Calling all USS Barnegat-class seaplane tender (AVP) fans

[NukeMM]

I have become very fond of this class of little ships. My father served on the USS Duxbury Bay AVP-38 from 1952-1953 when she swapped duty with two other AVP's USS Greenwich Bay and USS Valcour as flagships for Commander Middle East Forces. These ships of "The White Ghost Fleet" were painted white.



I am most grateful to Commander Series Models, Inc / Iron Shipwright for creating a 1/350 scale model of this class of seaplane tenders small. Their resin kit has been a valuable base for modifying and depicting my Dad's Duxbury Bay in her 1953 configuration.

I am also grateful to NavSource.org for collecting so many images and information about the ships of this class. Many of these AVP's went to the Coast Guard and served as WAVP's and WHEC's. Some served as survey ships, as well.



I have only seen two other builds of ISW's Barnegat/Mackinac AVP kit. Mike Taylor made one that is in a diorama in the Gallery and Richard Sliwka's USS Absecon AVP-23 has been most valuable to me as reference for my build of the Duxbury Bay. Richard's Absecon is also featured in the Gallery.

I am wondering who else has purchased this kit and if they have built them yet. I'd love to see them!

This is my build of the USS Duxbury Bay AVP-38, so far. I am almost done. I have spent about four months on it, so far, and it involved a lot of scratch building of gun tubs, spray shields, superstructure, and decks. This has been my first real attempt at scratch building my own pieces and my first exposure to the after-market detailing products.

At commissioning in 1944, The Duxbury Bay only had one 5" gun turret. In 1952 my father report aboard while she was in Norfolk Naval Shipyard, the 5" gun turret was removed, air conditioning was added to the ship, and it received its first coat of white paint.







Please share your AVP models with me.

Thanks!

[NukeMM]

I had hoped to spark some interest in these little ships by starting this "Calling All ........Fans" forum.

I guess that there really is no interest, here.

Too, bad.

Anyway,

I have completed and mount the small boats on the model. These ships carried a full complement of small craft. The Duxbury Bay, in particular, had an extra one..........the admiral's barge.

I have assembled the crane, which was prominent feature of these service vessels.







I have also added the anchor chains and anchor brakes to the forecastle.

[NukeMM]

This is a small blue print page that I bought online. I have scanned it in two halves. It is a "Warship Drawing" depicting the Barnegat (and class) in an early configuration. All of the sister ships are listed in a small table in the upper right corner (not shown). It is a rather "generic" set of drawings.

[DanCinSD]

Carl, Very nice build..... I like the markings on the bow and wildcats (?). Very cool ships, I am a fan of smaller ships, after all, how many models of the Iowa class do we need??

Thanks for the drawings, they are maybe good enough for me to play around with and see if I would enjoy (and/or have the skill) doing scratch building with before I sink a large sum of expendable income into plans.

[Tigerfish]

Yes, this is a very interesting vessel. Thanks for posting all your pictures. These ship and the fast transports the USN used in the Pacific are quite fascinating.

[Devin]

I have that ISW kit in my stash to build someday. Nice color scheme on yours.

[NukeMM]

Well, this is more like it!

Thank you for contributing, gentlemen!

Devin,

Are you the friend of Tony Bunch's that gave him the Charles F. Adams kit? I need to thank you, too, for Tony mailed a piece from it, that I needed on mine. I have since replaced his part with a replacment part that I received from DRAGON from Hong Kong. It took about 5 weeks to get here. DRAGON Care worked for me, on this one.

Although this model will be no prize winner in any contests, I have been trying my best at it and have been concentrating on the anatomical accuracy to make it just like the Duxbury Bay when my served on it in 1952-53. Even in 1954 some suttle changes were made like they got rid of the floater net baskets and life rafts and added some electronic antennas to the stack. In the late 1950's and in the 1960's (Decomm in 1966) the aft superstructure was totally changed, adding compartments for the admiral's staff and additional communications systems.

