Cliffy B wrote:
Now that you mention the 5" shields I recall reading that CA-37 had her after most mounts (abreast the after funnel) replaced with quad 1.1" guns in 42/43. Were those swapped for 40mms (twins or quads) or replaced with 5"/25s.
This comes from Stefan Terzibaschitsch's US Cruisers book, and he was 100% wrong about this.
No 5" were ever replaced by smaller guns. He misinterpreted why the photos of Tuscaloosa's aftermost 5" positions didn't match the rest of the class. (It isn't his only mistake about this class.)
Some of the major differences between the '44 San Fran and the '44 Tuscaloosa are as follows:
1) Bridge. Starting from the bottom up, the first difference was the 40MM positioning. Pre-war, San Fran and Minnie had the raised 1/2 level deck for the comm bridge, and the 40MM were eventually positioned at that level in those two. New Orleans and Tuscaloosa never had that raised deck, so their 40MM were positioned at the original comm bridge level, 1/2 level lower than San Fran. However, the 20MM galleries in front of the bridge were at the same level for Tuscaloosa and San Fran. (At the raised 1/2 deck level.) Tuscaloosa's pilothouse was wider - less of the original pilothouse was trimmed off when the ship was modernized. Also, Tuscaloosa had the flag bags at the back of the bridge at the pilothouse level, rather than the 40MM level as in San Fran. The exact shape of the back of the bridge block was different between the two. The open bridge level was different, too. On San Fran, the original '43 modernized config had the square-faced open bridge going straight back to the back end of the bridge block. Later, the forward part was enlarged by adding triangles to the sides of the front part, so front to back, in '44, San Fran's open bridge started at the '43 width, widened out between the bridge face and the back of the pilothouse, then abruptly narrowed back to the original width. On Tuscaloosa, The open bridge also widened from the front of the bridge to the back of the pilothouse, but then retained the extra width to almost the back of the bridge block.
2) 5" mounts. As was mentioned, Tuscaloosa was unique in having the aftermost 5" as the inset pair. She retained this to the end. She also had 5" 25's to the end. (Of all the US cruisers that mounted the 5" 25, only Savannah and Honolulu upgraded to 5" 38's.)
3) 40MM. The forward 40MM differences have been previously mentioned. However, one of the hangar-roof 40MM was differently positioned on Tuscaloosa. On all 4 of the class, the port side 40MM had to clear the remaining boat/aircraft crane, and so was positioned aft of it. San Fran and Minnie had the starboard side mount further forward, centered somewhat forward of the original starboard side crane position. On Tuscaloosa, the starboard mount was further aft, closer to the back "corner" of the deck, and she had a 20MM mounted forward of it. On New Orleans, the starboard 40MM basically mirrored the port side position.
4) 20MM. You will need photos to get the exact positions, however I will point out a few significant differences. Because Tuscaloosa refitted in the Atlantic, she never had any 20MM on the bow forward of the anchor chains. Instead, she had more aft, just forward of the quarterdeck 40MM tubs. The galleries adjacent to the stacks were also very different from San Fran.
5) Mainmast. By '44, San Fran had a heavier mainmast, with a platform intended to mount the raid-tracking height finder radar. This necessitated installing short trailing legs on the mast to further support it. Tuscaloosa had only an SG mounted on her lighter mainmast, and no trailing legs.
This should get you started, but you need to find photos. Warship Pictorial #7 is the best source for Tuscaloosa pics.
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FAQ
But on a side note; Looking at the front of the box, side of the box, and color guide, it seems that theres like 2 schemes and I'm not referring to the camo look. 1 is just the bland same color look while the other seems to have the half Navy Blue/half Haze Grey hull and Haze Grey superstructures. Can anyone help confirm this form me?
I did read earlier in the thread that the Ship Craft book is basically the WP book with an added kit review section. Is that true? If not, does anyone have a copy of WP #7 they'd be willing to part with?
