Subject: SMML VOL 988 Date: Sun, 13 Aug 2000 01:55:28 +1000 shipmodels@tac.com.au -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: Constellation 2: Duane Fowler's decals 3: Testors Price Increase 4: Blue Devil Destroyer 5: free airbrush and an outing 6: Hunley 7: Re: Blue Devil 8: Revisionist history 9: Dead Computers & Mac Graphics 10: Mauretania 11: Canadian Ship colours - A correction 12: Re: Japanese and Chinese parallels 13: Re: Converting a Cleveland CL to a Fargo? 14: Modelwerks 15: USS Midway captain's Gig 16: Codebreaker Neave's Obituary 17: Re: Best diorama 18: Re: Building a Farenholt 19: Re: Pardon My French 20: USS Olympia Modellers 21: USS Oregon Information and Plans 22: Re: Special Ops Submarines 23: Edgar March book 24: Re: Revisionist History 25: Re: Chilenan Navy camuflage 26: Re: Thoughts on Pearl Harbor 27: Re: Questions on 1/72 Matchbox Corvette 28: Arsenal Ship 29: Computer Meltdowns 30: Fine Scale Modeler 31: Brass Rod Masts 32: RNZN Salutes Queen Mother 33: France to build fourth Triomphant class nuclear submarine -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: Dave Shirlaw Subject: Constellation USS Constellation was going to be one of the battle cruisers that were cancelled by the Washington Naval Treaty. Saratoga and Lexington from this group were converted to aircraft carriers CV 2 and 3. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: Loren Perry Subject: Duane Fowler's decals I just received my Enterprise and Modern European Flag decals from Duane Fowler and, in a word, they are excellent. The Big E decal sheet is outstanding in its attention to detail and superb execution. The brass plaque decal that goes on the island is even rendered in metallic gold. And the flight deck striping is properly thin and perfectly registered. Also, the instruction sheet is worthy of the decal sheet - nicely illustrated, well researched, and very easy to understand by anyone. If you're building the Tamiya 1/350 CVN Enterprise, you really need to get a set of these decals. The flag sheet is an explosion of color. All the ensigns and jacks are sharply defined and perfectly registered. I'm not 100% sure of the accuracy of some of the colors (greens, in particular), but the overall effect is excellent. And for the first time, modern ship modelers now have a wide range of flags to pick from, even those of the smallest seagoing countries. Because these are ALPS-printer type decals, the color is printed on top of the clear film which means the color can be easily scratched off. To guard against this, one can airbrush a coat of Future Clear Acrylic Floor Wax onto the sheet before it's used. Once dry, it gives a very thin, hard coating that protects the color, and the decal can still be used in the normal fashion. I've done this myself, and it works very well. But don't use Solvaset or any strong decal setting solution - it will react with the Future floor wax and shrivel the decal. Great job Duane! The work of a true professional! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: John_Impenna@hyperion.com Subject: Testors Price Increase Hi All, Has anyone noticed the Testors price increase recently? Up to $2.49 for 1/2 ounce bottles!! I found out about it from a local hobby shop who is no longer carrying the Testors line because they keep raising prices. The owner said that a couple of the distributors are thinking of dropping them also. They are supposedly holding back releasing Floquil paints so they can let what is in the markeplace be used up. I have emailed them that I am no longer using their paints as long as they act like a monopoly, which essentially they are as they now own Pactra, Floquil/Polly S. The issue, as I see it, is not affording them, but giving in to price gouging. I won't support that. We shouldn't "need" Testors paint that badly. Regards, John -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: Rod Dauteuil Subject: Blue Devil Destroyer I'm sure there will be a lot of response on this one. The Lindbergh Blue Devil destroyer is the USS Melvin, DD680, a Fletcher Class, square bridge destroyer. The best 1/350 alternative is the Tamiya Fletcher, but it has the round bridge. