Calling all USN High-speed Transport (APD) fans

[pbrowne]

I'm looking for some books on APD conversions (e.g. Wilkes DD and Buckley class DDE) and APD operations. This is with a view to modeling the Iron Shipwrights 1/350 kits, particularly the USS Lloyd (APD-63) as a Charles Lawrence class APD in operations at Leyte and Lingayen Gulf in 1944, (my father served in the US Army Small Ships Section on ocean going tugs in the Leyte and Lingayen operations after serving in the Australian Military Forces).

Thanks

Peter

[William Smallshaw]

Peter,

The best reference that I have seen on these craft is U.S. Amphibious Ships and Craft: An Illustrated Design History, by Norman Friedman. This is a US Naval Institute Press publication, you can find used copies on Bookfinder.com, the ISBN is 1557502501

Bill

[pbrowne]

Thanks Bill, that book seems to be the authority on the subject, with a price to match I'll have to save the pennies for that one.

Peter

[pbrowne]

I'm looking at modeling Iron Shipwright's USS Roper APD-20 Wilkes Class APD conversion as USS Ward (also Wilkes conversion) APD-16 before ( ) being hit by a kamikaze at Leyte on 7th December 1944, three years to the day after the firing opening shot at Pearl Harbour. It looks like Ward at the time was in Measure 31-12T:



This seems to match the Iron Shipwrights camouflage pattern for Measure 31-12T (image from http://ironshipwrights.com/MS31-12Tcolor.jpg):



Any thoughts on changes that may need to be made to convert USS Roper APD to USS Ward APD...I would imagine they would be very similar, except perhaps for the armament?

Peter

[G-Opt]

I am looking for any additional information and/or pics re the conversion(s) of USS BROOKS (DD-232)/APD-10 and her career(s)...

I've searched through the images at navsource, and at the RAN/WARRAMUNGA site which has photos of her & her wounded men after the Jan. 6, '45 tokko attacks.
I have Glenn Arnold's flushdeckers book, as well.

Her DANFS entry is pretty skimpy, and her official War History is not much better.

The image is from the destroyerhistory.org site, but I don't know its origin.

Thank-you.