Calling all Essex-class (Cold War configuration) fans

[Mark McKinnis]

Nice looking SCB-125s Red!

Oriskany and.........(Intrepid, Tico, or Hancock)?

[gtbred]

Thanks Mark. Hancock!

[gtbred]

almost done.

[Nick D]

Hi guys, not a modeller just a WW2 Aviation/Warship buff, but I have a question maybe someone can help me with...

Does anyone have any pictures of the INSIDE of a hurricane bow? I hear its a secondary conning station, and would like to see if theres any pictures of that setup.

Even if its on one of the Midways.

Thanks in advance.

Nick

[ofrezca]

Hello Nick,

took these pictures on Midway today. I did not see a secondary conning station in this area. Has it been removed in one of the later rebuilds? Maybe they just gave orders from the bow area directly to the engine room and rudder stearing room.
The first picture is taken in the inside of the bow. The other picture is in the enclosed focsle.

Torben

[Guest]

Hello Nick,

took these pictures on Midway today. I did not see a secondary conning station in this area. Has it been removed in one of the later rebuilds? Maybe they just gave orders from the bow area directly to the engine room and rudder stearing room.
The first picture is taken in the inside of the bow. The other picture is in the enclosed focsle.

Torben

1.JPG

2.JPG

Those are some cool pictures. Thanks for posting them for me. I wonder what the crewmen though of the Hurricane bow. I know it helps in heavy seas and inclement weather, but I would imagine that there are times where the fresh breeze would have been nice.

[gtbred]

Jim Shirley's Oriskany.

[Rick E Davis]

Here are a couple of interesting views of YORKTOWN not all that commonly seen.

I found these at NARA II on a recent trip.

Bow on in drydock.



Where do they put the aircraft with all those boats, cars, pick-up trucks.

[Bill Luther]

Does anyone know, if after the addition of her angled flight deck, if she had any guns on her aft port quarter. I can't find any pictures clear enough to tell. The drawings I've found indicate the gun tubs were retained but they don't indicate if the guns were there as well. TIA

[Rick E Davis]

The short answer is no. The only photos I have of ANTIETAM date from January 1953 and show guns mounted in that area. Appears that the 5-in/38 foundations are still there, but no guns. On the forward port quarter, all of the previous guns appear to be there except for the 20-mm guns.

[Mark McKinnis]

I am building every USN CV and one each of the CVL's and CVE's.

Here is a list of the completed projects:

Pre-WWII
1942 Lexington MS-11 F-4F SBD TBD
1942 Yorktown MS-12 F-4F SBD12 TBD
1940 Enterprise pre-war F-3F SBC SBD TBD
1942 Hornet MS-12mod B-25
Essex Class
1943 Essex MS-21 F-6F SBD TBF
1944 Yorktown MS-32/10a F-6F SB2C TBM
1944 Randolph MS-32/17a-1 F-6F SB2C TBF
1945 Lexington MS-12 F-6F SB2C TBF

CVL
1943 Independence MS-14 F-6F

Post WWII Essex Class
1956 Hancock CVG-12 SCB-27C F9F-8 F-7U AD-6 F2H-3 AJ-2 F9F-6P AD-5N AD-5W
1951 Bon Homme Richard CVG-7 Korea F-9F-2 F-4U F-2H-P AD-3 AD-4W
1971 Oriskany CVW-19 SCB-125 F-8 A-7 EKA-3 E-1 RF-8
1953 Antietam CVA F-9F8 AD-4W S-2
1957 Princeton CVS S-2 HSS-1
1955 Lake Champlain SCB-27A FJ -3 F-9-8 F-2H3 AD-6 AD-5W F9F-6P

1991 Midway CVW-5
1964 F.D.R. CVW-1
1970 Coral Sea CVW-15
1961 Saratoga CVW-3
1997 Kitty Hawk CVW-11
1964 Enterprise CVW-6
1970 America CVW-9
1973 Kennedy CVW-1
1976 Nimitz CVW-8
1985 Carl Vinson CVW-15

1957 Princeton Need to Complete Airwing
1959 Intrepid, SCB-125, Need to Complete Airwing
1989 Ranger Need to Complete Airwing


I am not quite half way there. I have all of them purchased except a couple of SCB-125s for Shangri La and Kearsarge and the CVE Sangamon. That is why I keep hoping for a SCB-125 kit to come out. The Ships & Co Intrepid is not well done and the Jim Shirley Oriskany's are a bit too rare and expensive!!

