Subject: SMML VOL 1111 Date: Tue, 02 Jan 2001 08:02:21 +1100 shipmodels@tac.com.au -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: More Charles De Gaulle 2: Re: HMS Cardiff 3: Happy new Year to All 4: King Biography 5: Re: Combat Fleets 6: North Carolina sub?? 7: Happy New Year 8: Combat book again 9: Fleet Admiral King 10: Re: Ned Barnett....USS Ward photos 11: Warship Identification 12: Re: New Book on Cold War Submarine Operations 13: Re: Warship Identification 14: Happy New Year to ALL Smellies 15: Re: HMS Cardiff 16: Re: 1:1200/1250 ships 17: Re: Belgian Minesweepers at Work 18: Friedrich´s questions part 1: A-names 19: U.S.S. Philippine Sea 20: HMS Cardiff 21: Re: USS Ward 22: Re: Mystery BB 23: Model Identity -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Model club & SMMLcon Infomation 1: SMML site revamp 2: Small Warships SIG -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: Courtney Regan Subject: More Charles De Gaulle Does anyone know of any web-sites out there that have any in depth information about the Charles De Gaulle Carrier??? Its hard to search through just a search engine, as most results are either about the President De Gaulle, or if I can find something about the carrier, its in french; or if its in English, its not very in depth. I'm really interested in the reasons it has taken so long to build this carrier, and if anyone knows any in depth English sites/pages out there, please let me know. Thanks a lot, Courtney Regan -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: Craig R Bennett Subject: Re: HMS Cardiff Hi Guys The HMS Cardiff D-108 is a batch 1 Type 42 destroyer belonging to the Sheffield class .As to why she was in Florida. I don't know but I can make an estimate. Perhaps she's going on a world cruise and that was a port of call along the way. Or she could be making a stop for liberty after serving on patrol off the Falkland Islands on her back to England. The RN still maintains a flotilla near them . Craig -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: Mike Hall Subject: Happy new Year to All Modelers, Customers, and Friends, I would like to wish all a Happy New Year, with the best wishes for all. Thanks for making 2000 a great first year for us at Kitlink.com. Without your support we would have never made it through. Happy Modeling Mike Hall Kitlink.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: "Mike Leonard" Subject: King Biography >> Can anyone direct me to a good biography of Admiral EJ King, or an accurate history of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff during WW 2? << The definitive bio seems to be Thomas Buell's "Master of Sea Power - A Biography of Fleet - Admiral Ernest J. King" (Boston/Toronto - Little, Brown and Co. 1980) Mike -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: Darren Scannell Subject: Re: Combat Fleets >> 1. I've received a couple of messages "off list" regarding my posting the other day about "The Naval Institute Guide To Combat Fleets Of The World" being available at Barnes and Noble for $24.95 (1998-1999 edition). Evidently it's not available at all stores so here's the phone # for the Pleasant Hill/Concord, California store where I found it (as of noon today, Saturday, they had a few copies remaining): 925-609-7060 << Terry, Thanks for the info, but I have a question. Do you know the ISBN of the book that you saw for sale? A search of the Barnes & Noble website brings up 2 books with similar names, Combat fleets of the world 1998 by Baker ISBN 0765554208 $24.95 and NIP Combat fleets of the world 1998-1999 by Baker ISBN 1557501114 $150. I don't know if they are the same book or what the difference is, but with different ISBN numbers, I wonder if the book you saw is the one everyone wants? Regards, Darren Scannell Happy New Year everyone! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: "Liz Brock" Subject: North Carolina sub?? Has anyone heard about a submarine being launched or built in the near future named the North Carolina. A friend said he read something about it, but I can't confirm it anywhere. Thanks & Happy New Year! Arthur Brock -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: darsamr@supanet.com Subject: Happy New Year I would like to wish all a Happy New Year, also a BIG Happy Birthday to Aussieland -100 years. Hey,don't think that this year's Ashes will be a walk over,I hear England plan to turn up! Dave. Hi Dave, Thanks for the birthday greets ;-)) As for England turning up - aren't we playing over there ;-)) Shane -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: Darren Scannell Subject: Combat book again Hi, me again, I talked to B&N in CA and found out the book they have IS published by NIP and it is $24.95 and it has an ISBN of 0765554208. Unfortunately, I cannot find this book anywhere else and I don't know what it is. The only thing I could find that it may be is a book by JL Couhat that Mr. Baker translated with the same name that I found on Abebooks.com. It did not list the ISBN so I could not confirm it. Does anybody know the specifics of this book and whether it is worth the price and how it compares to the other NIP CFOTW ISBN155750114? Thanks, Darren -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From: Joel Labow Subject: Fleet Admiral King >> Now climbing down from the soapbox. Can anyone direct me to a good biography of Admiral EJ King, or an