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: Fred Kennamer Subject: free airbrush and an outing Dear fellow smellies, I bought a new airbrush and compressor, and am now going to give my old airbrush and compressor to the one with the best request. The airbrush in question is a Paasche VL--actually a rather nice tool, with accessories. The compressor is not all that great, but has served me well for 20 years and still works fine. The reason I upgraded is that I also do Italian WW2 aircraft, and this necessitates very fine mottling. This is a very servicable set-up and is very handy for shipbuilding. Why am I giving it away? Oh, I'm an old Berkeley Liberal guy, and hope someone with need and desire will step forward. It's also not worth the trouble to sell it through some classified, since it wouldn't bring enough money to really justiffy the effort. The deal: email me off-list with your pitch before sundown (PST) August 19th, and I'll make my capricious decision. You will have to spring for the shipping costs, but surely we can work out something. Hopefully this will go to a craftsperson and artist with limited means, but whoever sways me wins. Now, as for the outing. Quarterly, In Anaheim, is a Kit Convention--I'm not sure what the exact name is--but it's a marketplace of vintage and rare kits, and is a fabulous place to find all the old kits you never thought you'd see again. I'm going there (Sunday the 13th) and would love to meet others from the list and make a day of it. Please contact me off-site -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: Burl Burlingame / Pacific Monograph Subject: Hunley It ain't fancy, and naturally I'm doing this while revamping my entire site top to bottom so some links are hinky, but there's a marker page for the forthcoming Hunley model at http://www.pacifichistory.com/96THFILE/HUNLEY.HTML that contains some useful connections. The Strata3D picture of the Hunley at the top of the page is also likely to be the most accurate image of the submarine to date -- it's from Newsweek's planned coverage next week and is based on my (constantly updated) drawings of the craft. Burl Burlingame Pacific Monograph, 1124 Kahili Street, Kailua HI 96734 808-263-6087 buzz@aloha.net A historical interpretation company. Visit our web sites at http://www.PacificHistory.com/ and http://www.PacificHistory.net "Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: drwells@hogpb.mt.att.com (David R Wells) Subject: Re: Blue Devil Michael N. Satin wrote: >> Some years ago, Lindbergh did a large scale kit they called the "Blue Devil" destroyer. Now it just so happens that the one nickname I've had that really stuck is Blue Devil, so I'm kind of intrigued as to what ship it actually is and why it's called that. << The Lindberg kit was supposed to be the USS Melvin, DD-680. It's been a long time since I've seen one out of the box, but I understand that it would take considerable work to make the Lindberg kit accurate. >> Can anyone throw me some answers and is there a decent 1/350 kit of that ship? Thanks! << She was a Fletcher class, so there are several possibilities, including the Tamiya Fletcher and the BWN Fletchers. I've never seen either one out of the box, but I understand that the Tamiya only has the early style bridge, though one of the resin casters may have made a replacement part. David R. Wells "There seems to be something wrong | David R. Wells with our bloody ships today" | AT&T Middletown, NJ Adm. D. Beatty, May 31, 1916 | http://home.att.net/~WellsBrothers/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: Shirley Sachsen Subject: Revisionist history Every time I hear this crackpot argument, I consider the USS Arizona, many of whose sailors still man their positions at the bottom of Pearl Harbor. It would be a terrible disservice to think that these brave souls were betrayed by their Commander in Chief. Running the risk of getting political, but the Pearl Harbor attack wasn't the first or last occurrence of this idea of a Leader betraying his troops: Vietnam is a glowing example where bombing sorties were telegraphed to Hanoi, hanging the aircrews out to dry--just to name one example... there are even more in more recent memory. s -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From: SteveWiper@aol.com Subject: Dead Computers & Mac Graphics Dave, I am already doing what you are asking for with a G3 Macintosh. I have been using this unit for about 6 months now and not a single problem. Do not get an I-Mac, they are just too limited. I would highly recommend you invest in a G4 Mac. Get at least 96 to 128 megs of ram and at least a 6 gig hard drive. I use Adobe Illustrator for drawing, Adobe Photoshop for photos and am now loading Adobe Page Maker for writing. For God's sake man! Get a CD writer for a back up system. For more info go to www.macmall.com or call 1-800-222-2808. Steve Wiper -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From: VONJERSEY@aol.com Subject: Mauretania Thanks for the tip..........I've admired the pictures you sent me from the IMM site. It is a really beautiful model....i have been trying to emulate (i.e., shamelessly copy) it. I was hoping that one could instead convert 350 scale railings for the supports along the A and B Deck promenades. oh well, time to get the tweezers and magnifying glass -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) From: Darren Scannell Subject: Canadian Ship colours - A correction Hello again, For those of you interested, I just thought I'd post an update on the deck colour of modern Canadian ships. Seems the Canadian Navy was having some peeling problems with the old deck paint and have gone to a new type of paint as of late 1999, early 2000. The new paint is a lot more blue than the old one. So if you want the most up to date colour on your model, don't use FS 36081, get out the mixer again for the following ratio: (3) MM FS35164 Intermediate blue: (1) MM FS35042 Flat Sea Blue: (2) MM FS36118 Gunship Grey This will produce a colour that is as close as I can get to the original sample. Cheers, Darren -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) From: Christopher Crofoot Subject: Re: Japanese and Chinese parallels >> And how does China come into this equation? << As a parallel to the Japanese circa 1920-30. >> China has no means to project military power beyond its shores to threaten any major power nor are there intentions to. << I would disagree with you on this point. At: http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/row/plan/index.html You will see quite a bit of how China plans to become a true Blue-Water Navy... that means force projection to me. I would quote this: "Liu Huaqing, accordingly, with the backing of Deng Xiaoping and others, formulated three phases to develop the PLAN into a world class sea power by the year 2040. l. Till 2000, the focus of the first stage will be on training and enhancing existing formations, renovation and improvement of the conventional naval vessels. (objective: to deter regional threats and to fight battles quickly and at low risk). 2. From 2001 to 2020, the second stage will concentrate on the construction of several light aircraft carriers of 20,000 to 30,000 tonnes, purchasing several warships to supplement the carrier task force in order to improve the strength of the fleet and to bolster the PLAN's offshore combat capability (projection of the PLAN not only in the Western Pacific but exploring oceans around the world with aircraft carriers and high-tech equipment). 3. From 2021 to 2040, the third phase will transform the PLAN as a major sea power with blue-water capability (capability to maintain surveillance, etc.)." >> The few nuclear tipped ballistic missiles she has are a good deterrent to any nuclear power using their own nuclear arsenal to make threats on China. But this capability is hardly a basis for China to make threats on others without sounding ridiculous in the least and risking massive retaliation at worst. << And they handily can also be used to deter Foreign powers from interceding on the behalf of smaller nations that are threatened by China. The Chinese General officer inquiring as to whether the US is prepared to lose Los Angeles in return for aiding the Taiwanese doesn't sound too ridiculous to me. >> And to what purpose? Do read "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu as to how the Chinese view statecraft behind the act and conduct of war. We have a recorded history through two and a half thousand years of conflict that is consistent with this philosophy. << I agree which is why the theft, purchase, aquisition through other means of sensitive technology means more than "a shopping spree". That technology will be used for a purpose other than allowing it's subjects to vote more efficiently. >> Do read you own (US) Dept. of Defence and economic studies on relations with China. << Yes, along with Chinese white papers detailing what is necessary to defeat the US in terms of technology... ie destroying, tampering with electronic infrastructure to delay or mislead US response... as per Sun Tzu. >> You won't find anyone in a position of real responsibility making speculations about a war with China as a basis for US-China policy decisions. << Niether would you have seen the same about the Japanese in the 1920's. With the exception of a few 'hair-brained' individuals. But I would disagree with you again. Our recent pressure on the Israeli's to stop the sale of "Awacs" type aircraft to China isn't based on Jealousy... it's based on the knowledge those planes would be used as spotters against US Carrier based aircraft if and when we start trading warshots. I would emphasize the WHEN. And the concern expressed by some politicians (obviously not in the White