In external store, note Black Widow behind it

12/7/2012 Mike Orazzi | Staff

Mark Adamski salutes Iwo Jima survivor Ray Greene during a small ceremony at the Iwo Jima Memorial on the Newington-New Britain line on Friday morning.

 

This is a file photo. Mr Greene passed away this week.

A World War II veteran, Naval petty officer third class and Helldiver aerial gunner who flew 23 missions in the South Pacific, Greene became a tool and die marker in New Britain following the war.

4th Wings Over Houston Confederate Air Force Air Show Ellington Field 1988

WEATHER & PHOTOS - LOUSY EARLY JUST FAIR LATER. SCANS OF PHOTO PRINTS.

 

Curtiss SB2C-5 "Helldiver" (USN 83589)(NX92879)

CAF Wings of Victory Air Show Goodyear Airport AZ March 18, 1995

These photos were scanned from prints made in 1995 when camera, lens & technique were not as good as today. The original photos were processed and printed by One-Hour Photo machine.

 

Curtiss SB2C-5 "Helldiver" (USN 83589)(NX92879)

'HELLDIVERS - COSPLAY BY ALAN' - 'CHESTERFIELD COMIC-CON' - 'UNLEASHED EVENTS' - 23rd FEB 2025

Moose River Plains, Adirondack Mountains, NY

Performing at Andrews AFB, May 2012.

Curtis SB2C Helldiver at 2017 Wings Over Houston Airshow.

This image shows a Curtiss SB2C Helldiver, a World War II-era dive bomber, undergoing restoration at West Pac Restorations on behalf of the National Museum of World War II Aviation in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

 

West Pac Restorations works with both private owners and the WWII Aviation Museum to restore vintage airplanes. I'm lucky enough to have a friend that works there so I've gotten to explore the behind the scenes workings a few times and each time this beast creeps slowly towards completion.

 

Colorado Springs, Colorado. 2021/2022

MAAM Mid-Atlantic Air Museum

WWII Weekend Airshow, 2018

Reading, PA

Owner: Commemorative Air Force, Midland, TX

Wall Street Journal

Navy Day in New York, 1945

The biggest display of military might the nation had ever seen.

By Elliot Rosenberg

Oct. 26, 2015 6:48 pm ET

 

Seventy years ago, on Oct. 27, 1945, New York City was the site of the most spectacular homefront display of American military might the nation had ever seen. Navy Day was in effect a monumental victory lap, coming seven weeks after the signing of the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay aboard the USS Missouri.

 

Now the “Big Mo” and other stars and supporting players from the Pacific Fleet had come home. Along a six-mile stretch of the Hudson River, 47 warships gathered—battleships, aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, submarines and submarine chasers.

 

President Truman was there. So was I. About 3.5 million people crowded along Manhattan’s West Side, with another 1.5 million viewing from New Jersey, according to press reports. Joining the USS Missouri, with its 16-inch turret guns bristling from its 56,000-ton frame, were the USS New York (an older battle wagon) and the USS Enterprise, the only aircraft carrier that had been active from Pearl Harbor to V-J Day.

 

At midafternoon, President Truman boarded a destroyer for a two-hour review of the assembled firepower. Twenty-one-gun salutes boomed from many of the vessels. Overhead, 1,200 Hellcat and Corsair fighters, Avenger torpedo planes and Helldiver bombers circled in 12-mile ovals. For half-hour spells on two successive nights the ships turned on their 24-inch and 36-inch searchlights, sending brilliant blue-white beams, with millions in candle power, flashing across the sky and illuminating the city’s skyscrapers. No fireworks display could compare.

 

Many of the ships initially moored at piers along the river, welcoming visitors, and tens of thousands clambered aboard. The Missouri was the biggest celebrity; visitors especially wanted to see a small starboard-deck plaque that read: “Over this spot on 2 September 1945 the instrument of formal surrender of Japan to the Allied Powers was signed.”

 

By the time my father was off work and able to take me to see the naval display, the ships had left their piers and lined up in mid-river. Navy launches ferried civilians to visit them, and my father and I were among the lucky ones.

 

I would have preferred to see the Big Mo, but the Enterprise was a worthy consolation prize. I marveled at being aboard an aircraft carrier, previously known only through movies like “Wing and a Prayer” and “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo.” The rectangular expanse of the flight deck. The squadrons of planes bunched together, wings folded. The rows of antiaircraft guns lining its rim. A large poster provided some Enterprise statistics: 911 Japanese planes shot down, 71 ships sunk, 192 more ships damaged or sunk.

 

After Oct. 27, the Navy fleet gradually dispersed. Elsewhere that fall, the Soviet Union was scrambling to develop an atomic bomb, and the Korean peninsula was about to be sliced at something called the 38th Parallel. Vietnam was still a faraway French outpost in Indochina. And Afghanistan and Iraq barely registered in the mind of at least one New York schoolboy, who had witnessed Navy Day and come away certain that America could still lick any international bully on the planet.

 

Mr. Rosenberg is the author, with Louis Eisenstein, of “A Stripe of Tammany’s Tiger” (Cornell University, 2013 paperback).

 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

History

United States

Name:USS Midway

Namesake:Battle of Midway

Ordered:1 August 1942

Builder:Newport News Shipbuilding

Laid down:27 October 1943

Launched:20 March 1945

Commissioned:10 September 1945

Decommissioned:11 April 1992

In service:1945

Out of service:1992

Stricken:17 March 1997

Nickname(s):Midway Magic

Status:Museum ship at the USS Midway Museum in San Diego, California

Notes:Only carrier museum in the United States from WW2 that is not of the Essex class

General characteristics

Class and type:Midway-class aircraft carrier

Displacement:

 

45,000 tons at commissioning

64,000 tons at decommissioning

 

Length:1,001 ft (305 m)[1]

Beam:

 

121 ft (37 m)

136 ft (41 m), 238 ft (73 m) at flight deck after modernization

 

Draft:34.5 ft (10.5 m)

Propulsion:12 boilers, four Westinghouse geared Steam turbines[2]

Speed:33 kn (61 km/h; 38 mph)

Complement:4,104 officers and men

Armament:

 

As Built:

18 × 5"/54 caliber Mark 16 guns,

84 × Bofors 40 mm guns,

68 × Oerlikon 20 mm cannons

After Refit:

2 8-cell Sea Sparrow launchers,

2 Phalanx CIWS

 

Aircraft carried:137 theoretical, 100 (1940s–50s), 70 (Vietnam–retirement)

 

USS Midway (CVB/CVA/CV-41) is an aircraft carrier, formerly of the United States Navy, the lead ship of her class. Commissioned a week after the end of World War II, Midway was the largest ship in the world until 1955, as well as the first U.S. aircraft carrier too big to transit the Panama Canal. She operated for 47 years, during which time she saw action in the Vietnam War and served as the Persian Gulf flagship in 1991's Operation Desert Storm. Decommissioned in 1992, she is now a museum ship at the USS Midway Museum, in San Diego, California, and is the only remaining inactive U.S. aircraft carrier that is not an Essex-class aircraft carrier.

 

Service history

 

Midway was laid down 27 October 1943 in Shipway 11 at Newport News Shipbuilding Co., Newport News, Virginia; launched 20 March 1945, sponsored by Mrs. Bradford William Ripley, Jr.; and commissioned on 10 September 1945 (eight days after the Surrender of Japan) with Captain Joseph F. Bolger in command.

 

After shakedown in the Caribbean, Midway joined the U.S. Atlantic Fleet training schedule, with Norfolk as her homeport. From 20 February 1946, she was the flagship for Carrier Division 1. In March, she participated in Operation Frostbite testing the Ryan FR Fireball and helicopter rescue techniques for cold-weather operations in the Labrador Sea. In September 1947, a captured German V-2 rocket was test-fired from the flight deck in Operation Sandy, the first large-rocket launch from a moving platform, and the only moving-platform launch for a V-2. While the rocket lifted off, she then tilted and broke up at 15,000 feet (4,600 m).[3]

 

On 29 October 1947, Midway sailed for the first of her annual deployments with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean. Between deployments, Midway trained and received alterations to accommodate heavier aircraft as they were developed.

 

In June 1951, Midway operated in the Atlantic off the Virginia Capes during carrier suitability tests of the F9F-5 Panther. On 23 June, as Cdr. George Chamberlain Duncan attempted a landing in BuNo 125228, a downdraft just aft of the stern caused Duncan to crash. His plane's forward fuselage broke away and rolled down the deck, and he suffered burns. Footage of the crash has been used in several films, including Men of the Fighting Lady, Midway, and The Hunt for Red October.[4]

 

In 1952, the ship participated in Operation Mainbrace, North Sea maneuvers with NATO forces. Midway had an angled runway painted on the flight deck in May for touch-and-go landings following the pioneering trials of the technique aboard HMS Triumph. Successful demonstration of the possibilities caused widespread adoption of the angled flight deck in future aircraft carrier construction and modifications of existing carriers.[3] On 1 October, the ship was redesignated CVA-41.

 

Midway cleared Norfolk 27 December 1954 for a world cruise, sailing via the Cape of Good Hope for Taiwan, where she became the first large carrier in the 7th Fleet for operations in the Western Pacific until 28 June 1955.[3] During these operations, Midway pilots flew cover for the evacuation from the Quemoy-Matsu crisis[5] from the Tachen Islands of 15,000 Chinese nationalist troops and 20,000 Chinese civilians, along with their livestock.

Apartheid Incident

 

Controversy arose during the cruise when Midway docked in Cape Town, South Africa. Democratic senator Herbert Lehman sent a telegram to Secretary of the Navy Charles Thomas when he learned of a supposed United States Navy plan to segregate 400 non-European members of the crew of Midway while she was in Cape Town. Fellow Democrat senator Hubert Humphrey soon joined Lehman, additionally sending a letter to the Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, asking that "immediate steps be taken to see that equal treatment is given to American service personnel allowed shore leave in South Africa, or eliminate Cape Town as a port of call", and that: "To me this is a shocking of discrimination that should not be tolerated by our Government. Every American soldier or sailor is an American regardless of race, colour or creed, and is entitled to be respected and treated as such anywhere in the world."[6]

 

An anonymous Navy official stated that the Department of the Navy did not know of the arrangements that were to be made between the officers of Midway and South African authorities, and that African-American members of the crew would not be segregated while still aboard Midway.[6]

 

Clarence Mitchell Jr. also urged Thomas not to allow Midway to dock at Cape Town. James H. Smith Jr., Acting Secretary of the Navy at the time, replied that the stop at Cape Town was merely to "satisfy an operational logistic requirement" and that it was customary to observe local laws and regulations while visiting foreign ports.[6]

 

Captain Reynold Delos Hogle of Midway stated that while in port, Midway would be United States territory and federal United States laws would apply. In the end, the crew of Midway were not made to abide by Apartheid, saying that "At Hartleyvale this afternoon and at the concert to-night, European and non-European members of the crew have been asked to attend. There will be no segregation whatsoever".[6]

Modernizations

 

On 28 June 1955, the ship sailed for Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, where Midway underwent an extensive modernization program (SCB-110, similar to SCB-125 for the Essex-class carriers). Midway received an enclosed hurricane bow, an aft deck-edge elevator, an angled flight deck, and steam catapults, returning to service on 30 September 1957.[3]

 

Home ported at Alameda, California, Midway began annual deployments bringing McDonnell F3H Demons, North American FJ-4 Furys, Vought F-8 Crusaders, Douglas A-1 Skyraiders, and Douglas A-3 Skywarriors to the 7th Fleet in 1958, and into the South China Sea during the Laotian Crisis of spring 1961. During the 1962 deployment, Midway recorded her 100,000th arrested landing[3] as the ship's aircraft tested the air defense systems of Japan, Korea, Okinawa, the Philippines, and Taiwan. Midway again sailed for the Far East 6 March 1965, and from mid-April flew strikes against military and logistics installations in North and South Vietnam including the first combat use of AGM-12 Bullpup air-to-surface missiles. On 17 June 1965 two VF-21 McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom IIs flying from Midway were credited with the first confirmed MiG kills of the Vietnam conflict using AIM-7 Sparrow missiles to down two MiG-17s. Three days later, four of Midway's A-1 Skyraiders used the Thach Weave to down an attacking MiG-17.[3]

 

Midway lost an F-4 Phantom and two A-4 Skyhawks to North Vietnamese S-75 Dvina surface-to-air missiles before returning to Alameda on 23 November to enter San Francisco Bay Naval Shipyard on 11 February 1966 for a massive modernization (SCB-101.66), which proved expensive and controversial. The flight deck was enlarged from 2.8 to 4 acres (11,300 to 16,200 square metres (122,000 to 174,000 sq ft)), and the angle of the flight deck landing area was increased to 13.5 degrees. The elevators were enlarged, moved, and given almost double the weight capacity. Midway also received new steam catapults, arresting gear, and a centralized air conditioning plant. Cost overruns raised the price of this program from $88 million to US$202 million, and precluded a similar modernization planned for Franklin D. Roosevelt. After Midway was finally recommissioned on 31 January 1970, it was found that the modifications had hurt the ship's seakeeping capabilities and ability to conduct air operations in rough seas, which made further modifications necessary to correct the problem.[3]

Return to Vietnam

 

Midway returned to Vietnam and on 18 May 1971, after relieving Hancock on Yankee Station, began single carrier operations. Midway departed Yankee Station on 5 June, completing the vessel's final line period on 31 October 1971, and returned to the ship's homeport on 6 November 1971.

Midway en route to South-East Asia in April 1972

 

Midway, with embarked Carrier Air Wing 5 (CVW 5), again departed Alameda for operations off Vietnam on 10 April 1972. On 11 May, aircraft from Midway, along with those from Coral Sea, Kitty Hawk, and Constellation, continued laying naval mines off North Vietnamese ports, including Thanh Hóa, Đồng Hới, Vinh, Hon Gai, Quang Khe, and Cam Pha as well as other approaches to Haiphong. Ships that were in port in Haiphong had been advised that the mining would take place and that the mines would be armed 72 hours later.

 

Midway continued Vietnam operations during Operation Linebacker throughout the summer of 1972. On 7 August 1972, an HC-7 Det 110 helicopter, flying from Midway, and aided by planes from the carrier and from Saratoga, searched for the pilot of an A-7 Corsair II aircraft from Saratoga, who had been downed the previous day by a surface-to-air missile about 20 mi (32 km) inland, northwest of Vinh. Flying over mountains, the HC-7 helicopter spotted the downed aviator with her searchlight and, under heavy ground fire, retrieved him and returned to an LPD off the coast. This was the deepest penetration of a rescue helicopter into North Vietnam since 1968. By the end of 1972, HC-7 Det 110 had rescued 48 pilots, 35 in combat conditions.

 

On 5 October 1973, Midway, with CVW 5, put into Yokosuka, Japan, marking the first forward-deployment of a complete carrier task group in a Japanese port, the result of an accord arrived at on 31 August 1972 between the U.S. and Japan. The move allowed sailors to live with their families when in port; more strategically, it allowed three carriers to stay in the Far East even as the economic situation demanded the reduction of carriers in the fleet. CVW 5 became based at the nearby Naval Air Facility Atsugi.[3]

 

For service in Vietnam from 30 April 1972, to 9 February 1973, Midway and CVW 5 received the Presidential Unit Citation from Richard Nixon. It read:

 

For extraordinary heroism and outstanding performance of duty in action against enemy forces in Southeast Asia from 30 April 1972 to 9 February 1973. During this crucial period of the Vietnam conflict, USS MIDWAY and embarked Attack Carrier Air Wing FIVE carried out devastating aerial attacks against enemy installations, transportation, and lines of communications in the face of extremely heavy opposition including multi-calibre antiaircraft artillery fire and surface-to-air missiles. Displaying superb airmanship and unwavering courage, MIDWAY/CVW-5 pilots played a significant role in lifting the prolonged sieges at An Lộc, Kon Tum, and Quảng Trị and in carrying out the concentrated aerial strikes against the enemy's industrial heartland which eventually resulted in a cease-fire. By their excellent teamwork, dedication, and sustained superior performance, the officers and men of MIDWAY and Attack Carrier Air Wing FIVE reflected great credit upon themselves and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service."[7]

 

Aircraft from Midway made the first MIG kills in the Vietnam War, and the last air-to-air victory of the war. On 17 June 1965, aviators of Midway's Attack Carrier Wing 2, VF-21 downed the first two MiGs credited to U.S. forces in Southeast Asia.[8] On 12 January 1973 a combat aircraft from Midway made the last air-to-air victory of the Vietnam War.[8]

Operation Frequent Wind

 

On 19 April 1975, after North Vietnam had overrun two-thirds of South Vietnam, Midway, along with Coral Sea, Hancock, Enterprise and Okinawa, were sent to the waters off South Vietnam. Ten days later, U.S. 7th Fleet forces carried out the Operation Frequent Wind evacuation. Midway, which had offloaded half of the ship's regular combat air wing at NS Subic Bay, Philippines, steamed to Thailand and took aboard eight CH-53 from 21st Special Operations Squadron and two HH-53 helicopters from 40th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron.[9] As Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese, these helicopters ferried hundreds of U.S. personnel and Vietnamese people to Midway and other U.S. ships in the South China Sea.

 

On 29 April 1975, Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) Major Buang-Ly (also spelled Buang Lee) loaded his wife and five children into a two-seat Cessna O-1 Bird Dog and took off from Con Son Island. After evading enemy ground fire, Buang headed out to the South China Sea, found Midway, and began to circle overhead with his landing lights turned on. Midway's crew unsuccessfully attempted to contact the aircraft on emergency frequencies. When a spotter reported that there were at least four people in the two-seater aircraft, all thoughts of forcing the pilot to ditch alongside were abandoned. After three tries, Major Buang managed to drop a note from a low pass over the deck: "Can you move the helicopter to the other side, I can land on your runway, I can fly for one hour more, we have enough time to move. Please rescue me! Major Buang, wife and 5 child." Captain Larry Chambers, the ship's commanding officer, ordered that the arresting wires be removed and that any helicopters that could not be safely and quickly moved should be pushed over the side. He called for volunteers, and soon every available seaman was on deck to help. An estimated US$10 million worth of UH-1 Huey helicopters were pushed overboard. With a 500-foot (150 m) ceiling, 5-mile (8.0 km) visibility, light rain, and 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) of surface wind, Chambers ordered the ship to make 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph) into the wind. Warnings about the dangerous downdrafts created behind a steaming carrier were transmitted blind in both Vietnamese and English. To make matters worse, five more UH-1s landed and cluttered up the deck. Without hesitation, Chambers ordered them scuttled as well. Captain Chambers recalled that the aircraft cleared the ramp and touched down on center line at the normal touchdown point. Had he been equipped with a tailhook he could have bagged a number 3 wire. He bounced once and came stop abeam of the island, amid a wildly cheering, arms-waving flight deck crew.[10]

 

Buang was escorted to the bridge where Chambers congratulated him on his outstanding airmanship and his bravery in risking everything on a gamble beyond the point of no return without knowing for certain a carrier would be where he needed it. The crew of Midway was so impressed that they established a fund to help him and his family get settled in the United States.[11] The O-1 that Major Buang landed is now on display at the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida.[12] Major Buang became the first Vietnamese pilot ever to land on an aircraft carrier deck.

