The Ship Model Forum

Hi Jeroen,
Thanks for the complement I really appreciate it. This build in a way has reunited me with skills I used as a machinist. You might be surprised, but most of the models I built in the past were constructed out of the box! After looking at many original Fletcher photos and performing research (and lots of ongoing research) for this build I had two choices: 1. do another OOB build, or 2. make as many correction as I possibly can and elevate this poor excuse of a kit to resemble a real Fletcher. Well, I chose number 2 and I'm having a great time figuring out each step of the process.

Once again Thanks!!!!!!!
Roger DD-555

Hi Everyone,
This morning I finally glued on all the Grab rails and hatches.The little white squares are some kind of access covers, probably for assembly and or maintenance purposes and are only on one side of the turret.I made a gluing template to locate these tiny covers out of card stock. I line up the back and bottom edge on the turret and tape it on.Then I place three covers on the template next to where they will be glued. I place a tiny drop of styrene welder on the turret and drag the cover into place using the tip of my knife blade, line it up with the template and go on to the next cover.Any time I need to glue multiples of the same part and have them spaced the same I try to make a template to save time and aggravation of trying to make the turrets look alike. It took longer to make the template than to glue on 15 covers, in a word it worked “Great!!!” Now I need to make the hatches for the front and the hatch for the Mk 39 gun sight. I’m not looking forward to making the covers that have semicircles on each end. I don’t know how I’m going to hold them? Well check back and see how they turn out!!!!!!!!

Notice the blast shields have been glued on top of the turrets. I did this to plug the holes tomorrow they will be cut off and I will sand the top one last time. At least the kit parts that I'm not using are good for something!!!!!!!!

DD-555

Hi Everyone,
I removed the blast shields from the turrets today, they very admirably performed their duty and are now in the scrap bin where they belong. I chose to use 1/144th scale ladders I got from HR Products, I wish I got more of them but I didn’t know how they would look. I’ll have to reorder and wait eight more weeks for them to come in. As you can see, they are slightly smaller than the PE alternative, but I think being 3 dimensional they look much better. What do you think? I am trying to make the hatches for the front of the turrets as close to scale as possible, but not knowing the actual size my approximations so far look way to small. As everyone knows this kit has many obstacles to over come and I’m doing my best. The turrets are not exactly to size and I just have to wing it on the rest of the covers. Any way the turrets look 100% better than when I started working on them!!!!!!!

As usual check back for more to come!!!!!!!!

Roger DD-555

Hi everyone,
I've been doing some research this week. Rick Davis e-mailed me a couple awesome photos of the Haggard I have never seen before. They will allow me to do the specific type of building that will depict my build as the Haggard was built so many years ago.

The Haggard’s history is unique and very interesting like all the Fletchers built during WWII. This is an excerpt from the history section of the Haggard’s web site. The Haggard was credited with sinking two Japanese subs one of which was by ramming at full speed ahead none the less!!!!

(An excerpt from DD-555 USS Haggard’s History)
With the Pacific campaign then reaching its climax, Haggard sortied again with Vice Admiral Mitscher's 5th fleet carriers for attacks on Japan. During strikes on Honshu 18 19 March, Japanese suicide planes struck back at the task force. Haggard's gunners shot down several kamikazes, as carriers Franklin and Enterprise were damaged. After fueling at sea, the fast carrier group, moved toward Okinawa 22 March, with Haggard acting as picket destroyer ahead of the formation. Shortly before midnight she detected a surfaced submarine with radar, and after it dived attacked with depth charges. Ten minutes later the submarine surfaced on Haggard's port beam. Commander Soballe brought his ship into a hard left turn toward his adversary. With full throttle and guns blazing Haggard rammed the submarine I-371 amidships, sinking her in three minutes. After this daring duel, Haggard's crew made emergency repairs to her damaged bow and took her back to Ulithi 25 March.
Her repairs completed, Haggard sailed from Ulithi 21 April with battleship Iowa to support the Okinawa operation.

