Calling all USS North Carolina BB-55 & USS Washington BB-56 fans

[Tracy White]

The top picture is what I h ave from Rick, albeit it's a crop just to show the 1.1"s and directors.

[JPH]

This is some great reading guys.

I also had the dilemna of the 40mm issue with the Washington. In the end I bought the Nth Carolina as well so I had Washington for early war & N Carolina for late war. Being a gluten for punishment I also purchased Nth Carolina in Trumpy's 1/350. Becoming a big fan of BB's 55-56.

[CWatson]

Pbuzik's deck change looks to ambitious for my skill, I will note that the armament layout he has drawn on his replacement deck looks just like the AA layout on the 1/700 Trumpeter North Carolina kit I got except maybe the bow/anchorchain area ,not show in Pbuzki's pic.


Looks like Gordan has the right idea. What did you use to fill in the holes on the deck for the AA mounts you are not using? Was it hard to fill those holes without destroying the deck details?

I also noticed while compairing the Washington and the N.C. kits that the instructions show the mounting shielded 20mm on the early war Washington and UNshielded .50cals on the late war N.C. I assume this is incorrect and the oppisite is true.





CW

[pbudzik]

Steve: Thanks for the encouraging words.

CW: The deck drawing is the 9/44 North Carolina from Floating Drydock via the Randall Shocker book on the North Carolina. I'm just using it to spot the the main and secondary battery, superstructure, and some deck fittings.

[Gordon Bjorklund]

CW,

The holes were filled with .025 plastic rod. The plastic is real soft, so I reinforced the bottom of the deck with .100x125 plastic to keep deck deck from flexing. I then used a chisel blade to remove the excess, using very light pressure. The same with the 20mm shields. I also used 010x.030 plastic strip along the outer edge of the deck. I have not dealt with the grooves in the deck yet. I will wait until after I put a coat of primer on it and see what it needs.



The stern 1.1" tubs will be made with 5/16 plastic tubing. I traced the outline of the tubing on the deck and then rough cut the area out. I then used a piece of 1/4" tubing and wraped sandpaper around it and sanded until the holes was the right size. The 5/16 tubing matches the diameter of the other 1.1" tubs.


pbudzik,

Keep the pictures coming. I love what your doing.

Gordon

[CWatson]

I found the bow cut out to be a bit challenging. In the photo of the Washington's bow after the collision with Indiana, I saw no evidence of 20mm mount as there was in North Carolina.

I did not notice any 20mm mounts either but after scanning the pics you guys posted and checking out the Washington website http://usswashington.com/photos.htm you guys directed me to I came across these items that may or may not be mounts for 20mms, if not what are they?

I was wondering if you guys think maybe the would "stowed" some of the light AA guns when not in a "Hotzone"?

To be honest I can not tell the North Carolina from the Washington so the only pics I know for sure are Washington is the ones withe a crumbled bow.(Edited to Add: I can tell them apart now,Platform on conning tower!)
Let me know what you guys think.

CWatson





Is it confirmed the pic below is Washington? If not when did North Carolina get the cutout in the deck removed?







CWatson

[CWatson]

Another question about the differences in BBs 55 and 56. When was the wraparound platform on the conning tower added to N.C?

Thanks,
CW

[CWatson]

Digging through pictures of USS Washington on the net I came across these two . They are labeled as Washington but are they? I could have sworn I saw them labeled as North Carolina somewhere.

If these are Washington then the light AA fit is more accurate on the Trumpy kit then I thought.


The upper pic looks to have three 20mms in the gun gallery on the main deck next to "B" turret with two in the gallerie above it. The lower pic seems to show three 20mms on the second deck though. The upper pic seems to show a couple MGs or 20mms on the starboard side near the bow.

So what do you guys think BB-55 or 56?


Thanks again CW

[AA Military Research]

Is it confirmed the pic below is Washington? If not when did North Carolina get the cutout in the deck removed?



CWatson

That's BB-55 and the things the yellow arrows point to are mounts for water cooled .50's. BB-55 lost her anchor washboard cutout during her refit of July-Sept. 1944.

[AA Military Research]

Washington, Hvalfjord Iceland no question. You keep identifying mounts for water cooled .50's as 20mm mounts.

Digging through pictures of USS Washington on the net I came across these two . They are labeled as Washington but are they? I could have sworn I saw them labeled as North Carolina somewhere.

If these are Washington then the light AA fit is more accurate on the Trumpy kit then I thought.