 

Upon completion of ferrying people to other ships, Midway returned to Thailand and disembarked the Air Force helicopters at U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield. The CH-53s then airlifted over 50 RVNAF aircraft to the ship.[13] With almost 100 helicopters and aircraft of the former RVNAF aboard, the ship steamed to Guam where the aircraft and helicopters were offloaded in twenty-four hours. While transiting back to the Philippines to pick up the ship's air wing, Midway was rerouted to act as a floating airfield in support of special operation forces rescuing the SS Mayagüez. Midway picked up the ship's regular air wing again a month later when the aircraft carrier returned NAS Cubi Point, Philippines.

After Vietnam

 

On 21 August 1976, a Navy task force headed by Midway made a show of force off the coast of Korea in response to an unprovoked attack on two U.S. Army officers who were killed by North Korean guards on 18 August. (The U.S. response to this incident was Operation Paul Bunyan). Midway's response was in support of a U.S. demonstration of military concern vis-à-vis North Korea.

 

Midway relieved Constellation as the Indian Ocean contingency carrier on 16 April 1979. This unscheduled deployment was due to USS Ranger colliding with tanker Liberian Fortune near the Straits of Malacca, with Midway taking over Ranger's mission while she went in for repair. Midway and her escorts continued a significant American naval presence in the oil-producing region of the Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf. On 18 November, the aircraft carrier arrived in the northern part of the Arabian Sea in connection with the continuing hostage crisis in Iran. Militant followers of the Ayatollah Khomeini, who had come to power following the overthrow of the Shah, seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran on 4 November and held 63 U.S. citizens hostage. Midway was joined 21 November by Kitty Hawk, and both carriers, along with their escort ships, were joined by Nimitz and her escorts on 22 January 1980. Midway was relieved by Coral Sea on 5 February.[3]

Missions in the 1980s

 

Following a period in Yokosuka, Midway relieved Coral Sea 30 May 1980 on standby south of the Cheju-Do Islands in the Sea of Japan following the potential of civil unrest in the Republic of Korea.

 

While transiting the passage between Palawan Island of the Philippines and the coast of Northern Borneo on 29 July, the Panamanian merchant ship Cactus collided with Midway. Cactus was 450 nautical miles (830 km) southwest of Subic Bay and headed to Singapore. The collision occurred near the liquid oxygen plant and two sailors working in the plant were killed and three were injured. Midway sustained light damage and three F-4 Phantom aircraft parked on the flight deck were also damaged.[8]

 

On 17 August, Midway relieved Constellation to begin another Indian Ocean deployment and to complement the Dwight D. Eisenhower task group still on contingency duty in the Arabian Sea. Midway spent a total of 118 consecutive days in the Indian Ocean during 1980.

 

On 16 March 1981, an A-6 Intruder from VA-115 aboard Midway sighted a downed civilian helicopter in the South China Sea. Midway immediately dispatched HC-1 Det 2 helicopters to the scene. All 17 people aboard the downed helicopter were rescued and brought aboard the carrier. The chartered civilian helicopter was also plucked out of the water and lifted to Midway's flight deck.

 

On 25 March 1986, the final carrier launching of a Navy fleet F-4S Phantom II took place off Midway during flight operations in the East China Sea. The Phantoms were replaced by the new F/A-18 Hornets.

 

Midway continued serving in the western Pacific throughout the 1980s. In order to alleviate persistent seakeeping issues, Midway received hull blisters in 1986. During her 1986 refit (named "Extended Incremental Selected Repair Availability"), blisters were added to improve the ship's stability. The modification proved unsuccessful, and actually increased the ship's instability in rough seas. She took water over the flight deck during excessive rolls in moderate seas, thereby hampering flight operations. Before another $138 million refit was approved to rectify the stability problems, it was even proposed to decommission Midway. Nevertheless, she had earned herself the nickname "Rock'n Roll carrier". During a typhoon while in the Sea of Japan during the Olympic Games in Korea, October 8, 1988, Midway, which was not supposed to be able to survive more than 24 degrees of roll, sustained a 26 degree roll and withstood it.

 

On 30 October 1989 an F/A-18 Hornet aircraft from Midway mistakenly dropped a 500 pounds (227 kilograms) general-purpose bomb on the deck of Reeves during training exercises in the Indian Ocean, creating a 5-foot (1.5 m) hole in the bow, sparking small fires, and injuring five sailors. Reeves was 32 miles (51 km) south of Diego Garcia at the time of the incident.[14]

 

Disaster struck Midway on 20 June 1990. While conducting routine flight operations approximately 125 nautical miles (232 km; 144 mi) northeast of Japan, the ship was badly damaged by two onboard explosions. These explosions led to a fire that raged more than ten hours. In addition to damage to the ship's hull, two crew members were killed and 9 others were wounded;[15] one of the injured later died of his injuries.[16] All 11 crewmen belonged to the at sea fire-fighting team known as the Flying Squad. When Midway entered Yokosuka Harbor the next day, 12 Japanese media helicopters flew in circles and hovered about 150 feet (46 m) above the flight deck. Three bus loads of reporters were waiting on the pier. About 30 minutes after Midway cast her first line, more than 100 international print and electronic journalists charged over the brow to cover the event. The news media made a major issue out of the incident, as it happened amid several other military accidents. It was thought that the accident would lead to the ship's immediate retirement due to her age, but instead Midway was retained to fight in one last major conflict.

Operation Desert Storm and the 1990s

 

On 2 August 1990, Iraq invaded neighboring Kuwait and U.S. forces moved into Saudi Arabia as part of Operation Desert Shield to protect that country against invasion by Iraq. On 1 November 1990, Midway was again on station in the North Arabian Sea being the carrier of Battle Force Zulu (which included warships from the US, Australia, and other countries), relieving Independence. On 15 November, the aircraft carrier participated in Operation Imminent Thunder, an eight-day combined amphibious landing exercise in northeastern Saudi Arabia which involved about 1,000 U.S. Marines, 16 warships, and more than 1,100 aircraft. Meanwhile, the United Nations set an ultimatum deadline of 15 January 1991 for Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait.

 

Operation Desert Storm began the next day, and the Navy launched 228 sorties from Midway and Ranger in the Persian Gulf, from Theodore Roosevelt en route to the Gulf, and from John F. Kennedy, Saratoga, and America in the Red Sea. In addition, the Navy launched more than 100 Tomahawk missiles from nine ships in the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, and the Persian Gulf. Desert Storm officially ended 27 February, and Midway departed the Persian Gulf on 11 March 1991 and returned to Yokosuka.

 

In June 1991, Midway left for her final deployment, this time to the Philippines to take part in Operation Fiery Vigil, which was the evacuation of 20,000 military members including their families from Clark Air Base, on the island of Luzon, after the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo. Midway, along with twenty other U.S. naval ships, ferried the evacuees to the island of Cebu, where they were taken off the ship by helicopter. After taking part in the evacuation, the aircraft carrier once again returned to Yokosuka.

 

Final cruise

 

In August 1991, Midway departed Yokosuka and returned to Pearl Harbor. There, she turned over with Independence, which was to replace Midway as the forward-deployed carrier in Yokosuka. Rear Admiral Joseph Prueher and the staff of Carrier Group ONE cross-decked from Independence. Pruher was the last admiral to break his flag on Midway. She then sailed to Seattle for a port visit. The ship then disembarked "tigers" (guests of crew members) before making her final voyage to San Diego.

 

Midway was decommissioned at Naval Air Station North Island on 11 April 1992 in a ceremony in which the main speaker was Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney. The ship was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 17 March 1997. During decommissioning, Midway, her sailors, and their families were filmed for the movie At Sea, a documentary on carrier life shown only at the Navy Museum in Washington, D.C.

 

On 30 September 2003, ex-Midway began her journey from the Navy Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility, Bremerton, Washington, to San Diego, California, in preparation for use as a museum and memorial. The aircraft carrier was docked in early October at the Charles P. Howard Terminal in Oakland, California, while work proceeded on the Broadway Pier in downtown San Diego. On 10 January 2004, the ship was moored at her final location, where she was opened to the public on 7 June 2004 as a museum. In the first year of operation, the museum had 879,281 visitors, double the expected attendance.

 

On 11 November 2012, a college basketball game between the Syracuse Orange and the San Diego State Aztecs was played on the flight deck. The Orange won, 62–49.[17]

 

On 15 July 2015, museum personnel were evacuated from ex-Midway due to smoke caused by an apparent fire. The San Diego fire department responded quickly, but no fire was found, and the museum was able to open for the day on schedule.[18]

Awards and decorations

 

Presidential Unit Citation Joint Meritorious Unit Award Navy Unit Commendation

with three stars Meritorious Unit Commendation

with two stars

Navy E Ribbon with

wreathed Battle "E" device Navy Expeditionary Medal

with three stars China Service Medal American Campaign Medal

World War II Victory Medal Navy Occupation Service Medal National Defense Service Medal

with two stars Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal

with six stars

Vietnam Service Medal

with four stars Southwest Asia Service Medal

with two stars Humanitarian Service Medal Sea Service Deployment Ribbon

with sixteen stars

Republic of Vietnam Meritorious

Unit Citation (Gallantry Cross) Republic of Vietnam Campaign

Medal Kuwait Liberation Medal

(Saudi Arabia) Kuwait Liberation Medal

(Kuwait)

Manufacturer: Curtiss

Operator: Commemorative Air Force-Cactus Squadron/West Texas Wing, Graham Graham Municipal Airport, Graham, TX.

Type/ Markings: Curtiss SB2C/SBW Helldiver 32 (N92879)

Event / Location: 2011 New Orleans Air Show/ NAS Belle Chase, New Orleans, Louisiana

Comments: The markings represent a Helldiver operating with CV-13 on the U.S.S. Franklin

Photo by my son William John Jardim

Damaged Prop on the nearest one.

Curtiss SB2C Helldiver at the 2015 Wings Over Houston Airshow held at Ellington Field October 17-18.

The extraction terminal is used by democracy spreading helldivers to call in the pelican which is what i will build next :) For liberty!

Some more new pictures from a relatively old model, due to public interest.

 

This is a kit conversion of Bandai's ARL-99B "Helldiver" kit. I found the idea of a military Labor in JGSDF use pretty conclusive, so I cooked up this close relative as a pure ground use Labor. So, the "Raijin" has become a light and highly mobile army support Labor for the Japanese Army during the Millennium era, its use would be observation/scouting, support for light/mobile ground troops and tasks which would call for high mobility and secrecy, e .g. as an enemy Labor/tank sniper...

 

The basic Helldiver frame was kept, but the conversion includes a different head and cockpit arrangement, as well as "normal" legs - the air brakes from the ARL-99B have been "closed", the holes PSRed away. I also added hand-held armament: a single-action anti-labor rifle for sniping purposes (a converted piece from a 1:144 Gundam RX-79) and a kind of machine pistol (from the same donor kit), kept in a hip holster, but detachable.

 

The 3-color camouflage scheme was inspired by JASDF fighter paint schemes - the SEA-style scheme used on RF-4E Phantom II's and F-1 fighters. I just got the colors VERY wrong - at the time I built this model, I just had a few print pictures of such aircraft, and I ended up with Humbrol 66, 98 and 121 as basic colors, the brown and green ended up much too dark. This looks a bit wacky, esp. for Japan, but when the model is placed into typical Japanese mountaineous landscape or into a forest setting, it fits surprisingly well!

 

The diorama was built on a 8x8" base and includes some rocks (made from plaster and water-based paint), a small pond in the front and a tree that is to remind of a mountain pine. I based the sloped ground on pictures from Japanese mountain sites.

Curtiss SB2C Helldiver Civil Registration N92879 USS Franklin US Navy

Carrier-based dive bomber aircraft produced for the United States Navy during World War II. It replaced the Douglas SBD Dauntless in US Navy service.

Photo taken at Mid-Atlantic Air Museum WWII Weekend Spaatz Field Reading Regional Airport June 2018

ABD_0480

DISCLAIMER

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

.

 

Some background:

The mighty Suchoj SuCh-1 started its life in early March 1943, when the Sukhoi OKB finished work on the design of a high-speed fighter with a unique powerplant arrangement. The aircraft was an all-metal low-wing mono­plane with conventional tail surfaces. The three-section wings had constant dihedral and basically trapezoidal planform; the sta­bilizers had zero dihedral.

 

Two Klimov M-107 water-cooled Vee-12 engines, each with a. take-off power of 1 ,600 hp (1,193 kW) and a maximum design power of 1,500 hp (1,119 kW) at 5,500 m (18,045 ft), were mounted in the center fuse­lage in a staggered-tandem arrangement: the front engine was offset to starboard and of the rear one to port. Thus, the total power was increased but the drag was the same as for a single-engined aircraft, which was expected to increase fight speed consider­ably. Consequently, the project was internally designated 'I-2M107', literally "Article powered by two M107 engines".

 

Furthermore, the left cylinder bank of the front engine and the right cylinder bank of the rear engine were disposed vertically, so that each engine had one set of exhaust stubs on top of the fuselage and one on the fuselage side. Both engines drove a single three ­blade tractor propeller of 4.0 m (13 tt 2 in) diameter via parallel extension shafts and a common reduction gearbox. Both water radiators were located side by side in a chin housing, while the oil coolers were buried in the wings. The total fuel capacity of the four tanks arranged in the center fuselage was 1,113 litres (244.86 Imp. gal).

 

Because of the power plant arrangement and the large ground angle (necessary to give adequate ground clearance for the large propeller) the cockpit was offset to port and placed ahead of the wing leading edge to provide better forward visibility on take-off and landing. The cockpit was protected by a bulletproof windscreen, a front armor plate and an armored backrest; the armor weight totaled 70kg (154Ib).

 

The main landing gear units with 800 x 280 mm (31.5x11 in) wheels retracted inwards into the wing roots and the 400 x 150 mm (15.7 x 5.9 in) tail wheel retracted aft. The fighter's armament consisted of two wing-mounted 12.7-mm Berezin UBS machine-guns firing outside the propeller disc and a single 20-mm ShVAK cannon fir­ing through the propeller hub*.

 

A full-scale mock-up was inspected in December 1943, and with German long range bombers threatening the Western front line as well as the lack of a fast and powerful fighters to intercept them (the earlier MiG-5 had turned out to be a disappointment, and Mikoyan's I-211/221 family if high altitude fighters also suffered from serious technical problems at that time), OKB Suchoj received an immediate go-ahead for further development of the SuCh-1, how the I-2M107 was now officially called, since Vladimir A. Chizhevskiy took lead of the project.

 

In the course of 1944 three prototypes went through a fast development program. While the aircraft itself was easy to handle, overheating problems and trouble with the gearbox for the two engines could only partly be rectified - esp. the power transmission should remain the SuCh-1s Achilles Heel.

 

Anyway, the Su-5 was ready for service introduction towards late 1944, and the powerful type was exclusively to be used as an interceptor. Several improvements had been made, compared to the prototypes: now two slightly more powerful Klimov VK-107A engines were used, which were better suited for high altitude operations, and the chin-mounted water cooler was considerably enlarged. The oil coolers had been re-designed and they were now placed under the wing roots.

 

The wing span had been extended by 6' and a bigger (now 4.3m diameter!), four-bladed propeller was added in order to improve performance at high altitude. No pressurized cabin was installed, but the cockpit received an extended glazing for better all-round field of vision.

 

Armament had also been augmented: now a Nudelman N-23 23mm cannon was firing through the propeller hub, and the number of UBS machine-guns in the wings was increased to four.

 

As initial duty experience was gathered, it became quickly clear that the firepower had to be augmented, so that the propeller-hub-mounted 23mm cannon was quickly replaced by a Nudelman-Richter NR-37 37mm cannon, and the four wing-mounted UBS machine guns were replaced by two 20-mm ShVAK cannons or even two Nudelman N-23 23mm cannons - the latter became the production standard from March 1945 on, even though the type's designation did not change.

 

Experience also showed that the overheating problem had been cured, but the complicated gear box tended to malfunction, esp. when full power was called for in aerial combat: high G forces took their toll and damaged the bearings, even warping the extension shafts and structural parts, so that some SuCh-1 were literally torn apart in mid-air.

 

The high torque powers of the large propeller also took their toll on handling: starting and landing was described as "hazardous", esp. when the fuel tanks were empty or in cross winds.

Consequently, SuCh-1 pilots were warned to engage into any dogfight or enter close combat with single-engined enemy fighters, and just focus on large enemy aircraft.

 

On the other side, the SuCh-1's powerful cannon armament made it a deadly foe: a single hit with the NR-37 cannon could down an aircraft, and its top speed of roundabout 700 km/h (435 mph) was more than enough for the Luftwaffe's heavy bomber types like the He 177.

 

Several engine and armament experiments were undertaken. For instance, at least one SuCh-1 was outfitted with a Nudelman-Sooranov NS-45 45mm cannon firing through the propeller hub, even a 57mm cannon was envisaged. Furthermore, one airframe was prepared to carry two Charomskiy M-30V 12 cylinder diesel engines, in order to produce a heavy long-range escort fighter (internally called I-2M30V).

In order to minimize the torque problems a contraprop arrangement with two three-bladed propellers and a diameter of only 3.6m was under development.

 

All in all only 120 of these powerful machines were built until the end of hostilities, as the feared mass attacks of German long range bombers did not materialize. as the Su-7 was complicated to operate and jet engines promised a far more efficient way of propulsion for high speeds, the type was already retired in 1947 and replaced by 1st generation jet fighters like the Yak-15 and MiG-9, which carried a similar armament, attained a better performance (except for the range) but weighed only half of the large and heavy SuCh-1.

.

 

General characteristics

Crew: One

Length: 11.75 m (38 ft 5 3/4 in)

Wingspan: 13.85 m (45 ft 3 1/4 in)

Height: 5.30 m (17 ft 4 in)

Empty weight: 5.250 kg (11.565 lb)

Max. take-off weight: 8.100 kg (17.840 lb)

 

Powerplant:

2× Klimov VK-107A liquid-cooled V12 engines with an output of 1.650 hp (1.210 kW) each at sea level and 900 hp (650 kW) at 8.300m (27.220 ft)

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: 720 km/h (447 mph) at height, clean configuration

Range: 750 km (465 mi)

Service ceiling: 11.700 m (38.400 ft)

Rate of climb: 876 m/mim (2.850 ft/min)

 

Armament:

1× Nudelman-Richter NR-37 37mm cannon with 60 RPG, firing through the propeller hub

2× Nudelman N-23 23mm cannons with 120 RPG in the wings

Many different cannon and machine gun arrangements coulod be found, though.

 

*Information about the conceptual Suchoj I-2M107 was primarily gathered from the book 'OKB Suchoj', written by Yefim Gordon & Dmitriy Komissarov; Hersham (UK), 2010.

.

 

The kit and its assembly (a long story!):

This abomination of an aircraft is/was real, even though the I-2M107 was never built – the fictional name Suchoj-Chizhevskiy SuCh-1 was actually chosen because I could not find any plausible Su-X code for a WWII fighter. Vladimir A. Chizhevskiy actually joined the Suchoj OKB in mid WWII, so I deemed this alternative to be plausible.