House) over the recently aquired Russian built surface units. >> Yes the military on both sides have to plan for that contingency but even at the height of the Cold War that was never a political or a presidential election issue when a rabid candidate could have scored cheap points. << So because it was never a possibility during the cold war it isn't now? You probably realize how silly that sounds already don't you? Since the Cold war ended the situation has changed. Of course this seems like a stretch..but I'm talking 10-15 years down the road...economic competition (China's aims for its' own co-prosperity sphere) coupled with political systems that are at odds with one another mean a shooting war. Chris Crofoot "Quemadmoeum gladius neminem occidit, occidentis telum est" A sword is never a killer, it is a tool in the killer's hands. -----Seneca, 45 AD -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) From: Derek Wakefield Subject: Re: Converting a Cleveland CL to a Fargo? Yohan, This is something on my "to do" list, so I've done some looking into the matter. I'm just hoping DLM ends up with the kit eventually so I can get the lower hull for this conversion. I already bought a DML PRINCETON to get one to do a full-hull HOUSTON (and I'd prefer not to have to track down another one). The project seems feasable. Based on some comparisons I did using Alan Raven's Drawing of the ATLANTA and FARGO in Friedman's "US Cruisers" and the Skywave model, the hulls look to be identical (although there are some slight differences in the deck fittings). The only question I had was that the drawing of the ATLANTA lacked the bilge keels that were present on the drawing of the FARGO. I'm not for sure if this was an oversight or what. The 6-in/47-cal turrets appear to be in the same position, but instead of having the the #2 and #4 mounts on exposed barbettes, on the FARGO these are partially inclosed in an extention of the superstructure. Most of the 5-in/38-cal mounts are in the same location. However, the wing mounts aboard the FARGO are mounted on the weather deck level, rather than being mounted on raised platforms as in the CLEVELANDs. There also appears to be a platform of some type outboard of the aft wing mounts...not sure what those are yet. The same also applies with the quad 40mm mounts amidships. The forward and aft mounts aboard the FARGO are lower than on the CLEVELANDs. Of course, the FARGO also had a third pair of 40mm mounts amidships, similar to those on the BALTIMORE class ships. As you said, the major work will involve scratchbuilding the FARGO's unique superstructure, as it's so different from the CLEVELANDs. I'm not aware of any plans other than those in Friedman's, but they may exist. From what I see, they would be essential to do this correctly. Of course, if you're really ambitious, you could get Pittroad's PITTSBURGH and convert it into a OREGON CITY to go along with your FARGO. If you do it as an ALBANY, it might make for an interesting before and after comparison piece beside JAGs CAG ALBANY. Now if JAG would just do a GALVESTON and a CANBERRA CAG... Derek "Tiger" Wakefield -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) From: Derek Wakefield Subject: Modelwerks Hey, Joe... Any chance we're gonna see a T3 tanker (as they were modified in the 50s & 60's with the UNREP booms) down the line? Derek "Tiger" (/\)akefield -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15) From: "Victor M. Baca" Subject: USS Midway captain's Gig The boat in question is a 40' Personnel Boat, MK-1. They were built to, "Transport officer personnel," according to "Boats Of The U.S. Navy-1960" which, I believe is still available from The Floating Drydock. The book shows a 1/96 scale plan and profile drawing of this handsome craft with full stats as well. The 40' Pers. boat was 40' 2" in overall length with a beam of 11' 6.5" and a draft of 3' 3" loaded. They carried 43 men plus crew of 3. Propulsion was provided by a 21" prop driven by a 225 horse power 6 cylinder diesel. There is a BuShips plan number of S8227 (2)-40-653391 which may assist in locating a drawing from a museum or U.S. Naval archive. The Wiswesser plan service commercial drawing # 188XX-B also shows the 40 foot boats on a sheet including U.S. naval service boats done to 1/8"=1'. BTW great shot of the boat in Chris' posting! Regards, Victor Baca Model Ship Journal -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16) From: "Norman C. Samish" Subject: Codebreaker Neave's Obituary I looked at: http://app.4anything.com/nf/ink-i1-f/http://www.best.com/~shuntsbe/obituary for "Neave" and found the following. If any of these are the codebreaker