Calling all Knox-class and Spanish Baleares-class FF fans

[Tony Bunch]

Hi Guys,
WoW Carl!
That's fast work!
Looks great.
You're smokin'........
Tony

[NukeMM]

I worked on the helo, last night.

[NukeMM]

I've started on the rigging.

[NukeMM]

Which one is real?

[NukeMM]

Well, I am finished with my USS Knox. Kinda sad when that happens, isn't it.

[NukeMM]

Maybe a couple more shots........

[Willie]

Hi there Nuke,

Excellent construction, clean and atractive. How beautiful these ships were, and what a beauty to build too.
I am really glad I started this thread. With such good models it�s more interesting everyday.
Congrats and best regards,
Willie.

[Kazec]

Hi,

Why did some Knox have bow bulwark while other did not? Was the box bulwark easily to fit or removed depending on situation? When I was studying photos of a particular ship the USS Francis Hammond I found here , this question came to my mind. Since this ship was interestingly having the bow bulwalk occasionally or temporarily through its service. Paricularly comparing these two photos from the Defense Visual Information Center:




the dates of these photographs were only several months apart (former: 1 Jun 1991; latter: 25 Nov 1991). So, was bow bulwalk a optional part of the ship that could be fitted or removed at any time?

[Tony Bunch]

Hi Guys,
Kazec,
I'm thinking the dates that you read from DVIC are subjective.
The ship pics you posted have at least four differences:
1) The raised bulwarks forward, (an upgrade to keep the forecastle dry).
2) The CIWS on the fantail which replaced the BPDMS on most FF's.
You'd have to study the lifespan of that particular ship to find when the yard periods were and what mods were performed above the routine service/maintenance.
3) Spray strakes added to the hulls' sides. This was another upgrade to keep the foredeck dry.
4) SLQ-32 ECM replaced the WLR-1 system. The SLQ-32's are visible in first pic...which means later in the ships life.
All of the changes/mods were system upgrades of one type or another.
Tony

[Willie]

Hi there Tony,

Please check your mailbox, you have a PM.
Brgds,

Willie.

[Kazec]

Hi! Further to my question on the USS Francis Hammond above, another picture from DVIC has caught my attention:



This is a cropped version of the above



What is the device in the red circle? It seems not common among the other ships of the class.

[NukeMM]

Kazec,

Could this be the same thing? It is definately a binnacle on the centerline, but I can't make out the white boxes outboard of it in your photo.



This one is actually the Hammond.

[NukeMM]

This shot of the Hammond may even make things more difficult to identify the object.

[Kazec]

This shot of the Hammond may even make things more difficult to identify the object.

Nuke, the Hammond in the pic of your second reply shows CIWS instead of BPDMS at the fantail, so it is less relevant to my picture in terms of time period.

[Tony Bunch]

Hi Guys,
I kept my mouth shut, as I just was NOT sure what it was that Kazec was asking about. After sytudying all of the photos, the helo hangar extension going forward had one similarity with the pic that Carl showed; the centerline/square shaped small table for the Pelorus/Binnacle. The similar shaped boxes on each side of this table/binnacle are not present in any other pictures shown. I have concluded, (possibly falsely), that these boxes may contain torpedoes or torpedo sub assemblies, as the torpedo system used on this ship are mounted internally in the structure directly below, (using SWAG method). Additionally, even though Carls' picture is newer, (CIWS vs BPDMS), the binnacle/base was in both pics. Also, I don't remember seeeing this particular feature on Brewton from any time frame.........FWIW.
I just finished studying some pictures of Brewton and other ships. They all had the binnacle/table, but areas directly surrounding were subjective; either empty deck space or different boxes. IDID SEE ANOTHER PICTURE with the 2 long rectangular boxes as in Kazec's first picture.

Kazec,
If you're simply looking to add on some additional detail to a Knox model build project, then you have two more "deck details", to add on. if you want to know what these are specifically, I still don't am not sure. At least I saw them in place on another ship.

"look for similarities and differences..."
It comes as no surprise to me that no other pictures were exactly the same as far as what was on the decks, "that day", from Kazec's first picture.
Just a guess, Tony
ps and what's that weird, "dig dug" hat in Carl's closeup?????

[NukeMM]

That "dig dug" hat, as Tony calls it, looks like a small modern 5" gun turret, to me.

Two FFs in this shot have white objects in the same location as that "dig dug" hat, the 1077 and the 1086.



If I were building the Hammond, I wouldn't put anything next to the binnacle, since it doesn't show up in every photo, and it is probably just something that they were transporting temporarily.

I would, however, like to find out what the white objects are port of the binnacle and mounted near that bulkhead. I have a dream of building a diorama of this photo with the three FFs and the USS Ajax AR-6 in Subic Bay in the early 1980's. The Ajax was decommissioned in 1986, I believe.

[Kazec]

Tony, I buy your point. That might just be a coincidence and I could be eased to ignore that.

[Kazec]

Share with you my latest built of USS Francis Hammond DE-1067

[NukeMM]

Nice, Nice, Very Nice!

Thanks for sharing the photos, Kazec! Isn't that AFV Club kit a nice one?

Is there any trick to cutting off the Bulwark on the bow? Any precautions?

I have another on hand to build someday.

I'd like to make a diorama of this someday:
(Maybe I've said this before.)

The AR-6 USS Ajax was a Vulcan class repair ship (Loose Cannon 1/700).

[Kazec]

It was not difficult for me to cut off the bulwark at all, the plastic was soft and easy for cutting.