The following images depict the damage after ramming the sub. I am planning to get some 010 sheet styrene to simulate the repairs to the hull after sinking the sub. It should look great and further add to the realism to my build!!!!!!

The next bit of history only eight short days later with a sad twist of fate!!!!

(DD-555 History excerpt #2 4-29-1945)
While proceeding to picket station 29 April the ship was attacked by a kamikaze making a shallow dive to starboard. Though nearly blown apart by the fury of the destroyer's guns, the aircraft crashed close aboard and penetrated her hull near the waterline. Soon afterward, her bomb exploded in Haggard's engine room. As water gushed through the gaping hole in the destroyer's side and she began to settle, another suicide plane attacked, but was splashed by anti-aircraft fire. Through fast and skillful damage control the flooding was stopped and Haggard was kept afloat. Wounded were taken by cruiser San Diego and destroyer Walker arrived to tow the stricken ship to Kerama Retto near Okinawa. The ship arrived 1 May 1945.

Hampered by lack of materials and almost constant air alerts, Haggard's crew succeeded in repairing her so that she could get underway. She departed Kerama Retto 18 June 1945 and arrived Pearl Harbor via Saipan and Guam 12 July. From there she steamed to San Diego and the Canal Zone, arriving at Norfolk 5 August 1945.
Decommissioned 1 November 1945, Haggard was scrapped because of war damage.

In the next image I have circled one of the crew standing on I know not what floating next to his crippled ship. His name is Harold Bud Weigand; he was a carpenter’s mate aboard the Haggard from her maiden voyage to her last. He was one of many who helped patch her up enough to make it to a near by US held island for further repairs that allowed the Haggard to make her way home to the US.

Bud was instrumental in the creation of Haggard's web site. He is alive and doing well, I have been in contact with him since the end of March this year. After Bud's first reply to me I happened to check out a small hobby shop 25 miles away from where I live. I mentioned what I was currently building and it just so happens that the owner’s father was a torpedo man aboard the Haggard as well. His duty post was the forward torpedo launcher just above where the kamikaze struck the ship. He credits the sparing of his life to going to get a coffee after completing a double watch. Moment’s later tragedy rocked the ship and all hands in the forward engine room were instantly killed.

What are the chances of meeting up with two people within a week of each other that had ties to the Haggard? I was shocked and amazed to say the least!!!!!! I feel that I have chosen the best Fletcher for myself to build. The next time I visit the hobby shop the owner is going to show me all his dad's photos of the Haggard. I'm sorry to say, but his father is no longer with us.

Check back soon for more progress on DD-555!!!!!!!!!

Great story Roger. Especially meeting those two people… small world.
I like the 'simulated repair' idea. It is not necessary to say that I look forward to updates - you are going like mad!

Cheers
Jeroen

Hi Jeroen,
Thank you for your kind words of support. Later today I will add more details of the story I posted yesterday. Also I will make a special post this Sunday to commemorate the events of 29, April 1945.

Thanks to all of you who have viewed my build thread!!!!!!!!

Roger DD-555

Hi Everyone,
Yesterday I posted an amazing story if you have the time and like a good syory this is a more detailed version of my previous post.

A very exciting series of events happened to me through my research of the USS Haggard DD-555. I’m not sure if I mentioned in my thread that the DD-555 has its own web site (http://usshaggard.com/). The site has an E-mail address of the crewman who helped create the site Harold (Bud) Weigand; he was a carpenter’s mate aboard the Haggard from beginning to end. I sent him an E-mail and it came right back to me. The E-mail address was no longer active. Then I thought our service men from WWII if they are still alive are in their late 80’s or 90’s and he is probably no longer with us. Then some time near the end of March this year I was at the Tin Can Sailor web site and I found another E-mail address for Bud. I thought why not take a chance, so I sent an E-mail and this one didn’t come back, I was very excited. A little more than a week went by and I checked my E-mail to find a reply form Bud himself. He is legally blind but he can read if anything sent to him is the biggest font and in bold.