to whom you refer, you can get more information from the web site. I hope this helps - I'd like to read his obituary. "Obituary Daily Times Entries matching "Neave" If no names are listed below here, then none were found. Type: Keyword Matches: 1-23 of 23 Breakdown: neave[23] BRUCE, Jo Ann (NEAVE); 56; Eagle Rock VA; Roanoke Times; 1998-12-1; retftrdoc KRALIK, Linda Jean (NEAVE); 39; Mississauga ON; Toronto Star; 1998-3-16; aashfield NEAVE, Colin;;; W Australian; 1996-2-20; tdavey NEAVE, Colin;;; W Australian; 1996-2-21; tdavey NEAVE, Donald G; 95; ; Oregonian; 1996-1-12; beverly NEAVE, Edith ( ); ; Barrie ON; Toronto Star; 1995-11-24; gtwalton NEAVE, Elsie Irene ( ); 78; Camrose AB; Edmonton J; 1998-8-11; laurajt NEAVE, George; 87; SCT>Frankenmuth MI; Saginaw News; 2000-6-2; nheidger NEAVE, George; 87; SCT>Frankenmuth MI; Saginaw News; 2000-6-3; nheidger NEAVE, George; 87; SCT>Frankenmuth MI; Saginaw News; 2000-6-4; nheidger NEAVE, Helen J Dr miss; 88; Quakertown NJ; The Times (NJ); 1999-12-28; caroilh NEAVE, Iain Norris; 49; Hillington ENG; Daily Telegraph; 1996-2-13; sinker NEAVE, Jeramie J; 23; Brooklyn IA; Waterloo/Cedar Falls Courier; 1999-7-25; rutucker NEAVE, Jeramie J; 23; Tama IA; Des Moines Register; 1999-7-26; gcegeland NEAVE, Kathleen R (METCALF); 70; Mount Vernon NY>New Canaan CT; Journal N (NY); 1999-7-1; most NEAVE, Margaret Shirley MD (TAYLOR); ; MB>Kamloops BC; Kamloops DN; 1997-6-30; rdavison NEAVE, Margaret Shirley MD (TAYLOR); ; MB>Kamloops BC; Kamloops DN; 1997-7-2; rdavison NEAVE, Virginia Mason ( ); ; Wilmington DE; News Journal; 1997-10-13; smacfar NEAVE, Winnifred (BEGG); 93; St Thomas ON; London F-P; 1998-2-7; jmor ROSS, Annie Pearson Neave ( ); 80; Drumheller AB; Drumheller M; 1998-6-3; jbixby SOMERS, Doreen Ellen (NEAVE); 65; Melbourne ON; London F-P; 1999-12-24; chc SOMERS, Doreen Ellen (NEAVE); 65; Melbourne ON; London F-P; 1999-12-26; chc WHITE, Peter Henry Neave; 83; Victoria BC; Victoria T-C; 1996-4-3; ercross -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17) From: SHIPMDLR@aol.com Subject: Re: Best diorama >> The best ship diorama was Kelly Quirk's Enterprise/NJ diorama. Or, at least that's what the judging team decided before we left.... ;) << Your heads in the chipper but my foot's in my mouth. You're correct. Rusty White Flagship Models Inc. http://www.okclive.com/flagship/ "Yeah I want Cheesy Poofs" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18) From: SHIPMDLR@aol.com Subject: Re: Building a Farenholt >> I've made some additions to online build page of my Farenholt model, for those of you who would like to check it out (and the ones who didn't see this post on the Warship message board). << While at the Nationals in Dallas, I purchased a BWN Farenholt from Squadron Signal for $55.00! Not bad for $125.00 model. I'll be doing my Farenholt shortly, and I enjoy reading your web page while you build yours. At least I can see any trains coming, if there are any. Rusty White Flagship Models Inc. http://www.okclive.com/flagship/ "Yeah I want Cheesy Poofs" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19) From: YHSAIO@aol.com Subject: Re: Pardon My French >> Pardon my French, but what the hell was Constellation - looks like a late World War I era USN battlecruiser - I've never seen a reference to it (completed or not) ... << None of the battlecruisers were completed, but 2 hulls were converted into a pair of pretty famous ships - the carriers Lexington and Saratoga. Particulars should be in any good book on US Navy battleships or carriers. As an added note, the original configuration of the battlecruisers had seven, then five stacks (shades of the Askold) before the decision was made to trunk them into two stacks. In their final guise, they would have resembled a rather overstreched Luetzow or Derfflinger (IMHO for the money the best battlecruisers built, although I know I'm going to stir up a hornet's nest here!). Lex and Sara were about 1/3 or so completed when converted into carriers. