Calling all Des Moines-class (CA-134) fans

[Goodwood]

Well, it's been about two and three-quarters years since this thread was last posted in, so...

Have any more kits of this class been released?

[navydavesof]

Well, it's been about two and three-quarters years since this thread was last posted in, so...

Have any more kits of this class been released?

Well, the hull form and weapons placements are still applicable today. The main battery could remain while the shoulder and hip batteries could be replaced with 5"/62 caliber guns, and the centerline 5" guns could be replaced with 48-cell Mk41 VLS a piece (96 VLS total), and the electronics could be those of a San Antonio-class LPD (SPS-48G/SPQ-9B) with a hangar supporting 2-3 SH-60 helicopters.

Easy day.

[MAJOR-B]

looking for the 1/350 kit from either yankee or classic warships... If anyone has one they like to get rid please email or pm me.
Thanks...
Major B

[Guest]

Does anyone make a wooden deck for 1/350 scale kits?

[Guest]

Working on a 1:40 Scale Model of a Des Moines Class Heavy Cruiser... out of Lego. :) Check it out.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/31693825@ ... ateposted/

[Timmy C]

A fantastically photographed build expose of the 1/350 Salem on this Polish site: https://www.kfs-miniatures.com/1-350-us ... udowa-cz-2

Really shows the differences between the plastic and the PE/resin parts.

[ADebroux]

Now that Very Fire has released the Des Moines and Salem in 1/700, does anyone know if there are any differences between the two kits or just the same model with different hull numbers?

[Dick J]

Now that Very Fire has released the Des Moines and Salem in 1/700, does anyone know if there are any differences between the two kits or just the same model with different hull numbers?

On the Freetime website, I see Des Moines in 1/700 but not Salem as yet. From the artwork of the 1/350 kits, it appears that Des Moines has catapults while Salem does not. This is partially accurate. The class was designed with 2 catapults. Des Moines and Newport News commissioned with one cat on the port side and a rack for ship's boats to starboard. (Friedman thought the rack was an incomplete cat.) Worcester was delivered with the same arrangement, but I don't know if she commissioned with it. I haven't seen actual commissioning shots of Salem or Roanoke to say how these two commissioned. Des Moines operated briefly with the cat, but reportedly never actually embarked aircraft.

[USS Forrest DD-461]

Wednesday, January 29, 2020
Call Sign Thunder: Last of the All-Gun Cruisers

https://hamptonroadsnavalmuseum.blogspot.com/2020/01/

Neat article - I learned some new details.

[SeanF]

Picked up the Very Fire 1:350 Salem kit, planning to build as Newport News (just to show off that highest hull number carried by any completed USN cruiser). Cool as her Vietnam heyday appearance was (prior to the turret explosion, I mean), I'm going to stay with a pre-1962 fit to keep things easier on myself for this build (I'm going to order Model Monkey's bridge, of course. ) Does anyone know of any critical ship-specific differences between Salem and Newport News in the 1955-61 time frame? Not too concerned about things like a few stray hatches here and there.

- Sean F.

[TZoli]

Does anybody have close-ups or drawings of the Des Moines class main batter directors?
The Mark 54 GFCS?

[maxim]

I made some photos:
https://www.modellmarine.de/index.php/f ... ncy-teil-1
https://www.modellmarine.de/index.php/f ... ncy-teil-2

E.g. photos 039, 052, 085, 107, 111, 115, 165, 233, 284

[TZoli]

Thanks!

[TZoli]

Based on official drawings, online drawings and photos, here are the USS Des Moines as finished and as looked in around 1960:

1960:

[BB62vet]

Tzoli -

Very nice renderings again - quite impressive!

Hank

[Fliger747]

I see the ships boats are on dollys just like the Iowa's post war. Today of course for Helicopter operations the cranes on them are gone, replaced by a Portside boom still using the dollys to wheel the boats around. Were these Cruiser cranes ever used on the Iowa's post war?

Cheers: Tom

[drwells42]

After some success in finding Charles F. Adams DDG plans, I'll try for some Des Moines-class CA plans.

There is a Booklet of General Plans available at https://archive.org/details/ca139bogp19 ... /mode/2upm but this
time I'm looking for something with hull cross-sections. Any pointers would be helpful.

David R. Wells