 

I had this on the agenda for a long time, but the horrors of kitbashing kept me from building it - until now. The current Anthony P memorial Group Build (for the deceased fellow member at whatifmodelers.com, RIP) was a good motivation to tackle this brute thing. Fortunately, I already had some major ingredients in store, so work could start asap.

 

From that, anything else was improvised from the scrap box, and with only a three side view of the I-2M107 as guidance. It became a true Frankenstein creation with...

 

● Fuselage and inner wings from the (horrible) NOVO Attacker

● Wings from an Italeri Fw 190 D-9 attached to them

● Nose is a resin Griffon from an Avro Lincoln conversion set from OzMods

● Tail cone is a radar nose from an F-4J Phantom II

● Tail fin is a horizontal stabilizer from a Matchbox SB2C Helldiver

● Vertical stabilizers come from a Matchbox Me 410

● Oil coolers are modified front landing gear wells from two Revell G.91 kits

● Cockpit hood comes from a Revell P-39 Airacobra

● Landing gear comes from an Italeri Fw 190 D-9, covers were modified/improvised

● Main wheels belong to a MPM Ryan Dark Shark

● Tail wheel belongs to a Matchbox Harrier

● The propeller was scratched, IIRC from a Grumman Hellcat drop tank front and blades from an Airfix A-1 Skyraider. Inside, a metal axis was mounted.

.

 

Work started with the fuselage and the wings as separate segments.

 

The Attacker fuselage lost its fin and the cockpit and air intakes were simply cut away, just as the tail pipe. The resin Griffon was slightly shortened at the front, but more or less directly attached to the fuselage, after I had cut out openings for the four rows of exhaust nozzles.

Then, the new tail cone was glued onto the end and the original fairings for the Attacker's stabilizer cut away and sanded even - anything had to be made new.

 

The wings were a bit tricky. I had hoped to use the Attacker's OOB wings, but these were not only much too small and did not have the proper shape, they also lacked landing gear wells!

 

Finding a solution was not easy, and I had to improvise. After some trials I decided to cut the Attacker wing span at about the width where the guns are located, and then add Fw 190 wings.

The depth would be fine, even though the Fw 190 wings were a bit thicker, and they offered a leading edge kink which was good for the original and characteristic I-2M107's wing root extensions. The latter were sculpted from a 6mm thick core or styrene sheet, added to the Attacker parts' leading edge, and the rest, as well as the lacking Attacker wing's thickness, sculpted with 2C and later NC putty.

 

Furthermore I cut out and sculpted landing gear wells, another challenging, since these had to cover the Attacker/Fw 190 parts' intersection! LOTS of putty work, sanding and shaving, but as a benefit I was able to use the Attacker kit's original wing/fuselage joints. Effectively, my placement turned out to be a bit far outside, so the track appears too wide - the price to pay when you work on single parts. Anyway, I left it was it turned out, as a major correction at a late working stage would mean to tear anything apart again...

 

Back to the nose: adding the propeller and the cockpit into the massive nose was the next working station. The propeller had to be huge, and also needed a rather big spinner. A contraprop was ruled out, even though it would have looked great here. But eventually I settled for a scratch-built thing, made from a teardrop-shaped drop tank front onto which the four blades from a A-1 Skyraider were glued. Probably the biggest prop I have ever put onto a 1:72 scale model! Since the resin nose was massive, drilling a hole and adding a metal axis to the propeller was enough.

 

With that in place I started carving out a cockpit opening - it worked better and easier than expected with a mini drill and a coarse shaving head! The opening is still rather small, a seat and a pilot hardly fit, but it works - I found a rather smallish pilot figure, and added a seat and some other small details from the scrap box, just to have something inside.

 

For a canopy I found a very old (30 years, I guess...) clear part from a Revell P-39 Airacobra in the scrap box, which was almost perfect in shape and width. It was a bit blind and stained with ancient enamel paint, but some wet sanding and serious polishing almost got it back to translucent status. Since I would not open the cockpit, this was a sufficient solution.

 

The asymmetrical cockpit opening was, in an initial step, faired with styrene strips, for a rough outline, and then sculpted with 2C and later NC putty, blending it into the rest of the fuselage.

 

For the tail surfaces, the SB2C stabilizer was cut away at its base - it is not a bad donation piece, its shape and rudder come pretty close to the I-2M107's original design!

The stabilizers I used on my kitbash come from a Me 410, and their leading edge was a cut away so that the sweep angle would be a bit larger. They lack depth, compared to the I-2M107's original design, but since the wings have become more slender, too, I think it's a good compromise, and the best what I had at hand in the spares stash.

 

Finally, and before detail work could start, the wings were attached to the fuselage. I eventually set them back by ~6mm, so that the new, extended leading edge would match the respective fairing on the fuselage. The resulting gap at the trailing edge was, again, filled with 2C and NC putty.

 

A personal change was a different oil cooler arrangement. The original location was to be in the wings' leading edge, just in front of the landing gear wells - but that appeared a bit doubtful, as I could not find a plausible solution where the exit for the air would be? Consequently, and in order to avoid even more messy putty sculpting on the wings, I decided to re-locate the oil coolers completely, into shallow, tunnel-like fairings under the wing roots, not unlike the radiator arrangement on a Spitfire or Bf 109.

 

In order to check the surface quality I decided to add a coat of grey primer, once the fuselage/wing segments had been connected. This showed only minor flaws, but made another turn with NC putty and wet sanding necessary.

 

Now it was time for finishing touches, e .g. mounting the landing gear, completing the cockpit and adding exhaust stubs - cut individually from HO scale model railroad roof tiles and inserted into the four fuselage fairings.

 

The canopy was fixed into place with white glue, which also helped closing some small gaps.

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Painting and markings:

While the I-2M107 looks odd, to say the least, I wanted to keep the paint scheme rather simple and quasi-authentic. I went for a pale grey/green camouflage, used e. g. on late war Yakovlev Yak-3 fighters.

 

Basic colors are Humbrol 31 (Slate Grey, it has a very greenish, even teal, hue), ModelMaster 1740 (Dark Gull Grey, FS 36231) and Humbrol 167 (Barley Grey) for the lower sides with a wavy waterline. Since only marginal surface details were left over, I decided to fake panels and panel lines with paint.

Panels were simulated with lighter shades of the basic tones (RLM 62 from ModelMaster, Humbrol 140 and 127 below), panel lines were painted with highly thinned grey acrylic paint and a special brush - in German it's called a 'Schlepppinsel', it's got very long hairs and is also used to paint scallops on car models, and similar things are used for real car tuning/custom paintwork, too.

Sure, the painted panel lines are a bit rough, but I did not want to risk any damage through manual engraving on the rather delicate mixed-media surface of the kitbashed model. For an overall look or first impression it's very good, though.

 

As 'highlights' I added a white spinner and half of the fin was painted white, too.

 

The decals were puzzled together. The flashes and the tactical code number come from a Hobby Boss La-7, the Red Stars, IIRC, belong to a vintage MiG-21F from Hasegawa. The "Rodinu" slogan actually belongs to a 1:35 Soviet Tank decals set.

 

Finally, after some additional dry painting with light grey, some oil stains around the engines and coolers and soot stains at the exhaust stubs and guns (painted, plus some grinded graphite, as it yields a nice, metallic shimmer that looks like oil or burnt metal), everything was sealed under a coat of matt acrylic varnish.

  

If it had been built, the Suchoj I-2M107 must have been an impressive aircraft - it was bigger than a P-47 Thunderbolt or an A-1 Skyraider, and one can only wonder how its field performance would have been?

Similar concepts had been underway in UK, too, e. g. for a heavy naval attack aircraft, but the I-2M107 with its asymmetrical cockpit and engine arrangement were unique. A worthy whif, even if some details like the landing gear or the borrowed nose section are not 100% 'correct'.

 

Pensacola 1994. Now at Udvar Hazy Centre Washington DC

almost finished sculpting. I just gotta do Super 1's v machine and blue version and ZX's helldiver

 

my youtube www.youtube.com/channel/UC_feavsF71tCoHKLHduYhVw

Helldivers and Avengers parked on the aft section of the flight deck of USS Intrepid.

Pied-billed grebe swimming across the Kumeyaay lake

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!

  

Some background:

During the interwar period, the U.S. Navy Command had placed considerable emphasis upon the role of armed aerial reconnaissance aircraft. To meet this interest, during 1931, the young Great Lakes Aircraft Company (founded in 1929 in Cleveland, Ohio) decided to embark on the development of a new naval combat aircraft to meet this role. The new aircraft, which was designated as the SBG, was a relatively modern all-metal design, even though some conservative traits like a fixed landing gear were kept.

 

The SBG was a low-wing cantilever monoplane, featuring all-metal, metal-covered construction. The crew of three consisted of a pilot, a bombardier and a rear gunner. The bombardier's combat station was situated in a gondola underneath the hull. The pilot was positioned well forward in the fuselage with an excellent field of view, within a fully enclosed, air-conditioned and heated cockpit, while the observer was seated directly behind him and could descend into the ventral gondola during applicable parts of a given mission, where he had an unobstructed field of view underneath the aircraft. A lookout station at the gondola’s front end could be outfitted with a bombsight.

 

The fixed undercarriage was covered with spats and comprised a pair of cantilever struts and single tail wheel, all of which were outfitted with pneumatic shock absorbers. One of the more unusual features of the SBG was the design of its three-piece low-mounted wing: In order to produce a wing that was both light and strong, the wing construction combined a revolutionary heavy-gauge corrugated duralumin center box and a multi-cellular trailing edge, along with a partially stressed exterior skin composed of duralumin. It was one of the earliest implementations of a metal sandwich structure in the field of aviation. Furthermore, the wings could, for storage on carriers, be manually folded back, just outside of the landing gear.

 

The fuselage of the SBG had an oval-section structure, composed of a mixture of duralumin frames and stringers, which were strengthened via several struts on the middle section. The fuselage exterior was covered with smooth duralumin sheet, which was internally reinforced in some areas by corrugated sheeting. The rear fuselage featured a semi-monocoque structure. A cantilever structure composed of ribs and spars was used for the tail unit; fin and tail plane were covered by duralumin sheeting, while the rudder and elevators had finely corrugated exterior surfaces.

 

The SBG’s original powerplant was a Pratt & Whitney R-1830-64 Twin Wasp radial engine of 850 hp (630 kW). The aircraft's offensive payload consisted of bombs. These were carried externally underneath the fuselage and the wings, using racks; the maximum load was a single 1,935 lb. (878 kg) Bliss-Leavitt Mark 13 aerial torpedo or 1,500 lb. (700 kg) of bombs, including a single 1,000 lb. (450 kg) bomb under the fuselage and up to 200 lb. under the outer wings.

The SBG was also armed with several machine guns, including rearward-facing defensive ventral and dorsal positions, each outfitted with a manual .30 in (7.62 mm) Browning machine gun. Another fixed machine gun fired, synchronized with the engine, forward through the propeller arc.

 

The first XSBG-1 prototype, which was christened “Prion” by Great Lakes, was ready in early 1934 and made its maiden flight on 2nd of April. While the aircraft handled well, esp. at low speed, thanks to generously dimensioned flaps, it soon became clear that it was seriously underpowered. Therefore, Great Lakes tried to incorporate a more powerful engine. The choice fell on the new Pratt & Whitney R-2180-A Twin Hornet. However, the bigger and heavier engine called for considerable changes to the engine mount and the cowling. The R-2180 also precluded the fixed machine gun, so it was, together with the synchronization gearbox, deleted. Instead, a pair of .30 in machine guns were added to the spats, which were deepened in order to take the weapons and the magazines.

 

Furthermore, the heavier engine shifted the aircraft’s center of gravity forward, so that the tail section had to be lengthened by roughly 1’ and the tail surfaces were enlarged, too. Various other alterations were made to the wings, including the adoption of more effective slotted ailerons, improved flaps and center-section slots. The latter feature served to smooth the airflow over the tail when flown at high angles of incidence. However, despite these changes, the SBG’s good handling did not suffer, and the modified XSBG-2 took to the air for the first time in late 1935, with a much better performance.

 

Satisfied with the changes, the US Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer) placed an initial order for 54 SBG-2s in 1936 with the aircraft entering service during 1938, serving on USS Yorktown and Enterprise. However, faults were discovered with the Mark XIII torpedo at this point. Many were seen to hit the target yet failed to explode; there was also a tendency to run deeper than the set depth. It took over a year for the defects to be corrected. Another problem of the SBG when carrying the torpedo was the aimer’s position, which was located directly behind the weapon and obstructed the bomb aimer’s field of view forward. When deploying bombs from higher altitudes, this was not a problem at all, but as a consequence the SBG rarely carried torpedoes. Therefore, a second order of 48 aircraft (designated SBG-3) were pure bombers. These lacked any torpedo equipment, but they received a ventral displacement yoke that allowed to deploy bombs in a shallow dive and release them outside of the propeller arc. Furthermore, the bomb aimer/observer station received a more generous glazing, improving the field of view and offering the prone crewman in this position more space and comfort. Another modification was the reinforcement of the underwing hardpoints, so that these could now carry stores of up to 325 lb each or, alternatively, drop tanks. While the total payload was not changed, the SBG-3 could carry and deploy up to three depth charges against submarines, and the extended range was a welcome asset for reconnaissance missions.

 

In prewar use, SBG units were engaged in training and other operational activities and were gradually approaching the end of their useful service life with at least one aircraft being converted to target tug duty. By 1940, the US Navy was aware that the SBG had become outclassed by the fighters and bombers of other nations and a replacement was in the works, but it was not yet in service when the US entered World War II. By then, attrition had reduced their numbers to just over 60 aircraft, and with the arrival of the Curtiss SB2C “Helldiver” in December 1942, the obsolete SBGs were retired.

  

General characteristics:

Crew: 3

Length: 31 ft 9 in (9.682 m)

Wingspan: 45 ft 9 in (13.95 m)

Height: 10 ft 10 in (3.3 m)

Wing area: 288 sq ft (26.8 m²)

Empty weight: 4,251 lb. (1,928 kg)

Gross weight: 6,378 - 6,918 lb. (2,893 - 3,138 kg) for reconnaissance missions

7,705 - 7,773 lb (3,495 - 3,526 kg) for bombing missions

Fuel capacity: 200 US gal (740 l; 160 imp gal) in six wing tanks plus

7.9 US gal (30 l; 6.6 imp gal) in a gravity feed collector tank in the fuselage

18 US gal (70 l; 15 imp gal) of engine oil was also carried in a forward fuselage tank

 

Powerplant:

1 × Pratt & Whitney R-2180-A Twin Hornet 14 cylinder radial engine with 1,200 hp (865 kW),

driving a 3-bladed Hamilton-Standard Hydromatic, 11 ft 3 in (3.43 m) diameter constant-speed

fully-feathering propeller

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: 245 mph (395 km/h, 213 kn) at 3,650 m (11,980 ft)

210 mph (338 km/h, 183 kn) at sea level

Stall speed: 110 km/h (68 mph, 59 kn)

Range: 1,260 km (780 mi, 680 nmi)

Service ceiling: 7,300 m (24,000 ft)

Time to altitude: 2,000 m (6,600 ft) in 4 minutes

4,000 m (13,000 ft) in 11 minutes 10 seconds

Wing loading: 116 kg/m² (24 lb/sq ft) to 130 kg/m2 (27 lb/sq ft)

Power/mass: 6.3–6.8 kg/kW (10.4–11.2 lb/hp)

 

Armament:

2x fixed forward firing 0.30 “ (7.62 mm) Browning machine guns in the spats, firing forward,

plus 2x flexibly mounted 0.30 “ (7.62 mm) Browning machine guns in ventral and dorsal positions

A total of up to 1,500 lb (700 kg) of bombs on hardpoints under the fuselage (max. 1.000 lb; the SCG-2

could carry a single Mk. XIII torpedo) and under the wings (max. 325 lb per hardpoint, SCG-2 only 200 lb)

  

The kit and its assembly:

I had the idea to convert a PZL.23 into a carrier-borne light bomber on the agenda for a long time and also already a Heller kit stashed away – but it took the “In the Navy” group build at whatifmodelers.com in early 2020 to dig everything out from the stash and start the hardware phase.

 

Originally, this was inspired by a picture of a Ju 87D with USN “Yellow wings” markings which I came across while doing online research. This looked really good, but since the USN would never have accepted a liquid-cooled engine on one of its pre-WWII aircraft, the concept had IMHO some flaws. When I came across the PZL.23 in another context, I found that the aircraft, with its cockpit placed well forward and the generous window area, could also be a good carrier-based recce/light bomber/torpedo aircraft? This was the conceptual birth of the SBG.

 

The basis is the vintage, original Heller kit of the PZL.23: a VERY nice kit. It has been crisply molded, fit is very good, and even the interior detail is decent, e.g. with a nice fuselage structure and dashboard. Surface details are raised but very fine, and the styrene is also easy to handle.

 

Basically the PZL.23 was built OOB. The only changes I made are a crew of three figures (all Matchbox WWII pilots, two of them with their heads in different directions), a tail wheel instead of the original skid, an opening for an arrester hook under the fin (there’s even plausible space available!) and a new engine: the PZL.23’s bulky 9 cylinder Jupiter radial engine with its generous cowling and the two-blade propeller was completely replaced. The engine dummy is actually a matching R-2600 and comes from a Matchbox SB2C, even though its rear bulkhead was trimmed away so that it would fit into the new cowling. The latter came from an Italeri La-5FN, cut off long time ago from another conversion project, and I added a carburetor/oil cooler fairing underneath. Inside of the new engine I implanted a styrene tube which attaches the engine to the fuselage and also takes the metal axis of the new propeller, a (rather clumsy) donor from a Matchbox Douglas A-20G. The whole package works well, though, and gives the PZL.23 a more modern and different look.

 

A late modification is the glasshouse for the rear gunner. Since the PZL.23 offered considerable comfort for its crew, at least for pilot and observer, I thought that a closed rear position would make sense. I found an old rear gunner station glaizing from a vintage Airfix B-17G in the stash, and with some tailoring (including an opening for the OOB manual machine gun) the piece could be inserted into the fuselage opening. Small gaps were left, but these were simply filled with white glue. I think this was a good move, since it changes the PZL.23’s profile a little.

 

Other small cosmetic changes include the machine guns instead of the original large landing lights on the spats, an additional antenna mast and a cranked pitot, made from brass wire. Furthermore, I added small underwing bomb pylons and a ventral hardpoint with a scratched swing arm and a 500 lb iron bomb from an Academy kit.

  

Painting and markings:

For proper anachronism and some color in the shelf, I wanted the SBG to be a pre-WWII aircraft in the USN’s bright “Yellow Wings” markings, just like the Ju 87 mentioned above. As a slight twist, the fuselage was finished in all-over Light Gull Grey (FS 36440, Humbrol 40) instead of a NMF – some aircraft like F4Bs were finished this way, even though some fabric-covered parts were still painted with alu dope. In 1940, however, the bright colors would be replaced by a uniform light grey livery with subdued markings, anyway.

 

The aircraft’s individual markings were a bit tricky, because the USN has a very complicated color code system to identify not only the carrier to which an aircraft would belong, color markings would also identify the individual aircraft within a full squadron of 18 aircraft and its six sections. I won’t go into details, but I chose to depict the lead aircraft of section two of the scout bomber squadron on board of USS Enterprise.

