Calling all King George V-class (WWII) fans

[Ivan]

Good afternoon. As this photo refers to the fall of a 42-year we assume that, have not had time to finish painting the deck....=)...And so like I do in my 43rd year, I think the right will be painted with gray deck paint.At the moment, I am more interested in the question with the portholes of the hull ...were there visors or not?..and looked like the portholes in the bow of the ship (as they were closed?) and the plugs of the lower tier .....so as I have no idea about the appearance of the square stern Windows..for 1943..I would be very grateful if you could help me with these questions .Thanks. With respect Ivan

[Martocticvs]

Re portholes: depends on the year you're depicting her? Presumably by the fact you're using the Prince of Wales kit you're doing her pre-refit? The answer then would be, with some caution, almost all with the 'visors'. Later, many of those not plated over had rings instead.

And no corticene on the KGVs, as far as I'm aware. Probably just the primer coat showing through worn top coat, as already suggested.

As for the stern deadlights - this is my interpretation based on the material I have been able to gather: http://www.prdobson.com/wp-content/uplo ... GV_099.jpg

[Ivan]

..Thanks..I'm doing to repair...to Italy in 1943.This photo is all I have where I can see the type of porthole that was repaired in connection with the collision and before the reconstruction for the Pacific Ocean..Can anyone share a better image for the given period.Thanks
PS these two pictures visible differences in the caps of the Windows ....me and interested in what the right for KGV on 43-nd
I would be grateful for any photos for this period ...

[Maarten Sch�nfeld]

The KGV, as first and only ship in her class, had the square windows with hatches in her stern for the Admiral's quarters. These were similar to those in Rodney and Nelson. These remained there as far as I know for the rest of her life.

hmskinggeorgevmpl521 1946.jpg (20.86 KiB) Viewed 2753 times

Only in Nelson these were replaced by round scuttles (portholes) during the war, also Rodney kept the square windows her entire life. Only some of the windows were plated over, temporarily or permanent.

So for any model of the KGV you should replace the round scuttles with square windows and hatches, either closed or open. All other four ships in the class had round portholes for their entire life.

[EJFoeth]

If you look at HMS Prince of Wales closely you'll find she used to have square openings in the hull as well:

Prince of Wales 26.jpg

[Maarten Sch�nfeld]

If you look at HMS Prince of Wales closely you'll find she used to have square openings in the hull as well:

Prince of Wales 26.jpg

Aha! but did PoW these square windows on completion, or were these already replaced by scuttles as shown in this very detailed picture? When did the changeover take place?

[EJFoeth]

When she was launched some type of cover present not the round scuttles seen later... most pics are of the bow so it's difficult to make out what exactly was present. Also, when KGV was launched the square scuttles are not visible at all. The pic above is HMS PoW during fitting out, so very very early career.

[Ivan]

good afternoon...and could you tell me 1943 year on King George portholes had visors or not

[Maarten Sch�nfeld]

good afternoon...and could you tell me 1943 year on King George portholes had visors or not

King George V had the square hatches or shutters (do you call them visors? why?) for her entire life, so also in 1943.

[Ivan]

good afternoon...and could you tell me 1943 year on King George portholes had visors or not

King George V had the square hatches or shutters (do you call them visors? why?) for her entire life, so also in 1943.

Good afternoon. ..I asked about the round portholes...there are no visors on the photos of the 45th year...and I was wondering if they were in ' 43.

[Maarten Sch�nfeld]

Good afternoon. ..I asked about the round portholes...there are no visors on the photos of the 45th year...and I was wondering if they were in ' 43.

Ivan, that picture is of the Prince of Wales!!! not the King George Vth

And what you call 'visors' are in fact 'raingutters' or often called 'eyebrows' by us modellers. They have nothing to do with visors on a helmet!

Yes, these were applied at any time and both over the circular portholes (more correct: scuttles) as over the square ones.

Ivan, where are you from? It seems much of this conversation is about using the correct words to indicate what you mean, so a language issue. It helps if you explain your background! And marine terminology can be quite tricky across languages.

[Ivan]

so-as with portholes worked out ...help to understand with the oerlikon on the stern...kagero on drawings gives 5 in nests and 4 on the sides from them...but the pictures I found the extra barrel

[Martocticvs]

As I mentioned earlier, for the 'visors' - rain gutters / 'eyebrows' / rigols - it depends on the year. From launching, KGV had the eyebrows on ALL scuttles. However, starting around 1943, when they started plating over some scuttles, there appears a mixture of scuttles with eyebrows, and also some with complete rings, as can be seen in this photo from late 1945 (immediately post-war)...

[Maarten Sch�nfeld]

so-as with portholes worked out ...help to understand with the oerlikon on the stern...kagero on drawings gives 5 in nests and 4 on the sides from them...but the pictures I found the extra barrel

Good research Ivan! Sharp eyes...

[Martocticvs]

That photo is from 1943, whilst she was in the Med (according to the IWM caption). That does appear to be an additional 20mm barrel there, on the centreline. The structure abaft it appears much the same as the shield around the UP launcher that was positioned there originally - the box inside it however is not the UP launcher, so presumably a radar kit. There's no evidence in that photo that I can see to suggest that 10th oerlikon is inside a nest, so presumably it is an additional open pedestal mount. Many were added to the ship at this time - including in the waist, either side of the catapult.

[Maarten Sch�nfeld]

so-as with portholes worked out ...help to understand with the oerlikon on the stern...kagero on drawings gives 5 in nests and 4 on the sides from them...but the pictures I found the extra barrel

Here a picture of the semi-circular shield that used to be there for the UP launcher, in 1941:
Btw: note the square windows with shutters of the admiral quarters below.

[Ivan]

Good afternoon and thank you....if the photo is the tenth gun took the place of the rocket launcher ....but then there is almost no room for a booth with an antenna ....With portholes figured out and installed on the model..=)..

[EJFoeth]

larger version:



Unhelpfully vague shot

[Maarten Sch�nfeld]

Good afternoon and thank you....if the photo is the tenth gun took the place of the rocket launcher ....but then there is almost no room for a booth with an antenna ....With portholes figured out and installed on the model..=)..

Excellent pictures, EJ! Thanks.
As you see, the booth is behind the former UP gun emplacement. Yes, it's all a bit cramped, but the 20mm guns were very much needed then!
Another interesting notion: the degaussing coil is still installed in this picture!

[Martocticvs]

I think the coil was removed (well, made internal anyway) sometime in '43... must have been later in the year. Although saying that, the RMG research guide (https://www.rmg.co.uk/discover/research ... g-george-v) suggests to me that the coil must have been removed during the Feb-July '44 refit.

The larger photo plus the slightly blurry one seem to make it fairly clear that the extra 20mm is indeed mounted where the UP launcher used to be, and the radar box is in whatever space was left over behind it. Looks like just barely enough room to squeeze between the aft corners and guardrails to get at the ensign staff. At least for that particular operation, the Kagero plan is wrong to show the rafts in that position. (Kagero plans are nice, but shouldn't be relied on for accuracy!)