After Steering Aboard the Cruiser Olympia
By Patrick McSherry
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One place aboard OLYMPIA not
to be during a battle was after steering! This area, aft of the engine
rooms and the aft shell handling room, was the last location for
maintaining steering control of the vessel. If something happened to
disable steering from the pilot house, the conning tower and the after
steering station on the spar deck, steering control would revert to this
location.
The large mechanism in this location is attached to the rudder
directly. The mechanism consists of a yoke with two hydraulic rams, each
exerting a pressure of 500 pounds per square inch. If hydraulic pressure
is lost, then brute force was required to operate the mechanism
manually.
This a view of the yoke and rams, looking aft.
The underside of the protective deck can be seen above the mechanism.
Proceed to the Engine Room Page
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