What-If USN Destroyers/Convoy Escorts

[Rick E Davis]

On many post-WWII ships that didn't get the new tripods, the USN installed heavy stays to brace the pole mast and at times installed some pretty large radars atop the masts.

Gopher,

I don't know to what time period you are referencing your "So what armament mix/ratios would be needed for nearly a full-time sub-hunter (DD sized)" question? In the immediate post-WWII era (1948-1953), the only ASW weapons that panned out were the introduction of more hedgehogs ... fixed to port and starboard and on some ships sacrificing a main gun mount for a trainable hedgehog. The trainable ASW mortar replaced the trainable hedgehog. K-guns and drop racks were still used, but in reduced numbers to save weight.

[Sr. Gopher]

Whoops, I meant during 1946 or 7 ish in a war-time enviornment. I'm working on my own designs that will cover an area where there are few enemy aircraft: the extreme south Pacific. As of now, I only have Hedgehogs...

[Russ2146]

Ok, now you've gone and done it. My drawing board just expanded. But there's two AVP's and a post war Group 2 reserve DE ahead of it.

Unlike Cliffy, my DE Whiff will have a galley. Check out the USS Slater site main deck plan to see what I mean.

[Sr. Gopher]

I don't get it.

[Russ2146]

What don't you get?

I intend to build a whiff DE in 1/350.

Clffy's torpedo stowage and tube placement eliminate the galley on a DE. http://www.ussslater.org/decks/main.html

[Sr. Gopher]

Whoops, I was looking at the wrong drawing. Now I get it!!!

[Cliffy B]

Russ remember I added a hull plug! Besides the torpedo room only has 2 tubes and 2 reloads pre tube stacked in very close proximity due to space. The galley and everything else is still there. So instead of it going stack, galley, bridge its now stack, galley, torpedo room, bridge. The new room fits inside the hull plug only, it doesn't spill over into the other spaces. Besides the plans aren't even to the same class. I know the DEs were similar but internal arrangements weren't necessarily the same.

[Russ2146]

Cliffy,
Well, they all had the galley in the same area, on the main deck ahead of the stack. Prepared food was carried from there to the ward room pantry and down the interior ladder to the forward First Platform Deck to the mess space for the enlisted folks.

Now, you need to allow for that as well as the fact that your torpedo room would also have a lot of people tromping through it to get from the after portion of the ship to the bridge structure and the mess deck. Believe me, the open main deck of a DE is not someplace you want to be during the winter in the North Atlantic.

How long are the tubes? Placed as you envision, can there be free passage through the space. One of my most vivid memories is standing in line for chow, starting back around the Quarter Deck area on the Slater diagram. The serving area was right at the bottom of the ladder down from the main deck to the mess area.

Russ

[Sr. Gopher]

Well, I was just wondering, would these be plausible designs? Not to hijack your thread, Cliffy.

The bars with " x___" are Oerlikons, the bars with a dark shade on the top are twin/quad Bofors

[carr]

Cliffy,

Been awhile. Anything new on this?