It keeps me off of the streets!!

[gtbred]

Mark you gave me a idea. Tonkin Gulf Essex class in 1/350.

[Hippy Ed]

I'll be starting the Revell 1/542 USS Essex CVA-9 pretty soon & will be done up in the 1958 Configuration With VF-11 and their F2H-3s aboard

[grayson72]

Hi all, I'm gathering the resources to build a 1/350 model of the USS Princeton LPH-5.

My father served aboard her during 1963-1966.

I realize there's a 1/700 scale kit but I wanna go bigger and more detailed than that kit can provide.

I'm gonna start with Trumpeters USS Hancock and hopefully modify it to LPH-5.

I've got 20 CH-34s on order, and someone is doing the decals for me.

So I'm wondering if I should order the Gold Medal Models PE or the White Ensign ones and if these will even help me/be useful? (I know some of the parts like radar stuff won't work for the time period).

I'm also trying to find what deck equipment will go with this era.

Any thoughts on my approach or my questions?

Thanks,

Chad

[Mark McKinnis]

That should be a pretty straight forward conversion. I think that a late war Hanna would have the same deck length as Princeton. You may want to get the 700th scale Princeton to help with references for the 350th scale ship. Particularly the Mast. You will need the 3" guns vice the 40MM WWII guns.


Both WEM and GMM are quality sets. I have the GMM set and I like it. I cannot compare them since I do not have the WEM set. JAG does a 1/350 set of deck vehicles that might work for some things. I have not seen another 1/350 Deck Vehicle Set for Carriers but it could be out there.

Good Luck and post some PICS!

MM

[grayson72]

Hey there, thanks for the reply, you actually read my mind about getting the 1/700 as a reference. Some of the JAG equipement might work, the small forklifts will. I may have to modify the tow vehicles. From what I can discern the JAG set has the new tow tractors the newer ones flare out in the back, the old ones don't. My dad wouldn't care but it'll drive me nuts LOL.

[Tracy White]

The 350th Trumpeter Long Hulls both "enjoy" the short flight deck, which no carrier had after the war (Hancock was mothballed with hers still short, but they might have lengthened it at that point).

[Dick J]

You will need the 3" guns vice the 40MM WWII guns.

3" guns should be unnecessary. While 40MM were not used in the '60's, not all ships received the 3" mounts. The LPH converted Essex's lost the 40MM and 20MM (retaining some of the 40MM tubs), and kept only part of the 5" battery. No smaller guns appear to have been fitted.

[Mark McKinnis]

You will need the 3" guns vice the 40MM WWII guns.

3" guns should be unnecessary. While 40MM were not used in the '60's, not all ships received the 3" mounts. The LPH converted Essex's lost the 40MM and 20MM (retaining some of the 40MM tubs), and kept only part of the 5" battery. No smaller guns appear to have been fitted.

I did not realize that they had lost all of them. I took a tour of Navsource and looked at all 3 Essex Class that became LPHs and you are spot on. No light AA anywhere.

So converting a Trumpeter Long Hull is even more straight forward if you can live with the flight deck being a bit shorter than it really was. So the major scratch build part is the main mast.

[grayson72]

Yeah my father said the only guns he remembers are the big 5" ones which they'd actually fire at practice targets once in awhile.

The main mast is gonna be a total scratchbuild I'm afraid unless I can find some aftermarket PE for some of the radar stuff.

The other scratchbuild is the island, it's a bit different than it was in WWII, it looks like it has several enclosed areas with glass windows (like the bridge) that the WWII version didn't have.