 

For this carrier, the tail surfaces became blue (I used Modelmaster French Blue for the authentic “True Blue”), while the 2nd section had white aircraft markings on fuselage and wings. The lead aircraft (connected with the individual aircraft code “4”) had a full ring marking around the cowling. The fuselage band seems to be rather optional on bomber aircraft (more frequent on fighters?), but I eventually decided to add it - pictures suggest that probably only lead aircraft of a Section in the scout or torpedo squadrons carried this marking?

Like the cowling ring, it was painted with white and then black borders were added with decal strips. The wings were painted with Revell 310 (Lufthansa Yellow, RAL 1028), which is a pretty rich tone, and the section markings on top of them were fully created with decal material, a white 5mm stripe over a black 6mm stripe on each wing.

The aircraft’s tactical code was created from single US 45° numbers; the “S” had to be scratched from an “8”, since the decal sheet did not contain letters… Other decals were gathered from the scrap box and improvised.

 

After the free-standing exhaust pipes had been fixed, the kit received a light weathering treatment and was finally sealed with a coat of semi-matt acrylic varnish (Italeri semi-gloss with some matt varnish added).

  

A colorful aircraft model, and the transformation from a Polish light bomber into an American armed scout aircraft worked well – for an interesting result with that anachronistic touch that many interwar designs carried. However, even though the conversion has been conceptually successful, I am not happy with the finish. The glossy Humbrol paints I used refused to cure properly, and the decals were also not without problems (e.g. when you realize that the roundels you wanted to use had a poor opacity, so that the yellow underneath shines blatantly through). But despite a lot of improvisation, the outcome is quite O.K.

 

Curtiss SB2C Helldiver at the 2016 Wings Over Houston Airshow held at Ellington Field October 22-23.

Curtis-Wright SB2C Helldiver & Chance Vought F4U Corsair at 2018 Thunder Over Michigan Airshow Ypsilanti, Michigan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

History

United States

Name:New York

Namesake:State of New York

Awarded:1 May 1911

Builder:Brooklyn Navy Yard

Laid down:11 September 1911

Launched:30 October 1912

Sponsored by:Elsie Calder

Commissioned:15 May 1914

Decommissioned:29 August 1946

Stricken:13 July 1948

Identification:

 

Hull symbol: BB-34

Code letters: NADT

ICS November.svgICS Alpha.svgICS Delta.svgICS Tango.svg

 

Nickname(s):"The Old Lady of the Sea"[1]

Honors and

awards:Bronze-service-star-3d.png 3 × battle star (WW II)

Fate:Used as a target ship, 1945

Status:Sunk as a target, 8 July 1948

General characteristics [2]

Class and type:New York-class battleship

Displacement:

 

27,000 long tons (27,433 t) (standard)

28,367 long tons (28,822 t) (full load)

 

Length:

 

573 ft (174.7 m) (o/a)

565 ft (172.2 m) (waterline)

 

Beam:95 ft 2.5 in (29 m)

Draft:

 

28 ft 6 in (8.7 m) (mean)

29 ft 7 in (9 m) (max)

 

Installed power:

 

14 × Babcock & Wilcox boilers

28,100 shp (20,954 kW)

 

Propulsion:

 

2 × triple-expansion steam engines

2 × screws

 

Speed:21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph)

Range:7,060 nmi (13,075 km; 8,125 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)

Complement:1,042 officers and men

Armament:

 

5 × twin 14 in (356 mm) guns

21 × single 5 in (127 mm) guns

4 × single 3-pounder 47 mm (1.85 in) saluting guns

2 × single 1-pounder 37 mm (1.46 in) guns

4 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes

 

Armor:

 

Belt: 10–12 in (254–305 mm)

Lower casemate: 9–11 in (229–279 mm)

Upper casemate: 6.5 in (165 mm)

Barbettes: 10–12 in

Turret face: 14 in (356 mm)

Turret top: 4 in (102 mm)

Turret side: 2 in (51 mm)

Decks: 2 in

Conning tower: 12 in, 4 in (top)

 

General characteristics (1925–1926 refit)

Displacement:

 

27,000 long tons (27,433 t) (standard)

32,000 long tons (32,514 t) (full load)

 

Draft:31 ft 6 in (9.60 m) (max)

Installed power:6 × Bureau Express water-tube boilers

Armament:

 

5 × twin 14 in guns

16 × single 5 in guns

8 × single 3 in (76 mm) AA guns

 

Aircraft carried:3 × floatplanes

Aviation facilities:1 × catapult

General characteristics (1942 refit)

Armament:

 

5 × twin 14 in guns

6 × single 5 in guns

10 × single 3 in AA guns

6 × quadruple 40 mm (1.6 in) Bofors AA guns

42 × single 20 mm (0.8 in) Oerlikon AA guns

 

USS New York (BB-34) was a United States Navy battleship, the lead ship of her class. Named for New York State, she was designed as the first ship to carry the 14-inch (356 mm)/45-caliber gun.

 

Entering service in 1914, she was part of the U.S. Navy force which was sent to reinforce the British Grand Fleet in the North Sea near the end of World War I. During that time, she was involved in at least two incidents with German U-boats, and is believed to have been the only US ship to have sunk one in the war, during an accidental collision in October 1918. Following the war, she was sent on a litany of training exercises and cruises in both the Atlantic and the Pacific, and saw several overhauls to increase her armament, aircraft handling and armor.

 

She entered the Neutrality Patrol at the beginning of World War II, and served as a convoy escort for ships to Iceland and Great Britain in the early phase of the war. She saw her first combat against coastal artillery during Operation Torch around Casablanca in North Africa, and later became a training ship. Late in the war, she moved to the Pacific, and provided naval gunfire support for the invasion of Iwo Jima and later the invasion of Okinawa. Returning to Pearl Harbor for repairs until the end of the war, she was classified obsolete and was chosen to take part in the Operation Crossroads nuclear weapon tests at Bikini Atoll in 1946. She survived both explosions, and the effects of radiation on the ship were studied for several years. She was eventually sunk as a target in 1948. She received three battle stars for her service.

 

Design and construction

Main article: New York-class battleship

 

New York was the first of two planned New York-class battleships, though construction on her began after her sister, Texas. She was ordered in fiscal year 1911 as the first class of battleship in the United States Navy to carry the 14-inch/45-caliber gun.[3][4]

A shipyard where construction is beginning on a large ship

Day after keel ceremony, 12 September 1911

 

She had a standard displacement of 27,000 long tons (27,000 t) and a full-load displacement of 28,367 long tons (28,822 t). She was 573 ft (175 m) in length overall, 565 ft (172 m) at the waterline, and had a beam of 95 ft 6 in (29.11 m) and a draft of 28 ft 6 in (8.69 m).[2]

 

She was powered by 14 Babcock & Wilcox boilers driving two dual-acting vertical triple expansion reciprocating steam engines, with 28,000 shp (21,000 kW), with a maximum speed of 21 kn (39 km/h; 24 mph). She had a range of 7,060 nautical miles (13,080 km; 8,120 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph).[2]

 

Armor on New York consisted of a belt from 10 to 12 in (250 to 300 mm) thick. Her lower casemate had between 9 and 11 in (230 and 280 mm) of armor, and her upper casemate had 6 in (150 mm) of armor. Deck armor was 2 in (51 mm) thick, and turret armor was 14 in (360 mm) on the face, 4 in (100 mm) on the top, 2 inches on the sides, and 8 in (200 mm) on the rear. Armor on her barbettes was between 10 and 12 inches. Her conning tower was protected by 12 inches of armor, with 4 inches of armor on its top.[2]

 

Her armament consisted of ten 14-inch/45-caliber guns which could be elevated to 15 degrees, and arrayed in five double mounts designated, from bow to stern, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. The class was the last to feature a turret mounted amidships.[5][6] As built, she also carried twenty-one 5-inch (127 mm)/51-caliber guns, primarily for defense against destroyers and torpedo boats. The 5-inch guns were poor in accuracy in rough seas due to the open casemates mounted in the hull, so the 5-inch armament was reduced to 16 guns in 1918 by removal of the least useful positions near the ends of the ship.[7] The ship was not designed with anti-aircraft (AA) defense in mind, but two 3-inch (76 mm)/50 caliber AA guns were added in 1918.[5][8] She also had four 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes, 1 each on the port side bow and stern and starboard bow and stern, for the Bliss-Leavitt Mark 3 torpedo. The torpedo rooms held 12 torpedoes total, plus 12 naval defense mines.[9] Her crew consisted of 1,042 officers and enlisted men.[2]

 

New York was laid down on 11 September 1911, in New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn.[10] The New York class was constructed under new labor laws that limited the working hours of her construction crews. It was also stipulated that each ship cost less than $6,000,000, excluding cost of armor and armament.[11] She was launched on 30 October 1912, and commissioned on 15 May 1914.[2] The fifth ship to be named for New York State, she was sponsored by Elsie Calder, the daughter of New York politician William M. Calder.[10][12] The fourth New York, an armored cruiser, was renamed Rochester, to free the name for this battleship,[13] and was later scuttled in Subic Bay in 1941. However, the wreck site for that ship, which has become a popular recreational dive site, is still commonly referred to as USS New York.[14]

Service history

 

Under the command of Captain Thomas S. Rodgers,[10] New York headed straight for Veracruz following its commissioning.[2] She was designated flagship for Rear Admiral Frank Friday Fletcher in July 1914, commanding the fleet occupying and blockading Veracruz to prevent arms shipments from arriving there to support the government of Victoriano Huerta. The United States occupation of Veracruz ultimately ended and New York resumed her shakedown cruise along the East Coast of the United States.[12] She also undertook several goodwill duties, and in December 1915 she held a high-profile Christmas party and dinner for several hundred orphans from New York City, at the suggestion of her crew. It later became a tradition on the ship to help the underprivileged when possible, earning it the nickname "Christmas Ship." Following this duty, she undertook a number of training exercises off the Atlantic coast.[15]

World War I

 

Following the United States' entry into World War I, New York, under the command of Captain Edward L. Beach, Sr., became flagship of Battleship Division 9 (BatDiv 9), commanded by Rear Admiral Hugh Rodman.[16] She was sent to reinforce the British Grand Fleet in the North Sea, arriving at Scapa Flow on 7 December 1917. The ships of the U.S. fleet were assigned to the 6th Battle Squadron in the Grand Fleet, the American ships joined in blockade and escort.[17] In December 1917, New York and the other U.S. battleships took part in several gunnery exercises. New York scored the highest score of the ships for her main battery, with an accuracy of 93.3 percent.[18] Ultimately the New York was the best performer in these exercises, the only ship rated as "excellent" while many of her sisters received mediocre performance reviews.[19]

 

She did not fire any shots in anger during the war, but does get credit for sinking an enemy vessel. During one of her escort missions, the convoy she was escorting came under two different attacks by German U-boats.[15] On the evening of 14 October 1918, as New York led a group of battleships into the Pentland Firth, she was rocked by a violent underwater collision on her starboard side, followed shortly after by another to the stern that broke off two blades on one of her propellers, reducing the ship to one engine and a speed of 12 kn (14 mph; 22 km/h). It was immediately clear to the men on board that she had struck an underwater object, but the depth of the channel meant it could not have been a shipwreck. Commanders concluded that New York must have accidentally collided with a submerged U-boat.[20] They agreed that the submarine had rammed its bow into the ship's side, then been struck moments later by the ship's propeller.[21] In their opinion, the damage would have been fatal to the German craft.[22] Postwar examination of German records revealed that the submarine lost may have been UB-113 or UB-123.[23] This strange—and accidental—encounter marked the only time in all of Battleship Division Nine's service with the Grand Fleet that one of its ships sank a German vessel.[23]

 

Badly damaged by the loss of a propeller, the ship sailed to Rosyth under heavy escort for repairs on 15 October. At 01:00 the next morning, a U-boat launched three torpedoes at the damaged vessel, all of which passed ahead of her.[22] Unlike in previous cases, sufficient evidence existed to suppose that this torpedo attack was not a false alarm—a number of officers and men aboard New York clearly saw the wakes of the torpedoes in the full moonlight, and a submarine was spotted in the immediate vicinity by a patrol shortly after the attack.[23][Note 1] Ironically, the battleship's wounded condition is possibly what saved her: although standard procedure was to steam at 16 kn (18 mph; 30 km/h), New York could make only 12 kn (14 mph; 22 km/h) on her one operable propeller. Due to this, historian Jerry Jones believes that the U-boat captain misjudged the ship's speed. With no further damage, however, the battleship arrived safely at a drydock in Rosyth. As she was lifted clear of the water, a large dent commensurate with a submarine bow was found in her hull.[23]

 

New York was also frequently host to foreign dignitaries, including King George V of the United Kingdom and the future Edward VIII, as well as then-prince Hirohito of the Empire of Japan.[17] The ship was of great interest to other European powers, as it was in many cases a first chance to see an American dreadnought up close.[15] She was on hand for the surrender of the German High Seas Fleet on 21 November 1918 in the Firth of Forth, several days after the signing of the Armistice, after which she returned to the United States briefly.[25] She then served as an escort for George Washington, carrying President Woodrow Wilson, on his trip from the United States to Brest, France en route to the Versailles Peace Conference.[25]

Interwar period

 

Arriving back in the United States in 1919, she began to undertake training and patrol duties, including at one point to the Caribbean with a number of other U.S. ships.[25] During this year, she also saw a refit in Norfolk Navy Yard where five 5-inch guns were removed and three additional 3-inch/50 caliber AA guns were added, bringing the total to five.[26] The secondary battery was reduced to sixteen 5-inch/51 caliber guns.[27] In late 1919, she sailed to the Pacific Ocean and joined the newly formed United States Pacific Fleet.[17] She continued to conduct training and patrol duties in the Pacific until the mid-1930s when she was transferred again to the Atlantic, and began operating out of the North Atlantic, with the exception of several occasional trips to the West Coast of the United States.[25]

 

In 1926 New York was considered obsolete compared with other battleships in service, so she steamed to Norfolk Navy Yard for a complete refit. While several other battleships in service, including Utah and Florida were converted to training ships or scrapped, New York and Texas were chosen to be overhauled to increase their speed, armor, armament, and propulsion systems as allowed by the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922.[25] An additional 3,000 long tons (3,000 t) were added to her for defense against aerial targets and submarines. The number of 3-inch AA guns was increased to 8, and six of the 5-inch guns were relocated to new casemates on the main deck. The torpedo tubes were removed at this time. Her 14 Babcock & Wilcox coal-fired boilers were replaced with six Bureau Express oil-fired boilers and the twin funnels were trunked into one, aft of the forward superstructure. Tripods were fitted in place of lattice masts, and atop the forward tripod a control tower was installed. A tower was built amidships that contained additional fire control to backup the system on the foremast. A new aircraft catapult was installed atop turret Number 3, and cranes were installed on either side of the funnel for boat and aircraft handling. Additional deck protection was added, and her beam was widened to 106 ft (32 m). She was fitted with anti-torpedo bulges. However, these bulges made maneuvering harder at low speeds, she rolled badly, and her gunfire accuracy was reduced in rough seas.[26] On 4 September 1928, she left for short-range battle drills with Arizona, and from 7 to 10 November the ships traveled to San Francisco together with Pennsylvania.[28] On 3 April 1929 she undertook anti-aircraft practice with Arizona, and then the two ships and Pennsylvania steamed for Cuba, where they stayed until steaming for Hampton Roads on 1 May.[29]

 

She remained with the Pacific Fleet training as part of the series of Fleet Problems until 1937. That year she was selected to carry Admiral Hugh Rodman, the President's personal representative for the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, and New York took part in the Grand Naval Review of 20 May 1937 as sole U.S. Navy representative.[30] In 1937, eight 1.1-inch (28 mm)/75 caliber AA guns in two quadruple mounts were added to improve the light AA armament. New York was fitted with XAF radar in February 1938, including the first United States duplexer so a single antenna could both send and receive.[31] This made her the second ship to be outfitted with radar after the destroyer Leary. The tests conducted on New York led to similar radars being installed on the Brooklyn-class and St. Louis-class cruisers as well as newer battleship West Virginia. For several years, she served primarily as a training ship for midshipmen and newly enlisted sailors.[30]

 

In September 1939, New York joined the Neutrality Patrol, safeguarding sea lanes in the North Atlantic, and served as flagship with the Atlantic Squadron, later redesignated the United States Atlantic Fleet, for the next 27 months.[32] In July 1941, she protected a convoy of U.S. troops moving to garrison Iceland.[30] She was in the midst of a refit on 7 December 1941, when the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked Pearl Harbor, sinking many of the battleships in the U.S. Pacific Fleet and bringing the United States into World War II.[33]

World War II

 

With the outbreak of war, New York's overhaul was sped up and completed four weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor. She returned to duty escorting cargo and troop ships to Iceland and Scotland. She continued on patrol duty for the next year.[33] In her first series of escorts, she left Norfolk 15 February, arrived in New York 16 February, Nova Scotia 21 February, and Iceland 2 March, returning to Norfolk on 27 March. She left there on her second patrol 24 April and arrived at New York the next day, Nova Scotia 2 May, Newfoundland 5 May, and Iceland 10 May, returning to New York on 20 May. The next day she left for a third escort, arriving again at Nova Scotia on 2 June and Scotland on 10 June, returning to Norfolk on 30 June.[34][35] Following these three escort missions, she put in for overhaul in Norfolk. The secondary battery was reduced to six 5-inch (127 mm) guns and the anti-aircraft armament was increased to ten 3-inch/50 caliber guns, 24 40 mm (1.6 in) Bofors guns in quadruple mounts, and 42 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon cannons.[27] She departed Norfolk on 12 August and arrived the next day at New York. From there, she escorted a convoy to Nova Scotia where she remained until 22 August, then departed for Scotland where she was from 31 August to 5 September. She returned to Norfolk on 15 September.[36]

 

New York saw her first major action during Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of North Africa in November 1942. She left Norfolk on 23 October in order to join the Allied fleet.[36] Attached to the Southern Attack Group, on 8 November, New York and the cruiser Philadelphia, screened by six destroyers, attacked Safi harbor in Morocco, supporting landings by the U.S. 9th Infantry Division's 47th Infantry Regiment, and defended the transports Cole and Bernadou which came under attack by 130-millimeter (5.1 in) shore batteries at Point De La Tour.[33] New York fired several salvoes with her 14-inch (360 mm) guns, with one of them striking the base of the battery and ricocheting into a bunker, destroying the range finder and killing the battery commander and neutralizing the battery.[35] Other shore batteries were destroyed by Philadelphia's guns and aircraft from escort carrier Santee. New York remained on station until the port was secure, then steamed north to support the Center Group off Fedhala and Casablanca, specifically to deal with the threat of the Vichy French battleship Jean Bart, but by the time she arrived, that battleship had been disabled by Massachusetts and other Vichy French ships had been driven off by Brooklyn and Augusta. New York remained on off the coast of North Africa until the beaches were secure, then retired on 14 November.[37] She had expended a total of sixty 14-inch (360 mm) rounds.[38] She returned to Norfolk on 23 November.[36][35]

 