accurate history of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff during WW 2? I have read enough negative comments both from US and British sources to indicate that the Allies may have won the war in spite of King, rather than because of him. His anti-British prejudice is well known, but he seems to be blamed for EVERTYHING, including Pearl Harbor, the U-Boat Happy Time and the foul up at Guadalcanal. How could one person find time to screw up so many things, and still keep his job? << Gary, I recommend two books for your consideration. The first is the best (and only) biography of EJK that I am aware of, "Master of Sea Power/A Biography of Fleet Admiral EJK" by Thomas B. Buell, Little, Brown 1980. The second is "Engage the Enemy More Closely/The Royal Navy in the Second World War" by Correlli Barnett, W. W. Norton 1991. This is exactly what the title states but does contain appreciations of both EJK and the Combined Chiefs of Staff from the British point of view. King was a man of huge appetites and prejudices (he was a binge drinker of monumental proportions) and iron will, but it's hardly fair to say that WWII was won in spite of him. It is fair to lay a large part of the caribbean U-boat 'Happy Time' at his feet because of his initial resistance to convoying, but in many ways he supplied the same indefatigable spirit to the USN that Churchill did to the British nation. His anglophobia was in part irrational (the Barnett book contains a delightful vignette about a confrontation between him and Sir Andrew Cunningham which resulted in mutual respect) and in part based on his view that open-ended agreements between FDR and Churchill to supply British needs would be a drag on the USN war in the pacific. His opposition to a large RN contribution in the pacific war in 1945 was in my view defensible because of the 'short legs' of major RN naval units and the virtually non-existent capability of the RN to refuel and replenish at sea. In sum, while I'm glad I didn't have to work for him I'm glad he was around! Best regards, Joel Labow -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From: Lump518176@aol.com Subject: Re: Ned Barnett....USS Ward photos AT the Naval Historical Center website (photographic section) there are several photos of Ward at various times in her career. Best of all, they all are free to download for your own use!! This is one of my favorite websites, literally hundreds of previously unpublished photos of mainly USN warships, all eras. Each week they are expanding the no#/selection of photos on the website. Check it out Ned. Jerry Phillips -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) From: maeisen@erols.com Subject: Warship Identification Dear Rhinobones: The model in question is I believe HMS Barham by Paolo Pizzi, who edits an e-zine formally called Navismagazine (currently called Air and Sea or something similar) and it is based on the 1/700 Waveline kit. It is indeed a nice kit (I have it) and a nicely done model. Happy New Year. Mike Eisenstadt -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) From: Ives100@aol.com Subject: Re: New Book on Cold War Submarine Operations For those of you who enjoyed "Blind Man's Bluff" by Sherry Sontag and Christopher Drews, a new book will be published this March, written By John P. Craven. Craven is a prominent figure in Naval Undersea system developments, and was Project Scientist on the Polaris Missile Program. Craven developed the systems used by the USS Halibut when she was converted to a "Special Projects" submarine. Halibut covertly inspected the wreckage of the Soviet Golf II submarine, lost in 1968, by deploying robotic cameras from Halibut (submerged at 300 feet) down to the Golf at 17,000 ft. Craven also used advanced techniques in searching for "lost" items underwater, including H-bombs and the USS Scorpion. The book is "The Silent War: The Cold War Beneath the Sea" John Pina Craven; Hardcover; $25.00. I preordered a copy for myself, and will review it online when it becomes available. Tom Dougherty -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) From: "Michael J. D'Silva" Subject: Re: Warship Identification To Rhinobones: The picture definitely looks like a Queen Elizabeth class battleship, and more specifically the Warspite after her first refit at Rosyth (12 March to 16 May 1918). Although, according to Bernhard Ireland's account in Jane's Battleships of the 20th Century, torpedo bulges were added to the entire class in the 1920s. The ship is not in a WW2 configuration because by that stage all had been modified to include the fortress-style bridge/conning tower assembly as is clearly evident in pictures of these vessels during WW2. Sources: The Grand Fleet - Warship Design and Developement 1906 to 1922 by D. K. Brown; Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906 to 1921; Jane's Battleships of the 20th Century by Bernhard Ireland; Warships of the World Website: www.warships1.com/index_ships.htm I am only going on the information and resources I have access to, so the model could theoretically be any of the five ships of the class. Logically though, it should only be of the ones available (unless it's scratchbuilt or a modified kit?) and therefore you'll need to check Pacific Front's list. As far as I'm aware, the only Warspites carried by White Ensign Models are their own 1942 version (the 1916 version is