Subject: SMML VOL 1186 Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2001 01:15:12 -0800 shipmodels@tac.com.au -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: Hurricane on CAM Ships 2: Re: USS Ronald Reagan 3: Great Eastern 4: Two Re's 5: Matchbox Indy to Portland 6: Nimitz/Reagan Class 7: Question about USS LONG BEACH (CGN-9) 8: Re: Albacore 9: Re: Nautilas 10: Narvik and Bismark 11: Re: Land-locked subs 12: Re: REAGAN CLASS CVN 13: Re: REAGAN CVN and the next kit?? 14: CVN 77 15: CVN Overhauls 16: Re: Bismarck Queries 17: CVN Nimitz Class -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Model club & SMMLcon Infomation 1: SMMLCon 2001 Update -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: Bill Rowe Subject: Hurricane on CAM Ships There was recent interest in the CAM ships and their aircraft. The shop at the National Air and Space Museum, in Washington, D.C. had HURRICATS, The fighters that could not return, Baker, Ralph,; Tempus, ISBN 0752420054, for $27.99. The book seems concentrate on operations. A quick scan showed some blurred photos and no drawings. It is the first book I have see to challenge the concept, "Take offs are optional, but landings are mandatory." Bill Rowe -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: tom Subject: Re: USS Ronald Reagan From a software perspective the USS RR is in a new class... ships systems will all run on Windoze (except, of course, for those systems with imbedded OSs). In a related note Bill Gates owns an 8% stake in Newport News shipbuilding through his personal investment company. (no joke) I can see it now... the USS RR careening out of control and piling into a Chesapeake mudbank on its maiden voyage and the Navy accusing the Army of sabotage... "it's all the fault of some bastard named General Protection!" Tom K -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: Paul Jordan Subject: Great Eastern >> These Websites may be of help to those researching the Great Eastern. Fred Schoonbeck's page is http://www.greateasternsalvage.com /http://www.interlog.com/~anash/greateas.html << There is also a guy on the net called "S.Berliner III" who is supposed to be quite an expert on the Great Eastern (although be warned, he sounds a little "crusty" to me) his email is Berliner-Ultrasonics@.att.net. You may get some information from him..possibly more than you need! By the way..if ANYBODY is researching or building (built/owns) Transition Era Paddleship Steamer models e.g. Great Eastern (static or R/c) please contact me offline. I need your input on a Web site I'm designing for Paddle Ship model enthusiasts. Contact me at pjships@hotmail.com Paul Jordan Victoria, British columbia Canada -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: "Mark Pearce" Subject: Two Re's Hi all 1st re- James Corley's question about naming "she's" the question should be placed the other way around. Why name a she with a he name. The reason that I understand a ship or craft of any sort is called a she is because "it" is a carrier. Just as a woman is a carrier of children. 2nd re - The 1/700 scale debate. I, personally, prefer 1/600 scale. They are small enough to display on shelves together and you can add a little more detail than you can to a1/700th scale. Come back Airfix, all is forgiven. If any one does not know why the 1/600th scale came about! Simple it is ˝ 1/1200th scale. (Therefore twice in size). 1/350th scale is nice but it causes 1/700th scale. Yours from the Modelling Bench Mark P. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: John_Impenna@hyperion.com Subject: Matchbox Indy to Portland Hi Folks, Can anyone tell me if this is doable??? Is the Matchbox kit close enough to make the Portland out of it??? Regards, John Impenna -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: "william k code" Subject: Nimitz/Reagan Class Although I'm sure many here in the US would be more than happy to see Ronald Reagan get an entire class of Carriers named after him. I for one am glad that the USS Ronald Reagan is a Nimitz class ship.. He caused the military to be greatly expanded during his administration this is true. Many would say that this is enough to justify a class of ships..I disagree, he never served in the military. Never saw combat. We have named many of these carriers after Presidents, I have no problem with Pres. Reagan having one named after him. But I believe class Names should be reserved for naval heroes or traditional ships names. I served aboard Nimitz in the late 1970s as a flight deck troubleshooter during launches at night. So I have rather strong feelings on this subject.. I hope CVX bares a traditional name. regards Bill Code -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: Roland Mar Subject: Question about USS LONG BEACH (CGN-9) I am trying to chase down some information that I think I remember from my teens ("long ago when the world was new", i.e. the 1960's). Chasing down the musty corridors of my mind, I'm pretty sure I recall reading about a Navy operation showing off their then new nuclear surface ships. They tied the LONG BEACH up to a dock, ran power lines ashore into the civilian power grid, and ran a city for a while on what I believe was called a "shared Hotel load". believe it was in the Seattle area, it may have also involved BAINBRIDGE, and possibly an SSN (POGY???). It may have been done elsewhere too (Florida??). For some reason, I think I may have also seen mention of it, long ago, in the instructions for the old Revell kit of the LONG BEACH in the history and specs. section. My old LONG BEACH was given to a Navy Recruiting Office long ago. The instructions are probably in a landfill somewhere. Does anyone on the list have the old instructions they can check (and send me a copy of, if it mentions something like this) or any memory of such an occurrence? I'm looking for date, location, and Operation name(s) of anything along this line. Any help in confirming or denying my almost 40 year old memories would be appreciated. Thanks in