Calling all Allen M. Sumner-class & Gearing-class DD fans

[Rick E Davis]

Bob,

Sorry, I miss understood which ship was your Dad's. I'm sure he would not have been happy that I made that mistake.

Nice views of a Gearing during an interesting period of transition.

For Navsource contributions, send images to Fred Willshaw at ... destroyerinfo@gmail.com

Rick

[Guest]

You can just send in the scanned images.

[RandyW]

I'm about to attempt a major undertaking and I may need some help. My father served aboard the USS WALRON DD-699 in the late 60's. For several years I've been wanting to build a replica of his ship. Well I just purchased the DML 1/350 kit of the USS GEARING and want to build it as a xmas gift this year as close to the Sumner Class as possible without making huge modifications. I have a 3 month time line so has anyone built this kit and what steps can I take to help me meet my timeline.

[Timmy C]

If you want to portray her as the same when your father served on board her, then you will have to make major modifications.

Here's how Waldron appeared in the late '60s: http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/0569916.jpg

You can compare that with your kit and see how drastic the differences are, even if you were to ignore the 14' difference between the two classes.

[Delfin]

Calling all ships fans with a question. How should I go about modifing a Gearing by "Dragon" to a Sumner class DD. I know the Gearing was a streched Sumner ( 14 ft.). Where was the plug inserted? Any differences in the superstructure? If I cut the scale difference in the hull and deck were should I do it ?
Thanks for a difficult answer.

[Timmy C]

Dick J has a brief blurb in the Gearing/Sumner class fans thread, second last reply on this page:
viewtopic.php?f=49&t=21795&start=135

Also, in the future, please keep questions in the thread which already contains the subject of your inquiry - if the subject does not already exist, then you can create a new thread, following the format of existing threads. Thanks!

[Jimmy Conway]

Calling all ships fans with a question. How should I go about modifing a Gearing by "Dragon" to a Sumner class DD. I know the Gearing was a streched Sumner ( 14 ft.). Where was the plug inserted? Any differences in the superstructure? If I cut the scale difference in the hull and deck were should I do it ?
Thanks for a difficult answer.

Hi Delfin, I think you should ever specify the ship you are building.
Yes, high probability that there are diferences in the superstructure.
Nice regards: Jimmy

[Delfin]

Calling all ships fans with a question. How should I go about modifing a Gearing by "Dragon" to a Sumner class DD. I know the Gearing was a streched Sumner ( 14 ft.). Where was the plug inserted? Any differences in the superstructure? If I cut the scale difference in the hull and deck were should I do it ?
Thanks for a difficult answer.

Hi Delfin, I think you should ever specify the ship you are building.
Yes, high probability that there are diferences in the superstructure.
Nice regards: Jimmy

Hi Jimmy, thanks for your concern, the ship I'm trying to duplicate is the USS Beatty in 1972 when she was transfered to the Venezuelan navy as the ARV Carabobo. I don't belive she had the FRAM convertion as the USS Huntington, wich became the ARV FALCON.

[Jimmy Conway]

The most decorated WWII-era destroyer still in existence, the USS Laffey is the only Sumner Class destroyer still afloat in the world and is today a Museum at Patriots Point, USA.


USS Laffey in floating drydock, AFDL-47, at Detyen�s Shipyard in North Charleston, SC. She will be fitted for a new 3/8? bottom from bow to stern, five new bulkheads in the four machinery spaces, and new transverse/longitudinal frames and foundations in Machinery Rooms 1 � 4.

Source:
http://cv10navalaviator.wordpress.com/2 ... -dry-dock/

What I see that is very interesting, are the ship's ribs, exposed when the repairs are beeing made.

For modellers comprehension, I sugest the following pictures, that are rare to see.

See more pics here:
http://www.hnsa.org/handbook/laffey2009/index.htm

Read here:
http://www.charlestoncvb.com/visitors/c ... epairs-981

Certainly the ship will survive to rust because this class is very robust !

"Probably no ship has ever survived an attack of the intensity that she experienced"
Samuel Eliot Morison, Naval Historian

[Sauragnmon]

Well, if you look at side on shots of the Gearings and Sumners, you can notice at least part of the length added was in the center, at least on the structure - the distance between the stacks is longer on the Gearings, quite evident by the discrepencies in their FRAM refits in that area. Apart from that, fracked if I have more than guesswork for ya man.