New York next returned to convoy patrol.[39] She escorted two convoys to Casablanca from the United States during late 1942, leaving Norfolk on 24 November and in New York from 25 November to 12 December, Casablanca from 24 to 29 December, and back in Norfolk on 12 January 1943. She left Norfolk on the second escort on 26 February, in New York from 27 February to 5 March, in Casablanca from 18 to 25 March, and back to New York from 5 April to 1 May.[36] In 1943 she was selected for a refit to become a main battery and escort training center.[37] She arrived in Portland, Maine on 2 May, where she remained until 27 July.[36] During her fourth and final refit in early 1943 her anti-aircraft battery was increased to ten 3-inch/50 caliber guns, forty 40 mm and thirty-six 20 mm guns. Improved fire control was added as well, and this ultimately increased her displacement to 29,340 long tons (29,810 t) standard and 34,000 long tons (35,000 t) full-load.[26] She returned to Norfolk on 2 August 1943.[36] She was used to train crews from the US Navy, US Coast Guard, and Allied navies on the 14-inch/45 caliber gun, the 3-inch/50 caliber gun, and the 20 mm and 40 mm guns, primarily because many newer ships used these weapons. Between July 1943 and June 1944 about 11,000 enlisted men and 750 officers trained on her in this capacity.[37] However, the duty lowered morale among the crew and a large number of requests for transfer were put in.[36] Following this duty, she was sent to the US Naval Academy and undertook three consecutive midshipmen cruises ferrying a total of 1,800 midshipmen from Annapolis to Trinidad[40] between June and August 1944.[41]

Pacific theater

 

Selected to return to action in the Pacific Theater[42] in late 1944, she transited the Panama Canal on 27 November, and arrived in Long Beach, California on 9 December, breaking down at least once along the way and losing an observation plane in bad weather.[41] She conducted refresher training off Southern California in December 1944 and January 1945. New York departed 12 January and rendezvoused with Idaho, Tennessee, Nevada, Texas, and Arkansas, forming a support force for the invasion of Iwo Jima. New York lost a blade off her port screw just before the invasion began[40] and briefly put in for temporary repairs at Eniwetok from 5 to 7 February. She returned to the group, which was near Saipan, on 11 February. Together, they arrived at Iwo Jima on 16 February and began the pre-invasion bombardment.[41] During the three days of shore bombardment that followed, New York expended 6,417 rounds, including 1,037 14-inch rounds. One of her salvoes struck the primary ammunition dump on the island, causing "the most spectacular secondary explosion in the campaign."[40] She retired from the area on 19 February and arrived at Ulithi on 21 February.[41]

 

After a permanent repair to her port propeller at Manus from 28 February to 19 March, she rejoined Task Force 54 at Ulithi on 22 March[43] in preparation for the invasion of Okinawa. Joined by Maryland, Colorado, and West Virginia, the fleet of battleships began its bombardment of Okinawa on 27 March.[42] Providing shore bombardment, and later naval artillery support for ground forces, New York was on station for 76 consecutive days, during which she expended 4,159 rounds of 14-inch ammunition and 7,001 rounds of 5-inch ammunition.[40][27] She was subjected to a kamikaze attack on 14 April which destroyed one spotting plane on its catapult, but the Japanese aircraft crashed 50 yd (46 m) from the ship and New York received only superficial damage, suffering two men injured.[38] She was detached on 11 June, her gun barrels having been worn out by fire, and proceeded to Pearl Harbor to have her guns relined in preparation for the invasion of mainland Japan.[44] She stopped by Leyte on 14 June and arrived at Pearl Harbor on 1 July.[43] She was in the harbor on 15 August, the end of the war.[44]

 

During World War II, New York spent 1,088 days with the Atlantic Fleet from December 1941 to November 1944, and 276 days with the Pacific Fleet.[38] She expended a total of 53,094 rounds of all types totaling 3,548.9 short tons (3,219.5 t), traveled 123,867 mi (199,345 km), spent 414 days underway, and consumed 22,367,996 US gal (84,672,080 l; 18,625,253 imp gal) of fuel oil.[45]

Post-war

 

Following the end of the war, New York entered the Operation Magic Carpet fleet, leaving Pearl Harbor on 2 September and arriving at San Pedro on 9 September with a load of veterans embarked. She then proceeded to New York City to take part in Navy Day celebrations.[43]

New York (bottom-left corner) floats bottom-up off Hawaii as the carriers Boxer and Princeton pass by, July 8, 1948

 

Selected as a test ship for Operation Crossroads, she was used in nuclear bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in July 1946 with about 70 other ships, surviving both the Able and Baker tests. Following these tests, she was towed to Pearl Harbor to study the effects of the bomb blasts on her. On 6 July 1948, she was towed out to sea and used as target practice, and was sunk by several naval aircraft and ships.[44]

Awards

 

New York received three battle stars for her wartime service.[10]

 

World War I Victory Medal with "GRAND FLEET" clasp

American Defense Service Medal with "FLEET" clasp and "A" device

American Campaign Medal

European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one battle star

Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with two battle stars

World War II Victory Medal

 

Wall Street Journal

Navy Day in New York, 1945

The biggest display of military might the nation had ever seen.

By Elliot Rosenberg

Oct. 26, 2015 6:48 pm ET

 

Seventy years ago, on Oct. 27, 1945, New York City was the site of the most spectacular homefront display of American military might the nation had ever seen. Navy Day was in effect a monumental victory lap, coming seven weeks after the signing of the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay aboard the USS Missouri.

 

Now the “Big Mo” and other stars and supporting players from the Pacific Fleet had come home. Along a six-mile stretch of the Hudson River, 47 warships gathered—battleships, aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, submarines and submarine chasers.

 

President Truman was there. So was I. About 3.5 million people crowded along Manhattan’s West Side, with another 1.5 million viewing from New Jersey, according to press reports. Joining the USS Missouri, with its 16-inch turret guns bristling from its 56,000-ton frame, were the USS New York (an older battle wagon) and the USS Enterprise, the only aircraft carrier that had been active from Pearl Harbor to V-J Day.

 

At midafternoon, President Truman boarded a destroyer for a two-hour review of the assembled firepower. Twenty-one-gun salutes boomed from many of the vessels. Overhead, 1,200 Hellcat and Corsair fighters, Avenger torpedo planes and Helldiver bombers circled in 12-mile ovals. For half-hour spells on two successive nights the ships turned on their 24-inch and 36-inch searchlights, sending brilliant blue-white beams, with millions in candle power, flashing across the sky and illuminating the city’s skyscrapers. No fireworks display could compare.

 

Many of the ships initially moored at piers along the river, welcoming visitors, and tens of thousands clambered aboard. The Missouri was the biggest celebrity; visitors especially wanted to see a small starboard-deck plaque that read: “Over this spot on 2 September 1945 the instrument of formal surrender of Japan to the Allied Powers was signed.”

 

By the time my father was off work and able to take me to see the naval display, the ships had left their piers and lined up in mid-river. Navy launches ferried civilians to visit them, and my father and I were among the lucky ones.

 

I would have preferred to see the Big Mo, but the Enterprise was a worthy consolation prize. I marveled at being aboard an aircraft carrier, previously known only through movies like “Wing and a Prayer” and “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo.” The rectangular expanse of the flight deck. The squadrons of planes bunched together, wings folded. The rows of antiaircraft guns lining its rim. A large poster provided some Enterprise statistics: 911 Japanese planes shot down, 71 ships sunk, 192 more ships damaged or sunk.

 

After Oct. 27, the Navy fleet gradually dispersed. Elsewhere that fall, the Soviet Union was scrambling to develop an atomic bomb, and the Korean peninsula was about to be sliced at something called the 38th Parallel. Vietnam was still a faraway French outpost in Indochina. And Afghanistan and Iraq barely registered in the mind of at least one New York schoolboy, who had witnessed Navy Day and come away certain that America could still lick any international bully on the planet.

 

Mr. Rosenberg is the author, with Louis Eisenstein, of “A Stripe of Tammany’s Tiger” (Cornell University, 2013 paperback).

Manufacturer: Curtiss

Operator: Commemorative Air Force-Cactus Squadron/West Texas Wing, Graham Graham Municipal Airport, Graham, TX.

Type/ Markings: Curtiss SB2C/SBW Helldiver 32 (N92879)

Event / Location: 2011 New Orleans Air Show/ NAS Belle Chase, New Orleans, Louisiana

Comments: The markings represent a Helldiver operating with CV-13 on the U.S.S. Franklin

 

These are the four US Navy aircraft I built for Lego Monster's project Intrepid

 

From left to right:

Curtiss SB2C Helldiver

Vought F4U Corsair

Grumman TBF Avenger

Grumman F6F Hellcat

 

.....a death diver ! And to think, that those brave guys

are standing subdued at the restaurant's exit wait-

ing for a tip, whereas the restaurant owners get rich...

after diving from a height of appr. 25 metres into not

more than four metres of water!!!!

Note the aerials and what looks like satellite dishes on the stern under the flight deck! Also an interesting photograph because the Wikipedia article on the carrier says she carried Douglas AD Skyraiders and Vought F4U Corsairs, yet the planes don't appear to have the correct tail plane for either of these types of plane.

 

Format: Photograph

 

Find more detailed information about this photograph: acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/item/itemDetailPaged.aspx?itemID=52723

  

From the collection of the State Library of New South Wales www.sl.nsw.gov.au

Displaying at the CAF show Midland, Texas September 2008.

Dekalb Peachtree 14.5.22

 

copyright © 2022 Chris Chennell

Curtiss SB2C Helldiver Civil Registration N92879

USS Franklin

 

carrier-based dive bomber aircraft produced for the United States Navy during World War II. It replaced the Douglas SBD Dauntless in US Navy service.

 

Photo taken at Mid-Atlantic Air Museum WWII Weekend Spaatz Field Reading Regional Airport June 2018

Part of the ramp at Culpeper RAP seen just before the 2015 Arsenal of Democracy Flyover to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of VE Day and the end of WW2.

Seen here from near to far are:-

AT-6D Texan ‘HL-A’ (N87H) c/n 88-15821

FG-1D Corsair ‘92489 / 489’ (NX209TW) c/n 3750

TBM-3E Avenger ‘85938 / X-308’ (NL7226C) c/n 2757

FG-1D Corsair ‘92508 / 31’ (N46RL) c/n 3769

FG-1D Corsair ‘92468 / 530’ (N9964Z) c/n 3729

TBM-3E Avenger ‘53454 / 10’ (NL7030C) c/n 3516

SB2C-5 Helldiver ‘32’ (N92879) c/n 83725

and

TBM-3E Avenger ‘91426 / P87’ (N40402) c/n 4331

Culpeper Regional Airport, Virginia, USA

8th May 2015

Wall Street Journal

Navy Day in New York, 1945

The biggest display of military might the nation had ever seen.

By Elliot Rosenberg

Oct. 26, 2015 6:48 pm ET

 

Seventy years ago, on Oct. 27, 1945, New York City was the site of the most spectacular homefront display of American military might the nation had ever seen. Navy Day was in effect a monumental victory lap, coming seven weeks after the signing of the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay aboard the USS Missouri.

 

Now the “Big Mo” and other stars and supporting players from the Pacific Fleet had come home. Along a six-mile stretch of the Hudson River, 47 warships gathered—battleships, aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, submarines and submarine chasers.

 

President Truman was there. So was I. About 3.5 million people crowded along Manhattan’s West Side, with another 1.5 million viewing from New Jersey, according to press reports. Joining the USS Missouri, with its 16-inch turret guns bristling from its 56,000-ton frame, were the USS New York (an older battle wagon) and the USS Enterprise, the only aircraft carrier that had been active from Pearl Harbor to V-J Day.

 

At midafternoon, President Truman boarded a destroyer for a two-hour review of the assembled firepower. Twenty-one-gun salutes boomed from many of the vessels. Overhead, 1,200 Hellcat and Corsair fighters, Avenger torpedo planes and Helldiver bombers circled in 12-mile ovals. For half-hour spells on two successive nights the ships turned on their 24-inch and 36-inch searchlights, sending brilliant blue-white beams, with millions in candle power, flashing across the sky and illuminating the city’s skyscrapers. No fireworks display could compare.

 

Many of the ships initially moored at piers along the river, welcoming visitors, and tens of thousands clambered aboard. The Missouri was the biggest celebrity; visitors especially wanted to see a small starboard-deck plaque that read: “Over this spot on 2 September 1945 the instrument of formal surrender of Japan to the Allied Powers was signed.”

 

By the time my father was off work and able to take me to see the naval display, the ships had left their piers and lined up in mid-river. Navy launches ferried civilians to visit them, and my father and I were among the lucky ones.

 

I would have preferred to see the Big Mo, but the Enterprise was a worthy consolation prize. I marveled at being aboard an aircraft carrier, previously known only through movies like “Wing and a Prayer” and “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo.” The rectangular expanse of the flight deck. The squadrons of planes bunched together, wings folded. The rows of antiaircraft guns lining its rim. A large poster provided some Enterprise statistics: 911 Japanese planes shot down, 71 ships sunk, 192 more ships damaged or sunk.

 

After Oct. 27, the Navy fleet gradually dispersed. Elsewhere that fall, the Soviet Union was scrambling to develop an atomic bomb, and the Korean peninsula was about to be sliced at something called the 38th Parallel. Vietnam was still a faraway French outpost in Indochina. And Afghanistan and Iraq barely registered in the mind of at least one New York schoolboy, who had witnessed Navy Day and come away certain that America could still lick any international bully on the planet.

 

Mr. Rosenberg is the author, with Louis Eisenstein, of “A Stripe of Tammany’s Tiger” (Cornell University, 2013 paperback).

 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

USS Augusta (CA-31), steaming off Portland, Maine, on 9 May 1945.

History

United States

Name:Augusta

Namesake:City of Augusta, Georgia

Ordered:18 December 1924

Awarded:13 June 1927

Builder:Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia

Cost:$10,567,000 (contract price)

Laid down:2 July 1928

Launched:1 February 1930

Sponsored by:Miss Evelyn McDaniel

Commissioned:30 January 1931

Decommissioned:16 July 1946

Reclassified:CA-31, 1 July 1931

Stricken:1 March 1959

Identification:

 

Hull symbol: CL-31

Hull symbol: CA-31

Code letters: NIDF

ICS November.svgICS India.svgICS Delta.svgICS Foxtrot.svg

 

Honours and

awards:

 

3 × battle stars Bronze-service-star-3d.png

Presidential flagship

 

Fate:Sold for scrap, 9 November 1959

General characteristics (as built)[1]

Class and type:Northampton-class cruiser

Displacement:9,050 long tons (9,200 t) (standard)

Length:

 

600 ft 3 in (182.96 m) oa

569 ft (173 m) pp

 

Beam:66 ft 1 in (20.14 m)

Draft:

 

16 ft 4 in (4.98 m) (mean)

23 ft (7.0 m) (max)

 

Installed power:

 

8 × White-Forster boilers

107,000 shp (80,000 kW)

 

Propulsion:

 

4 × Parsons reduction steam turbines, Curtis cruising gears

4 × screws

 

Speed:32.7 kn (37.6 mph; 60.6 km/h)

Range:10,000 nmi (12,000 mi; 19,000 km) at 15 kn (17 mph; 28 km/h)

Capacity:1,500 short tons (1,400 t) fuel oil

Complement:116 officers 679 enlisted

Armament:

 

9 × 8 in (203 mm)/55 caliber guns (3x3)

4 × 5 in (127 mm)/25 caliber anti-aircraft guns

2 × 3-pounder 47 mm (1.9 in) saluting guns

6 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes

 

Armor:

 

Belt: 3–3 3⁄4 in (76–95 mm)

Deck: 1–2 in (25–51 mm)

Barbettes: 1 1⁄2 in (38 mm)

Turrets: 3⁄4–2 1⁄2 in (19–64 mm)

Conning Tower: 1 1⁄4 in (32 mm)

 

Aircraft carried:4 × Curtiss SOC Seagull scout-observation floatplanes

Aviation facilities:2 × Amidship catapults

General characteristics (1945)[2][3]

Armament:

 

9 × 8 in (203 mm)/55 caliber guns (3x3)

8 × 5 in (127 mm)/25 caliber anti-aircraft guns[4][citation needed]

2 × 3-pounder 47 mm (1.9 in) saluting guns

6 × quad 40 mm (1.6 in) Bofors guns

20 × 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon cannons

 

USS Augusta (CL/CA-31) was a Northampton-class cruiser of the United States Navy, notable for service as a headquarters ship during Operation Torch, Operation Overlord, Operation Dragoon, and for her occasional use as a presidential flagship carrying both Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman under wartime conditions (including at the Atlantic Charter). She was named after Augusta, Georgia,[1] and was sponsored by Miss Evelyn McDaniel of that city.

 

Construction

Launch of Augusta in Newport News, February 1, 1930. USS Houston is seen fitting out in the background.

 

Augusta, a "Treaty" cruiser of 10,000 tons normal displacement, was laid down on 2 July 1928 at Newport News, Virginia, by Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co.; launched on 1 February 1930, sponsored by Evelyn McDaniel of Augusta, Georgia; and commissioned at the Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia, on 30 January 1931, Captain James O. Richardson in command.[5] Originally classified as a light cruiser, CL-31, because of her thin armor. Effective 1 July 1931, Augusta was redesignated a heavy cruiser, CA-31, because of her 8-inch guns in accordance with the provisions of the London Naval Treaty of 1930.

Service history

 

Damage to one of her turbines curtailed the ship's original shakedown cruise, but Augusta conducted abbreviated initial training during a cruise to Colón, Panama, and back, before she was assigned duty as flagship for Commander, Scouting Force, Vice Admiral Arthur L. Willard, on 21 May 1931. During the summer of 1931, she operated with the other warships of Scouting Force, carrying out tactical exercises off the New England coast. In September, Augusta moved south to Chesapeake Bay, where she joined her colleagues in their normal fall gunnery drills until mid-November, when the cruisers retired to their home ports. Augusta entered the Norfolk Navy Yard at that time.[5]

 

At the beginning of 1932 she and the other cruisers of the Scouting Force reassembled in Hampton Roads, whence they departed on 8 January on their way to Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Augusta conducted training evolutions with the Scouting Force in the vicinity of Guantanamo Bay until 18 February, when the force headed for the Panama Canal on its way to the eastern Pacific to participate in Fleet Problem XIII. She arrived in San Pedro, California, on 7 March but returned to sea three days later to execute the fleet problem. During the maneuvers Augusta and her colleagues in Scouting Force squared off against Battle Force in defense of three simulated "atolls" located at widely separated points on the West Coast. The exercises afforded the Fleet training in strategic scouting and an opportunity to practice defending and attacking a convoy.[5]

 

The Fleet Problem ended on 18 March, but Augusta and the rest of Scouting Force did not return to the Atlantic at its conclusion as was normal. In a gesture that presaged Roosevelt's retention of the Fleet at Pearl Harbor in 1940 after Fleet Problem XXI, the Hoover Administration kept the Fleet concentrated on the West Coast throughout 1932 in the unrealized hope that it might restrain Japanese aggression in China. In fact, Scouting Force was still on the West Coast almost a year later when the time came for Fleet Problem XIV in February 1933, and the Roosevelt Administration, which took office in March, proceeded to keep it there indefinitely. Consequently, Augusta continued to operate in the eastern Pacific until relieved of duty as Scouting Force's flagship late in October 1933. The cruiser left the Navy Yard, Puget Sound, Washington, and sailed for China on 20 October.[5]

Asiatic Fleet

 

Steaming along the Northern Pacific "Great Circle" route from Seattle to Shanghai, Augusta moored in the Huangpu River, at Shanghai, on the morning of 9 November 1933. That afternoon, Admiral Frank B. Upham, Commander in Chief, Asiatic Fleet (CinCAF), broke his flag on board the newly arrived cruiser, and his old flagship, Houston, sailed for the United States.[5]

 

Soon after she broke Admiral Upham's flag and Houston sailed for home, Augusta proceeded south from Shanghai in December 1933, and, over the next few months, operated in the Philippines, interspersing training with her yearly overhaul at Cavite and Olongapo.[5]

 

That spring, Augusta returned to China waters, "showing the flag", and then steamed to Yokohama, Japan, arriving there on 4 June 1934. At 07:30 the following morning, Admiral Upham left the ship to attend the state funeral ceremonies for the late Fleet Admiral Heihachiro Togo; Augusta commenced firing 19 one-minute guns in honor of the Japanese naval hero at 08:30. Departing Yokohama with Admiral Upham embarked on 11 June, the cruiser then visited Kobe (12 to 15 June) before she proceeded to Tsingtao, arriving there on 17 June,[5] departing for Chinwangtao (Qinhuang Island) 10 September, departing for Chefoo 24 September, then departing for Shanghai 25 September, arriving 26 September.

