Calling all Essex-class (WWII configuration) fans

[MartinJQuinn]

Tnx, but I still don`t know what was the color of exterior walkways,decks etc.
Which year carried what deck color?

Steel walkways/decks, etc would have been Deck Blue - 20B. The flight decks stains varied, depending on what ship and what year you want to depict.

If you say, for example, you want to model the USS Hornet in January 1944, then you can narrow down the flight deck stain.

[lisec]

Ok, let say TICO,end of `44

[Tracy White]

According to Alan Raven's The Development of Naval Camouflage 1914 - 1945 Part V Measure 33 (Tico's scheme at the time) is thus:

MEASURE 33

Developed from Measure 17. Used on Pacific Fleet vessels in 1943, 1944, and 1945.

Colors: #82 Black, 5-N Navy Blue, 5-0 Ocean Gray, 5-H Haze Gray, 5-P Pale Gray, 5-L Light Gray, #21 Flight Deck stain, O21 Flight Deck stain (revised), 20B Deck Blue (revised).
Vertical surfaces - varying patterns of #82, 5-N, 5-0, 5-H, S-P, and 5-L.
Decks and horizontal surfaces - 20B.
When pattern is used on decks and vertical surfaces - 20B and 5-0.
Flight decks of carriers - (1943) - #21, (1944-'45) - #21 (revised).
Counter shading - undersides of platforms and overhangs painted white

=================

Note the second to last line. Revised Flight Deck Stain is described a bit earlier thusly:

In February 1943 carrier aircraft began to change their colors from non-specular Blue Gray to semi-gloss Sea Blue. Along with this change there was the introduction of a new flight deck stain for carriers called #21 Flight Deck stain which began to be employed on the ESSEX class as they came into service in 1943. This color when newly applied exactly matched that of 5-0 Ocean Gray. This new stain was also used on the flight decks of INDEPENDENCE class CVLs and CVE classes in 1943 and into 1944. About mid 1944 there was the introduction of #21 Flight Deck stain (revised). This revised stain was (when newly applied) identical to 20B deck Blue (revised) and was a near match in service with the introduction in March 1944 of glossy Sea Blue, a new camouflage color for use on carrier aircraft. When a flight deck was using #21 Flight Deck stain the deck markings would not have been in 251N but would probably have been in yellow.

Final note I'd add is that the wood on the deck was Douglas Fir so you may want to look for some weathered samples of that to base the overall tone of the deck on.

[Ed Keegan]

I would like to do a better job of research on my next ship.

What books would you recommend to help do a CV-9 early war?

Thanks,

Ed

[Tracy White]

It's a little hard to find now but the Warships Perspective book has some good shots of Essex early on and some plans
http://www.modelwarships.com/reviews/bo ... essex.html

[Jose Chaica]

I would like to do a better job of research on my next ship.

What books would you recommend to help do a CV-9 early war?

Thanks,

Ed

I personally think that the book Anatomy of the Ship - Intrepid, has some valuable information on Essex class CV. Beyond that, there�s not much more....

[Tracy White]

Alan Raven has a book on Essex Class carriers that's also nice, but very hard to find and thus expensive.... starts at about $75 on abe books

[Dave Rowe]

Hi All

I have a question concerning the roller shutters/doors.
Would adjoining doors be opened as a block or was there the ability to open them independent of each other?


TIA.

[Devin]

It's a little hard to find now but the Warships Perspective book has some good shots of Essex early on and some plans
http://www.modelwarships.com/reviews/bo ... essex.html

I'm doing an early war CV-9, and this book is a good general reference. One of the few places I can find actual photos of Essex (besides those from a couple of benevolent NARA researchers, of course!).

I'm a bit suspicious of the profile drawings in the book. What I usually do is look at the drawings, see if any of the photos show what might be the same thing, and then make a decision based on that. This really only applies to the 20mm positions so far, everything else in the drawings and most of it on the kit seems to be good to go.

-Devin

[Tracy White]

Did she save this single cat to the end of war ?

Just found the answer to this question!
I Have some pictures of Essex in 1949 undergoing overhaul at Puget Sound. In one shot you can clearly see that she only has the starboard cat... in 1949. So it's safe to say that this was her configuration from April 1944 onward.

[Devin]

Question for those who have worked on the first release of the Trumpeter Essex kit: the flight deck came without the forward and aft "round down" section. Easy enough to replace with quarter round plastic stock, but what size? I'm having difficulty telling from photos/drawings if the round down should be the same depth as the deck/plastic at the end of the flight deck, or if it extends a bit lower (as it does on the Yorktown class).

