Fletcher Class destroyers

did you leave the original model length or did you lengthen it the 14' scale to be the correct Gearing length? 

My older brother was on the Big E in the 70's they had lots of space to store souvenirs too. He brought back a bunch of stuff from Japan, a couple of high-end stereo systems, one for himself and another for our mom but my favorite trinket was the very first Pong video game system.

 I was in awe that the TV could be interactive – Something totally taken for granted today, but so incredibly mind blowing at the time (for me anyway).

To keep this somewhat model related - I've had a Blue Devil since getting my first 3D printer, so about 6 years, I thought it would be fun to print up a bunch of replacement parts and detail pieces, still do but it's been back burnered. Hope to get to it sooner than latter... 

I've pulled my 1/350 square bridge out of the salt and started DD560 USS Morrison.

The kit includes both original fit with five 5" guns and refit with four 5" guns and two twin forties. Morrison was sunk in 1945 after refit.

Bill

i'm going to kitbash a 1/350 scale ww2 Gearing class destroyer into USS PERRY (DD-844) after it had gone thru the FRAM conversion. i also have a 1/350 scale FFG-7 USS Oliver Hazard Perry that i am going to build as that ship. i'm going to kitbash 2 of Revell's 1/242 scale USS Ward's into USS PERRY (DD-340 & DMS-17).

Getting set to install the rails on a Sumner mine layer as the USS Aaron Ward.  She was bludgeoned by multiple kamikazes at Okinawa.   

In my spare time I'be added the underwater intakes & exhaust ports using scaled drawings in the Anatomy of the Ship - USS Kidd  to a Trumpeter Square bridge kit.   Plus sonar dome, depth sounder hydrophone head and zincs

Funny you should ask!

      I had the plans for the Gearing and the Fletcher on the wall in my shop. So yes, I cut the hull up by quarters and installed the structure to create a proper Gearing hull. Remember the Gearings were a wee bit wider. I can't remember how much. It wasn't so much it was noticeable though! I ran a Keel Strip 1/16 wide on her then did the 14' extension right in the middle. Didn't affect that beautiful Sheer curve that way!

according to the Booklet of General Plans, it was just over 1' difference.

Good coverage of the Kidd in drydock on the news.

My Fletcher model is coming along.

A restoration on Kidd is the crew quarters. 

Bill

DDP59:

     I thought it wasn't much, It just made us (A Gearing ) a longer, slimmer, and yes, faster small Grey ship! When we danced on those big waves they like to show us in. You know, water over mount one etc. We did it like a ballet dancer. I won't address what it was like to be aboard then though!       T.B.

Yeah bill!

       When she went for her refurb, the after crew quarters suffered the most, well they all suffered, really! Age gets to all of us.

GMorrison

Good coverage of the Kidd in drydock on the news.

Saw an IG post that the State of New York has delivered a check for $10M to the city of Buffalo earmarked for a dry docking and maintenance of the The Sullivans

That's good news. We were there in late June for a family memorial, and I put DD 537 into the itinerary. My relatives were ambivalent, "isn't that the one that sank?", but Debra knew that nothing would hold me back.

I'm working on DD 560 USS Morrison using the Trumpeter kit and a set of Tom's PE. AK Interactives which is treating me kindly. Measure 32 13d.

The Sullivans seemed to be in decent shape topsides. Not the usual clutter of hoses and buckets and scrapers that are common on ships maintained by volunteers. The square bridge had essentially a round wheelhouse inside of it, which I suppose added some armour protection for the helm. I only took one or two photos as it isn't something I can't find elsewhere.

Bill

GMorrison

The square bridge had essentially a round wheelhouse inside of it

The "square bridge ships had an open "weather" bridge in front of the pilot house.

In the 50s that was enclosed with thin glazing to make it more "all weather."

Classic photo from Navsource

Then, with the later bridge structure:

Which are the two ships in the Navsource photo?

The Trumpie kit comes with 43 and 45 options. Good thing too because the 43 forward gun director deck part was split in half, but the 45 part was the same pattern except for an additional antenna mounting point which was easily removed.

Morrison was sunk at Okinawa in May 1945.

One difficulty so far is the 5" gun houses. They have two different cores to choose from- with and without the gun captains hood. The sides are separate parts, which create a difficult seam to hide, even with super careful alignment during assembly.

Has anyone built the Revell 1/144 destroyer?

