Calling all New Orleans-class (CA-32) fans

[Jeff Sharp]

This is a look at Tuscaloosa in Iceland Nov. '41 wearing MS-12 camo. One of the things that helps to identify her from her 2 sisters while wearing this camo is the paint line separating the two colors on her bow. It was very high up, just under the anchor. This line was much lower on Quincy and Vincennes.



Here is another look at that high paint line while she was at the Atlantic Conference in Aug. '41.

[maccrage]

So I decided on 1937-38 for my Astoria build. Would Gloss Black stripes on the forward turrets and ad Gloss White circle on Turret 3 be the correct aerial recognition markings?

[taskforce48]

Yes according to my September of 1937 and July of 1938 listings

Matt

[maccrage]

Yes according to my September of 1937 and July of 1938 listings

Matt

Thanks. I'd decided to do her as she was when she was here for the 1937 Rose Festival Fleet Week, and she didn't have the markings yet. But since I have the Astoria turrets with blast bags, and she did not have them during Rose Fest, I'm doing her a bit later, when she had both.

[jester63]

Hello maccrage, I am the designer of the Quincy, Vincennes, and Astoria Conversion sets. RED DEVIL DESIGNS is what I go by. I'm out of Michigan. If you need a Searchlight tower for your Astoria, I have them avaliable in resin. Any 20mm Oerlikon or Quad 1.1 AA Guns or parts for any of those ships, let me know!

[maccrage]

Hello maccrage, I am the designer of the Quincy, Vincennes, and Astoria Conversion sets. RED DEVIL DESIGNS is what I go by. I'm out of Michigan. If you need a Searchlight tower for your Astoria, I have them avaliable in resin. Any 20mm Oerlikon or Quad 1.1 AA Guns or parts for any of those ships, let me know!

Hi,
I have the new Astoria set with the tower, as well as the Quincy and Vincennes sets on order. Won't need any 20s or 1.1s, since I'm doing them all pre-King Board AA mods. Also just got a set of your cruiser catapults in the mail today. Beautiful work, as always.

[Guest]

I understand not needing the AA. Interested in seeing them in a early war appearance! Make sure you keep us posted on your builds! If you want, I'd love to have you post build updates on our Facebook page! I am working on your order as we speak! Thanks again, and hope you enjoy! Let me know if you need anything!! Interested to see them in their early war appearance

[maccrage]

I understand not needing the AA. Interested in seeing them in a early war appearance! Make sure you keep us posted on your builds! If you want, I'd love to have you post build updates on our Facebook page! I am working on your order as we speak! Thanks again, and hope you enjoy! Let me know if you need anything!! Interested to see them in their early war appearance

Quincy and Astoria arrived today. Top notch work, as always!

[maccrage]

Vincennes arrived today.

[rvuorenr]

I think these pictures of CA-36 in Helsinki Finland have not been published here before. I'm planning to build a diorama of her in the narrow Kustaanmiekka strait. According to the archaive the pictures are from 1934, but this clearly is wrong. Any idea when she has been touring in the Nordics?

Please click on the pictures you find from links below to get full reso (you can download tiff)

https://finna.fi/Record/museovirasto.7D ... 8DEF75DE6E
https://finna.fi/Record/museovirasto.01 ... 70?imgid=1
https://finna.fi/Record/museovirasto.93 ... AA?imgid=1
https://finna.fi/Record/museovirasto.0A ... 9D?imgid=1
https://finna.fi/Record/museovirasto.A3 ... F49F1C8DBB
https://finna.fi/Record/museovirasto.11 ... C327D13935

[Timmy C]

She conducted her shake-down cruise "in European waters during July to September 1934", according to her DANFS entry, so I don't see an issue with the 1934 date? https://www.history.navy.mil/research/h ... is-ii.html

[maccrage]

1934 should be correct. Minneapolis transferred to the Pacific in April 1935.

After shakedown in European waters from July�September 1934 and alterations in Philadelphia Navy Yard, the new heavy cruiser departed on 4 April 1935 for the Panama Canal and San Diego, arriving on 18 April to join Cruiser Division 7 (CruDiv 7), Scouting Force. She operated along the west coast, aside from a cruise to the Caribbean early in 1939, until arriving at Pearl Harbor in 1940.[4]

[rvuorenr]

1934 should be correct. Minneapolis transferred to the Pacific in April 1935.

After shakedown in European waters from July�September 1934 and alterations in Philadelphia Navy Yard, the new heavy cruiser departed on 4 April 1935 for the Panama Canal and San Diego, arriving on 18 April to join Cruiser Division 7 (CruDiv 7), Scouting Force. She operated along the west coast, aside from a cruise to the Caribbean early in 1939, until arriving at Pearl Harbor in 1940.[4]

Thanks, I didn't realize she sailed straight to Europe after entering the service!

