Hr. Ms. O 19 1938 by Piet - FINISHED - scale 1:50 - submarine of the Royal Navy Netherlands in service 1939 - 1945

[popeye the sailor]

Bummer........no more eating greasy stuff in the living room!   may she come back to you safe     prop heads and shafts look good......look forward in seeing the porpulsion system in this bad girl!

[Piet]

Well, the Admiral pulled up to the dock at 1850 in the MC "Gwenmobile."  (MC stands for Motor Car   )  She was tired but glad to be home. (Me too   )

 

Hey Boris, that's a magnificent piece of work, very nice looking   .  Now about the upper part of the launcher opening.

 

Let me put my (unofficial) engineering hat on.  The entire deck structure is what I call secondary structure.  It is not subject to any substantial forces and can be of a rather light construction.  It's quite similar to the Fokker F-70 and F-100 where the cabin floor structure is secondary, it only has to carry the weight of the seats and passengers.  

For the submarine, In order to span that large opening without the vertical structural members on the sides a heavy primary structural member had to be installed at the top sides to function as a bridging beam for the lighter deck frames.  It appears that these heavy beams extend somewhat down into the side opening because they had to be fastened to the forward and aft top stringers.  What type of beams they are, I don't know but my guess would be T beams on their side.  The span-wise deck frames are either riveted or welded to the horizontal portion of the T beam.

 

This is similar as I had to design for a few of the aircraft of an airline I was the director of QC and Engineering for.  The design was for the bridging of the cabin floor over the entire wing root that ran through the fuselage, which was primary structure.  I used aluminum I beams though.

 

In my rework on my model I tried to make the span-wise deck beams as thin as possible, about 3 mm.  The top of the door opening is even with the bottom part of the deck beams.  This does not give me anything for a doorstop on the top.  I will be forced to extend the top of the side plates down 1 mm when I put the paper side panels on.  Even so, I think it will look similar to the photographs we have of the O 19, O 20 and later models.  I may revise my thinking and device another method to act as the doorstops.

 

What Gino is talking about is the actual doors.  They hinge on the bottom and fold down not quite onto the top of the pressure hull.  The two doors on the actual torpedo tubes have two very heavy hinge brackets on top that stick up above the launcher assembly.  That's what makes the space on the top of the opening quite critical.  

 

On my model I calculated the hight between the top of the pressure hull and the top of the deck for my scale and cut the deck frames accordingly.  I also calculated the vertical measurement of the launcher assembly itself and have just enough space to let it come through the side opening with perhaps 1 to 1 1/2 mm to spare on top.  So I believe that what I have is close to accurate.  I see no problem to make the side doors fold down enough for the launcher assembly to rotate over them.

 

I am attaching a few pictures that show that the top of the side opening is below the top of the deck.  This is what I am trying to achieve and I think that's what Gino is referring to.  

 

This is a rather small pic of the O 19 but it shows what I mean.

 

This pic was taken in Scotland after her refit in 1944.  They removed the doors but the upper part of the door structure is clearly visible.

 

As the picture show this is a model of the O 21, quite a nice model.  Here you can see that the side doors are laying flat on the bottom.

 

Cheers and keep up your excellent work,

 

[Piet]

Hello friends,

 

I had some time today to do some work on the boat.  Last week I glued up three small pieces of 1 mm plywood to make the dive plane hinge supports and cut them out according to the sketch I made.

 

Today I made the dowels to fasten support struts from the screw shaft bearing housing to the hull and the dive plane hinge supports to the prop shaft bearing housing.  There is one more support strut from the bearing housing that runs diagonally up to the hull.  I have not shaped them yet, still pondering when to do that.  I'll most likely have to build a jig to locate this whole assembly correctly.  Everything is measured from the base plane, which is in my case the build board.

 

I drilled the dowel holes and proceeded to assemble these parst on the starboard side when I discovered that the dive plane hinge support piece was angled inboard too much.  Soooooh, scratch two pieces of work and remake them.  Yeah, they are currently glued up and curing under a few steel bucking bars. 

Tomorrow I'll finish shaping them and dry check on the boat.  

 

I got tired of pulling the bamboo skewer sticks through my drill index to reduce them in size.  So I devised another method that worked a lot faster.  I mounted the skewer in my Proxxon hand tool and placed it between two pieces of sand paper.  Wow, that worked a lot faster but I had to watch out because it has a tendency to take too much off at the tip.  Pics below show my mad method 

 

Pics below of the progress or lack thereof.

 

Skewer mounted in Proxxon hand tool.  see what I mean with the end?  Most of the skewer was usable though.

 

Ready to put between sandpaper.

 

Sanding the skewer.

 

Ready to dril holes for the dowels in prop shaft bearing housing for the dive plane brace.  