So what do you guys think BB-55 or 56?

[CWatson]

Washington, Hvalfjord Iceland no question. You keep identifying mounts for water cooled .50's as 20mm mounts.

Thanks for clarifing that. Do you know if Washington ever mounted her .50 cals in the same pattern as the picture you ID'ed as North Carolina?


Thanks again,
CWatson

[bb-56]

Washington, Hvalfjord Iceland no question. You keep identifying mounts for water cooled .50's as 20mm mounts.

Digging through pictures of USS Washington on the net I came across these two . They are labeled as Washington but are they? I could have sworn I saw them labeled as North Carolina somewhere.

If these are Washington then the light AA fit is more accurate on the Trumpy kit then I thought.

So what do you guys think BB-55 or 56?

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh21 ... AAWASH.jpg

56 no doubt! there is the bare citadel/foremast 55 had one extra observation level halfway up.

[CWatson]

56 no doubt! there is the bare citadel/foremast 55 had one extra observation level halfway up.

Did 55 always have the platform? Looking at some pics of 55 early in the war I do not see it. I may be looking at the wrong platform if I am let me know.

I do not see the platform in the first pic but I do see it in the second. Is this the right platform?


Thanks again,
CWatson

[ARH]

The earliest the platform appears is Nov 1943

[CWatson]

She has the 1.1's in the standard four places on the superstructure. The 5th and 6th are both starboard side, one in front of the hawse pipe and one behind the catapult. Be aware for a short period around her visit to Scapa Flow and King George VI's visit to her she holystoned the paint from her teak decks. All six 1.1's are in place at Scapa Flow as well. Also you should know her decks are very light even when painted, closer in tone to the ocean grey than the blue on her hull.

I have ordered the ClassicWarships book on the North Carolina class and hope it will answer some question on the patterns but I am about to order some colorcoat paints so I can start painting the sub-assemblies of my Trumpy Washington, while I am at it I will also get the paint for my next build, Trumpy's N.C.

So I would like to confirm the colors used on Washington's MS. 12 Mod paint scheme carried in 42'.

Most of the hull above waterline: Sea Blue (5-S)
(for some reason I always thought it was some sort of dark grey here)

Camo pattern along upper part of hull:Ocean Grey (5-O)

Superstructure and turrets from main deck up Haze Grey (5-H)

The superstructure has splotches I assume are Ocean Grey (5-O)? With a splotch amidship that appears darker, Sea Blue (5-S)?

The turrets have blotches on them, are they Ocean Grey too? They appear darker than the splotches on superstructure, are they Sea Blue (5-S)?

The deck: Deck Blue (20-B)
The above post mentions they were light, possibly Ocean Grey?

I will do a seperate post for North Carolina.

[CWatson]

I will be doing the North Carolina in her late war MS 22 paint scheme. Was this the standard MS 22 with :

Hull up to lowest point of main deck Navy Blue (5-N)
Hull above Lowest point of main deck and superstuctures Haze Grey (5-H)
Decks wood and steel and upper parts of gun barrels Deck Blue (20-B)

Since she was painted in the scheme so late in the war could she have been MS 22 (Revised) that used Greys instead of the Blues?

Thanks again,
CWatson

[AA Military Research]

I will be doing the North Carolina in her late war MS 22 paint scheme. Was this the standard MS 22 with :

Hull up to lowest point of main deck Navy Blue (5-N)
Hull above Lowest point of main deck and superstuctures Haze Grey (5-H)
Decks wood and steel and upper parts of gun barrels Deck Blue (20-B)

Since she was painted in the scheme so late in the war could she have been MS 22 (Revised) that used Greys instead of the Blues?

Thanks again,
CWatson

Purple blues is confirmed, not neutral greys.

[AA Military Research]

Washington, Hvalfjord Iceland no question. You keep identifying mounts for water cooled .50's as 20mm mounts.

Thanks for clarifing that. Do you know if Washington ever mounted her .50 cals in the same pattern as the picture you ID'ed as North Carolina?


Thanks again,
CWatson

I don;t think she did but I did not concentrate on her.

[AA Military Research]

56 no doubt! there is the bare citadel/foremast 55 had one extra observation level halfway up.

A bit more than halfway up.

[AA Military Research]

The earliest the platform appears is Nov 1943

Somebody better tell Norfolk NY they wrote the wrong date on a few negatives on 06/03/1942 then. She has the beginning platform with pipe rails at that time along the aft 2/3 of the tower sides and aft face of the tower.