Category: 1950s

Cutaways from the 1950s (1950 to 1959).

  • Dry-Land Submarine Trainer, 1950

    Dry-Land Submarine Trainer, 1950

    Its proper name was the Mark VII Attack Teacher and it was housed in a 3 story building in New London, CT.

    In an age before computers could process graphics, vehicle and nautical simulations had to be done with models.

    Trainees sat in a submarine mockup on the second floor, with a periscope jutting up into the third floor.  On that third floor was a terrazzo tile floor–each square representing 1,000 yards–with remote control wired cars made up to look like little submarines.

    Operators in the control room would plot enemy courses with the aid of mainframe computers.

    The model was so accurate that it even duplicated the curvature of the Earth.

    Click to Enlarge to 895 x 607 px:

    Dry Land Submarine Trainer 1950
    Dry Land Submarine Trainer 1950

    Represented below is a closeup of the terrazzo floor, showing that one ship (#5) is within 2,000 yards of the periscope.  Note wires extending from ships.

     

    Submarine Trainer Simulation Floor 1950
    Submarine Trainer Simulation Floor 1950

    Source:  Popular Science January 1950

  • Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel Cutaway, 1950

    Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel Cutaway, 1950

    The Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel was new in 1950, when Alexander Leydenfrost drew this cutaway.  At 9,117 feet, it is the longest continuous underwater tunnel in North America, according to Wikipedia.

    Click to Enlarge to 818 x 771 px:

    Brooklyn Battery Tunnel 1950
    Brooklyn Battery Tunnel 1950

    Source:  Popular Mechanics May 1950

  • Soviet T-34 Tank Cutaway, 1950

    Soviet T-34 Tank Cutaway, 1950

    A circa 1950 G.H. Davis cutway drawing of two Soviet T-34 tanks (in the rear is the bottom of the upcoming Joseph Stalin III tank).

    The T-34 weighed about 34 tons, with a 500 hp diesel engine.  Max speed:  30 mph.

    Source:  Popular Mechanics November 1950

  • Cutaway of TV Studio Floating on Air, 1950

    Cutaway of TV Studio Floating on Air, 1950

    This TV studio in Chicago had one problem:  it was located in the same building as printing presses for the Chicago Tribune.  Vibration from the rumbling presses would compromise TV production.

    Solution:  float the studio on air.

    Rubber bags, each 14 x 30 inches, were inflated and placed under the flooring.  The bags elevated the floor 1/4 inch.

    Click to Enlarge Image to 1019 x 677 px:

    Cutaway of TV Studio Floating on Air, 1950
    Cutaway of TV Studio Floating on Air, 1950

    Source:  Popular Mechanics November 1950

  • Aircraft Carrier Steam Catapult Cutaway, 1953

    Aircraft Carrier Steam Catapult Cutaway, 1953

    Aircraft Carrier Steam Catapult, 1953
    Aircraft Carrier Steam Catapult, 1953

    Pictured is a 1953 cutaway of the planned HMS Perseus, showing the novel introduction of a steam catapult to replace the customary cylinder, ram, pulley, and wire catapults.

    The plane is hooked to a long, slotted cylinder.  High pressure steam is released from the ship’s boilers into the cylinder.

    As of the date of that article, only test planes and concrete weights had been launched.  But these test “flights” were highly successful.  One unpiloted test plane was flung to 1,500 feet and circled the ship for four minutes while everyone ran for cover.  Finally, its tanks ran dry and the plane fell into the sea.

    Source: Popular Mechanics March 1953