The three AVP's that served as flagships to ComMidEastFor (Duxbury Bay, Greenwich Bay, and Valcour) were all painted white in 1952. I am told because they were flagships and were representing the USA in the Middle East, but I have also been told they were painted white to reflect more of the sunlight to better the living conditions inside of the ship. These ships often were shown with many canopies stretched across the forecastle and other parts of the ship. The Duxbury Bay received air condition units in place of the 5" gun turret in 1952.

My father took some nice 35mm slide shots of the Duxbury Bay while he was on it. Here are a couple of my favorites that I have been refering to. On many of them, I had wished that he would have turned just a little this way or that way to see more of the ship.

That's the Admiral swinging on the gangway.






This was one of a few that I referred to while painting the admiral's barge.

[Devin]

Carl,

Ah, yes that would be me. Glad you and Tony are able to make use of that kit.

-Devin

[NukeMM]

The Aviation Ensignia was a common marking next to the hull numbers on many of these seaplane tenders. There were even aviation stars on the capstans.

Here is the later version (1960's) of the aviation star on the bow:




Here is the Duxbury Bay in 1954:

[NukeMM]

This was a nice photo from a Duxbury Bay shipmate. It is of two AVP's next to each other. Standing on the Duxbury Bay's port O3 level looking aft and at the starboard side of either the Valcour or the Greenwich Bay.

[NukeMM]

I have seen on Loyalhannadockyard.com that they have plans and a hull for a 311' USCG cutter Casco Class, which were previous USN AVP's. I am unsure what scale it is, but the hull is 39 inches long. Would that be 1/96 scale?

I have never gone as far as scratch building such a model, but it "is" tempting. It would be a true test of my patience.

[Timmy C]

My calculations show that the 39" hull would be 1/95.6 scale, so 1/96 would be most likely.

[NukeMM]

Thanks for the confirmation, Timmy C!

[Tigerfish]

Have you any technical info on these ships, LOA, Beam, speed etc? Or know of any links to further info on these?

I love the colour photographs your Dad took. Very evocative of times past.

[NukeMM]

Tigerfish,

This info is for the Duxbury Bay AVP-38, but a lot of info is on NavSource.org under the Auxiliaries and Service Vessels sections.

Keel Laid: Jan 17, 1944 Length: 311� 8�
Launched: Oct 2, 1944 Width: 41� 1�
Commissioned: Dec 31, 1944 Draft: 13� 6�
Decommissioned: Apr 30, 1966 Speed: 18 Knots

Crew Complement: 215

[Tigerfish]

Thanks for this. They are longer than they look. Nice ships.

[NukeMM]

Here is a one page generic blueprint plan of the Barnegat class seaplane tenders. I see no date on the plan, but my guess is that it is definately a post WWII configuration. I don't think that every ship of the class followed these plans. The spray shield is not shown probably in order to show what is behind it.

[nick]

Carl,
I am fascinated on why the hull numbers have USAF markings

Still, your model still looks fabulous!

[NukeMM]

I don't think that the aviation insignias are strictly USAF but general aviation markings that the US uses throughout all branches of the military. I thought that it was unusual to use the white star with the red dot in the middle during these time periods. I thought that this was a much older aviation symbol, but the red star may depict a peacetime status of the ship. In any case, it makes a nice target.

[NukeMM]

Except for some radio call sign signal flags and a two-star admiral flag that I am anxiously waiting for Hawk Graphics to create in a 1/350 small ship size, THIS ONE IS DONE!

USS Duxbury Bay AVP-38 - Commander Series Models, Inc. / Iron Shipwrights 1/350 USS Mackinac AVP-13 Resin Model Kit. The Duxbury Bay and her other two sister ships who rotated duty as flagships for Commander Middle East Forces in the 1950's and 1960's, USS Greenwich Bay AVP-41 and USS Valcour AVP-55, were painted white.