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Last capital ship ever built without any electricity?

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Last capital ship ever built without any electricity?
Post by Henry Brown   » Tue Mar 18, 2014 11:15 am

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Now that the ICN has started to move towards steel warships, I am wondering how far they can go without electricity. Things like below deck lighting and ventilation become much easier with electricity. So I was wondering if the forum members who are particularly knowledgeable about naval history had any idea at what point real-world capital ships starting incorporating electrical devices? And what was the last major ship built without any electricity?
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Re: Last capital ship ever built without any electricity?
Post by Theemile   » Tue Mar 18, 2014 12:26 pm

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Henry Brown wrote:Now that the ICN has started to move towards steel warships, I am wondering how far they can go without electricity. Things like below deck lighting and ventilation become much easier with electricity. So I was wondering if the forum members who are particularly knowledgeable about naval history had any idea at what point real-world capital ships starting incorporating electrical devices? And what was the last major ship built without any electricity?


Alot can be done without electricity - Pneumatics and hydraulics can go a long way for providing sensor, control and power to remote systems - ventillation systems could easily be powered by pneumatic or hydraulic lines. Speaking tubes can be a solution to the communications issues.

But lighting is still an issue.

I don't know the last ship without electricity, but I know pneumatic sensor and control sytems were still frequently used in cars in the 80s.
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Re: Last capital ship ever built without any electricity?
Post by Joat42   » Tue Mar 18, 2014 3:27 pm

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Theemile wrote:But lighting is still an issue.


Gas lamps. Provides very good lighting. Can be a bit iffy to use during combat situations though if you get a gas leak.

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Re: Last capital ship ever built without any electricity?
Post by jgnfld   » Tue Mar 18, 2014 4:17 pm

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For the first deck, ships in the 19th century often used deck prisms during the day. Kerosene lamps at night. A group of us found a kerosene lamp in the engine room of a wreck in Lake Superior (the Wilson) which now is in a museum in Duluth. A google search will show you all sorts of examples of turn-of-the-century kerosene nautical lamps for sale.

I have a kerosene lamp mounted on gimbals in my sailboat!

Not sure if carbide was ever used, but that might be another possibility that would be a bit safer. Not sure you can even make carbide without electricity. Solar furnace maybe?

Joat42 wrote:
Theemile wrote:But lighting is still an issue.


Gas lamps. Provides very good lighting. Can be a bit iffy to use during combat situations though if you get a gas leak.
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Re: Last capital ship ever built without any electricity?
Post by Henry Brown   » Tue Mar 18, 2014 4:52 pm

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Joat42 wrote:Gas lamps. Provides very good lighting. Can be a bit iffy to use during combat situations though if you get a gas leak.


I'm not an expert on gas lamps by any means. However if Charis tries a shipwide system below decks wouldn't there be an increased risk of fire or explosion if the piping ruptured during battle? Also, how durable would such a system be? It would not be good if an otherwise minor hit knocked out a significant portion of the below deck lighting.
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Re: Last capital ship ever built without any electricity?
Post by saber964   » Tue Mar 18, 2014 5:40 pm

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I do know that USS Olympia C 6 has skylights
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Re: Last capital ship ever built without any electricity?
Post by AirTech   » Tue Mar 18, 2014 8:06 pm

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Henry Brown wrote:
Joat42 wrote:Gas lamps. Provides very good lighting. Can be a bit iffy to use during combat situations though if you get a gas leak.


I'm not an expert on gas lamps by any means. However if Charis tries a shipwide system below decks wouldn't there be an increased risk of fire or explosion if the piping ruptured during battle? Also, how durable would such a system be? It would not be good if an otherwise minor hit knocked out a significant portion of the below deck lighting.


Gas lights would be possible but probably impractical in a combat situation. Kerosene lamps, and possibly Davey lamps would work in combat so long as they didn't take a direct hit (but could be armored to a certain extent). Skylights in daylight would definitely be preferred.
I cannot see serious combat involving major warships occurring without external illumination (spotlights) and this would require hydrogen lime lights if electricity is not to be used.
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Re: Last capital ship ever built without any electricity?
Post by BigBadBob   » Wed Mar 19, 2014 8:38 pm

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What does the ICN currently use for below deck lighting in the fleet? Wouldn't that suffice until the OBA is disabled? Once that has been achieved technology is going to be ramped up and sea going will become space going.
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Re: Last capital ship ever built without any electricity?
Post by SYED   » Thu Mar 20, 2014 2:06 am

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SHips may be safer if built with less wood, using torches or flame lamps, have always been dangerous on wooden vessels. ventilation will be the biggest issue.
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Re: Last capital ship ever built without any electricity?
Post by PeterZ   » Thu Mar 20, 2014 9:51 am

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Yes, an issue but not insurmountable. The fans used to circulate air will have to be more powerful. I suspect that exhaust vents will have to be designed specifically to draw out smoke from the flames. If designed well the flames, air intake and exhaust will all be in a closed system.

SYED wrote:SHips may be safer if built with less wood, using torches or flame lamps, have always been dangerous on wooden vessels. ventilation will be the biggest issue.
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