 

Ready to dril holes for dowels in prop shaft bearing housing for the support strut to the hull.

 

Ready to dril dowel holes in the dive plane hinge brace.

 

Both the prop shaft bearing housing support brace to the hull and the dive plane hinge support brace are doweled and temporarily attached to the prop shaft bearing housing.  Here I already noticed the potential problem.  What does one say under these circumstances?  Well, first I scolded myself, "you dumb @%*$ - - -"   Tomorrow is another day with some hot and sticky weather.

 

Cheers, 

[Kevin]

in real life what was the diameter 0f the propellor

[Piet]

Hello Kevin, good to hear from you!  As a quick response without looking further into it I'd say off hand the diameter of the prop is 1.9 meters.  It has three rather round blades.  Perhaps Gino den Ridder, my mentor, has the correct measurement handy.  We'll check.

 

Cheers and thanks for stopping by, 

[Piet]

Hello friends, it's been a semi productive day today.  I say 'semi' because I am also in the process of writing a bunch of recipes to be included in a cookbook that'll be produced by our financial advisor.  Most are old Dutch and Belgian recipes I remember my mother and grandmother used to make and a few from my home town, Surabaya, Indonesia (the former Dutch East Indies).

 

The new dive plane hinge braces turned out great. much better then the previous ones.  They still need finishing and fine tuning.  I also need to put the net cutter teeth on them and the hinge sockets.  

 

The challenging part was drilling the holes in the end bulkheads for the prop shafts.  There was not enough space for my small Proxxon hand tool and the flex shaft could not hold the drill bits I needed.  So, I took my long 1/8 inch aircraft drill and voila, I could at least drill a 1/8 inch hole, it was a start.  But now what?  

Okay, I took a #19 drill bit, 0.166 inch, which is a tad larger then the 5/32 inch shaft housing.  I tried to rotate it by hand but that was VERY slow going and uncomfortable to my delicate fingers.  I got myself a small pair of pliers and rotated the drill bitt that way while putting pressure on it with my left hand thumb.  It worked and I got through 

Yeah, yeah, I know, I should have drilled these holes before assembling the frame to the hull.  

 

Next step is to measure the length of the diagonal side brace between the prop shaft bearing housing and the hull and cut it out.  I don'y know if I can use dowels on both ends of this brace, I may have to drill diagonally through it at the hull side and then insert the dowels.  I like to secure the prop shaft rather well because that whole assembly sticks outside the hull and is rather vulnerable.  But all of these details will work out as well.  I have over 60 years of mechanical experience to fall back on 

 

Well, here are a few pics that'll tell the story.

 

I calculated that the distance from the bottom of the bearing housing is 38 mm from the base line of the boat, which is the surface of my build dock.  This assures also that the prop shaft is parallel to the waterline as well as the base line, i.e. the build dock. The dive plane hinge brace is seen head-on.  Looking it this pic I think I'll taper the rudder / keel brace aft a little more.  It looks kinda fat in the rear.  That bullet looking thingy you see standing up on the build board is the propeller hub for the port side assembly, still in the works.  You can also see the "difficult" hole I had to "worry" through.  I also need to fair in the part where the shaft comes out of the hull.  I need to "sculpt" a piece of basswood  for that.  Another thing I should have done some time ago.  Ah, those little jobs that were easy to do are now more difficult, but that keeps the old grey matter active 

 

Another shot almost straight on.  

 

A seagull's eye view of the assembly temporarily in place.  I also temporarily stuck the previous dive plane hinge brace on.  Below it you see the new one.  To the right you'll see the large drill bit I worried through the bulkhead.  I also filed a small copper tube to a sharp end and used that as a round chisel.   It kinda worked but didn't use it on the port side.  Aft of the assembly you see a small rectangular piece, that'll be for the diagonal brace.

 

Another view from diagonally above.  I may have to shorten the prop hub some to allow enough space for the dive plane in front of the hinge.

 

Looking aft at the assembly without the diagonal brace, which is waiting to be made.  Still a lot of work in detailing to be done.  

 

Cheers     

Edited May 5, 2014 by Piet

[Jim Lad]

A  lot of complex shapes that you've put in there, Piet.  Well done, mate!

 

John

[Piet]

Thanks everyone for your like votes, much appreciated!

 

Hello John, thanks for looking in and your most kind comment.  Yes, I guess this part of the build is perhaps the most complex of all.  Although I am not even thinking about the deck launch torpedoes, the deck gun and the A A guns.  I'm taking it one section at a time. 

 

I was able to work a few more hours on the boat and made the diagonal braces for the prop shaft bearing housing.  I also shaped the outboard dive plane hinge braces and installed two dowels in each.

 

Nothing is assembled yet because there is still some fine-tuning and adjustments to be made.

