Shell Handling Room
By Patrick McSherry
Located a deck below OLYMPIA's Dynamo Room,
and accessed via a hatch is the forward shell handling room. The shell
handling room was simply a room central to a series of magazines - magazines
for each of the ammunition types required by the ship's different sizes
of guns - where shells were brought out and started on their ascent to
the guns via hoists and elevators. The shell handling room is located on
the lowest deck in the vessel, on the same level as the engine and boiler
rooms.
The large seacock in the shell handling room
Forward and to either side of the shell handling room are magazines.
The aft bulkhead has the remains of elevators for smaller projectiles.
The center of the shell handling room is dominated by a large seacock or
valve. The purpose of this valve was to flood the magazines in case of
fire, or to aid in scuttling the ship should that be necessary.
The bulkheads in the space are covered with painted cork. The purpose
of this finish was to aid in eliminating the danger of sparks.
