Calling all South Dakota-class (BB-57) fans!

[kylewoody]

Silly question maybe, but - where would the bell have been located on a SoDak? Would it be finished bronze look, or painted over in gray?

Kyle

[Cliffy B]

Can't tell you about the color but according to Floating Drydock plans for BB-59 from 1945 it was located roughly on the O-6 level, on the forward side of the main battery fire control tower. Its hanging directly underneath the lower platform on the tower that I believe was the secondary conn. The bracket was welded to the bulkhead NOT the platform. I'm not 100% sure but I want to say that almost all ships had their bells removed during the war.

[rtwpsom2]

Mark P over at the HMS Victory forum posted these photos of the Alabama he took a few days ago.

[Fliger747]

I know my dads ship did not have its bell removed during the war. They may had a snubber installed to keep them quiet in a seaway.

I remember seeing Indiana and One of the others swinging at anchor at Bremerton when i was a young teen. Very strong looking ships unlike the somewhat lady like Iowas.

T

[Tracy White]

Hmmm I never considered the Iowas lady like.... just with the longer bows, they looked more like a race horse than a drafter.

[Rob Wood]

I visited the USS Alabama a few years ago, and took a lot of pictures, both general and zoomed in on armament, superstructure and equipment/fittings. Would anyone be interested in seeing anything in particular?







Rob

[Tracy White]

These really belong in Picture Post.

[richard le blanc]

Does anyone know when the 20mm platform on the port side was raised 4feet higher .
Most plans show 1944 refit .trumpeter's BB59 mass. has it level with base of funnel .
All the models on websites don't show this !

[GMG4RWF]

I visited the USS Alabama a few years ago, and took a lot of pictures, both general and zoomed in on armament, superstructure and equipment/fittings. Would anyone be interested in seeing anything in particular?

actually - I would.

[MartinJQuinn]

LIFE image of South Dakota at the Philadelphia Naval Yard in 1942: http://images.google.com/hosted/life/c9 ... 2ae6f.html

[KevinYoung]

When I use to do runs to Sioux Falls I frequently passed by what was left of USS South Dakota I regret not stopping and visiting the site . Kevin

[Jim21680]

Definitely my favorite Battleship class. Love em' all, but the SoDaks for some reason just have a special place in my heart.
Maybe it's their stout, muscular appearance. I know they're pretty much identical to the Iowas as far as armor protection goes, but the SoDaks just have that look of a real, take-a-beating-and-still-kick-ass look of a classic battlewagon.

[Haijun watcher]

I haven't read the whole thread, but I do agree with some posters about these ships being the best pre-war battleships. They do a solid 28 knots and the class leader even survived a barrage from battleship Kirishima and a few heavy cruisers during the 2nd naval battle of Guadalcanal in November 1942.

Still, I just had a history question for use for a possible diorama:

Just had an idea for a diorama with all four of them present.

From searching online, I found that all four of them were present in Task Force 58.7 during the bombardment of Ponape atoll on May 1, 1944, but were staggered across different divisions. Does anyone know of any other instances where all 4 were together?

I currently only have the Hasegawa Alabama kit, though I might buy the Trumpeter versions of her sisters.

Neither Hasegawa nor Trumpeter carries a kit for USS Indiana, so I might have to kitbash/use an extra South Dakota kit as her, but I am not sure what minor differences Indiana had from her sisters...other than being the only one in the class to ever sport the MS32/16d paint scheme. So what minor structural/AA gun differences did Indiana have from her sisters?

Anything information that could shed light on the two questions underlined above would be greatly appreciated.

[Cliffy B]

I can't help with when they were all together but I'll caution you against using the Hasegawa kit. Not only is it an older kit (not necessarily bad) but it has some sever shape issues, primarily with the bow. Look at the review on here: http://www.modelwarships.com/reviews/sh ... abama.html

If you want to build the 4 sisters then I'd suggest getting 4 of the Trumpy kits closest to the time frame you want to model and then modifying each. I don't think any will be out of the box though mods will probably vary. I'd also recommend you get Steve Wiper's book on the South Dakotas as its FULL of high quality photos of all of them from throughout the war.

Keep an eye out for Black Friday sales at Freetime Hobbies and Squadron and you should be able to net the kits and the book for a nice price.

Also, check this site for some nice photos of the 4 sisters: http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/05bbidx.htm

[Jim21680]

From my understanding (which is limited at best), I think the South Dakota was clearly the most different of the bunch, with structural bridge alterations and two less 5/38 mounts than the other three. The purpose of this difference was to accommodate SoDak's flagship duty.

After browsing through the Navsource website, it seems there's a chance all 4 may have been in San Francisco in late 1945. SoDak apparently left there for Philadelphia in January 1946, but the other three were still there in March, with a decent photo proving it. I didn't dig deep enough to see when those three arrived.

[Haijun watcher]

From my understanding (which is limited at best), I think the South Dakota was clearly the most different of the bunch, with structural bridge alterations and two less 5/38 mounts than the other three. The purpose of this difference was to accommodate SoDak's flagship duty.

After browsing through the Navsource website, it seems there's a chance all 4 may have been in San Francisco in late 1945. SoDak apparently left there for Philadelphia in January 1946, but the other three were still there in March, with a decent photo proving it. I didn't dig deep enough to see when those three arrived.

I was aware of the differences between South Dakota and her sisters, but what about between Massachusetts and Alabama in particular?

I was thinking of just using the Hasegawa Alabama kit as a stand-in for the Massachusetts instead of buying the Trumpeter kit, if they weren't too different.

If worse comes to worse, I'll just use the Hasegawa Alabama as Indiana and just buy the Trumpeter Massachusetts kit, which about 10 dollars more than the Alabama kit I have.

[GMG4RWF]

...but what about between Massachusetts and Alabama in particular?...

All US ships of that era had some minor differences - mainly in placement and type of light AA (20mm/40mm) & radar but between these 2 not enough to tell.

[GMG4RWF]

I can't help with when they were all together but I'll caution you against using the Hasegawa kit.

That's not all - the 5" Mk38's are a shell that fits over a pedestal - the guns elevate but its impossible to make them rotate!(err... ) - still I did a cool mod of her as an upgraded BBG with MK41 in place of the aft turret & Mk42 5"/54s & AMS in place of the Mk38's - won ribbons on it.

[navydavesof]

I can't help with when they were all together but I'll caution you against using the Hasegawa kit.

That's not all - the 5" Mk38's are a shell that fits over a pedestal - the guns elevate but its impossible to make them rotate!(err... ) - still I did a cool mod of her as an upgraded BBG with MK41 in place of the aft turret & Mk42 5"/54s & AMS in place of the Mk38's - won ribbons on it.

SHOW IT!!!

[GMG4RWF]

SHOW IT!!!

don't know if I have a pick - camera got stolen!!! have to check comp at home.