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20) From: "Kevin W. Woodruff" Subject: USS Olympia Modellers I've recently been in touch with Mr. Robert D. Jamieson, the Olympia Project Manager at the Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia. He was VERY helpful with information conerning the USS Olympia and sent me a CD-ROM with many of the ship's plans (in TIFF format) and dozens of archival photgraphs (in Bitmap format) of the ship's exterior and interior throughout its history. This man is a gold-mine for modellers and was thrilled that anyone might even be interested in the Olympia. He is the curator of the ship and is the one responsible for its eventual restoration. You may e-mail him at jamiesob@indsm.org Kevin W. Woodruff -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21) From: "Kevin W. Woodruff" Subject: USS Oregon Information and Plans Plans for the battleship USS Oregon (BB-3) are available for $17.50 from: The Oregon Maritime Center and Museum 113 SW Naito Parkway Portland, Oregon, USA 97204 (503)224-7724 fax (503)224-7767 http://www.teleport.com/~omcm/index.phtml e-mail: omcm@teleport.com. A copy of theplans are posted at: http://home.att.net/~jmea/Images/BluePrint1.jpg Kevin W. Woodruff -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 22) From: Ives100@aol.com Subject: Re: Special Ops Submarines You can also see two views of the [ahem] unusual late Sturgeon class submarine, USS Parche at: http://parche.prohosting.com/ Features pictures of Parche before and after her 1987-89 refit. She grew some 100 feet in length during that refit and lost the "DSRV" [ahem] on her stern. The wonderful adventures of Parche are featured in "Blind Man's Bluff". Parche will be retired in 2003, about the same time that the 3r Seawolf sub, the Jimmy Carter, which is getting an extended hull, BTW....[ahem!} comes on line. Tom Dougherty -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 23) From: brian selzler Subject: Edgar March book I just wanted to say thanks to Mike Leonard for the tip on available British Destroyers 1892-1953. I wasn't quick enough to get the cheapest one but, I didn't buy the priciest one either! Didn't WEM recently auction a copy for about the same as a month's mortgage payment? Brian -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 24) From: ECammeron@aol.com Subject: Re: Revisionist History Not if you are a 'national leader loving his Navy'. Another point: To become an Admiral, you have to serve a tour as Captain of a Major Combatant. Think about it. Most, if not all, Admiral's biographies are most detailed in the chapters describing such command tours. After a command tour of USS TUSCARORA, whereupon you made Rear Admiral, would expose your old major command to risk of destruction without a fight willingly? Eugene -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 25) From: "feed" Subject: Re: Chilenan Navy camuflage >> Yes, the Chilean Navy also camouflaged their Gota Lejon cruiser, Leander frigates, Fletcher destroyers, Sumner Destroyer and so on. << Estimado Roberto: Remember we still have the submarine tender ship " Almirante JoseToribio Merino Castro" (ex-swedish ALVSBORG) camouflaged . regards. FEED -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 26) From: dhjonespsm@juno.com Subject: Re: Thoughts on Pearl Harbor >> The business as to wether FDR knew or not that the Japanese were going to attack is one of the great unknowns of the war. To my mind the real question is, did Churchill tell FDR. About five or six years ago in the summer ( I cannot remember the exact year) one of the worlds greatest codebreakers died. I think that his name was Neave, an Australian Naval officier who at some point in his naval career moved to the Royal Navy. His story is legendary and was given in some depth in his obituary that appeared in the TIMES (not the New York Times). After reading his role in Japanese naval codebreaking there is NO DOUBT in my mind that Churchill knew. << Rubbish! His name was Eric Nave. I never read the Times obit but I would suspect that it was based largely on a 1991 book. Nave's story was published in a book called Betrayal at Pearl Harbor, co-authored by Nave and a chap named James Rusbridger. Rusbridger seems to have been guilty of reading a lot more than he should have into some of Nave's statements, and supports his (Rusbridger's) theories (which are NOT SUPPORTED with any hard evidence) by the fact that some of the relevant British files are still classified for 75 years. Eric Nave's original manuscript and the version published by Rusbridger apparently differ significantly, and Nave attempted to correct some of the errors before he died. Eric Nave made major contributions to the efforts at breaking into JN-25 (the "A" version) in 1939. JN-25 was the major IJN fleet code, a 5 digit reciphered system. However, Nave LEFT Singapore in February 1940, returning to Australia to help set up the Australian Navy's new code breaking unit at Melbourne. A new version of the Japanese fleet code (JN-25B) was introduced nine months after he had left (December 1940) and required rebuilding a new code book. Some progress had been made towards breaking into the new version but only fragments were being recovered at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the time taken to