Calling all IJN Kuma-class (球磨), Nagara-class (長良) & Sendai-class (川内) fans

[Felix B.]

Thanks Dan. I just wanted to confirm this before I buy it - I had no idea what type catapult was fitted. Some of this IJN stuff is new to me.
Railing, ladders and other fittings I can get from other IJN photoetch sets.

Felix

[mw 1378]

Hi Felix,

I build the same kit just right now, kit is quite good but details..... I use the aoshima parts ( railing and the Nagara specific ) , IJN Portholes ( Flyhawk ), IJN Doors and hatches (WEM), IJN cable reels( WEM ), Leadmans platform ( Voyager ) , Jackstays ( 1:700 ultrafine railing GMM) , Boats ( Yoyager and Hasegawa Boatset A),Searchlights ( Veteran Models ), 25mm AA guns ( Veteran Models ), Brass Barrels ( Master ), Colours (WEM). Perhaps a lot of aftermarket, but she is very naked OOB.
By the way I�m searching information about bridge equipment ( voicepipes, binoculars etc.). I have a few Maru special, but no photo , no plan inside.

Best regards

Marc

[Dan K]

I'll have to look about.

[Dan K]

Surprisingly, I've not found much either. There are some simplistic compass bridge level layouts for Tama and Abukuma, not much else that I've found. Would those help?

[mw 1378]

Hi Dan,

thanks a lot for searching. Lets try if the simplified things will help. If all doesn�t help I will order the Miyukikai plans and hope these details are included there. I want to build Nagara for an exhibition in October in Basel ( Switzerland ) so I have a little time to finish her. At the moment the hull and the decks are assembled and painted ( nearly 200 portholes till now )

Best regards
Marc

[Dan K]

Abukuma compass bridge layout from L & W.

[D-Boy]

Please, if possibly, can somebody help with the hull lines of the IJN Katori (the training cruiser)? ...Got this model (Aoshima) for my birthday and plan to build it as full-hull one - using Jeff Lin's masterpiece as a "guide" - but don't have proper lower hull info, especially the stern area...

Aoshima is releasing new molds of the Katori Class in 2011. Long overdue.

[Atma]

Here is the link by the way:
Link:http://ameblo.jp/aoshima-kumablog/image ... 46566.html
Maybe its time for me to start collection Japanese light cruisers, I never liked them to be honest minus the IJN Oyodo and IJN Yubari.
Im wondering if we will see new retooling for IJN Agano class by Tamiya too.

[Dan K]

The 5500 tonners are not the most aesthetically pleasing but, they were workhorses, and did a lot of the "lifting" as DD squadron leaders thru most of the surface battles of 1942. I think the Tamiya Abukuma to be a very fine kit, maybe the best of the lot.

Tamiya doesn;t seem to be in a rush to update the Aganos. Truthfully, the kit has held up well over the years, IMHO.

[Atma]

Well Tamiya's IJN Mogami class is now half accurate for my standars, but IJN Abukuma is awesome. I was hoping of a IJN Agano class too or IJN Isuzu wich I love in her AA configuration in 1945, Tamiya is on vacation in 1/700 scale at the moment sadly.

[D-Boy]

The 5500 tonners are not the most aesthetically pleasing but, they were workhorses, and did a lot of the "lifting" as DD squadron leaders thru most of the surface battles of 1942. I think the Tamiya Abukuma to be a very fine kit, maybe the best of the lot.

Tamiya doesn;t seem to be in a rush to update the Aganos. Truthfully, the kit has held up well over the years, IMHO.

Oh, I love the 5500 tonners; they are the ships that got me into WL modeling as an adult. Such intriguing lines and functionality versus the USN ships/models I had access to as a kid. The pre-war versions with float-plane hangers in the bridge, etc, I find very quirky - they really stand out on the shelf.

It is interesting to see the ebb and flow of the original WL manufacturers. Fujimi has come on so strong in the last year, and Tamiya really seems to have slipped to 4th place on the "splashy" release list.

[Dan K]

I happen to really like the 5500 tonners a lot as well. I agree that they exhibited a lot of functionality, and interesting variations.

I think Tamiya is focused on more profitable segments of its business. Every potential ship model has pass some rigorous P & L evaluations, from what I understand. Though, they do seem to have some sort of commitment to 1/350.

[Atma]

Hello everybody, can someone post pictures of IJN Sakawa during 1945 /1946 ?
Thanks in advance.

[Gilbert]

Hello everybody, can someone post pictures of IJN Sakawa during 1945 /1946 ?
Thanks in advance.

Here ya go !

Gilbert

[Atma]

Thank you very much Gilbert !

[D-Boy]

Hello everybody, can someone post pictures of IJN Sakawa during 1945 /1946 ?
Thanks in advance.