I need to figure out what steps need to be taken first and in what order I need to proceed from here.  Many small and not so small details to do and I don't want to get caught in having to remove something or try to work around something that's in the way just because of being impatient or not thinking ahead  

 

I may use two part epoxy cement to fasten this assembly to the hull for extra strength and it allows me some time to position it in the correct place. 

 

The pics below may not show much difference with the ones in the previous post but some of the parts are new and some are remade because I was not satisfied with them.

 

Okay here are some pics with comments.

 

Stern end view.  The new diagonal braces are pinned and glued to the prop shaft bearing housing and so are the small horizontal braces but the whole assembly is still temporarily stuck on and hanging by the prop shafts through the bulkhead.  The two outer dive plane braces are also still temporarily stuck to the bearing housing.  They will most like be the last to be cemented to the bearing housing.  Some metal work is yet to be done to them like the net cutters at the leading edge and the dive plane hinge receptacle.

 

Top view. The pencil marks on the dive plane hinge braces are areas that need to be removed for the brass plates for the plane hinge receptacles.  I may use two part epoxy cement for that.  I may do the same with the net cutters at the leading edge.  btw, these braces are made by glueing three layers of 1 mm plywood, they are nice and strong. 

 

Another view from the top.  You can see a hole in the trailing edge of the diagonal brace, that's for a dowel to attach it to the hull.  I also need to make a fairing for the area behind where the prop shaft comes out of the hull.  I will most likely do that with all this stuff off of the boat, that's another reason for waiting.  btw, that brass strip on the right side of the rudder hinge/keel is for the rudder hinge fixture and will be cemented to the bottom of that assembly.  Some of the wood still to be removed.

 

Port side view.  The dowel hole in the diagonal brace is now easily visible.

 

Close-up shot.  I have already shaped the inboard braces for better hydrodynamic performance    

 

Looking aft on the starboard side.  The diagonal brace still needs to be hydrodynamicaly shaped, it was still in the process of glue curing.

 

Cheers 

Edited May 5, 2014 by Piet

[popeye the sailor]

nice progress Piet.......it's always the roughest,  before the finish

[PacificCrossRoads]

Hi Piet. Great job! I'll borrow you new species! Can I?? Your colleague Boris.

[Piet]

Hi Popeye, well, it's slow going right now, too many other chores that interfere and we must keep the Admiral happy 

 

Hello Boris, yes you can.  Let me know what you need via my private e-mail.

 

Well, today was not a total loss though.  I managed to fine tune the position, i.e. square up the prop shaft assembly to the keel.  I also tapered the aft end of the rudder brace/keel support. Looks better.

I'm also in the process of making the prop shaft fairing pieces and bunch of other detail items.

It'll most likely be Monday at the earliest I can get back to the boatyard, aka garage.

 

All y'all have a great Labor day weekend, that is for the Americans among us, the rest have a great (short) weekend.  It's great seeing Adriaan back in the dockyard and hope Sjors is getting better too.

 

Cheers,

[Jim Lad]

Piet, what's to be said but - nice!

 

John

[S.Coleman]

Defiantly a masterpiece Piet! A real work of art. Keep up the great work!

[mtaylor]

Just playing catch-up, Piet.  Wonderful work on those tricky propshafts and fairings.

[Piet]

Thank you John and S.Coleman for your kind and encouraging words.  

Mister Coleman what does the S stand for?  Inquiring minds and all that 

 

A master piece?  Now I'm blushing    but nice to hear    She's coming along okay I would say, even when looking at it close buy.

 

Cheers, 

[Piet]

Hello mark, good to hear from you!  No sooner did I send a thank you post on John's and S.Coleman's kind words then I get one from you, my cup runneth over 

Thank you Mark for your comment, yes, all that work was a little challenging but it's working okay.  I also shortened the prop hubs a little, see how they'll fit.

 

Cheers,

 

[PacificCrossRoads]

Hi Piet. Thank you! I got your message ....  

[Piet]

Hello friends, and thank you all for the likes, really appreciate your votes of confidence.

 

Well, in the meantime I have started with the prop shaft fairings.  I made them from basswood.  I forgot again to make a few pics of them before glueing them to the hull, for shame.

I had to guess at where to drill the holes for the prop shafts but by carefully eyeballing it they came out right on the money, lucky me 

To ensure their proper location I cemented them to the hull with the prop shaft assemblies installed and pinned to the rudder hinge brace/keel with two-way epoxy cement with three dowel pins.  After the cement was cured I faired them in with the hull using wood filler and after that was cured overnight I sanded everything into the proper shape.  Hurray for wood filler/putty.