scheduled for sometime this year, according to their latest list) and the Airfix 1/600 version which is definitely in a WW2 fit. There was a Queen Elizabeth 1915 made by Waveline but that's long out of production and doesn't match the picture anyway. However, I think there is a Waveline 1/700 HMS Barham available from Pacific Front Hobbies. This may sound like an obvious question, but have you tried an e-mail enquiry to the address listed on the Orange County IPMS homepage? Good hunting, Michael D'Silva Melbourne, Australia -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) From: Subject: Happy New Year to ALL Smellies A Happy New Year to All our listings, and thanks indeed to our Australian List persons who put all this together every day. Now that it is ALL over, I start my New Years Resolution. Think Thin- TWO STONE (28 LBS.) (Lots more in Kilos). (14 bags of sugar) To lose. I started my task last night, and went to bed early with a sore throat and a library book. I am working hard on new G/A drawings. HMS Jackal (side profile is completed) and O.R.P. Piorun ex HMS Nerrisa side profile is almost complete and her plan view is being worked on. (Fellow smellie author please note). Much new work is planned (Wild Goose, Kittiwake, Whitehall, Starling, Bridlington, 71 ft 6 inch British Power Boat MTB's etc are ALL being worked on). I have a mass of original drawings for Castle Class Frigates. (28 in all). Such items as the shell expansion for both riveted and welded construction. A/S instrument room, A/S (Asdic or sonar) compartment and details. Also included on my order was a "Typical layout of Foxer equipment" at 1/8" = 1 Ft. The bad news is that I do NOT have any drawings of the "Foxer", the equipment that was towed astern to target incoming 'U' Boat acoustic torpedo. (or the even better Canadian version whose name escapes me at present). Can any one point me in the direction where I can find information (drawings or photographs) on such animals please? And so - BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD. Yours "Aye" John Lambert. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15) From: "P Chant" Subject: Re: HMS Cardiff >> The HMS Cardiff was at NS Mayport, Florida last month. Does anyone know why? What class is she? << Cardiff is a Type 42 Destroyer (Batch 2) Pennant No. D108. She was in Florida on her way back from a standard 6 month deployment in the Caribbean as "Atlantic Patrol Ship (North)" - what used to be called the West Indian Guard Ship. She arrived back in Portsmouth on November 27th. You can usually find all the details of RN ship visits at the Navy News Newspaper site: www.navynews.co.uk Peter Chant Plymouth UK -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16) From: Minadmiral@aol.com Subject: Re: 1:1200/1250 ships Hi; Wow- I learn something new every day!! I buy ancient wargame figures from Irregular by the ton!! I'll check this out. Thanks Chuck Duggie WoodenWalls Listmeister Naval wargamer, amateur naval historian, and ship modeler -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17) From: Erwin Van Deynze Subject: Re: Belgian Minesweepers at Work >> I have heard a lot about clearing antipersonnel landmines, but little is heard about the continuing threat of seamines. I think a salute is in order to all those countries and the ships they send to carry out this effort. << Hi Robert, Here in Belgium, we are quit proud on our demining forces. Being the frontline for four years during WW1 the Westhoek is probably the most shelled, bombed and mined piece of real estate in the world. So I guess some expertise is self-evident. Even today, farmers find shells in their fields, many of them being gas-shells, they usually lay them on the side of the road, and the demining people do a regularly route along those fields and just pick them up. Just this past year they started a methodical sweep of the Belgian beaches for unexploded bombs. Seems our allies' bombers when returning with unused ordnance, just dropped the stuff in the sea and sometimes not so quit in the sea. Now the Belgian coast (easy distinguishable by its cliffs.... of appartment blocks) is one of the busiest on the North Sea. They have found a lot of bombs and on regular intervals disposed of them with explosives. Something that was always good for a bit of spectacular footage in the news during calm periods... Also our Naval Forces (Forces ????) are specialised in mine-sweeping, they also did a fine job during the Gulf War. I still remember the news footage of 'our boys' loading up their ships with heaps of the neccesary stuff (mainly stacks and stacks of beer barrels...). One of the minesweepers had to return with problems with her screw-axle before it had even left the Channel and one of the others came in trouble in the press when during passage through the Med, an officer ordered gun-practice on a dolphin... Another problem was that they didn't had any AA on board to speak off, so they a couple of army-guys were put on board with a french AA rocket system that the army has (Milan ? am I right ?) Erwin -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18) From: FrederKappes@netscape.net Subject: Friedrich´s questions part 1: A-names New year - new try: Who can help? Almirante Lynch (Chilean destroyer ~1913) date of commission, line drawing Amerikaland (Swedish transport ~1925) date of completion Amiens (French sloop 