deliver clear decripts was one to two DAYS. Example: the Singapore codebreaking unit succeeded in deciphering a Japanese message ordering the attack on the Prince of Wales and Repulse, but the message arrived a day late, both ships having already been sunk! There are indeed clear examples of warnings on record that stated specifically that the IJN was going to attack Pearl Harbor and these have been seized upon by several writers as "proof" of a "conspiracy" - that Roosevelt (and now Churchill - according to Rusbridger) KNEW that the attack would happen and allowed it to proceed. Rubbish! For every warning (and there are about six documented examples) specifying Pearl Harbor as the named target there were literally hundreds suggesting Malaya, Singapore, and the Philippines. In fact it was this preponderance of opinions that convinced Washington (and London) that the first blow would fall in the Far East. Washington was frantically reinforcing the Philippines on that assumption, and those isolated messages about Pearl Harbor only became significant with hindsight! If Churchill knew that the Japanese were about to attack the USN at Pearl Harbor, then why was he frantically trying to confirm if America would support a British attack on the Japanese transport fleet on its way toward the Kra peninsula on December 5 and 6? If he knew that Japan would attack the USN, an American declaration or war would be a certainty, and there would be no need for concern about American support of arms. There is no question that Roosevelt was looking for a reason to get the American people to support a war against Japan and Germany. However, why would Roosevelt (a confirmed "fan" of the Navy) allow his beloved fleet to be destroyed without warning? An American VICTORY at Pearl Harbor would have served his purposes equally well! While the recent posting about General "Billy" Mitchell's prediction is interesting (as is also the local fleet exercise held in 1940(?), when an American wargame commander staged a mock attack on the anchorage on a Sunday morning with the same theorectical results). However, both become somewhat irrevelant because of the prevailing view that, while attacking the harbor was a good idea, the Japanese were simply not capable of pulling it off. That was the established attitude within official circles, based on an underestimation of the capabilities of the IJN. >> noted that every commercial vessel was back in home waters by the end of November 1941... << That information was widely distributed and it was also accepted as a clear sign that war was eminent, but it had no relevance as to the target - only that the Japanese were obviously preparing to attack somewhere. The prevailing view was still an attack against British possessions, and probably against American forces in the Philippines. With the isolationist sentiment in the USA at that time, there was some concern that the American congress would not vote for a war in support of British interests, however an attack on the Philippines would certainly have been cause enough. As for the recent posting about the proper definition of the term "revisionist" and the justification for its negative connotation, I totally concur! Too often these "gentlemen" are not historians, in either ability or training, but are indeed propagandists with a personal agenda and are attempting to modify public perceptions to suit their narrow view. In order to do so they will grasp at any thread that supports their view and ignore or attempt to discredit those that oppose them. They are also perfectly capable of inventing "facts" to support their view when they cannot find any through legitimate means. The book quoted by Mr. Novak is a perfect example of this genre. However, whatever you wish to believe about what our leaders knew in advance (and some revisionist "historians", and their readers, just love the idea of sinister government conspiracies) it seems not to matter. Assuming that the attack was inevitable, in my opinion, the lack of warning at Pearl Harbor was a very fortunate event. Had the warning been received in time, and the Pacific Fleet reacted according to their prewar doctrine and planning, they would have sortied and attempted to intercept the Japanese fleet at sea. The results would probably have been the same (early encounters with the IJN were disasterous until we gained combat experience) with the difference that all the ships would have been sunk in deep water. There would have been no fleet to salvage. As bad as Pearl Harbor was, it could have been a lot worse. Daniel Jones -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 27) From: Erwin Van