can't really prove it either way

 

[elend]

I wouldn't mind some "artistic freedom" in the construction of it, if it makes it look better / more plausible.

 

[Sylvester]

Elevated could simply mean above the flight deck. It doesn't necessarily mean its built up from the deck. And the tower crew would enter in from the deck above.

 

[Dundradal]

Nice stuff!

This thread has all my passions: The Tarawa, naval aviation, flight deck layout, flight ops, etc.

If you need any assistance with the carrier stuff please ask I'd love to find some way to help you with this.

 

[Marc]

Elevated could simply mean above the flight deck. It doesn't necessarily mean its built up from the deck. And the tower crew would enter in from the deck above.

Yeah, I get your point. But the novel really elaborated on the the ladder from the flight deck leading up to the flight ops.

here it is again, a little more fleshed out.
PICTURE
ANIMATED SPIN

that's the direction I'm aiming for.

 

[ChrisReid]

I think that looks good. The big heavy base helps. I don't think you need to make any changes, but one suggestion for what they might do in a practical situation could be to add some braces that connect it to the roof in the even that the bottom if chopped off, it won't immediately come crashing down.

 

[Marc]

"Except for the hot-loaded planes, all armament aboard Tarawa was stored in blast-proof lockers beneath the flight deck, only to be hoisted out and loaded on just before launch." End Run, p.167_

It's a little rough, but I've got an idea for that.

A section of deck plate raises to reveal groups of blast-proof lockers. Each locker has its own set of missiles. CONCEPT ANIMATION

Should a group of lockers become empty or not have the type of ordinance required, the user can lower the first group and raise another. CONCEPT ANIMATION

The neat thing about this specific system is that when all is squared away, I just have to draw red and yellow lines on the deck.

I toyed with the notion of having dispersed lockers all around the flight deck, but after playing around with some fighter silouhettes, I got the impression that half the time some plane or other piece of hardware would be parked over the hatch.

 

[Jason_Ryock]

"Except for the hot-loaded planes, all armament aboard Tarawa was stored in blast-proof lockers beneath the flight deck, only to be hoisted out and loaded on just before launch." End Run, p.167_

It's a little rough, but I've got an idea for that.

A section of deck plate raises to reveal groups of blast-proof lockers. Each locker has its own set of missiles. CONCEPT ANIMATION

Should a group of lockers become empty or not have the type of ordinance required, the user can lower the first group and raise another. CONCEPT ANIMATION

The neat thing about this specific system is that when all is squared away, I just have to draw red and yellow lines on the deck.

I was rather under the impression that the part being hoisted was the individual missile itself, not the entire locker (which is how modern carriers operate).

 

[Marc]

I was rather under the impression that the part being hoisted was the individual missile itself, not the entire locker (which is how modern carriers operate).

Well again, considering the shier number of missiles needed, you'd either need a really really big locker or a vast number of little ones. My idea is to group'em together. That way there's still some hoisting going on while keeping the way cleared.