1919) line drawing Aquarius (British RAF-aircraft-tender ~1934) date of commission Atlantic Span (transport 1967) has she been rebuilt? Athene (British aircraft transport 1940s, sister of Engadine) date of commission Thank you in advance Friedrich The FriedrichFiles http://sites.netscape.net/friedkappes -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19) From: Fkbrown90@aol.com Subject: U.S.S. Philippine Sea I saw the following in a recent issue of "Reminisce" magazine, and pass it on to SMML without comment. "I am assembling a memorial room dedicated to the U.S.S. Philippine Sea CVA/S47 and its crew. It (the room) will be aboard the U.S.S. Hornet aircraft carrier, which is a floating museum. I'm looking for squdron, division, or department patches, pictures, logos, and any scale model planes that flew off its deck from 1944 to 1969." M.N.Gaul 7471 Blue Fox Way San Ramon California 94 583 Franklyn -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20) From: "Peter Sketchley" Subject: HMS Cardiff The HMS Cardiff was at NS Mayport, Florida last month. Does anyone know why? I believe she made a courtesy visit while returning to the UK following a six month deployment to the Caribbean and South Atlantic(North). www.royal-navy.mod.uk/static/pages/138.html for further details. What class is she? HMS Cardiff (D108) is a batch 1 Type 42 Destroyer. Happy New Year Peter Sketchley Cambridge UK -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21) From: Schiefet@cs.com Subject: Re: USS Ward >> Does anyone have a photo of the USS Ward (Pearl Harbor era) that I could borrow for reproduction in an upcoming IPMS/USA Journal? We're including a kit review, as well as an excellent sidebar on the Ward's history ... I'd like to illustrate that sidebar with a photo. Full credit will be given and the photo will be returned. << Ned, I have Bob Sumrall's USS Ward book with several pictures in it. You may want to contact Bob at the US Naval Academy. Check the Academy web site and look for links to the curator of models (what a neat job). Good Luck, Steve Singlar Pelham, NH PS. All dug out from 14" of snow. Thank God for a neighbor with a plow :-} -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 22) From: Roland Mar Subject: Re: Mystery BB The best that I can see is that it is a British QUEEN ELIZABETH class battleship. I have a picture of the BARHAM in 1938 taken from the starboard quarter that looks almost like a mirror image of the picture of the model, including the seaplane on 'X' turret. The question remains as to which vessel of the class and when (due to multiple and varying refits of all ships in the class). I cannot pull enough of the detail of the model from the expanded thumbnail to be absolutely certain; but I think that due to the width of the stack, the searchlight platforms alongside the stack, the heavy tripod mast, and what I think is a stern gallery (old eyes and not enough resolution on screen): I believe that it is BARHAM circa 1940. That's my guess, but I'll gladly yield to better eyes, better monitors, and more information. As to what kit, I will leave that to others. Hope this helps, Roland Mar -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 23) From: "John Rule" Subject: Model Identity >> On the web page for the Orange County Chapter of the IPMS there is a gallery containing some marvelous pictures of ships built by their chapter members. In the fourth row down, right hand side (just above and to the right of the Titanic) is a wonderful picture of a battleship (or maybe it is a battle cruiser). << The model appears to show a Queen Elizabeth Class battleship probably Malaya or Barham in rebuilt condition in the 1930's. Happy New Year (when it comes) to one and all. John Rule -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Model club & SMMLcon Infomation -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: Shane Subject: SMML site revamp Hi gang, Well after a few hectic days, the revamp is now live. We have expanded the site in a few sections, including among others a new article section etc - please check it out & send any comments in. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Mike for his sterling work on the site. Even though his work committments had stopped the revamp going thru earlier, what he's done despite that, is very commendable. If you have any contributions that you would like to send in, please contact myself & Mike & we'll help you as much as possible. If by any chance we have missed any contribution, please contact us ASAP & we'll get to it promptly. Regards, Shane Mike also adds the following: Hi all, and a Happy New Millenium! As promised, the web site has been revamped & is now live - yup, available now. It's at the usual address - http://www.smml.org.uk - and is full of goodies for you all :-) Please feel free to contact either myself or Shane if by some mis-chance you find some link problems, or if you would like to send something in for us to post. Enjoy! Mike SMML Webmaster -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: "Leslie Brown" Subject: Small Warships SIG Issue 02 of 'Escort' has been uploaded today to the Small Warships Special Interest Group website www.brown.abelgratis.co.uk Hope you all enjoy it and have a happy New Year. Regards Les Brown -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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