If you can believe it the story gets even more exciting for me. Everyone knows that real walk in hobby shops are few and far between these days. I located a shop online that is about 25 miles from where I live in Rhode Island. The shop is called Harry’s Hobbies & Collectables located just off Rte. 495 in Norton MA. Until this March my dad who is 78 was still working. My dad had his bank account on his way to work which happens to be on the same street Harry’s is located. I brought my dad to the bank one day and after I stopped in at Harry’s. Just my luck they open at 11:AM and I couldn’t wait until then. Anyway, a couple weeks went by and my dad asked if I could bring him to the bank again. This time it was a little later in the day and Harry’s was open!!!!!!!

As I mentioned in my post yesterday, my first visit to Harry’s Hobbies took place the same week I received the first E-mail from Bud!!! Harry’s Hobbies is a small hobby shop run by a husband/wife team. I was looking for paint and styrene for scratch building to save money on shipping charges from online purchases. The day of my visit Harry’s wife Kate was in charge and I mentioned to her I was building the Haggard from the Lindberg kit. She was surprised and said to me you mean the DD-555. To tell you the truth, I was shocked that she would know the hull number of the Haggard. She went on to tell me that her husband’s father Harold Martin was one of the crew of the Haggard from the very beginning to end just like Bud. I told her about my experience of just being contacted by Bud the same week; it was amazing that in such a short time coming in contact with two people that have ties to the ship I’m modeling. What are the chances of this happening? I guess I couldn’t have chosen a better Fletcher for my build.

It wasn’t until my third visit to Harry’s hobbys that I met Kates husband Harold named after his father. He told me about the day the kamikaze hit the Haggard and that his dad was a torpedo man on the forward torpedo mount. He had just finished a double watch and went to the galley for a cup of coffee when the plane struck the ship just under his duty position. He told his son that he felt that cup of coffee saved his life that day. I don’t know if anyone on deck lost their life due to the attack, but I do know that everyone in the forward engine room was killed. Harold Martin’s father passed away when he was in his 80’s. Harry told me he has some pictures of the Haggard that belonged to his dad and he said I can see them next time I visit his shop. Needless to say, I can’t wait for my next visit!!

In the words of Paul Harvey, “And that’s the rest of the story!!!!!!!”

Roger DD-555

Today is the 67th Anniversary of the Kamikaze attack of the USS Haggard DD-555. The attack occurred at 4:57 PM 29 April 1945 off of Okinawa. I would like to honor her crew men who were lost that day. I would also like to honor the survivors as well, many of which are no longer with us. I can not imagine what the world we live in today would be like if it were not for the brave men and women whom unselfishly served our great nation with no regard for their own life. The following is a memoriam from http://usshaggard.com/

I would like to ask for a moment of silence for these brave young men.

Memoriam
Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
"Who bidst the might ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep:
O hear us when we cry to thee
For those in peril on the sea
Amen

Men Lost Aboard The USS Haggard
Jean, A.B.
Fox, R.H.
Belanger, A.V.
Crocker, L.V.
Gustafson, G.A.
Haukedahl, R.R.
Jennings, O.D.
Keil, H.W.
Kern, J.F.
Krupsa, A.
La Blanc, L.P.
Quandee, H.B.
Roubicek, F.E.
Tolan, J.K.
Weymann, S.

Thank You for Your Reverence,

Today is also my 52nd birthday. My life has been touched in a mighty way through my research and building of the USS Haggard. Never again will I build a kit out of the box without first performing an in depth study of the subject. Those of you whom have followed my build know I chose the Haggard because of the events of April 29, 1945. I would recommend to anyone not to choose to model a given ship just by her achievements, but if at all possible try to find some kind of link between yourself and the ship you’re deciding to model.