 

Augusta remained in Chinese waters, then departed Shanghai for Guam on 5 October 1934, under command of Captain Chester W. Nimitz, arriving there on the 10th. Sailing the next day, she proceeded to Australian waters for the first time, reaching Sydney on the 20th. Total complement at this time was 824: 64 officers and 760 enlisted. She remained there a week, while Admiral Upham visited the capital of Australia, Canberra, on 25 and 26 October. With CinCAF back on board on the 26th, Augusta cleared Sydney the following day for Melbourne, arriving there on 29 October. She remained there, observing the city's centenary ceremonies, until 13 November, when she sailed for Fremantle and Perth. On 20 November she sailed for the Dutch East Indies.[5]

 

Augusta reached Batavia (now Jakarta) on 25 November and remained there until 3 December, when she sailed for Bali, arriving at the port of Lauban Amok on 5 December. Underway again on the 8th, Augusta touched at Sandakan (14 to 16 December), Zamboanga (17 to 19 December), and Iloilo (20 to 21 December), before reaching Manila on the 22nd.[5]

 

The heavy cruiser remained in the Philippine Islands, receiving her usual yearly overhaul at Cavite and drydocking at Olongapo, in Dewey, before she re-embarked Admiral Upham and sailed for Hong Kong on 15 March 1935. Arriving on the 16th, Augusta remained there until the 25th, while CinCAF was embarked in Isabel for a trip to Canton (17 to 20 March 1935). (The cruiser's draft did not permit her to make the passage up the Pearl River to Canton.) Augusta got underway again on the 25th for Amoy (now Xiamen) and stayed there from 26 to 29 March, before she proceeded thence to Shanghai, arriving at that port city on the last day of March.[5]

 

Augusta remained at Shanghai until 30 April, when she sailed for her second visit to Japan, reaching Yokohama on 3 May 1935. The ship remained there for two weeks. Steaming thence to Kobe, and arriving there on 18 May for a week's sojourn, Augusta sailed for China on 25 May, and reached Nanking, the Chinese capital, on the 29th.[5]

 

The flagship remained at Nanking until 4 June, then sailed for Shanghai, arriving the following day. "Augie Maru", as her crew had affectionately nicknamed her, stayed at Shanghai until 27 June, and sailed for North China, reaching Tsingtao on the 29th. She remained there, carrying out exercises and gunnery practice, for the rest of the summer.[5]

 

Augusta departed Tsingtao on 30 September for Shanghai, arriving on 1 October, where, four days later, Admiral Orin G. Murfin relieved Admiral Upham as CinCAF. On 8 October, with the new CinCAF embarked, Augusta departed Shanghai for points south. Admiral Murfin transferred to Isabel to visit Bangkok (15 to 22 October), while he returned to the heavy cruiser to visit Singapore (24 to 30 October). Subsequently touching at Pontianak and Jesselton on Borneo, (31 October to 1 November and from 3 to 5 November respectively), "Augie Maru" visited the southern Philippine ports of Zamboanga (6 to 8 November) and Iloilo (9 to 10 November), before she returned to Manila on 11 November 1935.[5]

 

While Augusta underwent her annual overhaul at Cavite and Olongapo, Admiral Murfin flew his flag in Isabel from 14 December 1935 to 27 February 1936. Soon afterwards the heavy cruiser, again having CinCAF on board, sailed for the a succession of Philippine ports and places: Catbalogan, Cebu, Tacloban, Davao, Dumanquilas, Zamboanga, Tutu Bay, Jolo, and Tawi Tawi, before the ship returned to Manila on 29 March.[5]

 

On 31 March Augusta sailed to Hong Kong, arriving on 2 April, remaining there until the 11th. During this time, Admiral Murfin embarked in Isabel for the trip up the Pearl River to Canton (6 to 8 April), returning on the latter date to reembark in his flagship to resume his voyage up the China coast. Visiting Amoy on 12 and 13 April, Augusta then paused briefly at Woosung on 16 April before proceeding up the Yangtze, reaching Nanking on the following day. While Augusta navigated down the Yangtze to the Huangpu River, and Shanghai, Admiral Murfin continued up the Yangtze to Hankow (Wuhan) in Isabel, flew to Ichang (Yichang), then in Panay to Crossing 22, and finally back to Hankow and Shanghai in Isabel, where he rejoined Augusta on 4 May.[5]

 

Augusta sailed for Japan on 21 May, for her third visit to that country, arriving at Yokohama on the 25th. The Asiatic Fleet flagship remained at that port until 5 June, when she sailed for Kobe, arriving there the following day. She remained in Japanese waters until 13 June, when she got underway for Tsingtao, arriving on the 16th.[5]

 

Augusta remained at Tsingtao, operating thence on exercises and training, for two months, then sailed for Chefoo, North China, on 17 August. Arriving the same day, she departed Chefoo on the 21st, and returned to Tsingtao, remaining there into mid-September.[5]

 

Underway for Chinwangtao, the port at the foot of the Great Wall of China, on 14 September, Augusta reached her destination on the 15th, where Admiral Murfin disembarked to visit the old imperial city of Peiping (Peking). Following his inspection of the Marine Corps legation guard at that city, CinCAF returned to Chinwangtao by train and reembarked in his flagship on 25 September. Underway from Chinwangtao on the 28th, Augusta visited Chefoo (28 September) before returning to Tsingtao on the following day, 29 September 1936.[5]

 

Augusta stood out of Tsingtao on the same day she arrived and reached Shanghai on 1 October. At the end of that month, on 30 October, Admiral Murfin was relieved as CinCAF by Admiral Harry E. Yarnell. Shortly afterwards, with her new CinCAF embarked, Augusta stood down the Huangpu River on 3 November 1936 on her annual southern cruise.[5]

 

Augusta again visited a succession of ports: Hong Kong (5 to 12 November), Singapore (16 to 23 November), Batavia (25 November to 1 December), Bali (4 to 7 December), Makassar (8 to 12 December), Tawi Tawi and Tutu Bay (14 December), Dumanquilas Bay (15 December), Zamboanga (15 to 16 December), and Cebu (17 December), before she returned to Manila on 19 December. Admiral Yarnell transferred his flag to Isabel on 2 January 1937, when Augusta entered Cavite Navy Yard for repairs and alterations that included the fitting of splinter protection around the machine gun positions at the foretop and atop the mainmast. The CinCAF used Isabel as his flagship through March, rejoining Augusta at Manila on 29 March 1937.[5]

 

Augusta remained in Philippine waters for the next several days, at Manila (29 March to 2 April) and Malampaya (on 3 and 4 April) before she returned to Manila on the 5th. Touching briefly at Port San Pio Quinto on 7 and 8 April, the Asiatic Fleet flagship sailed for Hong Kong on the 8th, arriving at the British Crown Colony the following day. Shifting his flag to Isabel for the trip to Canton(Guangzhou), Admiral Yarnell returned to Augusta on 13 April, and the heavy cruiser sailed for Swatow on the 18th. The ship visited that South China port on the 19th, and Amoy the following day, before the CinCAF shifted his flag again to Isabel for a brief trip to Pagoda Anchorage (21 to 22 April), rejoining the heavy cruiser on the 23rd.[5]

 

Augusta stood up the Huangpu River on 24 April and arrived at Shanghai that day, mooring just upstream from the city proper. She remained at Shanghai until 5 May, when she sailed for Nanking. The flagship remained at that Yangtze port from 6 May to 9 May before she got underway on the latter day for Kiukiang, further up the Yangtze. Shifting his flag to Isabel, Admiral Yarnell then visited Hankow (Wuhan)and Ichang (Yichang) in that ship, transferring thence on 22 May to Panay at Ichang for the voyage up the Yangtze through the gorges and rapids that lay above that port. After visiting Chungking (Chongqing), the CinCAF returned to Ichang in Wake (PR-3), where he rejoined Isabel for the trip to Hankow and Nanking. Admiral Yarnell eventually rejoined Augusta at Shanghai on 2 June 1937.[5]

 

Clearing Shanghai on 7 June, Augusta sailed for North China, and reached Chinwangtao (Qinhuang Island) on the 9th, where Admiral Yarnell disembarked with members of his staff to journey to Peking (Beijing) by rail, where the admiral would conduct the yearly CinCAF inspection of the legation guard. The admiral rejoined the cruiser at Chinwangtao (Qinhuang Island) on 22 June and the ship sailed for Chefoo (visiting that port on 24 and 25 June) and Tsingtao, arriving there on 26 June for the summer.[5]

 

Augusta was conducting her usual training from Tsingtao when events elsewhere in that region took a turn for the worse. Political relations between China and Japan had been strained for some time. The Chinese attitude toward the steady and unrelenting Japanese encroachment into North China in the wake of the 1931 seizure of Manchuria was stiffening. Chiang Kai-shek, China's leader, asserted that China had been pushed too far, and launched strenuous efforts to improve his nation's military posture.[5]

 

On the night of 7 July 1937 Japanese and Chinese units exchanged gunfire near the ornate Marco Polo Bridge in the outskirts of Peking (now Beijing). The incident quickly escalated into a state of hostilities in North China, with the Japanese taking Peking against little resistance by the end of July. Against this backdrop of ominous developments, Admiral Yarnell considered cancelling a goodwill visit to the Soviet port of Vladivostok, but was ordered to proceed.[5]

 

Keeping a wary eye on developments in China, Admiral Yarnell sailed for Vladivostok in Augusta on 24 July, accompanied by four destroyers. After passing through the edge of a typhoon, Augusta and her consorts reached that Soviet port on the 28th, and remained there until 1 August, the first United States naval vessels to visit that port since the closing of the naval radio station there in 1922. As Yarnell later wrote, "The visit of this force evidently has meant a great deal to these people", as both officers and men were lavishly entertained.[5]

 

Departing Vladivostok on 1 August, Augusta and the four destroyers sailed for Chinese waters, the latter returning to their base at Chefoo and Augusta returning to Tsingtao, where Admiral Yarnell continued to receive intelligence on the situation in North China and, as events developed around Shanghai, where increasing Chinese pressure on the comparatively small Japanese Special Naval Landing Force led to a build-up of Japanese naval units in the Huangpu River leading to that port. Hostilities commenced within days after the death of a Japanese lieutenant and his driver near a Chinese airfield on 9 August. With considerable American interests in the International Settlement of Shanghai, Admiral Yarnell deemed it best to sail there, on the morning of 13 August 1937, to make it his base of operations.[5]

 

Her passage slowed by a typhoon which caused the ship to reduce her speed to five knots (9 km/h) and which produced rolls of 30 degrees and washed away the port 26-foot (8 m) motor whaleboat and its davits, Augusta reached her destination the following day, and stood up the Huangpu River. En route to her moorings she passed many Japanese warships, principally light cruisers and destroyers, which duly rendered the prescribed passing honors to Augusta's embarked admiral.[5]

 

Meanwhile, at Shanghai proper, Chinese Air Force Northrop 2E light attack bomber aircraft had tried to bomb Japanese positions in their portion of the International Settlement; the bombs fell short and caused extensive damage and heavy loss of life in the neutral portion of the settlement. One plane which had retained its bombs proceeded down the Whangpoo and dropped two bombs which exploded in the water off Augusta's starboard bow. Large American flags were then painted on top of Augusta's three main battery gunhouses to identify her as neutral.[5]

 

On 18 August Augusta unmoored, moved further upstream, and moored off the Shanghai Bund, assisted by tugs. She remained there, in a prominent position off the famous "Bund", into January 1938, observing the Sino-Japanese hostilities at close range.[5]

 

Initially, there was the problem of evacuating Americans from the war zone. American merchantmen called at Shanghai to do so, passengers travelling downstream to waiting steamships on the Dollar Line tender guarded by sailors from Augusta's landing force. The flagship's Marine Detachment, meanwhile, went ashore to aid the 4th Marines in establishing defensive positions to keep hostilities out of the neutral enclaves. On 20 August 1937, while the flagship's crew gathered amidships on the well deck for the evening movies, a Chinese anti-aircraft shell landed among the sailors, killing Seaman 1st/Class F. J. Falgout and wounding 18 others.[6] Ten days later Chinese planes bombed the American Dollar Line SS President Hoover off the mouth of the Huangpu, with one death and several wounded. American ships ceased calling at Shanghai as a result, and Admiral Yarnell's attempts to get a division of heavy cruisers to carry out the evacuation met resistance from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.[5]

 

At Shanghai Augusta's officers and men could observe the war. Her moorings proved a good vantage point from which Americans could size up the Japanese Navy and judge how well its ships and planes operated, an opportunity not lost on Admiral Yarnell, who sent insightful intelligence reports back to Washington, striving to alert the United States Navy to the character and capabilities of the navy many regarded as the future enemy.[5]

 

On 12 December 1937 Japanese naval planes sank the US gunboat Panay and three Standard Oil tankers north of Nanking, in the Yangtze River. Soon afterwards the ship's survivors arrived at Shanghai in Panay's sister ship, Oahu, which moored alongside Augusta on the 19th. They spent Christmas with 'Augusta's crew.[5]

 

On 6 January 1938 Augusta departed Shanghai for the Philippines for her yearly overhaul. Admiral Yarnell, however, his presence in China deemed necessary to uphold American prestige in the Orient, remained in Shanghai with a token staff on board Isabel. He ultimately rejoined Augusta when she returned to Shanghai on 9 April 1938 after her overhaul.[5]

 

Proceeding north along the China coast, Augusta visited Tsingtao (12 May to 13 May) and Chefoo (14 May) before she arrived at Chinwangtao on 15 May. There, Admiral Yarnell disembarked and entrained for Tientsin and Peking, inspecting the Marine detachments in both places before ultimately returning to Chinwangtao to reembark in his flagship on 29 May. Proceeding thence via Chefoo, Augusta reached Shanghai on 6 June; the CinCAF transferred his flag to Isabel on 23 June, and sailed for Nanking and Wuhu, returning to Shanghai and Augusta on 27 June.[5]

 

Returning to Tsingtao on 3 July 1938, Augusta operated in North China waters, between Tsingtao and Chinwangtao, for the remainder of the summer and through early October. Sailing for Shanghai on 10 October, the cruiser arrived at her destination two days later, and remained there through Christmas. She sailed again for the Philippines on 27 December 1938; once again, Admiral Yarnell remained in Shanghai with his flag in Isabel.[5]

 

Following her yearly navy yard overhaul, and training in Philippine waters, Augusta visited Siam, French Indochina, and Singapore en route back to Shanghai, making port at her ultimate destination on 30 April 1939. Again flying Admiral Yarnell's flag, she lay at Shanghai until 8 June, when she got underway for Chinwangtao. Arriving there on 10 June,she touched at Chefoo (24 to 25 June) and Tsingtao (26 June to 16 July) before she sailed down to Shanghai, arriving on the 18th.[5]

 

On 25 July 1939 Admiral Thomas C. Hart relieved Admiral Yarnell as CinCAF. The heavy cruiser then sailed for North China port Tsingtao, on 2 August. She remained based there—and was moored there on the day war broke out in Europe with the German invasion of Poland—through late September 1939. During this period, the ship twice visited Shanghai (5 to 7 September and 15 to 19 September), and also visited Chinwangtao, Chefoo, and Peitaiho. Late in September, Admiral Hart disembarked at Chinwangtao and inspected the Marine detachments at Peking and Tientsin.[5]

 

Returning to Shanghai on 12 October, Augusta remained there through mid-November; during this time Admiral Hart shifted his flag to Isabel and proceeded up the Yangtze to Nanking on an inspection trip (3 to 7 November 1939). Sailing for the Philippines on 21 November, she visited Amoy en route (22 to 23 November 1939), and ultimately reached Manila on 25 November, remaining there through early March 1940.[5]

 

Augusta operated in the Philippines through early April, visiting Jolo and Tawi Tawi. Admiral Hart wore his flag in Isabel during March, for cruises to Cebu, Iligan, Parang, Zamboanga, and Jolo, rejoining Augusta at Jolo on 19 March. Transferring his flag back to Isabel at Tawi Tawi two days later, Admiral Hart cruised to Malampaya Sound, ultimately rejoining his flagship on 26 March at Manila. Augusta then sailed for Shanghai while Admiral Hart, who had again transferred his flag to Isabel on 13 April, visited Swatow and Amoy, ultimately rejoining Augusta and breaking his flag on board the cruiser on 22 April.[5]

 

Following a month at Shanghai, Augusta sailed for North China, visiting Chinwangtao (12 June) before beginning her cycle of training operations from Tsingtao soon afterwards. Augusta operated out of Tsingtao into late September. Circumstances requiring Admiral Hart on several occasions to visit Shanghai, he travelled once to Shanghai in Isabel and back in Augusta; to Shanghai in Porpoise and back to Tsingtao in Isabel; and one round trip to Shanghai and back in Marblehead. Augusta departed Tsingtao for the last time on 23 September, arriving at Shanghai on the 25th.[5]

 

Moving on to Manila, arriving there on 21 October, Augusta remained there into late November, to be relieved by her recently modernized sister ship Houston as Admiral Hart's flagship on 22 November 1940. Augusta sailed for the United States, clearing Manila Bay that same day.[5]

 

On 24 November 1940, she was ordered to search the waters north of the Hawaiian chain, to investigate reports of the activity of "Orange" (Japanese) tankers in the vicinity. At this point on her way back from the Asiatic station, the cruiser encountered bad weather—heavy swells and fresh-to-strong cross winds—that rendered searching by her aircraft "impracticable." As she neared the focal point of her search (35 degrees north latitude, 165 degrees west longitude), Augusta darkened ship and set condition III. As she passed between the two designated points on her search, she posted special lookouts from dawn to dark. Although the visibility varied between 8 to 15 miles (15 and 28 km), Augusta's Captain John H. Magruder, Jr., estimated that his ship had swept a belt approximately 25 miles (45 km) wide, maintaining radio silence until well clear of the area searched. "Weather conditions were such that fueling at sea in the area would not have been practicable", Captain Magruder reported later, alluding to the reason why his ship had been dispatched to those waters, "and submarine operations at periscope depth would have been difficult due to the danger of broaching."[5]