advance Roland Mar -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: Fkbrown90@aol.com Subject: Re: Albacore I forgot to mention that whenever TV producers want to show a dramatic shot of a submarine, they most frequently select the one showing Albacore breaking the surface of the water and continuing up into the air before falling back with a huge splash. What a ride that must have been! Franklyn -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From: Fkbrown90@aol.com Subject: Re: Nautilas Thanks to those who informed us all that Nautilus is indeed in Groton, Connecticut. And a special thanks to Bob Santos who also included my favorite four-letter "f" word, FREE. And I hasten to add that "Old Ironsides" and her Museum are free as well (although the Museum gratefully and gracefully accepts all donations, which support their educational programs). Franklyn -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From: "chenyangzhang" Subject: Narvik and Bismark Hi Werner >> As I said, most of the comments on Allied Navies (especially the Royal Navy) are simple propaganda and easily recongnizable as that. There is one comment about the Narvik operations that is probably one as well, but maybe someone here has more input on it. The author states, that German sailors in their life rafts were being fired at by British forces. Is that just another misinformation, or did that happen. The book draws a similar picture about British forces at other pages, that are more obvious a lie, here I could not find an other source, so I thought I'd throw it in here. << I know of no incidents when this is supposed to have happened during the Narvik operations. Which action was this supposed to be? >> During the arial attacks on Bismarck, the book states very bad weather conditions. Did the planes make it back to the carriers or did they have to use land based air fields. << Planes made it back to the carriers. One or two did crash but the rest landed safely. >> And finally, is there a good English book about the hunt on Bismarck that was also published in the 40ies? it would be very interesting to read it from the other perspective, but from the same period of time. << The Bismark Episode by Captain Russell Grenfell is probably the best bet. Funnily enough its probably still the definitive account as well. Published in mcmxlviii (whenever that is). There was also a film made during the war which is available. This gives an interesting insight into British propaganda. Chris Langtree -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) From: Fkbrown90@aol.com Subject: Re: Land-locked subs In Journal 1184 in which I invited SMML to visit U.S.S. Massachusetts and U.S.S. John F. Kennedy in Fall River (Battleship Cove, to be exact), I have had second thoughts about the Kennedy. The ship to which I refer is a Destroyer, not the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy, displayed along with a PT Boat , the battleship Massachusetts,and an older Fleet type submarine. In fact I now have doubts if I have identified the Destroyer correctly (it has been many years since I visited Battleship Cove, a circumstance I intend to correct this summer). Again, hopefully a SMMLer from the area can correct me. Battleship Cove does charge a fee. Although volunteers (God bless 'em) do much of the work at the non-federal exhibits, there is still considerable expense for maintenance and repair, etc. Even some National Parks charge a fee these days. "Old Ironsides" is unique in that she is under two cooperating Federal jurisdictions, the Navy and the Park Service. Franklyn -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) From: Darren Scannell Subject: Re: REAGAN CLASS CVN I hate to be picky James, But: >> The RR is an SCB-102A hull, by navy records, thus making her the sixth Roosevelt sub-class carrier. The Nimitz was a SCB-102. << ROOSEVELT is a BURKE class destroyer. >> Considering the design and construction lead times, these classes evolve from unit to unit. The planning folks are calling CVN-77 a Nimitz hull, but she'll likely be more deserving of an SCB-102B or some such designator. << The Navy still calls her a NIMITZ class ship. >> IKE is scheduled to finish her (why do we call a ship named after a man "her"?) RCOH this month and return to the fleet by this summer. AFAIK, she didn't get the new style island as of last spring. << I was just on IKE last weekend and she is just getting ready to enter the yard for her RCOH. NIMITZ is just completing her RCOH and reports indicate that her island has changed significantly, including integrating the aft radar mast into the island. >> It is possible that eventually all the class will be upgraded to the Reagan level, or even the level of CVN-77 if that program works as hoped. << There is an article in the recent issue of Soundings, a Navy paper, and another one in WARSHIP IFR on REAGAN and her sisters. There was mention of thousands of changes that take place during each carriers build, from cable placement to where to bolt things onto a bulkhead, to where a bulkhead will be placed. So many changes come down the pipes that NNS has to put a stop to them at some point and just finish the ship. One of the bigger changes was mentioned yesterday, the bulbous bow on the REAGAN. This is being considered as a refit to the rest of the fleet as it increases efficiency at speed, as well as changing the superstructure. Regards, Darren Scannell -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) From: stillmo@mb.sympatico.ca Subject: Re: REAGAN CVN and the next kit?? Hey, bet you ten bucks that Monogram has already got the box art and instructions changed for their next 'new' kit release in 1/720TH or whatever small scale they do....and it will be the same old NIMITZ kit with RONNIE REAGAN stamped all over it---and absolutely, absolutely zip changes done to any part of the kit........Anybody agree??? RD Bean -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) From: Dave Shirlaw Subject: CVN 77 NEWPORT NEWS SHIPBUILDING