[Dick J]

For the ship to be Minneapolis (not doubting the ID), the photos would have had to have been taken in 1934. The communications bridge below the pilot house is still open. By 1935, the deck had been raised by 1/2 level and it had been semi-enclosed. New Orleans was the only one of the original 5 to not have the comm bridge glassed in.

[Guest]

Good evening to all the NO-class fans.

I've been through navsource multiple times and other resources as well, but can't quite finalize the conclusion on what exactly was the AA armament configuration on USS Minneapolis as of the battle of Tassafaronga?
And if anyone happens to know, how close is the USS San-Francisco (1942) model by Trumpeter to the aforementioned version of the Minneapolis, what are the differences?

Thank you in advance.

[taskforce48]

Vladi's info sheets are a great start for finding the sometimes subtle differences between the NO class sisters. The Minnie had 8-5/25, 2-Quad 1.1 above the bridge, 2 quad 40mm Bofors(unshielded) on the fantail and 14- 20mm Oerlikons. She had a brief refit at PHNY where the Quad 40's replaced her stern 1.1's and an additional pair of 20mm's were added on the hangar roof prior to Tassafaronga, These are are clearly seen in the post battle images of her in the Classic Warship's Pictorial #2. There is something Canvas covered in the director tub just forward of the 40mm mount in one image, I believe based on it's shape and size to be a MK51 director while up forward above the 1.1 mounts you can see a MK44 still in place. Depending on your level of accuracy and detail desired, the Trumpeter kit's both 1/350 and 1/700 are fairly close to most of the main structures and layout of the Minnie. The 1/700 kit includes enough AA guns to make this fit work again unless you desire a higher grade of detail. The 1/350 would need After Market AA to account for the extra 20mm's and 40mm's plus directors.

HTH

Matt

[qwerty123]

Hello everyone,

I got a couple of questions that someone here might have answers to. I shall be most grateful for sharing.
1. Does anyone posess and is willing to share pictures of the aft superstructure of USS Minneapolis taken around the autumn of 1942?
2. Is there anything important one should know about the midship section (funnels, searchlight standes, hangars etc.) of USS Minneapolis to build one with utmost historical accuracy based on the USS San-Francisco 1/350 kit by Trumpeter?
3. Related to no. 1. One of the most problematic spots I have encountered are the 40 mm AA gun mounts added in 1942. Is there any confirmed data/pictures in regard to those dating to autumn of 1942 (considering the possibility of building those from scratch)?
4. If there are in fact things on the CA-36 that are unique to the ship, could anyone 3D print them for a price?

Thank you all in advance.

[Kraken Hobbies]

Hey Qwerty123,

Drop me an email at matt@krakenhobbies.com. Think I can help with a couple of your requests.

Matt

[Vladi]

Hello everyone,

while trying to redo the piping on Astoria�s forward smokestack I spotted another minor difference between New Orleans class members. The leftmost photo below shows the pipe leading to the port whistle on Astoria �switching sides� from starboard to port side of the funnel below the whistle platform (let�s call it the �knot�).

I checked about her sisters and noticed that this pipe went straight on Minneapolis and San Francisco. New Orleans had no whistles/pipes there until her December 1944 refit. Later there was a �knot�, too, but different from Astoria. All cruisers of the second batch (Tuscaloosa, Quincy and Vincennes) had whistles on the aft funnel without any �knot�.

My problem is I just cannot find any photo showing clearly where the pipe would originate from on Astoria�s starboard side. There are plenty of photos showing her starboard side in the thirties but the whistles were installed only shortly before WW2. I asked Dick J to kindly check his collection but he found no answer there either. If no other evidence is found I�d asume the pipe went parallel to the other pipe.

I�d apreciate if you can check your files for a photo of either Astoria or New Orleans (after 12/1944 refit) that would show the starboard side of the face of the forward funnel with at least some clarity in the area of the "knot".

My shared New Orleans class comparison table (as of 1942) was updated accordingly to include this feature across the class.

Thanks

[Vladi]

Ok, I had to use my guess regarding Astoria fwd funnel piping, see my build thread for the outcome if interested.

I�ve been also trying to find out about the placement of Astoria�s accommodation ladders. These were most often deployed between #2 and #3 5in guns in the thirties. Photos of Astoria and New Orleans show it stowed under forwardmost 5in gun, other photos shows Minneapolis hanging her forward ladder in its place, likely only temporarily. Another shorter ladder can be seen less frequently suspended from the well deck.

After splinter shields were added to 5in guns shortly before WW2, only a few photos seem to exist of any class member showing accommodation ladder deployed (none of Astoria as far as I am aware). And those few photos that I�ve seen show only the shorter version deployed from the well deck, perhaps the forward ones were landed as weight-saving measure or it would have been more difficult to handle among the splinter shields. A logical place to store them would be along the bulwarks of the well deck but I found no proof for that so far.

And a second question: any photo showing how did the 3.5(?) meter range finder situated aft at this platform extending below the secondary conn?

Any ideas welcome!