Refit

 

After reaching Long Beach on 10 December 1940, Augusta entered the Mare Island Navy Yard for a major refit. While Augusta had been serving as the Asiatic Fleet flagship, alterations of the type accomplished in her sister ships had been deferred until her return to the United States.[5]

 

During this overhaul, the ship received significant changes in her antiaircraft battery. Four additional 5 inch (127 mm) guns were mounted atop the aircraft hangar; splinter protection was fitted for the 5 inch (127 mm) guns on the hangar and on the boat deck; interim 3 inch (76 mm) antiaircraft guns were installed (ultimate armament fit called for a one-to-one replacement of these mounts with 1.1 inch (28 mm) guns); and Mark XIX directors were installed for the 5 inch (127 mm) guns. The placement of directors and rangefinders altered her silhouette, and a pedestal was fitted atop the foremast to receive a CXAM radar antenna when it became available.[5] Augusta was one of fourteen ships to receive the early RCA CXAM-1 radar.[7]

Atlantic Fleet

 

Departing Mare Island on 11 April 1941, Augusta, her configuration altered and repainted, sailed for San Pedro, remaining there over 12 and 13 April. She transited the Panama Canal four days later, reporting for duty with the Atlantic Fleet on 17 April. Departing the Canal Zone on the 19th, the heavy cruiser arrived at Newport, R.I., on 23 April. Admiral Ernest J. King, now Commander in Chief, Atlantic Fleet, returned from Washington, D.C., on 2 May and broke his flag in Augusta. The cruiser remained at Newport, serving as the administrative CINCLANT flagship (although Admiral King journeyed to Washington again during this time), through most of May, until she sailed for Bermuda on the 24th of that month. Reaching her destination on the 26th, she remained there only until the 28th, at which time she sailed for Newport once more.[5]

 

Augusta remained anchored at Narragansett Bay from 30 May to 23 June, when she sailed for the New York Navy Yard. She had been chosen for special duty, the inception of which had come in the developing personal relationship between US President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Prime Minister of the UK (since 1939 at war with Nazi Germany), Winston Churchill. The two leaders had sought a face-to-face meeting for some time, and Harry Hopkins (President Roosevelt's personal representative) had visited Churchill and sounded him out on the proposal as early as February 1941. The President had also discussed the idea with Admiral King earlier that spring. Original intentions had been to hold such a conference in June, but British disasters in Greece and at the Battle of Crete had forced a postponement until later in the summer.[5]

 

Augusta had been chosen to serve as the President's flagship as early as mid-June, shortly after Admiral King had visited Roosevelt in connection with the drafting of Western Hemisphere Defense Plan No. Four. On 16 June, the New York Navy Yard commandant was informed that Augusta would soon require an availability for the installation of her CXAM radar and 1.1 inch (28 mm) antiaircraft guns, "incident to possible future Presidential use and other urgent work." Details of the availability assignment, however, touched off a "little war" between the Bureau of Ships (BuShips) and CINCLANT. Since BuShips had no word concerning the President's plans, they issued orders to hold Augusta at New York Navy Yard for extended repairs. On 22 June, Admiral King informed BuShips, however, that alterations to the heavy cruiser "for possible use by the President were initiated by the Commander in Chief, Atlantic Fleet, after conversations with the President" and that the alteration should be limited to accomplish only "essential" items. Augusta remained in the yard at New York from 23 June to 2 July, after which time she resumed operations along the eastern seaboard, in waters off Hilton Head and Charleston, South Carolina (4 to 5 July), Hampton Roads (6 to 7 July) before she returned to Newport on 8 July. She remained there into August.[5]

 

During that time, details for the meeting between President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill were worked out and plans set in motion to bring it to pass. While Churchill was making the Atlantic crossing in the modern battleship Prince of Wales, the President was on his way; he departed Washington, D.C. at 1100 on 3 August for the Submarine Base at New London, Connecticut, where he embarked with his party on board the Presidential yacht Potomac, which, in company with her escort, Calypso, soon sailed for Appogansett Bay. At 2223 on 4 August Potomac anchored in Menemsha Bight, Vineyard Sound, Massachusetts, joining Augusta, which had already arrived. Tuscaloosa and five destroyers lay nearby.[5]

 

At 05:30 on 5 August, Potomac came alongside Augusta and moored, the President and his party embarking in the heavy cruiser at 0617. For security purposes, the President's flag remained in Potomac while she, accompanied by Calypso, transited the Cape Cod Canal to New England waters. A Secret Serviceman, approximating the President in size and affecting his mannerisms when visible from a distance, impersonated the President. Press releases issued daily from Potomac led all who read them to believe that "FDR" was embarked in his yacht on a pleasure cruise.[5]

 

Meanwhile, Augusta, accompanied by Tuscaloosa and their screening destroyers, stood out of Vineyard Sound at 0640, at 20 knots (37 km/h), passing the Nantucket Shoals Lightship at 1125. Increasing speed slightly during the night, the ships steamed on, darkened. Outside a brief two-hour period the following day, 6 August, when the formation encountered heavy fog which forced them to slow to 14 knots (26 km/h), the ships maintained a 20 to 21 knot (37 to 39 km/h) pace for the rest of the voyage to NS Argentia, Newfoundland. Ultimately, on the morning of 7 August 1941, Augusta and her consorts stood into Ship Harbour, Placentia Bay, and anchored to await Churchill's arrival.[5]

 

During the forenoon, the Chief Executive indulged in one of his favorite leisure activities, fishing, from Augusta's forecastle. Roosevelt "caught a large and ugly fish which could not be identified by name and which he directed be preserved and delivered to the Smithsonian Institute [sic] upon return to Washington." At 1335, the President left the ship in a whaleboat to fish in the nearby waters, taking with him members of his party and his son, Ensign Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr., USNR, an officer of Mayrant on temporary duty as his father's aide. Later, after a somewhat less than successful fishing expedition, the President inspected the waterfront and the base development at Argentia.[5]

FDR and Churchill on Augusta

 

On 9 August, Prime Minister Churchill arrived at Argentia aboard Prince of Wales, the arrival of the battleship being viewed by the President and his party; Churchill visited the President at 1100 that day, and lunched with him in his cabin. Admiral King entertained members of the respective staffs at a luncheon in his cabin. The heavy cruiser also embarked Harry Hopkins, who had come across from England on board Prince of Wales. The Prime Minister later dined with the President, and ultimately left Augusta at 2345.[5]

 

The following day, McDougal came alongside and embarked the President and his party, transporting them to Prince of Wales for divine services, an inspection of the battleship's topsides, and a luncheon. President Roosevelt again entertained the Prime Minister on board Augusta that evening. On 11 and 12 August, Prime Minister Churchill and members of his staff came on board the heavy cruiser for conferences with the President and his aides; from these discussions emerged the famed "Atlantic Charter." On the latter day, the final draft of the "Eight Points" of the charter was completed. With the meeting having been completed, President Roosevelt and his staff assembled on Augusta's quarterdeck at 1450 on 12 August to bid Prime Minister Churchill and his staff farewell. With the ship's guard and band paraded, the parting ended with the playing of God Save the King. A little over two hours later, Prince of Wales passed close aboard and rendered passing honors, after which the band stuck up Auld Lang Syne. Augusta then got under way in company with Tuscaloosa and their screening destroyers, en route to Blue Hill Bay, Maine, to rendezvous with Potomac and Calypso.[5]

 

The following day, a dense fog prompted the ships to reduce speed, and the President and the members of his staff rested, preparing for the transfer to the Potomac. The following morning, 14 August, off Cape Sable, Nova Scotia, President Roosevelt went on deck to witness the operations of the first aircraft escort vessel (later CVE), Long Island, the prototype of a ship type that the Chief Executive had avidly pushed toward development. Long Island launched three Brewster F2A-2 Buffalos by the catapult method and six Curtiss SOCs by conventional carrier takeoff. That afternoon on board Augusta, Admiral King hosted a farewell luncheon for the President.[5]

 

Augusta anchored at Blue Hill Bay at 1228 on 14 August, and Potomac moored alongside to commence the transfer of baggage and other gear, ultimately casting off at 1418 for passage to Rockland, Maine.[5]

 

Augusta returned to Narragansett Bay on 15 August, and remained there for ten days, putting into the New York Navy Yard soon afterwards. She returned to Newport on 29 August. Admiral King retained Augusta as his flagship through the autumn, while she operated between Newport and Bermuda. During this time, she also briefly embarked Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox.[5]

World War II

 

The day of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941, found Augusta moored at Buoy 7, Newport. From that day until the 11th, she operated out of Newport; she remained in port until 11 January 1942. During this time, on 5 January 1942. Rear Admiral Royal E. Ingersoll (one of Augusta's former commanding officers) relieved Admiral King as Commander in Chief, United States Atlantic Fleet.[5]

 

Augusta stood out of Newport on 12 January, en route to Casco Bay, Maine, via the Cape Cod Canal. She arrived the next day, and after conducting training exercises, returned to Newport. On 17 January, Rear Admiral Ingersoll shifted his flag from Augusta to Constellation.[5]

 

On 19 January, Augusta got underway for Bermuda, arriving two days later and joining Task Group (TG) 2.7. She operated with this unit when it proceeded to Martinique to conduct a "show offeree" between 22 February and 4 March, and returned to Shelley Bay, Bermuda, on 5 March.[5]

 

As part of TG 22.7—consisting of Ranger, Savannah, Wainwright, Lang, and Wilson—she stood out on 13 March to patrol the Caribbean. Hambleton and Emmons joined the formation on 15 March, and the following day, Augusta was detached and, with Hambleton and Emmons, steamed to New York. While on passage, Augusta sent Hambleton to investigate a dim flashing light abaft her starboard beam during a heavy storm on 18 March. The destroyer rescued six survivors of the stricken Honduran steamer Ciepa, and rejoined Emmons and Augusta after nightfall.[5]

 

Augusta made landfall at New York on 19 March, and the heavy cruiser underwent repairs and alterations until 7 April, when, along with Wilkes as escort, she sailed for Newport. The next morning, Wilkes was rammed by the steamer Davilla and was forced to proceed on one engine to Boston. Augusta steamed on alone to Casco Bay, arriving on 8 April. On 14 April, in company with Corry and Aaron Ward, she conducted experimental firings of turret guns against a drone simulating a torpedo plane approach, and returned to Casco Bay that night.[5]

 

Two days later, escorted by Macomb, she transited the Cape Cod Canal and touched at Newport. Joining Task Force (TF) 36 there, of which Ranger was flagship, the cruiser departed on 22 April for Trinidad. A minor collision between Hambleton and Ellyson, and frequent submarine scares, accented the voyage. Merrimack joined the task force on 28 April and fueled almost all of the ships, with Augusta's scout planes maintaining an air patrol during the dangerous fueling evolution. Ranger launched 68 Army Curtiss P-40s on 10 May, the planes bound for Accra, on Africa's Gold Coast, where all landed safely.[5]

 

The formation arrived at Trinidad on 21 May, where Augusta fueled before putting to sea with the task force the next day bound for Newport. On 26 May, Augusta and Corry were detached and proceeded together to Hampton Roads, anchoring there on 28 May. Two days later, Rear Admiral Alexander Sharp hoisted his flag on board Augusta and assumed command of TF 22. With Corry and Forrest as escorts, the heavy cruiser sailed on 31 May for Newport, arriving on 1 June and leaving the next day with Corn for calibration of radio direction finders in waters west of Brenton Reef Lightship. Ranger joined the two ships the same day and all proceeded to Argentia, Newfoundland, arriving there on 5 June. With Ellyson and Corn, she formed an anti-submarine screen off Argentia on 17 and 18 June, and two days later joined TF 22 steaming through heavy fogs to Newport, mooring on 22 June.[5]

 

Augusta sailed south to New York for overhaul, arriving on 24 June. Completing repairs by 29 June, Augusta moved to Newport the following day, and on 1 July sortied with TF 22 for the Gulf of Paria, Trinidad, and arrived on 6 July. The formation departed two days later, Ranger completing her second ferry mission with Army aircraft, launching 72 Army planes off the coast of West Africa. Another reinforcement successfully accomplished, the task force reached Trinidad on 30 July.[5]

 

The heavy cruiser then proceeded to Norfolk, and moored there on 5 August for limited availability. On 18 August, she conducted short range battle practice and night spotting exercises in Chesapeake Bay, and training continued until Augusta sortied with Ranger, Corry, Hobson and Fitch on 23 August, arriving at Newport two days later and returning to Norfolk with Corry on the last day of August. The task group also carried out gunnery training, shore bombardment, and antiaircraft defense exercises off the Virginia Capes from 7 to 11 September, and further training between 28 September and 1 October in Chesapeake Bay.[5]

 

On 23 October 1942, Rear Admiral H. Kent Hewitt came on board Augusta and broke his flag as Commander, TF 34. Major General George S. Patton and Rear Admiral John L. Hall, Jr. also came on board the same day for passage to North Africa. Augusta stood out on 24 October with TF 34, steaming for French Morocco and participation in Operation "Torch."[5]

Operation Torch

General Patton with Admiral Hewitt aboard Augusta off the coast of North Africa.

 

With the initial element of surprise, at 0000 GMT on 8 November 1942, Augusta, under Admiral Henry Kent Hewitt, reached the shores off Casablanca and the Task Force commenced disembarking the invasion troops under the command of General Patton who, at the time, was directing the assault from Augusta. The ship's war diary contains the following entry for that morning's Naval Battle of Casablanca:

 

"The landing of our boats was heavily opposed by both shore installations and French troops and at 0617 the order to "Play Ball" was received – this meant that we were to carry out our Attack Plan and destroy to the best of our ability all resistance encountered."

 

At 0700 in Casablanca Harbor, five Vichy French submarines were preparing to stand out of the harbor to go on patrol. Merchantmen were beginning to load and unload their cargos, and on board the cruisers and destroyers the crews were at work scrubbing decks.

 

At 0730, Ranger launched her first strike of bombers with Grumman F4F Wildcat escorts. Ten minutes later they were intercepted by French fighters, and in a dogfight five American and seven French planes were shot down.

 

At 0804, as Ranger's bombers were releasing their loads, Massachusetts opened up with salvoes of her 16 inch guns on Casablanca's quays and ships. In the commercial harbor ten cargo and passenger ships were sunk in 10 minutes, 40 crew killed and 60 wounded. Alongside the breakwater three Vichy submarines went down at their moorings. El Hank and Oukacha returned fire along with the battleship Jean Bart, which only had one operating turret. Wreckage hurled aboard from the quayside landed down on the turret.

 

At 0900, the Vichy 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron under Rear-Admiral Gervais de Lafond raised sufficient steam to put to sea to head for Fedala. As his flagship Primauguet was undergoing minor engine repair, de Lafond hoisted his flag in the destroyer Milan. He steamed northwards at full speed hoping that the smoke and rising sun would blind the American naval forces. At 0920, Wildcats from Ranger strafed her decks. Every man on bridge, including Lafond, was wounded. The Vichy Boulonnais, was severely damaged. The commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander Martinant de Preneuf, was killed on Albatross. The Brestois' anti-aircraft battery was put out of action.

 

Primauguet was now off Fedala within range of Augusta, Brooklyn to the north and Massachusetts, Tuscaloosa and Wichita from the northeast. The first Vichy ship to sink was Fougueux, which was struck by shells from Massachusetts and Tuscaloosa. Milan, with her bow shattered and forward turret wrecked, beached. Boulonnais after being hit by eight 16-inch rounds while she was carrying out a torpedo run, turned turtle, and sunk with all hands. Primauguet, holed below her water line and with half of her engine room crew dead, dropped anchor near Milan. Brestois and Frondeur got back to harbor but capsized during the night. Finally, the destroyer Alcyon left harbor for survivors but was attacked by bombers and navy guns when she cleared the Casablanca breakwater. Albatross and Primauguet were hit again while trying to transfer 100 dead and 200 wounded.

 

For the next three days the Augusta was engaged in protecting the transport ships and the invasion troops, and combating enemy naval and coastal resistance. On 10 November 1942 the Augusta helped turn back the French units sortieing from Casablanca who were attempting to disrupt the landings. The ship's scout observation planes played an active role in spotting the accuracy of gun splashes from ship's gunfire against the enemy ships and coastal batteries. The Augusta was straddled by shells from Jean Bart, which had been earlier mistakenly reported to Hewitt to have been out of commission. Jean Bart was subsequently put out of action by return ship and carrier plane bombardment.

 

The invasion was successful and the ship and crew had the good fortune of being able to celebrate Thanksgiving Day 1942 with a special dinner with cuisine a la North Africa.

 

"In its five engagements, one against a shore battery and four against enemy naval forces, the ship rendered a good account of itself and contributed in a large degree to the final defeat of the opposing forces and the establishing of a second front, in North Africa. In the course of each engagement the ship was subjected to accurate and heavy fire by the opposing forces. And yet, although bracketed many times by the projectiles of the enemy, the ship miraculously escaped without damage to herself or injury to the crew. It should be apparent to all that consistent escape from harm was due not alone to skill, or to good luck, but unquestionably to the intervention of divine providence."

