Garden Island December 2009
- Thread starter rossfrb_1
- Start date
t68
Well-Known Member
the huge crane's in the back ground,are they still used or just relics from the days gone buy?
t68
Well-Known Member
I stumbled on information in a different forum about the crane. It’s called a Hammerhead crane.
Quote from wiki,
The "hammerhead", or giant cantilever, crane is a fixed-jib crane consisting of a steel-braced tower on which revolves a large, horizontal, double cantilever; the forward part of this cantilever or jib carries the lifting trolley, the jib is extended backwards in order to form a support for the machinery and counter-balancing weight. In addition to the motions of lifting and revolving, there is provided a so-called "racking" motion, by which the lifting trolley, with the load suspended, can be moved in and out along the jib without altering the level of the load. Such horizontal movement of the load is a marked feature of later crane design. These cranes are generally constructed in large sizes, up to 350 tons.
The design of hammerkran evolved first in Germany around the turn of the 19th century and was adopted and developed for use in British shipyards to support the battleship construction program from 1904-1914. The ability of the hammerhead crane to lift heavy weights was useful for installing large pieces of battleships such as armour plate and gun barrels. Giant cantilever cranes were also installed in naval shipyards in Japan and in the USA. The British Government also installed a giant cantilever crane at the Singapore Naval Base (1938) and later a copy of the crane was installed at Garden Island Naval Dockyard in Sydney (1951). These cranes provided repair support for the battle fleet operating.
The national trust of Australia is working to have it working again in lower weight capability, according to the Trust is still works but has not been used in 10 years .its not a ship and nobody seems to think much of these type of thing but are part of an important part of history in the RAN.
Our Heritage At Risk - National Trust - Hammerhead Crane, Potts Point
Quote from wiki,
The "hammerhead", or giant cantilever, crane is a fixed-jib crane consisting of a steel-braced tower on which revolves a large, horizontal, double cantilever; the forward part of this cantilever or jib carries the lifting trolley, the jib is extended backwards in order to form a support for the machinery and counter-balancing weight. In addition to the motions of lifting and revolving, there is provided a so-called "racking" motion, by which the lifting trolley, with the load suspended, can be moved in and out along the jib without altering the level of the load. Such horizontal movement of the load is a marked feature of later crane design. These cranes are generally constructed in large sizes, up to 350 tons.
The design of hammerkran evolved first in Germany around the turn of the 19th century and was adopted and developed for use in British shipyards to support the battleship construction program from 1904-1914. The ability of the hammerhead crane to lift heavy weights was useful for installing large pieces of battleships such as armour plate and gun barrels. Giant cantilever cranes were also installed in naval shipyards in Japan and in the USA. The British Government also installed a giant cantilever crane at the Singapore Naval Base (1938) and later a copy of the crane was installed at Garden Island Naval Dockyard in Sydney (1951). These cranes provided repair support for the battle fleet operating.
The national trust of Australia is working to have it working again in lower weight capability, according to the Trust is still works but has not been used in 10 years .its not a ship and nobody seems to think much of these type of thing but are part of an important part of history in the RAN.
Our Heritage At Risk - National Trust - Hammerhead Crane, Potts Point