October 2024 Ship Club Meeting

Thanks to everyone for attending today.  You all are what makes our meetings enjoyable.  Here's this month's recap...

Thanks to our late friend, Capt. John "Deacon" DuGene USN (ret), for leaving our club $2000.  Once the legal requirements are met and we receive the funds John left us I will set up a high yield savings account for safe keeping.  We can pay our Zoom fees for a very long time with these funds!  Thank you, Deacon!  Bravo Zulu.  

I mentioned to a few people before the meeting started that I was notified by Zoom that they had implemented an update.  No details.  However everything operated very smoothly during the meeting so I didn't think anything of it.  However I discovered that our meeting didn't record.  Disappointing in that we had two very excellent presentations today.  

The first was from Sam Bartlett with his presentation on "Carrier Curiosities."  I'm going to add in the slides with as much as I can remember...  

This title slide depicts a USN float plane in the foreground, with the same airplane taking off the carrier in the background configured for carrier operations.

This was the British idea of how an arresting system would look for recovering aircraft onboard the aircraft carrier.  The idea didn't stick.

Before helicopters there were gyrocopters.  Here we see the USS Langley experimenting with Gyrocopters.

Here we see the US Navy experimenting with landing a dirigible onboard a carrier.  

The dirigible pilots needed to learn how to work with LSO's.  And I suppose the LSO's needed to learn how dirigible's were different than landing planes.

Weather balloon launched from the USS Valley Forge.

USS Lexington providing emergency power to the city of Tacoma, WA

And who could forget the Doolittle Raid!

The USS Wasp was placed on loan to the British for the purpose of transporting Spitfires to Malta.  Two waves were launched.  This was a one way trip for all, save one.   A first time Spitfire pilot made his first carrier takeoff, lost his fuel tank so he couldn't make the trip to Malta, and made his first successful carrier landing.  

A torpedo plane also made the trip.

A ship load of P-40's transported by carrier.

Here's something you don't see every day.  A P-47 Razorback launched by catapult from an Escort Carrier!

A carrier full of late model P-47's being transported, along with what are likely F4U Corsairs.

A P-51 doing carrier qualifications.  Note the tail hook.  This was a program called Operation Seahorse to test the viability of P-51's flying from carriers.

Testing jet operations from the deck of the USS Franklin D Roosevelt.  Note the non-standard fuel truck for carrier ops.

Converting an LST for L-4 Grasshopper operations.

The Brodie system which was used on an LST for launching and recovering L-4 Grasshoppers.  

Here's a video of how the system worked.  

Launch of V-2 Rockets from the USS Midway.  There's a model kit!  More on this at the next meeting

The Navy worked on a naval option for delivering nuclear weapons.  Here we see a P-2 Neptune bomber taking off from a carrier assisted by JATO bottles.

And how about a C-47 with JATO!  Note the skis on the wheels.  

Then the largest aircraft ever to take off of a US Carrier.  Note the dashed center line on the carrier deck.  This program was designed to test the feasibility of using the Herc for carrier replenishment.

Last but not least the recovery of Apollo 17 space capsule being picked up with an SH-3G Sea King.  Note the carrier in the background.  USS Ticonderoga, home to our late friend, Jerry Beasley.

Harvey Low was able to join us today and give a presentation on how he went about building his S-Class Submarine, S-44.  This model started as a Combat Models vac-u-form kit which was horribly inaccurate.  Harvey used his skills to design his own core and vac-u-formed his own hull.  Harvey went on to explain the construction and challenges of building this boat from scratch.  

We've shown enough rusty Burke destroyers and decided to show a new modification coming out of dry dock with a clean paint job.  

There's a "new" photo etch glue on the market from Deluxe.  This is water based and features a long needle applicator.  I ordered some just to see what it was all about.  I'm still a Gator's Grip fan, and we'll see how this compares.  Here's a video from Deluxe on how it works.  I've sent a link to some places that carry, or will carry this product.

Tim shared with us his trip to San Francisco for the RC Sub regata.  Tim's type XXI U-Boat is 1/32 scale.  It took the entire length of the mini van he rented to transport it to meet.

Rob Weilacher missed us last month, but we caught up with his build of the 1/700 Trumpeter USS Texas.  Rob reported that this was a very good model that went together well.

Rob's latest completion is the Loose Cannon East, USS Vulcan AR-5.  Nice work, Rob!

We then discussed David Angelo's adventure, HMS Victory.  I think David had to go back to sleep but the group was highly impressed with David's latest work.  We'll look forward to the next updates!

Getting closer!  You can see the yard arm in place.

Then there's my latest rabbit hole.  I threatened replacing the stern of the USS Gato with the aft section of the AFV Club model.... and I did it.  The fit was excellent with little cleanup required.  More to come..

We looked at some new kits coming to market.  The first is a 3D printed 1/700 HMS Victory model which comes in two versions.  One with and one without photo etch.  I purchased the deluxe version just to see what it was all about.  There are some obvious problems.  First the davits are huge!  That's probably an easy fix.  But then there's the recessed copper plating... suggestion... on the bottom of the hull.  So far this is looking like a candidate for a water based diorama.  

Some interesting aspects to this kit!

Both versions are on pre-order from Squadron.  The deluxe for $21.74 and the basic (without photo etch) for $13.94.  Pretty cheap so we'll see how it works out.

Dragon Models has dropped another previously released kit.  This one not yet announced from Squadron.  It's the USS Arkansas.  It's currently on order stop, but you can add it to your wishlist and it's likely you'll get one.  If you can find it, Flyhawk makes a nice detail set for it.  

There are some interesting 3D printed kits available on eBay.  They come from a variety of shops.  They look just like SS Models.  Lots of detail, but some areas of concern.  No railings as an example.  The hull prints are not smooth.  In this case the most concerning thing to me was recessed anti-slip walkways.  It just doesn't make sense and would require a ton of filling and work to correct.  And they come with a big price tag.  

We hi-lighted a couple of interesting models on the internet.  The first is from a modeler, Yamaguchi-san.  I shared this build and the initial thoughts I received that at first glance they thought it was real.  Some tremendous attention to detail and creating a natural scene.  I sent this modeler a Virtual Challenge Coin.  

The second model pointed out was a masterful build of the USS Oregon from a Glencoe kit originally molded in 1959.  

As a comparison to the original Glencoe model...

We discussed a few books as well....

Sam brought a book about the USS Langley, "America's First Aircraft Carrier".  Sam could not recommend the book.  He said it was mostly a recap of ships logs and a VERY boring read.  It's available from Amazon and the Naval Institute Press.

The second book is one I'm listening to on Audible.  The title is "Destroyer Captain, The Life of Ernest E. Evans" who was the Captain of the USS Johnston and killed during the battle of Samar.  A fascinating story of a man who won the Medal of Honor.  

This book is also special as it was written by David Hornfischer, the son of legendary author, James Hornfischer.  They started the research together and David wrote the book.  Thanks to Rob Weilacher for recommending this book.

 To finish off the meeting I recommended a movie call "The Arctic Convoy".  You can stream this on your device or TV.  It's a Norwegian film and all subtitles.  So be prepared to read.  It was worth it.