My next build of the USS Bennett DD-473 in 1/96 scale is in the planning stages. The Bennett is also linked to me in that she was built at the Boston Navy Yard where my grand father worked as a ship fitter during WWII. My grand father passed away before I was old enough to know him. There is no way for me to know which ships he worked on, so I chose the Bennett for two reasons. I wanted to build a round bridge Fletcher and I wanted to build a Fletcher that received the emergency kamikaze upgrade. The first five Fletcher's built in Boston were all round bridge versions and the Bennett received the kamikaze upgrade as well.

I will be starting the build before I finish the Haggard and I’m not sure if the build thread will be documented at this site or on warship models underway. If I choose MWU I will be sure to post a link on my Haggard build thread.

I am very happy to be a member of such a fine group of modelers and thank you very much for following my build of DD-555!!!!!!!

Roger DD-555

PS, I placed an order for fittings with John R. Haynes this morning for DD-473 and I ordered a deck structure set from CNC models. The Hull and more fittings will come from scale shipyard. To place an order from scale shipyard it is done by snailmail only if you can imagine that in this day and age!!!!!!!!!!

The following is an excerpt from the history section at http://usshaggard.com/. Many of the Haggard's crew have written about their experience of the kamikaze attack of 29 April, 1945 against their ship. The following is by Verner J. Soballe the last commander of the Haggard. For those interested check out the history section to read all the remarks of the crew from the attack that almost sunk their beloved ship 67 years ago today!!!!!!!!

Work on the Haggard will continue this week, check back soon for more progress!!!!!!!!!

Roger DD-555

I do like those short stories, Roger. I've got a few books containing experiences lived through by soldiers.

happy birthday
Jeroen

Thanks Jeroen,

I'm glad you liked my Memorial to the crew of the Haggard.

According to the most recent e-mail I received from Bud, September 19, 2012 will be the Last Reunion of the USS Haggard DD-555. He said it will be as sad a day as the day the Haggard was decommissioned and then scrapped. He said the remaining crew members will keep in touch but this will be the last time they see each other.

His words made me feel sad and I wish I could go to their last reunion. I don't know how many of the crew are still alive, but they served the United States and the world and have really accomplished a lot in their life time. I for one will remember their sacrifices during WWII every time I look at my build of the DD-555.

Roger

I got some fittings in yesterday from the UK. I found the Model Dockyard online and they have a section of 1/128 scale fittings. I’ve been having trouble finding some decent anchors for my DD-555. The anchors I got from them are not exactly shaped correct but I think they're close enough. I'm going to file the tips so they're not so rounded and I think they will look fine. Note:The small anchor on the left its a 1/144 scale USN DD anchor from HR Products. The shape looks ok but it is way to small. I also got a few reels and stowage boxes that should fit right in on my build.
They also had some single 20mm Oerlikon, the picture on their site really didn't show much detail and after seeing them in real life they look more like a USN 50cal machine gun with a round magazine on top. They have almost no flash with practically no clean up needed and it only took a week to get them in. I think I might try to rework them a little to see if they are useable.

Today I went to the hobby shop and got a PE fret for German machine guns in 1/48 scale. The sights are small enough to use for the Mk-39 gun sight atop my 5" turrets. In a couple days I should have some of the sights built!!!!!!!!

Check back real soon!!!!!!!!!!

Roger DD-555

Hi Everyone,
I haven’t done much work on the Haggard since a few days before my birthday. I’ve been busy ordering everything for my next build. In a couple weeks I will start a build thread on this site of the USS Bennett DD-473 in 1/96th scale and in her kamikaze refit with the quad 40mm mounts in place of the forward torpedo mount. Like I said I don’t like to do a lot of work under a magnifying glass, not to mention it's like you guys building in 1/350th scale you can get almost anything in 1/96 scale, and it's easier on the eyes.

