CV-9 Essex 1943 references?

Essex herself did not have hangar deck cats. She also didn't have any deck cats until her April 1944 refit.

If you're modeling her in May of 1942, they you'll need lots of steel and primer red...she wasn't launched until July of '42...perhaps you were thinking of May 43...anyway...I digress.

She carried 5 pole masts throughout her wartime career, and SK radar on her mast until April of 1944. After that, it was relocated to the side of the funnel.

She had one 40mm on her bow, and one on her stern. She carried 4 on the island and 1 on the forward port quarter until her refit in April. After that, she had 3 40mm on her island, 2 on the port sponson, 1 on the forward port quarter, and 2 on the starboard aft quarter. She never got 40mm installed on either side amidships.

Let me know if you need anything else.

Jeff

Thanks Jeff for your correction on the year...ooops! She
wasn't comissioned until new years eve 1942. May 1943
Is the correct time frame. I'll change the subjects #'s.

So there was nothing on the port forward hangar bay on
the early Essex?

Thanks,
Chris

check this link. http://www.steelnavy.com/essex_data.htm#CV21%20USS%20Boxer

Nope, nothing on the portside hangar deck level.

As ddp pointed out, if you check the Steelnavy link, you'll find exactly the same information I gave you...except I pulled it from my cranium and not a website.

Jeff

Thanks for the info ddp and Jeff. In making this model I
have already placed the sponson onto that section. I have
only one reference of the Essex from that vantage point
shortly after it was launched and there is no sponson there
at that point. Any thoughts on if the sponson was placed
there without guns pryor to the '44 refit?

Thanks again for the help

As launched, no. Without getting into the reference books, I'm 99% sure she didn't get that sponson until April of 1944.

Jeff

As launched, no. Without getting into the reference books, I'm 99% sure she didn't get that sponson until April of 1944.
Jeff

Well I guess I'm making the Yorktown or some
later version. I think I've done more research on
the Essex now than Trumpeter has. ;)

Thanks again Jeff

For pictures of just about any American ship you could ever want to look at, you can go here:

http://www.navsource.org

For the Essex page, go here:

http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/09.htm

It's cool!

For pictures of just about any American ship you could ever want to look at, you can go here:
"http://www.navsource.orghttp://www.navsource.orgA
For the Essex page, go here:
http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/09.htm http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/09.htm
It's cool!

Thanks Kustom,
Now I have to figure out whether to lop off the sponson
or buy the gun tubs and extra bofors for a different version.
Chris

The Trumpeter 1/350th scale Essex kit, out of the box, is actually the USS Yorktown, CV-10, as launched.  If you want a fairly straight forward, OOB build, that's the one you're looking for; gun galleries around the flight deck are spot-on, and I think the AA arrangement on the island may even be exactly right. 

I was in the process of building mine as CV-10, realized that everyone and their brother was doing the same thing, and switched gears to do CV-9 in '43.  I've already put on that catapult sponson, too!  Oh well, it'll be fun cutting it off.  I picked up the Nautilus Models wooden deck to deal with the catapult on the flight deck issue.

-Devin

devinj
From my photo references I knew that I needed to shave off
the starbord support for the hangar deck cat. but I didn't
think before I slapped the forward port sponson onto the hull.
I think it'll be easier for me to get rid of that than buy all of
bofors quads. You say the rest of the 20mm and 40mm
mounts are correct for CV-9?
Have you seen L'Arsenal 20mm guns...Sweeet...but 'spensive.

I'm still going through what few photos I can find of Essex in that time frame, but so far, I think all of the flight deck galleries are correct, and I believe that the island galleries and mounts are correct; if they aren't correct mount for mount, then at least the gallery tubs and shielding is right and the number of mounts might need to be varied.

One thing to watch is the two 2 gun galleries hanging off of the after end of the flight deck.  Sixth photo down on this page:  http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/09.htm  Those were removed fairly early on from Essex, and may or may not have been there on CV-10.

I hope to get some time to do further research this upcoming long weekend and fix it in my mind if the kit mounts and positions are good enough.  I'm starting to believe they are, but I want to do a final once-over to convince myself.

I've used the L'Arsenal 20mm mounts on previous projects, such as my USS Laffey kitbash (photos here at ModelWarships.com  http://www.modelwarships.com/reviews/ships/cl/cl-52/350-dp/diorama/diorama.htm  )  I was thinking of getting some of them for the Essex, but that's a chunk of change, as you know; and the same reason I probably won't get their 40mm mounts, as beautiful as they are.  I think the 20mm's mounts in the kit can be salvaged: cut off the oversized barrel and replace with wire, and use PE splinter shields, sights, etc.

I did pick up the L'Arsenal 5" turrets and the associated directors.  The many sided plastic ones that Trumpeter provides just don't do it for me, so many gaps and so much sanding that all of the detail disappears.  You can't go wrong with the L'Arsenal equipment.