 

So, now I am at the spot where I have to glue the paper hull plates on.  I can't install the prop shaft bearing housing/dive plane braces until that area is plated.  This requires me to look at a bunch of old photos of the O 19 and O 20 to see where the seems are so I can at least come close to the actual boat.  I think this phase of the build will be a lot of fun to finally cover the "ugly" outside and actually see the real boat emerge.

 

The Admiral (Gwen) asked me when I was going to put the conning tower on.  I think after all the below the deck area is completed.  I need to have the model off the build board and upside down for most of that work and the con will be in the way.

 

Okay, I took a few pics of the prop shaft fairings.

 

Port view of the completed prop shaft fairing piece.  I also made the bottom rudder hinge bracket and epoxy cemented that to the rudder hinge/keel with two brass nails for good measure 

I'm happy with the results.

 

Starboard view of prop shaft fairing piece. 

 

Top view of prop shaft fairing pieces. 

 

Both prop shaft assemblies temporarily installed to check for fit.  There is some additional trimming and shimming needed but that'll come after the "steel" hull plates are glued on.  I also installed a small piece of copper tubing in the rudder hinge/keel for the rudder hinge pin.  Hmmm, that'll be fun project 

 

A close-up look of the prop shaft assembly loosely installed.  

 

Head on view.  As you can see there is some adjusting and shimming needed.

 

A shot looking aft.

 

Cheers    

[Jim Lad]

That's nice detail work there, Piet!

 

John

[popeye the sailor]

now it's beginning to take shape!    very nicely done! 

[Piet]

Thank you John and Popeye and everyone who voted "like."

 

This morning I actually started with laying on the "steel" hull plates.  Instead of using my heavy drawing paper I decided to use regular tan file folders.  They are a little thinner and smooth.  I'm using Liquitex glazing medium for cement, it penetrates into the paper and sticks it nicely to the hull.  What surprised me is that the paper will form a compound curve!  That was a pleasant surprise, I was worried having to cut slits in the paper and then somehow make them disappear.

I'll give her another coat of this stuff after all the plates are on.  I'll most likely use acrylic paint for the finishing paint job.  That'll give me the chance to use my airbrush outfit and acrylics are easy on the spray gun and for cleanup.  I'll be looking for semigloss or satin.   

 

I'm not going to mimic the rivets though, that would be one monumental task and in the end may not even that visible.

 

Sorry no pics yet, perhaps tomorrow.  

 

Cheers, 

[Sjors]

Hi Piet,

 

I'm still around even I don't say much…….

Your sub is coming very nice !

It looks to me if the props at the end are just like alien aircrafts       

But what do I know about subs  :mellow:

And yes, I'm going better everyday !

Hope to keep it this way.

 

[Piet]

Hoi Sjors, 

 

You and not saying much is an oxymoron.  Are you sure you are all right?  Still some fever perhaps???

Well, it's good to hear from you and that you are on the mend.  Back to work soon I guess? 

If I put three masts on this thing and shrouds with rat lines then you'll be more familiar with it, what'dya think? 

 

I'm having a ball and am neglecting the VOC ship 

 

Cheers,

[Piet]

Hello friends, and thank you all for the likes, wow!  really appreciate the encouragement it gives me. 

 

Today, after I mowed the back yard, I did some more "steel plating" on the sub.  Tedious work but I think it's beginning to look more like a steel boat. 

 

So, I'll share a few pics of the difficult area, the stern end.

 

I had to stick the prop shaft assembly back on for the picture, looks better I think     I try to follow the layout of the steel plates as much as possible from the photos I have.  These plates are all in not pressure sensitive area, i.e. they are not the pressure hull.  The plate with the oval thingy is the stern torpedo door.  That "thingy" looks like a hand-hold or to assist in closing the door manually.

 

A straight side shot.  I may or may not cement paper to the rudder/keel brace.  I also don't know yet how to finish the aft end of the prop shaft tear drop thingy.  Well, does it look like steel plates now?

 

Looking towards the stern.

 

Looking down on the hull. I am concentrating on the starboard side and do that first.  I'll have to mirror the port side to it.  The difficult part is from what you see here towards the stern but the bottom is done upside down.  The rest is on the build dock, it's steady that way.

 

Cheers 

[Jim Lad]

Nicely plated, Piet.  The boilermaker foreman would be proud of you.

 

John

[Jay 1]

The plating, and entire build, look outstanding, Piet--well done!

 

Jay

[mtaylor]

Looking great Piet.  And you say that paper stretches and conforms to the shape.... I'm amazed.  They look like preformed plates.

[Kevin]

i think the card that you are using is briiliant, prior to glueing , are you making a duplicate for the other side? 

[WackoWolf]

This is turning out beautiful, excellent work. keep the pictures coming.

[ianmajor]

Piet,

 

In answer to your question - yes, it does look like steel plating going on, even more so when it is painted. It is looking very good - or as we Brits would say "It looks a real mean machine".