The Ship Model Forum

Of course the 1.1" on Whitehurst was replaced with the more effective quad Bofors, but cooling water was still needed. Generally various deck cargo, drums and other non essentials, were stripped if a serious combat mission was in the offing. Ships in the amphibious force sometimes had combustable and flammable materials on racks allowing a quick jettison overboard. The DE's were fitted with dual quad smoke generators which also were releasable overboard. On the APA there were drums of oil for the smoke units stored nearby, possibly the tank contained oil for the smoke generators? Did Fletchers have reserve smoke oil available?

I do notice in post war photos when the smoke generators were removed that the oil tank is no longer present. In the clearest photo when the quad Bpfors was removed (mid 60's) that the tank is not present, so possibly associated with either equipment?

Perhaps Rick E Davis knows? Photos and dimensions of the sound domes used on the Buckley TE DE's? Same units as used on the Fletchers? A small and not easily visible item on a model, but I would like to accurately reproduce this. I also have not as yet come across info on the various hull openings.

Interesting the above photo shows a torpedo cart stowed aft of the deck house.

Cheers: Tom

Maybe I know which topic? The oil tank --- No, need drawings and research at NARA.

The sonar installed on BUCKLEY class DE's --- which unit? I don't have a database on Sonars installed on DE's, at least nothing that is complete. To date, the only DE I have studied and looked at drawings of, has been the EDSALL class OTTERSTETTER (DE-244). That unit because my uncle served on her in WWII. I made digital images copies of a 1943 BGP for OTTERSTETTER, but like many BGP's during early WWII, the sonar isn't shown or called out.

During WWII, there was a steady production stream of sonar systems that were upgrades/improvements (more power, etc) over the previous system being installed. Pre-war and into the first few months of the "active" war, destroyers were scheduled to have TWO sonars installed at frame 25, one on either side of the keel. But, once the war started and it was realized that a LARGE number of ASW equipped vessels were required and that the production of the specialized crystals required for sonars to work was the bottleneck, destroyers were directed to install only one system (portside). Besides DE's just entering production, types like minesweepers, etc that could fill the ASW escort gap in 1942, also needed sonars. There were a bunch of different systems in production (various systems classified as QCA/B/J/L/etc) and as I said, which sonar was installed depended on when a particular unit was completed and/or an upgrade done.

Some units got RN inspired retractable domes and transducers. Other sonar systems simply had a fixed dome over the transducer.

Bottomline, I have no idea of which sonar systems were installed across the DE fleet, much less for individual units. I guess using a typical QCJ/QCL dome as used on FLETCHER's is as good a guess as any. I have scanned pages of Weekly Overhaul Reports, which in some cases list which sonar system was installed. But, going through all those pages is a crap shoot, since I was focused on destroyers and not DE's (except DE-244). Late war, one of the newest and latest RETRACTABLE TRANSDUCER and DOME type sonars would have been installed in DE's.

Rick:

Thank you for the reply. An interesting sidelight on the crystal bottleneck, such were considerations in a maximum industrial mobilization where what was available was ofter the determining factor. This was the reason for the TE's as reduction gearing production was another such bottleneck. It was the same reason many CVE's used triple expansion Uniflow reciprocating engines.

Until some relevant material might show up (ha) I'll go with a Fletcher unit.

Thanks again for the clarification of the complexity. Tom

As I stated, there were multiple sonar systems produced during WWII and models were constantly being upgraded. WHICH sonar and dome was installed are dependent on WHICH Destroyer Escort is being modeled and when it was built. Fixed domes were the norm earlier in the war (however several Old Flush-Deckers had RN retractable dome sonars installed until a USN 'Standard" was available ... that had a tendency to FALL off the destroyer) and stated so until more capable retractable transducer and dome sonars were available in late 1944. You ask which of two domes used --- which of probably a dozen different domes are you referring to? There were at least TWO different domes associated with two different Retractable Transducer-Domes being installed late in WWII on FLETCHER's. The early fixed sonar domes were "Budd-Type", but other improved domes were made to roughly the same dimensions.

I have not studied DE sonars installed. The research needed involves going through a huge number of boxes at NARA. It took me years to get through the boxes for FLETCHER Class (and more generic "Underwater Sound Systems") textual records from WWII through the post-WWII years up to about 1962. Out of 175 FLETCHER's built, I still have about a dozen that I don't have a firm ID on the sonar installed. In most cases, I know it was one of TWO options (frequency was different). I'm pretty sure that SOMEWHERE there was a Bean-Counters database spreadsheet during WWII of which sonar systems (like for radar and weapons) were installed on each ship in the USN (likely with a few errors). But, I have not found it. Even so, which dome was installed on a specific unit is seldom mentioned. Ships with sonars installed by a builder, installed the system and retracted the transducer and put a plate over the opening for launching. NORMALLY, the USN would install the dome during fitting-out in a drydock. What supply of domes that yard had at the time --- is a good question. Unlike the weapons and radar installed, which can be determined from photos easier than going through textual records (up to a point --- was it a SC-2 or -3, or -4, or whatever, you need textual records), there are far fewer photos of sonars/domes installed and which sonar is under the dome can't be determined.

If you really need to know which dome was used on a specific unit, go to NARA and pull that unit's BuShips file. That would be quicker than going through the files of 500+ DE's and class level files to try and find ALL sonars and likely few dome types were installed.

Hi everyone, I'm builing my Buckly destroyer escort as USS England, base on trumpeter 1/350 kit with some upgrade. For correct some issues about this kit, I collect lots of pictures, then I find this nice topic! I will research every reply, though it will be a challenge for my English reading. Below is my recently work:

Hi David, I have already filled some holes, and thought these cracks could be blocked by PE parts to seen...will find out soon...

You have a fun project! As a young man I drilled on the reserve trying ship Whitehurst, DE 634, built alongside of England in San Fransisco, completed just ahead of her. Over in the scratch building section I have built and am building models of this ship first in 1:514 and now in 1:144. largely using 3D printing. For reference I mainly used the AOA book on England and "The Floating Drydock" CD Disk on DE's plus available information on the specific ship from NAVSOURCE as well as information kindly provided by Rick E Davis, probably the forum expert on these small ships.

Good luck on your project, do you have a thread going yet on for instance the "Works in Progress" part of picture Post?

Cheers: Tom

It must be a outstanding project! I did take some photo in progress, may post with finished work.

Certainly you are most welcome aboard! A thread in Picture post/ works in progress would be very welcome! What part of China are you in, I have perhaps visited there a hundred times or more, though not in really recant times! Cheers: Tom