Bill

The two 'flavors' of 5"/38 single gunhouses on the typical war-time Fletcher were often termed 'single knuckle' and 'double knuckle'.   The single knuckle mounts had only one bend in the gunhouse roof, and lacked a gun captain's hood.  These were mounts identified as 51, 53, and 55.    They were located below a superfiring gun and provided better blast protection.   Double knuckle mounts had two bends in the gunhouse roof and had a mount captain's hood.   These were the superfiring guns at mounts 52 and 54.  Good cement technique with the correct sides for the proper gunhouse core minimizes seams (use CA).   The barrel should also be located off-center to the left of the mount centerline.  I think Tamiya got that right, but Trumpeter missed it.

Of course there are better aftermarket options; Black Cat, Model Monkey, and L'Arsenal.

Plans are afoot to kit-mingle the Tamiya and Trumpeter offerings to make an as-launched USS Kidd with 20mms in place of the twin 40s on the deck forward of the bridge, remove the CIC extension on the bridge face, and add a square 20mm tub to the forward of the bridge deck.

To an earlier post that there was round-bridge inside of a square-bridge???  As war production efforts grew, shipyards learned that rolling steel plate to make round structures took more time and effort (read as $$) than welding flat plate to make an angular structure.   Initially the equipment & locations within the square-bridge may have been similar to that in a round-bridge.  That soon evolved with wartime equipment changes.

And the picture of the bow with Roman numeral depth marks.   That is non standard for US practices.   The US uses Arabic numerals, the size and font of which is identified in the detailed construction drawings.   They are surface welded to the hull, over painted in wartime camouflage or picked-out in contrasting color in peacetime paint.   The name is handled similarlt

EdGrune

The US uses Arabic numerals, the size

6" tall numerals at 1" on center, which alllows measuring draft to the half foot by eye.

Roman numberals were used 19th century as part of the increasing Lloyd's (and similar underwriter insurnace) company requirements for all shipping.  Cutty Sary is a famous restored example (which also uses 6" tall numerals 12 inches apart).

Modern maritime marking will be to have markings in meters and "ticks" one decimeter every other decimeter, and a second batch in feet with half-foot ticks or numberals.  These fit the various "Plimsoll" marking rules internationally.

Every so often it prompts an Operational discussion as the only way to actually "use" draft markings is to get in a raft or small boat and row around the ship to see, and you need rather still water to do so.  (This also renders the notion of draft makring on a submarine a touch daft.)

EdGrune

And the picture of the bow with Roman numeral depth marks.   That is non standard for US practices.

Bill

EdGrune

 The barrel should also be located off-center to the left of the mount centerline.

However life is short, the splinter camo can hide sins; we'll see.

The "Sullivans" had a number of double 20 guns, new to me.

Bill

GMorrison

Why restorations are unreliable.

 

... unless resources are available to do it right.

USS Texas in drydock -- April 2023

Welded draft numerals to the left.   New replacements have been added where missing.

The chalk numbers are radiographic steel thickness marks - in hundredths of an inch.   

F0 marks Frame Zero - the forward perpendicular

The semicircular structure with the two holes is the paravane downhaul padeye

Thank you for the information, gents.

Bill

Hi!

     One thing I do remember from Pre-Fram days on our Gearing. It was as crowded in the wheelhouse as on a Fletcher. The captain had the Shipfitters move his bridge chair to the Starboard wing still under the protection of the Canvas and Poly Sheet!

     I guess I am still a die-Hard Shellback! I didn't feel really at home on a civilian ship bridge(Tankers) because of all the Electronics and "Stick" steering and a console with buttons on it for managing Speed and such. I liked the old idea of a Wheel/Binnacle and an Engine Telegraph with the Radar Repeater on the starboard side of the helm.

     A Bridge to me now looks like a take-off from a Science-Fiction Show! It feels strange and cold(No Personality),Whereas the old way, She,(the Ship) would let you deal with her quirks in Steering, Propulsion, etc. in a more personal Hands on way! This way each watchstander had a more personal and direct 'Feel" about the old Girl and would know if she was "Twitchy" or Calm.

      One of the other things I was surprised about. No Lookouts on the bridge wings in most cases. Not a good way to be in station keeping with the Battle Group or such. Two ships recently(In the last five years) got hurt, Because, of NO bridge lookouts. That's criminal to me! Especially since Twelve sailors paid the ultimate price between the two accidents and some were in their racks!