[Dick J]

Well, if you look at side on shots of the Gearings and Sumners, you can notice at least part of the length added was in the center, at least on the structure - the distance between the stacks is longer on the Gearings, quite evident by the discrepencies in their FRAM refits in that area. Apart from that, fracked if I have more than guesswork for ya man.

Actually, all 14' was added between the stacks. They added a fuel tank between the forward engine room and the after boiler room. This helped in two ways. It improved the length/beam ration slightly reducing hull resistance and of course the added fuel also helped extend the range. The Sumner's burned more fuel to reach a given speed than the Fletcher's, far more than had been predicted. Their legs were shorter than Pac Flt wanted, so BUSHIPS came up with the crash program for the extra length as a fix.

[Tracy White]

Gearings were also originally known has "Long Hull Sumners" in the Navy documentation.

[Sebastien Lausdat]

Hi
I build USS Frank Knox version 1944 with MS33a/D28 camouflage (see the link below).
viewtopic.php?f=59&t=45205
I am looking fordocumentation (plans and photos) of openings and details located below the waterline.
Any help is welcome.
Kind regards
Sebastien Lausdat
France

[Jimmy Conway]

Hi
I build USS Frank Knox version 1944 with MS33a/D28 camouflage (see the link below).
viewtopic.php?f=59&t=45205
I am looking fordocumentation (plans and photos) of openings and details located below the waterline.
Any help is welcome.
Kind regards
Sebastien Lausdat
France

I wonder if the hull, as built, is the same of when FRAMED, with the openings, except for the sonar used in the class
I had never read this book, Sumner/Gearing Class DD692/710 WW2 Plan eBook, from the Floating Drydock, but anybody know if is there documented the openings that Sebastien cites?
I would like too to have the same plans and photos.
Sumrall's Sumner-Gearing has no details about it.
Nice regards; Jimmy

[Russ2146]

Jimmy Conway,

The Floating Drydock e-book does not give any hull opening details, other than a copy of a portion of a blueprint indicating a 5" opening just starboard of the aft end of the starboard shaft fairing which was a emergency water pump intake. However, it way be worth you time to e-mail Floating Drydock and ask if they have any plans which show the detail you seek. They will respond and will advise of which, if any, of their plans you can purchase that show the information.

I would note that the e-book original build and wartime modifications. It does not contain any FRAM information.

Russ

[Jimmy Conway]

Thanks Russ for attention, and any information I got about it will bring here to share.
Nice regards:
Jimmy

[desron48]

Hi
I build USS Frank Knox version 1944 with MS33a/D28 camouflage (see the link below).
viewtopic.php?f=59&t=45205
I am looking fordocumentation (plans and photos) of openings and details located below the waterline.
Any help is welcome.
Kind regards
Sebastien Lausdat
France

the type of plan you are looking for would be ....the docking plan.....floating drydock does sell those.....joe

[Jimmy Conway]

Thanks for the tip:
Jimmy

[Jimmy Conway]

That's what I've got in Floating Drydock:
3 kinds of Docking plans

*Bu-DD692-40 USS SUMNER DD692 11/44 DOCKING PLAN, BuShips#109720-2 1/96

*Bu-DDR829-1 USS MYLES C. FOX DDR829 11/76 DOCKING PLAN 1/96

*Bu-DD710-3 DD710 CLASS 1944 DOCKING PLAN,BuShips#509275 1/96

2 are from 1944, and so not FRAMED.......
May I consider that the plans for DDR 829 could contain the details for the hull openings as FRAMED, and identical to Sumners as this ships is a Gearing?
Any help?
Thanks: Jimmy

[Russ2146]

Jimmy, Sebastion

A Gearing was a Sumner with 14 feet added to the length of the ship and that addition was between the stacks. The added space was used for fuel tanks. the machinery spaces remained the same The Navy referred to Gearings as long hull Sumners. I would expect the hull openings to remain the same except that spacing would reflect and extra 14 feet from Frame 110. The Gearings actually had two Frame 110's, 14 feet apart.

So with DD829, take out the 14 feet between forward frame 110 and aft frame 110 and you should be good to go.

Russ