The pic is rather too grainy to really tell. One question though: since we know that the Counties featured 4 pairs of stabilizers, why should Bristol not have the three pairs as shown on Hood's drawing? They could be retractable...
_________________ My Avatar:Петр Алексеевич Безобразов (Petr Alekseevich Bezobrazov), Вице-адмирал , царская ВМФ России(1845-1906) - I sign my drawings as Ari Saarinen
One other problem with the picture is that Bristol, after being stripped and becoming a hulk, likely would have had any stabilisers she was equipped with removed and the holes permanently filled-in to lower maintenance requirements. (And, if she did have bilge keels so high up, those likely removed to stop a tug (Edit: Or the pier she's tied to.) from dishing them in.)
Of course, I could be completely wrong about this, as I have never seen a picture of her in a graving dock during her all too-short service career.
Edit: Removing the stabilisers would also reclaim the space previously used by their machinery, though I somewhat doubt she is incredibly pressed for space in her current role - another possibility is that her as-built configuration (if the public plans are correct) was designed for the ship to be incredibly stable while under-way (for the Type 988, perhaps?), and less effective while moored or under tow.
Posts:2936 Joined: July 26th, 2010, 11:38 pm
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I did not mean to suggest that Bristol did or did not have active stabilization, only that the picture should be used to accurately locate the bilge keels.
I didn't mean to imply otherwise! Apologies if I did.
I was suggesting that her bilge keels might have been replaced/relocated, with the old, higher-on-the-hull location changed to one at the turn of the bilge during one of her refits after inactivation.
Well, it's not exactly like there are gaps in that bilge keel for stabiliser fins, and we are talking about the semi-modern Royal Navy and wasting money.
Edit: In the end, it's the artist's choice, but I do not think a graving dock picture from 2010 is enough evidence to overturn the plans we can find, unless there's some indication said plans are incorrect.