Calling all USS Wasp CV-7 fans

[Dick J]

Like Enterprise, placing the intended quad 40MM in the same locations as the 1.1's would have caused #3 mount to interfere with the crane. (That is why Hornet was built with the original #3 location vacant and the mount further aft, while Enterprise copied Hornet's arrangement when 40MM were actually installed.) But Wasp required all additions to balance, port and starboard, to allow her to use all her limited fuel and not need permanent "ballast" to keep her level. The expected extra weight of the 40MM was probably why her new tub was added on the port side instead of further aft to starboard. However, at the time of her last refit, the new 40MM were unavailable so she sailed to Guadalcanal with the original 4 quad 1.1's in their original locations, and had a big empty tub to port. She never again entered a shipyard to have this changed. As for the light AA, she had a full compliment of 20MM guns, but retained some .50's. You will need to find a diagram to sort them all out.

[medicmike]

Dick, that is what I thought but couldn't find anything to confirm it. Thanks a bunch for the info!

[MartinJQuinn]

Nice photo of Wasp, pre-war. Date and location unknown. It looks like there are Vindicators on the deck, and **maybe** (??) Northrop BT-1s aft of the Vindicators? I can't really tell. Photo courtesy of Fred Branyan, who got it via a friend, who got it from a WW2 vets personal photo album.

[Graham Boak]

Photos of Wasp on Operation Calendar shows the Spitfires lined up for take off and a number of Wildcats behind the island, on the starboard side of the ship. Placing Aosima's model aircraft on the deck of their Wasp, it seems that the Wildcats would interfere with the Spitfire's takeoff if the Spitfires took off along the centreline. which is what I would expect. I can see three possible answers to this problem:
1. The Spitfires took off to the starboard side of the carrier. I doubt this.
2. The model aircraft are oversized. (I know that the ship is slightly under-scale.)
3. The Wildcats were sitting with their tails run out on outriggers. I know this was done on British carriers from 1942 onwards, but I don't know whether it was being done on US carriers at this time, at least.

The real answer may be something else altogether, of course. Does anyone know?

[maurice de saxe]

The images I've seen of Spitfires launching during Operation Calendar clearly show them taking off along the flight deck centreline. The corresponding images of the Spitfires ranged prior to take off shows them spotted in a pattern similar to that commonly used on US carriers at that time. Wasp's F4F's had wings folded and the shots also show them parked facing fore-and-aft on the extreme starboard side, which means they took up very little deck width. Their spot does not interfere with normal take off runs.

Maurice

[Tracy White]

3. The Wildcats were sitting with their tails run out on outriggers. I know this was done on British carriers from 1942 onwards, but I don't know whether it was being done on US carriers at this time, at least.

US Carriers had outriggers, but there was typically at most one per "quadrant." I don't know Wasp's complement but know that the numbers varied during the war. Essex class carriers maxed out at three, for example, before the Navy started removing them to use the weight for other things.

[Graham Boak]

Thanks, particularly to Maurice. This means I have to make up more Wildcats beyond the four with extended wings I've already made, but this time with folded wings. So maybe it won't be finished this year, given other commitments. I was thinking of doing a couple more as Martlets, anyway.

Fortunately the kit does provide lost of markings for the USN types, if a very odd selection in type and number for the Spitfires.

My understanding was that the use of outriggers to run the aircraft's tailwheel outboard was invented on HMS Indomitable, date unknown for sure but not thought (by me) to be before 1942. Indomitable was in the Indian Ocean when Wasp was assisting the UK.

[Tracy White]

It was most certainly pre-war, as this photo on CV-4 Ranger (from here) demonstrates.

[Graham Boak]

Thanks, that's clearly the same principle if somewhat over-engineered compared to what I understand the British examples to have been, They seem to have been a simple channel pivoted outboard with the tailwheel running into it. I dare say it was rather more complicated in reality than that appears.

[gtbred]

Almost done.

[Charybdis]

I have never seen a photo of WASP CV-7 in Measure 4 but after looking through some reels on the Critical Past website, I think I found one. The reel states as from early 1941, which would be about right. Any thoughts?

[taskforce48]

Image didn�t load, would love to see as I have been searching as well.

Matt

[Tracy White]

Any thoughts?

Looks dark. Could be 5-D as well.

[Charybdis]

Could be 5-D as well.

According to http://www.shipcamouflage.com/usn_cv.htm the ship was painted in Measure 4 which had "Black Formula #82" applied to vertical surfaces and Dark Grey (5-D) to horizontal surfaces. There are photos of WASP in Iceland in Oct 41 which show her in M12 (unmodified!) and Based at GITMO in Oct 40 with Standard Navy Grey. She only had this measure a short while.