Thanks for any info.

-Devin

[AndrexP]

If you merely sand down the sharp edge to a nice quarter-round profile, you'll be at the same starting point as their Yorktown (I have both kits, and I compared the two sets of parts side-by-side), and it'll probably look ok. That's what I chose to do on mine.

[Devin]

If you merely sand down the sharp edge to a nice quarter-round profile, you'll be at the same starting point as their Yorktown (I have both kits, and I compared the two sets of parts side-by-side), and it'll probably look ok. That's what I chose to do on mine.

Ah, so it's simply squared off, not cut short. Good to know.

Since I'm putting the Nautilus wood deck down I might need a little more surgery and working, but it shouldn't be too much.

Thanks!

-Devin

[Tracy White]

I just measured my Franklin and it looks like the round downs are about a 1/8" "quarter round" if you can find it in that size.

[JimRussel]

Round downs.

1/300 plans in ATOS Intrepid measure .28" dia which converts to .24" dia for 1/350. I used a section of drinking straw .25" dia (source McDonalds)held in place with transparent tape (to see the joint is snug) and glued with a good quality epoxy (flows and evens).

The arc is less than 1/4 round (90*), I guessed 75* bow and 60* stern.

End plates were pieces of 1/4" discs (hole punch) cut to fit.

This method is nice in that PE walkways tuck up well inside

Jim

[Devin]

About those Essex class deck-edge antenna towers: I know they would lower them for flight ops. Was it an "all five or nothing" arrangement, though? For instance, if they're doing launches, could they lower the masts forward of the island and leave the ones aft vertical, or did they all have to go down at once?

Thanks,

Devin

[Tracy White]

It wasn't all or nothing. Because of the split, they could lower the foward towers during launches and leave the stern towers fertical, then swap the two for the landing evolutions. Later in the war they changed out the rear towers for whip aerials, which were more damage resistant from what I've read. I don't know of they operated on the same or different frequencies and why they only did the stern and not the bow as well, etc.

I should have some fun updates for everyone fairly soon. I've started working on Franklin again, particularly the hangar interior. I'll post some pictures and a description of what I've done when I get enough in place to warrant it. At this point I can say that if you want to do an accurate hangar deck start by NOT using any of the bloky structures trumpeter would have you glue on that level. After comparing them to the sketches I pieced together I don't see a one of them in drawings or photos.

I'm also thinking of starting my Ticonderoga soon and really doing the hangar deck up.... but maybe try and design the detail as something that could be resin cast as a set. Most of the shapes and details are pretty simple; I just don't know all of them yet.

I don't know that I want to tackle the overheaads thought.

[Adaks]

Tracy, thanks for answers

My information on Bunker Hill is somewhat limited to a collection of photos taken after her late 1944/early 1945 refit and immediately post war. My *guess* is that it was added during the 1944-45 refit as the SK-2 didn't start to appear on the short-hulls until late 1944.

Based on photos it is clear for me that Bunker Hill on 11 May 1945 had only SK radar.

But I found this interesting picture



SK-2 is clearly visible. I think this photograph was taken in the end of war or shortly after. So, it is possible that she received SK-2 during refit after kamikaze attack.

BTW: Which set of colors was used on Yorktown and Ticonderoga for their MS 33/10a camo ? Navy Blue, Haze Gray and Pale Gray or Navy Blue, Ocean Gray and Light Gray ?

[grim reaper]

Adaks, here are the colors you need for yorktown and tico paint schemes.


Light gray 5-L
Ocean gray 5-O
Navy Blue 5-N
Deck Blue 20-B

[Tracy White]

Reaper's got the colors for you. If you check out Measure 33 you'll see that while it doesn't call out for 5N (The design sheet probably does though) it does call out for 5L and 5O

That picture is definately post war. The numbers on the stacks weren't authorized until August 22nd or 26th of 1945. I've got the memo OCR'd but not posted on my site yet.

Speaking of which, I changed my sig a couple weeks ago to see what happened but haven't officially mentioned anything. I've got a new site I'm building up on (mostly) the Pacific War. There's some good Essex stuff there and will be more as time goes on.

Some of the pages posted now are
* Memo on light labyrinths in the hangar bay.
* CV-16 Lexington report on use of Quad .50 cal mounts (not finished)
* Franklin's October 1944 Kamikaze strike reports.

That should keep you all in reading material for the night

Follow the link on my sig for the rest of the site.