AWARDED CONTRACT FOR NEW NIMITZ-CLASS CARRIER, CVN 77 NEWPORT NEWS, Va., January 26, 2001 – Newport News Shipbuilding (NYSE: NNS), announced today that it has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Navy for the design and construction of the tenth Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, CVN 77. The as-yet unnamed CVN 77 will serve as the first transition ship to a new class of carriers. The contract is valued at approximately $ 3.8 billion and the carrier is scheduled for delivery in 2008. Unlike other Nimitz-class carrier construction contracts, Newport News Shipbuilding is also responsible for delivering the ship's warfare system, a task previously performed by the Navy. This includes development and procurement of the warfare system through a subcontract to Lockheed Martin and overall integration of the warfare system into the ship. "CVN 77 is an important transitional step toward the evolution of future carriers and an important milestone in the company's growing role as an overall platform integrator," said NNS Chairman and CEO Bill Fricks. "CVN 77 will incorporate new technologies that pave the way for development of the Navy’s next class of large deck, nuclear-powered carriers." The integrated warfare system on CVN 77 will incorporate a new multifunction radar system and an "open architecture" information network that will enable new technology insertion in an efficient and cost-effective manner. "Our program objectives for the next class of carriers include reducing the total ownership cost of the ship, reducing crew requirements and improving certain operational capabilities," said NNS Vice President of Technology Development and Carrier Fleet Support Irwin F. Edenzon. "CVN 77 is both the last ship of the Nimitz class and the first step in the evolutionary process of developing CVNX." Newport News Shipbuilding designs and constructs nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines for the U.S. Navy and provides life-cycle services for ships in the Navy fleet. The company employs nearly 17,000 people and has annual revenues of approximately $2 billion. Dave Shirlaw Editor, Seawaves Magazine www.seawaves.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15) From: "Mike Leonard" Subject: CVN Overhauls >> IKE is scheduled to finish her (why do we call a ship named after a man "her"?) RCOH this month and return to the fleet by this summer. << Actually, it's NIMITZ that's due to complete overhaul shortly and EISENHOWER will then undergo a three-year refit (with new island) and reactor refueling at Newport News. Workers were swarming all over the ship last weekend, removing liferaft capsules, tearing up non-skid on the flight deck, and otherwise getting them ready for a long period in the yards. Mike Alexandria, VA USA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16) From: Sanartjam@aol.com Subject: Re: Bismarck Queries Hi Werner, I think the bit in the book about the British firing on German rafts is just propaganda; why would they fire on rafts at the same time they were trying very hard to pick up suriviors from the Bismarck? To my knowledge, all Swordfish that attacked the Bismarck returned to the carrier they were launched from (Victorious or Ark Royal) and none had to divert to a land base. I don't think any were lost period, though some were very badly shot up. As for British books on the Bismarck in the 40's, the only one I can think of is "The Bismarck Episode" written in 1948 by Russell Grenfell. (Someone like Dan Jones will now correct me on this.) The parts I have read seemed very factual and analytical and not propagandistic. You might also want to refer to the Admiralty's 1942 book on the Ark Royal for an account of the Bismarck chase; it could well be more propagandistic. Art Nicholson -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17) From: "Jon Krol" Subject: CVN Nimitz Class In the books that I have on the subject of US carriers, the JFK while usually considered in a class of her own, or lumped into the Kitty Hawk/ America class, probably has more in common with the Nimitz class than the Kitty Hawk Class that preceded her. JFK's flight deck arrangement is almost exactly like the Nimitz's. The America's deck layout is more like the Kitty Hawk class. Indeed a friend of mine who served aboard the JFK told me the ship was originally designed to be nuclear powered but congress decided not to provide funding for nuclear propulsion because of the cost. I live in Jacksonville, Florida and the JFK is based at nearby Mayport NS and in interviews with the captain that fact had been confirmed. That would explain the more familial resemblance of the JFK to the Nimitz which was the next carrier to be built after the JFK. Surprisingly, I never hear mention of the resemblance to Nimitz only the relationship to the Kitty Hawk class which I think is due to the propulsion system type of the JFK. My friend also said that the water tanks that were to provide cooling for the reactors were then utilized for supplying water to the ships company. He said they never ran out of hot water for showers! Jon Krol Jacksonville, Florida -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Model club & SMMLcon Infomation -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: SAMI ARIM Subject: SMMLCon 2001 Update Hello all, Our list for Saturday the 21st of April seminars are growing up, and so is the number of registrants. I am happy to announce that Gary Kingzett also accepted our invitation. Gary will be having a seminar expanding his USS Oregon article in FSM September 2000. For those who will be there bring in your FSM issues. Gary will sign copies for a small donation to the museum of USS Hornet. As for the Friday day trip and dinner, we will make an announcement shortly. Duane is working hard organizing the day for us. Best Regards Sami Arim -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Check out the SMML site for the List Rules, 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