-Devin

Devin
I just ordered the CV-9 Wood deck you had meantioned. Thanks for that tip. I'm going to stick with the '43 Essex. I wanted to portray it as the Essex on it's first combat missions to Marcus, Wake, and the Gilberts. Given that first picture you mentioned and it being only 6 months earlier that what I'm doing, I'll stick with the rear 20mm tubs. I read somewhere that they brought them around to the sides later or something like that.

Is that your diorama? If so I'm impressed!!! This is my first big ship model and my first serious attempt at PE. With any luck I won't botch the job.

I'm going to see if I can salvage the twin 5" mounts before I order another thing. I did get L'Arsenal brass barrels for them though.

I just ordered this book and I hope it'll clarify some things and I'll let you know if I have any revelations from it.

Glenn Arnold, Warship Perspectives, Essex Class Aircraft Carriers in World War Two, ISBN not found , but the Publisher is WR Press, Inc., New York, 2002

Chris

Chris,

I have the book you mentioned.  There is a sheet of 1/350th scale plans for Essex in '43, pull-out, in there, and some gallery drawings.  Again, check against photos, as I think some of the drawings might be a bit off.  Some good photos of a lot of Essex bird farms in that book.

Yes, that's my diorama, and thanks for the compliment.  Took me a long time -too long!- to build that thing.

-Devin

devinj wrote:

Chris, I have the book you mentioned.  There is a sheet of 1/350th scale plans for Essex in '43, pull-out, in there, and some gallery drawings.  Again, check against photos, as I think some of the drawings might be a bit off.  Some good photos of a lot of Essex bird farms in that book. Yes, that's my diorama, and thanks for the compliment.  Took me a long time -too long!- to build that thing. -Devin

Hopefully it won't take you as long to do the Essex  ;>

Devin

Essex bird farms? What's that? Hangar deck pics? As I get ready to put the flight deck on, I'm working out where
to place perforated catwalks...the ones on the side of the flight deck. The PE sets are pretty good about where to place catwalks under the bow and stern overhangs.

martinjquinn wrote:

Hopefully it won't take you as long to do the Essex  ;>

Don't you have a Lex conversion of some flavor or the other you should be working on?

I certainly hope it doesn't take that long.  I want to have it ready for MosquitoCon next year, but who knows.

-Devin

yah4sure wrote:

Devin Essex bird farms? What's that?

Sorry, Navy slang.  We called carriers "Bird Farms" (and other things that were less than flattering) while I was in.

PE sets have great instructions if you build the kit out of the box.  If you start making modifications, moving around galleries, etc., then you can get into trouble.  That's why, unless there's something really off about the gun galleries around the flightdeck, I'm leaving them as-is.

-Devin

Heh heh...
You two sound like you have some history...don't make me break you two up! 8)

I hear what you're saying about altering the flight deck edge catwalks without references. I'll be waiting to get that new deck anyway before I commit to anything. Did you open up your hanger deck? I dremmeled out most of the doors...leaving a couple half opened for effect. From what I could gather, the bulkheads and overhead was white and the hanger deck was a medium gray. I've got one BW pic of some blueshirts loading up flour onto a pallet and the contrast is big.

I'm off to northern MN to be thankfull, I hope you have much to be thankful for too.

Chris

yah4sure wrote:

... and the hanger deck was a medium gray ...

Not quite.   Hangar Decks were Standard Deck Gray  #20.  It is the same as the pre-war color.   It is a dark gray, more akin to Gunship

<P>Bummer Ed...I actually first painted it in a darker grey and then lightened it up...Oh well, chalk one up to artistic license... at least I'm not calling it the floor any more.<img src="/FSM/CS/emoticons/icon_smile.gif" alt="Smile [:)]" />  It's still close to a 60 % black. I'll send all a URL when I get back Monday and I can get comments.</P>
<P>Thanks for all the help</P>
<P>Chris</P>

Hey All,

Here's the progress on the hanger deck. I added styrene sheet and sprue to hide the molding marks on the inside of the bulkheads. A little artistic license, but it breaks up the empty spaces.

Let me know if this link works...I'm new to photobucket.

http://photobucket.com/albums/c118/yah4sure/

Chris

Link works and looks good.

I got around to popping off the catapult sponson and cutting away the starboard track support mount yesterday.  Not as hard as I thought it would be!

-Devin

Devin-

That starboard side support comes off so easiliy with a dremmil and a round sandpaper attachment. I'll probably pop off that sponson tonight. I haven't received the new early version deck yet. Depending on if they have all the loose elevators that the kit has, I was thinking about cutting out the hanger deck elevator sections and placing the the flight deck sections there to look like the elevator has been lowered.

Got any pics of your progress?

Chris

I'm snapping pics as I proceed, but haven't posted any yet.  I'm doing a build article for the ModelWarhships site, and need some time to collect my thoughts and images.  I figure once I get all of the hangar deck walls up and ready, I'll do the first installment of the article.

I'm sending you a reply to your direct email shortly.

-Devin