Calling all Buckley-class/Captain-class (DE/APD) fans

[HMS Zulu]

Received in the post today 'Captain class Frigates' by Donald Collingwood, who served on HMS Cubitt in WW2. Although i've only had a brief glance at it and the 29 photos included, I can highly reccomend it if you're building a Captain class - although it's not heavy on photographs, the information contained within should be very useful in building your vessel

[Capt652]

Does anyone have any pictures of the area forward of where the stack meets the deckhouse on any Buckley class ships? I've been looking through the ships at Navsource but haven't seen too much of that area for detail. The deck on the Trumpy model looks pretty darn barren there. I would imagine that something, structures, storage, ventilators should be there? I did find one photo from DE 218 amidships at Navsource that shows some detail, do you think that it represents correctly for England?

http://www.navsource.org/archives/06/im ... 621803.jpg

Thanks

Timm

[JD2870]

Timm, you probably cant go wrong with placing some additional ammo lockers there. From looking at some shots of modified Buckleys, it looks like there were ready ammunition lockers installed at various points near the guns. Unfortunately I don't have anything more specific.

I have a couple questions of my own, though. Does anyone know where the inclined ladders which are included in the GMM Buckley Class PE set are supposed to be placed? Unless I am mistaken, there is no reference on the instructions. I would think that they are placed on those wing platforms just aft of the bridge structure.

Incidentally, this brings me to another question. While looking for photo an Navsource, I ran across quite a few pictures of Buckley class DE�s which seem to have underwent significant overhaul, replacing their 3� mounts with two enclosed 5� mounts and adding a significant amount of AA in lieu of the torpedo mount. It even looked to me that some of the 20mm positions were replaced with 40mm singles.

USS Darby, DE 218 appears to have replaced the torpedo mount with 2 twin 40mm and 2 additional 20mm mounts, in addition to the 5� mounts.

http://www.navsource.org/archives/06/im ... 621803.jpg
http://www.navsource.org/archives/06/im ... 621802.jpg

USS Harmon DE 678 seems to have the same modifications.

http://www.navsource.org/archives/06/im ... 667807.jpg

USS Schmitt, DE-676 seems to have replaced at least the amidships 20mm mounts with 40mm singles, but has retained the 1.1� quad.

http://www.navsource.org/archives/06/im ... 667604.jpg

Does anyone know if there were standard rearmament plans for the Buckley�s? These upgunned Buckley�s would make for an interesting modification of the England kit, with all the additional AA.

Thanks.

[Timmy C]

Regarding the inclined ladders, I put them to connect the forward and aft main decks. This picture shows one on the port side:
http://www.navsource.org/archives/06/images/0663301.jpg

You can also see a starboard side one hidden at the upper left of this picture:
http://www.navsource.org/archives/06/im ... 663606.jpg

[Timmy C]

Also, these plans may help you if you decide to make a 5" Buckley:
http://www.hnsa.org/doc/plans/de701.pdf

It also shows a few bits and pieces for the area around the funnel trunk base.

[JD2870]

Woops, I thought I responded to this post, but I guess not. Thanks for the info Timmy, a great help as always. If I find a USS England for a decent price, I will take a stab at a 5� conversion. Also, sort of in line with my prior posts, I noticed that Pit Road released USS Cannon, DE 99 ( at http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10093516 ) and USS Slater, DE 766, (at http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10087948) (Buckley�s with different engines if I am not mistaken). The kits appear to be the trumpy kit with extra parts for 3 2x40mm mounts. It looks like these are limited run, Japan only, kits. I guess I will just continue with my plan of scratchbuilding a variation.

[Timmy C]

The Cannon kit is a 500-run limited release, whereas the -766 "Percival" was released a few months earlier in accordance with the movie Last Operations under the Orion. They are basically the Trumpeter England kits, but include the necessary funnel and 40mm+platforms to make them into some of the Cannon class.

[ottoirving]

MY CAPTAIN CLASS CONTRIBUTION!

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=45163&p=300046#p300046

-CAMOUFLAGE
-NUMBERS
-COLORS.

[Capt652]

Question for all...

Can anyone tell me the path of the antenna wires in routing along the stack and the mast cross arm forward?

Thanks

Timm

[Russ2146]

In reference to the space forward of the forward uptake of the stack, the Navsource photo http://www.navsource.org/archives/06/im ... 621803.jpg shows it well.

The rectangular object is an exhaust vent for the galley. It was especially useful in the winter for staying somewhat warm while I was taking a cigarette break. The round objects are also vents but are intakes. Not nearly as useful. The first rectangle aft of the aft uptake of the stack, with something laying on it, is also a vent. The next rectangles are ready ammo boxes.