Morocco and Atlantic Duties

 

Arriving off Fedhala, French Morocco, on 7 November, Augusta went into general quarters at 2200. During the predawn hours of 8 November, the initial landings met with stiff opposition. At 0630, Augusta catapulted two Curtiss SOC scouting planes aloft, and at 0710, opened fire with her 8 inch (203 mm) guns at shore batteries. The nearby Brooklyn supported Augusta's barrage, dodging near misses from enemy guns. A brief lull at 0730 permitted Augusta to launch her remaining two Curtiss SOC Seagulls, but 10 minutes later the enemy guns opened up again; several near misses fell within 50 to 100 yards of Augusta, the whistle of oncoming shells plainly audible to those on her bridge.[5]

 

Augusta shortly left at flank speed to intercept an enemy force of two light cruisers and four destroyers north of Casablanca. Closing the range at 0915, Augusta opened fire with her 8 inch (203 mm) battery on one enemy cruiser, barring the Vichy ships' passage and turning them back into Casablanca harbor by 0950. Augusta returned to her station to assist Brooklyn, firing on shore batteries. In the sortie of French ships from Casablanca harbor, destroyers Brestois and Boulonnais attempted a torpedo attack on Augusta and Brooklyn. Augusta's main battery gunfire sank the latter, and forced the other away in a damaged condition; she sank later that day. Other Vichy ships attempting to escape were forced back into the harbor by 1122, and firing ceased for a time. Around noon, Augusta turned back Primauguet's attempt to sortie, scoring an 8 inch (203 mm) hit on the French ship's turret 3. Vichy ships tried to sortie at 1305, only to be blocked and forced to retreat by 1350.[5]

 

Augusta spent the following day, 9 November, patrolling south and southwest of the transport area off Casablanca, and continued that patrol through 10 November. At 1135 on that day, she opened fire with her 8 inch (203 mm) guns on an enemy destroyer, straddling her and forcing her to retreat. Ten minutes later, Augusta was unexpectedly taken under fire by Jean Bart, reportedly "gutted by fire" and harmless. Geysers of water from near-misses erupted about Augusta and drenched the cruiser with yellow-dyed spray, but American carrier planes bombed Jean Bart later in the day and silenced her for the remainder of the campaign.[5]

 

A cease-fire agreement was signed by Allied forces with the French on 11 November, bringing the operation to an end, and opening Morocco to the Allies. Augusta departed on 20 November with TF 34, her part in the operation over. She touched at Bermuda on 26 November en route to Norfolk, arriving at the latter port four days later. There, Rear Admiral H. K. Hewitt left the ship, and TF 34 was dissolved. Augusta stood out of Norfolk on 9 December for extended overhaul at New York, during which time her antiaircraft battery was significantly improved. That period of yard work completed, Augusta proceeded to Newport, anchoring there on 15 February 1943.[5]

 

Refresher training took Augusta to Casco Bay two days later. She conducted air operations with her four scouting planes off the coast of Maine, and on 24 March conducted experimental fragmentation test shots, operating with Ranger on 26 to 28 March. She concluded that part of her training with night illumination exercises on 30 March and night battle practice the next day.[5]

 

Augusta stood out on 2 April with TF 22, flagship Ranger joining the formation on 4 April, and arrived at Little Placentia Harbor, Argentia, on 5 April. From 13 to 18 April, the heavy cruiser operated with Ranger, carried out antiaircraft practice on 22 April, and conducted flight operations with her own planes from 30 April to 1 May.[5]

 

In company with TG 21.7, Augusta sailed on 6 May, under orders to escort RMS Queen Mary to New York. Augusta rendezvoused with the huge liner on 9 May, and after seeing her safely into the swept channel, moored at New York on 11 May. Her mission accomplished, the heavy cruiser returned to Argentia with her task group, arriving on 17 May, and engaged in further local operations through June.[5]

 

Augusta closed TF 68 on 20 July and began escorting Convoy AT 54A across the submarine-infested Atlantic to the Clyde. After an uneventful passage, the convoy arrived at Greenock, Scotland, on 26 July, and Augusta continued as escort on the return voyage, relinquishing command as the convoy neared American waters, and proceeding with Hilary P. Jones to Argentia, arriving on 8 August. She left the next day with Hilary P. Jones for Halifax, Nova Scotia, to rejoin TF 22, reported for duty on 10 August, and departed on 11 August for Scapa Flow, in Orkney. The British Admiralty assumed operational control of the task force, renaming it TG 112.1, as the ships neared Scotland. Augusta moored at Scapa Flow on 19 August, reporting to the British Home Fleet the same day.[5]

 

Augusta operated with units of the Home Fleet on 23 August and departed with London for Hvalfjörður, Iceland, arriving the next day. She acted as covering force for training exercises with London and Impulsive off Iceland from 2 to 10 October, and conducted gunnery training off Eyjafjörður, Iceland on 19 October.[5]

 

While returning to Scapa Flow, Augusta fired on a passing German Junkers Ju 88 bomber at 1139 on 27 October, firing 14 rounds from her 5 inch (127 mm) battery until the plane passed out of range. She moored at Scapa Flow on 31 October, proceeding to Greenock two days later, and returned to Scapa Flow on 7 November.[5]

 

On 22 November, she got underway with Ranger and other ships of the task force for Hvalfjörður, arriving two days later. Operational control passed to the United States Navy on 26 November when TF 68 stood out for Boston, Augusta mooring there on 3 December 1943. She remained there, undergoing repairs and alterations through the end of the year.[5]

 

Repairs completed, Augusta departed Boston on 29 January 1944 and steamed to Casco Bay for post-overhaul training exercises. She participated in bombardment, radar, illumination, and tactical exercises with TF 22 off Maine, until steaming to Boston on 7 April for limited availability.[5]

 

She left President Roads, Boston, and rendezvoused with convoy UT 11 the next day. However, she was soon detached from the convoy and escorted by Earle across the Atlantic to Belfast, Northern Ireland. Arriving on 15 April, she steamed thence to Plymouth, England, on 17 April. There, Rear Admiral Alan G. Kirk, Commander, TF 122, came on board on 25 April and broke his flag. At 1300 on 25 May, King George VI of the United Kingdom came on board to lunch with Admiral Kirk, and departed the same day.[5]

Normandy

Senior officers aboard Augusta during the Normandy Invasion. General Omar Bradley is the second man from the left.

 

In June, Augusta took part in the Normandy invasion, standing out of Plymouth on 5 June with Lieutenant General Omar Bradley, USA, and his staff, embarked. Closing the shore on 6 June, the heavy cruiser commenced firing at 0618, hurling 51 rounds from her main battery at shore installations. VOS-7, a U.S Navy Spotter Squadron flying Supermarine Spitfire VBs and Supermarine Seafire IIIs, was one of the units which provided targeting coordinates and fire control.[8] On 10 June General Bradley and his staff left the heavy cruiser to establish headquarters ashore. Augusta was bombed at 0357 on 11 June, but escaped damage as the bomb exploded 800 yards (730 m) off her port beam. The following day, anchored as before off Omaha Beach, she fired eight 5 inch (127 mm) rounds at an enemy plane at 2343, driving it off. On 13 June at 0352 she sent 21 rounds of 5 inch (127 mm) at a German plane, and shot it down. Augusta drove off other aircraft and bombarded the shore with her heavy guns on 15 June, and provided antiaircraft defense to the forces off Normandy on 18 June. The next day, while underway to shift berths, she lost a man overboard when he was swept overboard by heavy seas.[5]

 

Rear Admiral Kirk shifted his flag to Thompson on 1 July, and Augusta got underway the same day for Plymouth, mooring there on 2 July. Four days later, in company with TG 120.6, she departed for Mers el Kebir, Algeria, arriving there on 10 July, only to leave two days later with Hambleton for Palermo, Sicily. She moored at that port on 14 July and reported to TF 86 for duty. Rear Admiral Lyal A. Davidson came on board and broke his flag the same day, and Augusta stood out with Macomb and Hambleton for Naples, arriving the next day. She carried out shore bombardment exercises on 23 July.[5]

 

She returned to Palermo on 27 July and steamed to Naples the following day. She continued her training until 12 August, when as flagship for TF 86, she carried Brigadier General Benjamin W. Chidlaw, USA, to Propriano, Corsica, arriving the following day.[5]

 

On 14 August, the heavy cruiser departed the Golfe de Valinco at 1030 for Ile du Levant, southern France and the beginning of Operation "Dragoon". Augusta arrived at 2155 at the staging area, joining the Sitka Assault Group. On the morning of 15 August, Augusta trained her main battery against targets on Port Cros Island, and fired nine rounds. At 1125, she sent six.

 

Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal came on board at 2023 for an official visit with Admiral Davidson.[5]

 

The next day, Augusta patrolled the Sitka Assault Area and Secretary Forrestal left her at 0850. The heavy cruiser fired 63 more rounds at the fort on Port Cros Island to soften it up. On 17 August, she patrolled with Omaha and poured 138 rounds from her 8 inch (203 mm) battery into the island fort, which surrendered that day. The following day, General Chidlaw left the ship to establish his headquarters on shore, and Augusta turned her fire on the remaining coastal defense batteries. She departed on 19 August for a reconnaissance-in-force of St. Mandrier Island off Toulon, France, where the battery known as "Big Willie" was located, bombarding shore installations, and returning to the Sitka Assault Area the same day. The Golfe Hotel, Hyeres, France, was nearly leveled by 114 rounds from Augusta on 20 August. Toulon and Marseilles surrendered eight days later. On 29 August, a landing party drawn from the Marine detachments from Augusta and Philadelphia went ashore on the islands of Ratonneau and Chateau d'If in the harbor of Marseilles and accepted the surrender of German forces on those islands, taking 730 prisoners.[5]

 

In support of "Dragoon", Augusta had fired over 700 rounds of 8 inch (203 mm) projectiles, and had materially aided invading Allied forces. She steamed to the Gulf of San Tropez, France, on 30 August, where Admiral Davidson shifted his flag to Philadelphia, and Augusta was detached from TF 86.[5]

 

On 1 September, the heavy cruiser sailed via Propriano to Naples, where she joined Cruiser Division (CruDiv) 7. After calling at Oran, Algeria, on 6 September, Augusta, in company with Tuscaloosa, Fitch, and Murphy, stood out, bound for Philadelphia and an extensive overhaul.[5] While undergoing these repairs and alterations, Augusta suffered an explosion of unknown origin on 20 November in her ice machine room, which killed three-yard workers and injured four crew members.

 

Her overhaul completed, Augusta departed Boston on 26 January 1945 with Rhind and Bainbridge, bound for Trinidad, tested her guns en route, and arrived on 31 January. In the first week of February, she conducted refresher training in the Gulf of Paria, Trinidad, polishing up on gunnery, night battle, radar, and antiaircraft techniques. She steamed to San Juan, Puerto Rico, calling there on 9 February. Sailing for the United States on 21 February, Augusta, along with Tillman, Herndon, and Satterlee, rendezvoused with Quincy and her screen on 24 February as that cruiser steamed back to the United States with President Roosevelt embarked, following the Yalta Conference.[5]

 

After Augusta and her screen had covered the approach of the President to Hampton Roads, she underwent minor emergency repairs, remaining at Norfolk until 7 March when she steamed to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, arriving there three days later. She trained off Trinidad and Curaçao until 7 April, when Chicago joined her.[5]

 

Augusta returned to Norfolk on 10 April, and on 14 April, in accordance with orders from the Secretary of the Navy, half-masted her colors for a period of one month in honor of the late President Roosevelt. After a brief call at Annapolis, Maryland, she sailed north to Newport on 22 April to train 11 officers and 300 men from Columbus on a cruise. The ship conducted antiaircraft defense and other exercises in Long Island Sound until 27 April when she returned to Newport and disembarked the trainees.[5]

President Harry S. Truman tours Augusta, the ship that will take him to Europe to attend the Potsdam Conference in Germany. He and Commander C. L. Freeman are in the wardroom. (National Archives and Records Administration)

 

Three days later, Augusta sailed for New York, and arrived there on 1 May. On 7 May, in company with Decatur, she headed for Casco Bay, where the end of the war in Europe found her, and returned to New York on 2 June. On the 13th, Augusta got underway to proceed back to Norfolk. She then conducted further training exercises in Chesapeake Bay until 7 July, when President Harry S. Truman, Secretary of State James F. Byrnes, and Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy boarded her, and she stood out for Antwerp, Belgium, to carry her distinguished passengers on the first leg of their voyage to the Potsdam Conference. Met by a British escort, Augusta arrived on 14 July, and received dignitaries, including General Eisenhower. Her guests departed the same day, and Augusta got underway to proceed to Plymouth, arriving there on 28 July.[5]

 

On 2 August, she embarked her distinguished passengers again, and received another visit from King George VI. Harry Truman was on the ship when he got the news that Hiroshima had been bombed by an atomic bomb. The ship then sailed for the United States, arriving at Newport on 7 August to disembark the President. A week later she moored in Casco bay. After carrying out training at Baltimore, Maryland, she arrived at Norfolk on 11 September, and conducted exercises off the Virginia Capes until steaming to Casco Bay again on 5 October for temporary duty under the direction of Commander, Operational Training Command, Atlantic, Commander TF 69. She then proceeded to New York, and participated in Navy Day observances on 27 October at New York City, where President Truman reviewed the fleet. Open to the public from 25 to 30 October, Augusta hosted 23,362 visitors.[5]

Postwar

 

On 31 October, Augusta moored at the New York Naval Shipyard, to be modified for "Magic Carpet" operations, bringing home American servicemen from Europe. She performed this duty through the end of the year 1945. On 16 July 1946, Augusta was ultimate

Some more new pictures from a relatively old model, due to public interest.

 

This is a kit conversion of Bandai's ARL-99B "Helldiver" kit. I found the idea of a military Labor in JGSDF use pretty conclusive, so I cooked up this close relative as a pure ground use Labor. So, the "Raijin" has become a light and highly mobile army support Labor for the Japanese Army during the Millennium era, its use would be observation/scouting, support for light/mobile ground troops and tasks which would call for high mobility and secrecy, e .g. as an enemy Labor/tank sniper...

 

The basic Helldiver frame was kept, but the conversion includes a different head and cockpit arrangement, as well as "normal" legs - the air brakes from the ARL-99B have been "closed", the holes PSRed away. I also added hand-held armament: a single-action anti-labor rifle for sniping purposes (a converted piece from a 1:144 Gundam RX-79) and a kind of machine pistol (from the same donor kit), kept in a hip holster, but detachable.

 

The 3-color camouflage scheme was inspired by JASDF fighter paint schemes - the SEA-style scheme used on RF-4E Phantom II's and F-1 fighters. I just got the colors VERY wrong - at the time I built this model, I just had a few print pictures of such aircraft, and I ended up with Humbrol 66, 98 and 121 as basic colors, the brown and green ended up much too dark. This looks a bit wacky, esp. for Japan, but when the model is placed into typical Japanese mountaineous landscape or into a forest setting, it fits surprisingly well!

 

The diorama was built on a 8x8" base and includes some rocks (made from plaster and water-based paint), a small pond in the front and a tree that is to remind of a mountain pine. I based the sloped ground on pictures from Japanese mountain sites.

Portrait of a pied-billed grebe rising on the water to shake its feather

'HELLDIVERS - COSPLAY BY ALAN' - 'CHESTERFIELD COMIC-CON' - 'UNLEASHED EVENTS' - 23rd FEB 2025 - NIKON D5600 With NIKKOR 18-105

Concourse A in Chicago's Midway Airport. I always enjoy seeing this airplane.

 

The Douglas SBD Dauntless was a naval dive bomber made by Douglas during World War II. The SBD was the United States Navy's main dive bomber from mid-1940 until late 1943, when it was largely replaced by the SB2C Helldiver. The aircraft was also operated by the United States Army as the A-24 Banshee.

 

Although relatively slow and outmoded when it began its combat career, it was rugged and dependable and sank more Japanese shipping than any other aircraft during World War II.

 

The SBD's most important contribution to the American war effort probably came during the Battle of Midway in early June 1942, when SBD dive bomber attacks sank or fatally damaged all four of the Japanese aircraft carriers, three of them in the space of just six minutes (Akagi, Kaga, Sōryū, and later in the day Hiryū) as well as heavily damaging two Japanese cruisers (including Mikuma).

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_SBD_Dauntless

Available Here: endlesscanvas.bigcartel.com/product/endless-canvas-6-the-...

 

AVOID SHIPPING: Come pick one up from us in person this Friday August 2nd, 2013. We will be tabling at the art walk from 6pm-8:30pm at 23rd Street and Telegraph Avenue in Oakland.

 

We've really stepped up our quality with this issue. We've added some color, added a couple editors to improve the quality of the interview and changed the binding so that it's book quality... built to last!

 

This issue's featured artist is Pemex. It includes an interview and a four page full color spread of his street work.

 

The majority of the photos were taken between the Summer of 2011 and the Winter of 2013 in the Oakland / San Francisco Bay Area.

 

ARTISTS IN THIS ISSUE:

Anemal, Irot, Torso, Crab, Cancer Carl, Lekt, Myla, Lady Mags, JR, Dead Eyes, Trust Your Struggle, Leach, Logo, Koleo, Digit, Kamo, Carb, Grief, Kama, Devote, Enron, Ohioe, OddFellow, Wire, Swerv, Lute, GATS, Pink Eyes, Reminisce, Phaze, Ribity, Vyal, Eggs, Jdog, Pear, Afrika, Euros, Cheph, Goya, Cloud, Psy, Sager, M4M, DyoungV, Destroy All Design, Rodi, Wrane, Ernest Doty, Pork, Chris Granillo, Bella Ciao, Krime, Bhoe, Pemex, Saze, Toro, Chan, Blief, Condor, DieSlow, Roar, Thor, Debl, MYTK, Swampy, You Go Girl, Remio, Paeday, Masher, Attica Riot, Tupac, Meck, Jade, Gun, Civ, PTV, Ebay, Mike, Marte, Aker, Mind Detergent, Hafta, Pobrecito, Optimist, Resta, Stok, Renek, Ghost Owl, Baer, Fword, Ank, Skul, Jurne, Broke, Safety First, Grizley, Oger, Dstn, Daver, Old Crow, HellDiver, Ras Terms, Swoon, Oasis, Party Ghost, Feral Child, Scez and more.

 

SPECS:

 

- Limited Run of 500

- 5.5" x 8.5" Inches

- Glossy Color Cover

- 66 Pages

- 4 Pages Full Color

- 62 Pages Black and White

- Perfect Bound

- Printed in Oakland

- Recycled Paper

- Animal-Free Binding

Rebrickable link for the instructions rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-189095/Computer_073/helldivers-2...

 

This is installment 2 of the Oceana 2012 Airshow. This years weather was finally good. I hope you all enjoy the pictures.

Hey guys, Jack here again, and this time I'm here with my LEGO MOC of a Curtiss SBC Helldiver.

 

Not to be confused with the SB2C Helldiver of World War II, a monoplane that also manufactured by Curtiss, the SBC Helldiver was a lesser-known, but still notable piece of military aviation history. Its coming-to-be, in addition, was very interesting indeed. This biplane-divebomber was initially supposed to be a fighter, with retractable undercarriage and a singular, foldable parasol wing -- as requested by the Navy in 1932, needing a storable, quick and versatile aircraft to be deployed on carriers and such. However, the prototype fighter built (designated XF12C-1) ran into many complications, resulting in multiple swap-outs of engines, in an attempt to give the airframe adequate thrust. In addition, the parasol wing failed to pass dive bombing tests. In the end, the final Helldiver would not see introduction until 1938, and not without numerous revisions either. Curtiss attempted to redesign and recategorize their monoplane to save the project, but eventually in 1935 put in a proposal to the U.S. Navy to turn the aircraft into a Scout Bomber biplane. Though competing with new, tough competitors such as Grumman and Great Lakes Aircraft, also submitting designs to fulfill this role, Curtiss was soon given the green light by the Navy. The monoplane was thus converted into a biplane, featuring improved divebombing characteristics, reworked retractable forward gear, and an improved engine (after numerous swap-outs through various prototypes). This SBC Helldiver(as it was designated) was crewed by two (the pilot seated up front and the radio operator/gunner at the aft of the new, tandem canopy) and, though the wings did not stow, was finally introduced in 1938 on various Naval bases and carriers. After Pearl Harbor though, many of these Naval bases and carriers started replacing their SBCs with Douglas SBD Dauntlesses. This was also true of Marine Corps units who had them. In the end, these aircraft saw action in the early war ears only through limited observational purposes, and the last of them were retired in 1943.

 

The model itself features functioning forward landing gear, space for a minifigure in the pilot position, and slight dihedral on the lower wings (as there should be). This was my first biplane in a while, so I hope you guys like it! Comments, faves, and constructive criticisms, as always, are highly appreciated!

Pied-billed grebe presenting its fluffy butt

 

Hermitage Park, Edmonton, AB, Canada

June 5, 2011