Rick, Phil,
What you are saying makes a lot of sense. You have helped me a lot. I really appreciate all of your explanations, pictures, drawings, expertise and "detective work".
I asked my friend Moe,, who was a radioman aboard the USS Manchester in 1950 (I met him this year when I displayed my model at the commissioning of the new USS Manchester LCS-14), he said, "I have no idea son, I just don't remember. I was either in the radio room, mess hall or in my rack for those 2 years..." lol. I met two other Manchester veterans, but they didn't remember outside deck/superstructure details... ...but they all loved the model!
I know a couple CPO old timers - I will share this with them too. Thanks again guys. It was fun.
If you are ever in San Diego, let me know.
Speaking of San Diego, the (final)
Taffy 3 Survivors Reunion will be held on October 25, 2019 in San Diego. I am coordinating a group of 1/96 scale r/c modelers (across the country) that are building all 13 Taffy 3 ships that participated in the "Battle Off Samar" during wwii. In an effort to honor the crews, survivors and their families, we are going to be displaying and running our Taffy 3 model fleet in at the reunion. The reunion will mark the 75th anniversary of the battle and will probably the last reunion ever for Taffy 3 survivors (not many left). Furthermore, it will the first time all 13 Taffy 3 ships held a combined reunion. If you are interested, let me know. Here is a link to our webpage for further information.
https://taffy3modelships.weebly.com/Neil
USS Manchester CL-83