No pictures, yet, but quite a history in 1946, eh? Wiki sez:

"Sakawa was taken as a prize of war by the United States after the conclusion of World War II, and was used to evacuate 1,339 Imperial Japanese Army troops stranded on four small islands in the southern Palau group in October 1945. It continued to work for the Repatriation Service as a transport until the end of February 1946.

On 25 February 1946, Sakawa was turned over to the US Navy, which wanted to use it (along with other surviving ships of the former Imperial Japanese Navy) in the upcoming Bikini atomic experiments. The salvage crew found the leaky hull infested with rats, and that most of the ship's systems were not functional. Sakawa departed Yokosuka for Eniwetok with an American crew of 165 men and officers on 18 March 1946, accompanied by Nagato, also under an American crew. Ten days later, 300 nautical miles (560 km) from Eniwetok, Nagato broke down. It blew a boiler and started to take on water, listing heavily to the starboard. Sakawa attempted to tow, but then ran out of fuel. An oil tanker, Nickajack Trail was diverted to refuel the ships, but ran aground on a reef in bad weather and was lost. Sakawa and Nagato, under tow, finally reached Eniwetok on 1 April 1946.

While at Eniwetok, five of its American sailors were angry over the dismal working conditions aboard Sakawa. In a ship normally staffed by 730 men, the U.S. Navy used a crew of 165 doing the work of 325 [[2]). The five sailors sabotaged the ship by removing the pressure line to the over-speed trip valves in the fuel system and pouring sand into the oil and water pumps. They smashed gauges, tachometers, and cut high pressure steam lines in an attempt to get relieved of duty aboard the filthy warship. Rather than being relieved of duty, the five sailors were brought up on charges. In May, after emergency repairs, Sakawa reached Bikini Atoll.

During Operation Crossroads on 1 July 1946, Sakawa and Nagato were the primary target ships in the atomic bomb air burst detonation test "Able", together with American battleships USS Arkansas, USS New York, USS Nevada, and USS Pennsylvania. Sakawa was moored off the port side of Nevada, where the bomb was to be dropped. The detonation of the Able bomb occurred 490 yards (450 m) above and slightly to starboard of Sakawa's stern. The blast caused Sakawa to burn fiercely for twenty-four hours; the force crushed her superstructure, damaged her hull and breached her stern. After the test, a tug boat, the USS Achomawi, tried to tow Sakawa toward a beach to prevent the latter ship from sinking, but failed. Sakawa started sinking almost as soon as towing began, and, with a tow cable connecting the two ships, the Achomawi started to be dragged down, too. After a number of attempts, sailors cut the tow cable with an acetylene torch. Sakawa sank 2 July 1946, with a portion of the tow cable still attached."

That fleet, pre-test, would be quite a diorama.

[Atma]

Sadly IJN Sakawa together with IJN Noshiro, IJN Yura and the aircraft carrier IJN Hiyo at the moment got no model in any scale, the only 4 large warships from the Japanese Navy.

[D-Boy]

Post July 1, 1946 photos of the Sakawa here: http://www.arawasi.jp/ijn/album-KD.html



Notes in the photo comments might be illustrative - barrels removed from main armament, for example, and masts added to collect weapons data prior to test. Given that she did not sink immediately, I wonder if there are post-blast photos prior to the sinking under tow.

[Atma]

IJN Sakawa seems obliterated by the blast, IJN Nagato is in much better condition.
Thanks D-Boy.

[D-Boy]

IJN Sakawa seems obliterated by the blast, IJN Nagato is in much better condition.
Thanks D-Boy.

While apparently one of the target ships for the test, apparently the blast did not sink her, according to that Wiki post. Only under tow did she sink.

Here is the post blast report: http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD ... tTRDoc.pdf

Some photos there, but very indistinct. Not sure if the narrative would provide some details.

Google "Operation Crossroads" and click images for other test ship photos before and after. Then Google "Operation Crossroads" and Sakawa and you start to get to the next layer of what little is available.

Interesting account here (and of many IJN wrecks): http://www.combinedfleet.com/atully08.htm

Check out the external links section of this website: http://www.enotes.com/topic/Japanese_cruiser_Sakawa. The two most interesting links (to me) at the bottom do not lead to active websites, but perhaps a new search for those titles might turn them up.

Additional details on ship here: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ ... ano-cl.htm

More here: http://www.nps.gov/history/history/onli ... /chap3.htm

Several watercolors by a military artist of the ship sinking under tow: http://www.history.navy.mil/ac/bikini/bikini3.htm

If you really want to go deep on this final chapter of the ship, check out this discussion: http://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/a ... -5476.html. While it references several sources from above, it adds several new references.

And a thread on Crossroads here already: viewtopic.php?f=14&t=30242

You've whetted my interest. I'll keep poking.