Here are links to some screen shots in case anyone can't see the image.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/wnurn3ff7t90n ... 1.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/jy592i27huzcw ... b.jpg?dl=0

[Tracy White]

5-D when freshly applied was about as dark as black though, so this is another case where I don't think we can determine color from a black & white photo.

[deogeehp]

I'm just getting back into the hobby and I'm finding my self building a lot of aircraft carriers in 1/700 I picked up the Wasp about a month ago, I really enjoyed building this ship. I do agree with what other members have said about the light AA guns seam to be to big but overall this was a fun build. the attached photo shows Wasp in the foreground (about 90% complete) Yorktown in the middle (about 50% complete) and Graf Zeppelin on top ( only about 20% done)

[Tracy White]

Welcome back and welcome aboard!

[gtbred]

Welcome Back!!!

[Charybdis]

So I've been obsessively tracking down photos of WASP, I want to scratch build her in 1/700. Photo's of her early career are quite few and far between. I've got about 180 photo's in all, the vast majority from 1942. I'm curious about her deck markings 40/41. All pictures from 1942 on, show a plain deck painted with 250N deck stain. Below is a nice find of her commission in April 1940. You can clearly see the yellow(?) stripes on what I presume is a mahogany stained deck. ENTERPRISE had the same going by the beautiful colour shot by LIFE in 1940.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/686yd63mxga0f ... n.jpg?dl=0
This picture is without a date. The planes on the deck are P-40 from the 8th Pursuit Group.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/i1yxpl3svnbh6 ... o.jpg?dl=0
From DANFS:

..Norfolk Navy Yard on 11 October (1940). There, she loaded 24 Curtiss P-40 fighters from the Army Air Corps' 8th Pursuit Group and nine North American O-47A reconnaissance aircraft from the 2d Observation Squadron, as well as her own spares and utility unit Grumman J2F Duck flying boats on the 12th. Proceeding to sea for maneuvering room, Wasp flew off the Army planes in a test designed to compare the take-off runs of standard Navy and Army aircraft. That experiment, the first time that Army planes had flown from a Navy carrier, foreshadowed the use of the ship in the ferry role that she performed so well in World War II.

If this is correct, the photo should be the 12th Oct 1940. You can clearly see the deck stripe but it's two tone. Yellow and gray? White and gray?

Regarding the Measure 1/4 conundrum. I found a great colour shot of LSO David McCampbell, legendary USN ace. The photo said 41/42 which doesn't help much but you can clearly see the island is painted black. It's certainly not Standard Navy Grey and it's too dark to be M12 so that puts this picture in mid 41. Is there a yellow stripe on the deck or are my eyes playing tricks on me?

https://www.dropbox.com/s/fx0rlf2u2imz5 ... O.jpg?dl=0
In this picture, WASP is anchored in Hvalfjorour, Iceland in Sept/Oct 1941. She's in Measure 12 (unmodified!) and you can see the deck stripes in the original format but perhaps gray. I think also that the mahogany deck colour has been replaced with 250N...

https://www.dropbox.com/s/m5xowqqiflv6e ... 9.jpg?dl=0
Also interesting to note that there's no CXAM-1 which according to DANFS was fitted in her March 41 overhaul. I suspect this was fitted in her Dec/Jan overhaul in 41/42.

It's fascinating to study these pictures because there's always a new detail that stands out and sheds a little more light on her short but illustrious career.

[Rick E Davis]

Your image of LSO McCampbell looks to be from a series of color photos taken in late 1941 or early 1942 according to NHHC. Two similar images are 80-GK-687 and 80-GK-688.

A scanned copy of 80-GK-687 from a color print made from the transparency can be seen here ... http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/OnlineL ... k00687.jpg ...

The other image 80-GK-688 (also scanned from a color print) can be seen here ... http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/OnlineL ... k00688.jpg ...

Note that the image isn't as dark as the one you have posted. Also, it appears that you can just barely make out her CXAM-1 radar. Her paint scheme appears to be fairly standard for the period.

As for when USS WASP (CV-7) received her CXAM-1 radar; in the memo attached, I came across at NARA, as of 16 October 1941, she had yet to have her radar installed. But, it certainly was installed prior to March 1942. According to DANFS, USS WASP arrived at Norfolk on 20 October 1941 and departed after a few days there (before 1 November). She could have had the CXAM-1 installed at that time or during her overhaul that started in late December 1941 lasting til 14 January 1942.