Note the vertcal ladders from the 01 deck to the 02 level mast support extension and from there to the 03 extension/RDF loop

The model is missing a water tight door on the 01 level to the starboard side of the aft bulkhead of the enclosed portion of the 01 deck. This gave exterior access to the Captain's cabin, radio shack and ship's office.

Antenna placement and configuration would be impossible to describe verbally. The model is missing a pipe like attachment to the rear of the 01 bulkhead. From there, antennas went to supports on eiter side of the stack and from there to the aft gun director platform. From there, there was and inverted Y with the leg of the Y leading up to the mast. There were also verticle long wire antennas fron the superstructure to the higher reaches of the mast.

I would suggest and recommend Floating Drydock's e-book. It fills in lots of blanks.

[falcon04]

Is the Floating Drydock e-book on the Buckley class out yet? The FD website doesn't clearly indicate.

If it is, and someone has this, what is given on the immediate post-war 5"/38 modification(s) done at Mare Island ?

[Russ2146]

Falcon,
Yes, the e-book, actually a CD in Adobe, is available.

The book does not show post-war mods. However, note that some Buckleys were up-gunned in November of 1945 and thus were not Rudderows etc but buckleys, as built.

The Hedgehog Launcher was moved from the main deck behind the 5" 38 turret to the 01 deck ahead of the bridge/pilot house.
A turret was also added to the fantail in lieu of the 3" 50. A 5" 38 practice loader was added between that turret and the deck house.

See: http://www.navsource.org/archives/06/219.htm

[falcon04]

Russ - TY - I'm aware of the changes made to those 11 Buckley's, and have all the NavSource images, the Floating Drydock's "Destroyer Escorts of World War Two", Franklin's "The Buckley Class Destroyer Escorts", and the PDF drawings provided earlier in this thread.

I was hoping for some higher resolution images from those November '45 Mare Island pics ( "post war" applied perhaps too literally by me for mods obviously begun in wartime ) or some other imagery and drawings.

Does this CD in .pdf format contain more or better images of the 1945 5" / 38 refits, or do I have all that is available ?

[Russ2146]

Hang on, I'll put it in and check it.

[Russ2146]

OK, On the up-gunned ships, it has the same photos as found in Navsource but in much higher resolution, much more detail is visible. In addition there is a Stbd side profile from separate plans that TFD sells of DE-217. The plans are designated TFW-DE217 Plan and it comes in 1/96.

I've looked around quite a bit as a future project is DE-219 as she was in the 60's as a Reserve Training Ship. So far, TFD is the best source I've found.

[falcon04]

Thanks, Russ. That helps.

[Rick E Davis]

I don't have many scans of DE's, but I came across one of the up-gunned BUCKLEY's, DE-679 GREENWOOD at Hunters Point Navy Yard on 26 November 1945. I have tried cropping these two images down to capture more details.

[falcon04]

Rick - thanks - these add some more detail which I didn't have. ( Sorry for the delayed TY - got a new hip last week on the 17th, and can even now sit in my modeling or computer chairs for way more than the 10 minutes or so I could stand before. ( (That's what 35+ years of distance running gets you - a lean muscular body and a walker )

I have a particular interest in USN in 1941 prior to 12 DEC and again just before and after the end of the Pacific war, so these "last wartime mods" for those 11 Buckleys are right on target. I again surmise that these 11 vessels probably had the "neutral" grays like the Gearing when overhauled.

Any thing else you can add will be always appreciated

[binbag]

Hi there;

New to the forum, but I am after information as whether there is a kit that can be modified to represent HMS Bazely. I know this was an Evarts rather than a Buckley, but I am very interested in this as my Uncle was a Petty Officer on the Bazely. Family legend has it that he was mentioned in despatches whilst on the Bazely, and I am trying to obtain his naval records from Kew.

I am building the Buckley class in the interim with the White Ensign brass and conversion set- which one, yet to decide.

Many thanks
Binbag

[Russ2146]

Welcome!

DE 2 Unnamed Laid Down: 5 Apr 1942 Launched: 27 Jun 1942 To UK 18 Feb 1943 Named HMS BAZELY K-311
Returned to USN 22 Aug 1945

DE2 Bazely (K-311) GMT BNY 4/5/42 6/27/42 2/18/43 Lt Cdr J V Brock, RCNVR Decommissioned 8/20/45
BNY - Boston Navy Yard
GMT - Diesel electric tandem motor drive - short hull
LOA LatWL Beam Std Displacement Full Load Trial Speed Kts
289' 5", - 283' 6", - 35' 2", - 1,140, 1,430, - 21.5

Props mfr & Eng type Shaft Horsepower
2 G.M. diesel model 16-278A 6,000

All of the above came from http://www.desausa.org/
The only 1/350 scale model of a DE in plastic is Trumpeter's USS England, but that would involve a lot of scratch building.
There is a 1/350 Evarts Class model available from Iron Shipwrights in resin. http://ironshipwrights.com/ships.htm