First I made the top hatch then I made all the hatches for the front of the 5inch turrets. I tried to make the tiny hatches for the front that have a radius on each end, but I gave up and made them rectangular. Also, notice the hatches on the lower front of the turret are hard to see due to being cut from clear styrene sheet. Note: All of the hatches on the front of the turret are way out of scale, but the turret is too wide and if I made them smaller they looked out of place. This kit has its problems and the turrets are one of them. If I were able to find a blue print I could have made them from scratch, but I just have to live with them the way they are. Even though the kit turrets are way off and have been a real pain in the "Butt" to work with, I wouldn’t replace them even if I were offered a set of cast turrets for free. I fell in love with them after making the movable gun mount and all the time and effort I put into them.

Next, I have to make the Mk-39 gun sight. Russ2146 gave me the link for the Mk-39 gun sight at: http://www.hnsa.org/doc/fiveinchtwin/five512.htm. Rick E. Davis gave me this picture of a 5" turret with the gun sight in view from the back. I wish I had a picture of the side view, but Rick said this is about the best picture he's ever found of the Mk-39.
I was at the hobby shop and picked up a set of 1/48 scale PE German machine guns made by Toms for $8.50. As you can see the PE set has a bunch of very small cross hair sights that are not exact, but should not look too big on top of the turrets. I’m sure they will be a pain to make, but I’ll do my best on them.After I finish the gun sight the turrets will finally be painted. They should look really awesome!!!!!!!

Like always check back for more!!!!!!!!!

Roger DD-555

I did a little more hunting for the gunsight. Most times the gunsights were in the stowed position (looks like the sight could be laid flat ... how I don't know) in yard photos and at sea or the photo is too distant to make out the gunsight.

Here is a side profile aboard NICHOLAS (DD-449) in January 1944.

Hi Rick,
What can I say, but THANK YOU VERY MUCH, YOU are TRULY AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for posting this photo on my humble build of the worst kit known to man and ship builder alike!!!!!!

Roger DD-555, and soon to be DD-473 as well!!!!!!

Hi Everyone,
Today I did a little body work on the hull. The port bow before and after sanding.Starboard bow before and after sanding.After sanding you can see that it needs a lot more more filler especially the starboard side. Every place there’s a rib inside the hull you will find a vertical grove on the outside of the hull.The small groves don't need much to fill them. The Bow is the worst part and needs a good amount to fill the imperfections. I used Bondo Glazing putty to fill in the grooves. I tested it on some scrap first and it seems to etch into the styrene, but not enough to cause any amount of damage. As it dries small cracks are formed in the putty, so I will need to put a very thin coat after I have the imperfection completely filled to fill any cracks in the Bondo.

This is the first model I have ever done body work on; it’s another first for me!!!!!!

Also today I began cutting and bending wire for the Mk-39 gun sights.After everything was precut I glued the first one together less the control handles and the linkage on the sides. I had a tough time gluing the wire for the sight onto the styrene side rails and the main support to the sight assembly. After finally gluing the first one together it looked too high when I placed it on the turret. I filed it down a bit then I glued it on. Tomorrow I’m going to make the control handles out of a piece of PE railing that I will not be using. These gun sights are the smallest things I have ever made in my life. I can almost hear you guys laughing at me because you do this type of small work all the time. I’m going to sound like an echo, but I don’t like to work under the magnifying glass. Anyway I’m not finished with the first one yet and I have four more to make. I can’t wait to finish these things so I can paint the turrets and move on to something else!!!!!!!!!

Check back later for more!!!!!!!!

Roger DD-555/DD-473

Roger, you're doing great. I'd like to see some paint on the turrets too.
Are you still planning the repair simulation to the hull?

Cheers
Jeroen

Hi Jeroen,
Yes, I'm still going to do the simulated repair plating. I hope I can attach it on top of the Bondo. I'm going to the hobby shop either today or tomorrow. I'm going to get a few more styrene shapes and try a little rework on the next four Mk-39's. If they come out better than the first I'll replace that one and paint one of the turrets before I finish the rest for everyone to see!!!!!!!!!!

Roger DD-555/DD-473