Deynze Subject: Re: Questions on 1/72 Matchbox Corvette Richard Simpson wrote : >> Ferdinand, Sirmar does a series of replacement parts. I have them on order. If you like I could send you some photos (email) when they arrive. << I'd like them too, I've ordered them a couple of years ago, and wasn't very pleased with them, I'm afraid to say, so I would like to see if they are improved.. Also the stanchions and ships boats sets are new to me. Erwin -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 28) From: Ned Barnett Subject: Arsenal Ship It turns out that the Arsenal Ship (as molded by Jim Shirley) is virtually identical to the DD-21 Zumwalt class as I've seen it illustrated. I haven't checked the dimensions, but the overall look is virtually identical (except for the gun turrets, missing from the Arsenal Ship). Now - does anybody have a source for 1/350 SeaHawk Lamps-type helicopters (I need 2)? How about Oto-Melara turrets in the same scale? And for those who said it looks ugly, how do you explain the superstructures of the Oliver Hazard Perry class? Looks like a container ship on a cruiser hull ... the Zumwalt is sleek, stiletto-powerful and has a real grace to it, IMO. Ned -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 29) From: "James Kloek" Subject: Computer Meltdowns There have been a couple of notes recently about people losing valuable material when their computer crashed. If you are buying a new one, something to consider is ordering it with a tape drive. We did this, and what it allows us to do is do a total system back up. The tapes hold about 8 gigs of stuff. About once a month, I do a total system backup, which takes a couple of hours. If my hard drive ever crashes, at least I will have a copy of everything that was on it that is at most a month old. Whether or not such a drive is worth it to you has to be your decision, but if you have valuable material stored on your hard drive, it might be. Its definitely something to think about, and you could probably retrofit an existing PC with one too. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 30) From: "James Kloek" Subject: Fine Scale Modeler I would second the idea of writing up articles and sending them into Fine Scale. They do accept ship articles, and they pay for them too. The four I have had published have pretty much offset the cost of my hobby for the last couple of years. But.....be prepared for delays. I had a fifth article accepted in the Spring of 1999, and the editor just told me (when I asked) that it is not scheduled to appear until the summer of 2001. So while the editorial staff at FSM will tell you they do not get enough good ship articles submitted, its not like they are rushing things into print either. Jim -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 31) From: RhinoBones@aol.com Subject: Brass Rod Masts Greetings from Southern California I'm working on a small project and have come to the point where I need to build some masts using brass rod (never done this before). The subject is a 1:700 NNT Aa-80 Destroyer and I need to fabricate the fore and aft mast assemblies. The assemblies are simple . . . single vertical mast with one or two spars. My need is some instruction on the best way(s) to afix brass spars to the brass mast. Currently I'm thinking of using a (very small) punch to flat spot both the mast and spar in order to get a good surface for the final assemble. This might make a good surface for soldering and/or gluing, however, neither method seems to offer a sturdy bond for the later assembly steps. If the model was a 250 or 200 scale I would tie the spars to the mast but this is certainly not an option with the 700 scale. Also, any suggestions for rendering the rigging to the 1:700 brass spars and mast would be appreciated. Regards, RhinoBones -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 32) From: JRKutina@webtv.net (John Kutina) Subject: RNZN Salutes Queen Mother Shane, According to this article, USN is a slow learner compared to RNZN! http://www.seawaves.com/Articles/ANZAC/august2000/00081103.htm -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 33) From: JRKutina@webtv.net (John Kutina) Subject: France to build fourth Triomphant class nuclear submarine http://www.seawaves.com/Articles/Europe/august2000/00080102.htm -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Check out the SMML site for backissues, Member's models & reference pictures at: http://www.smml.org.uk Check out the APMA site for an index of ship articles in the Reference section at: http://www.tac.com.au/~sljenkins/apma.htm -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- End of Volume