Subject: SMML VOL 2320 Date: Wed, 08 Oct 2003 02:50:48 +1000 SMML is proudly sponsored by SANDLE http://sandlehobbies.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS INDEX 1: USS Essex CV-9 2: Re: Unusual ship 3: Re: Unusual Ship 4: Re: Unusual ship 5: Re: Unusual ship 6: USNS CHARLTON (T-AKR 314) 7: ICM Kaput? 8: United States Naval Ships 9: Re: Unusual ship 10: Unusual ship in Boston 11: Re: ICM 12: Re: ICM 13: Re: unusual ship 14: Re: USNS Charlton T-AKR 314 15: Re: Unusual ship 16: Re: The Navy ship Charleton 17: Pt-109 Tv show 18: Re: USNS CHARLTON 19: Re: Unusual Ship 20: Re: Unusual ship 21: Re: USNS CHARLTON 22: Idzumi protected cruiser 23: Spanish Navy Colours 24: New Bismarck & Hood 3D Graphic Web Site! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: "Chuck Evans" Subject: USS Essex CV-9 I just purchased the Trumpeter USS Essex CV-9. The instructions say to paint most of the ship navy blue. Can anyone verify what color she was painted during WWII? Thanks, Chuck Evans Minneapolis ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: "Linthicum, Keith A" Subject: Re: Unusual ship >> We were just poking around the Boston waterfront Sunday morning and came upon a very big ship at a commercial ship repair facility. It was painted Navy gray, and has two humungous cranes, plus very large cargo type doors in the hull and a ferry type very large ramp at the stern. The name was done in quite small black letters, difficult to read, and in a format we had not seen before. It is as follows: UNITED STATES NAVY SHIP CHARLTON The first two lines were quite small size, the name CHARLTON was a little larger. No letters were the classic Navy shape. We have never seen a Navy ship that was not "U.S.S." followed by the name. Can any SMML people please tell us what kind of ship it is, what it is supposed to do, and why the unusual name format? Two curious minds want to know, and will appreciate your input. << It is the T-AKR-314 Charlton, a Watson-class Vehicle Cargo Ship used to provide high-speed transportation for Army and Marine units. Delivered on 23 May 2000. Keith Linthicum ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: aandmblevins Subject: Re: Unusual Ship Hello Franklyn, I believe that "CHARLTON" is one of the Navy's auxiliary ships operated by the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS). These ships are generally oilers, provision ships and seagoing tugs among others. They are crewed by civilians with a small Navy detachment aboard to handle communications. They usually have a distinctive band painted around the funnel, blue white and yellow I think. Al Blevins ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: URUDOFSKY Subject: Re: Unusual ship USS Charlton (T-AKR 314) This is very well described at the Haze Gray site: http://www.hazegray.org/worldnav/usa/aux_seal.htm and scroll down to "Watson class". There are 8 ships like that. Click on the photo for an enlargement. Ulrich Rudofsky ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: "Jerry Slagle" Subject: Re: Unusual ship Franklyn, The ship can be found on the below links. Hope this helps in answering your question. http://www.amo-union.org/Newspaper/Morgue/6-2000/Sections/News/charlton.htm http://www.msc.navy.mil/inventory/ships.asp?ship=charlton&type=LMSR Jerry ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: Starline / Fleetline Subject: USNS CHARLTON (T-AKR 314) USNS Charlton is one of Military Sealift Command's nineteen Large, Medium-Speed Roll-on/Roll-off Ships and is part of the 36 ships in the Prepositioning Program. " Length: 950 feet " Beam: 106 feet " Draft: 34 feet " Displacement: 62,644 long tons " Speed: 24.0 knots " Organization: Combat Prepositioning Ship " Squadron: Afloat Prepositioning Ships Squadron Four " Civilian: 30 " Military: 5 Named after Sergeant Cornelius H. Charlton's Medal of Honor citation. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: "Katz, Gene S" Subject: ICM Kaput? Hannant's advises that ICM will be no more and they have acquired a bunch of ICM inventory. Get 'em while they last. Gene S. Katz ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: Joel Labow Subject: United States Naval Ships Franklyn, The appellation 'United States Naval Ship' or 'USNS' is used for ships belonging to the Military Sealift Command rather than the Navy proper. They are crewed by civilians on contract with the Military Sealift Command and carry a small Navy nucleus crew to handle classified communications, etc. The majority of auxiliary ships such as oilers and replenishment ships are now USNS rather than USN, as are our two hospital ships. USNS ships have a 'T' preceding the type designator, i.e T-AO or T-AH. The other visual indicator of USNS status is bands of gold and blue around the stack below the black boot-topping. Hospital ships are particularly unusual in that they have two COs, the civilian mariner CO in charge of the crew and a Navy medical officer CO responsible for the operation of the hospital proper. Joel Labow ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) From: "Ouellette, Lawrence M" Subject: Re: Unusual ship Franklyn, The Charlton (T-AKR 314)is a Military Sealift Command (MSC) Large, Medium-Speed Roll-on/Roll-off Ship that is part of the Propositioning Program: http://www.msc.navy.mil/inventory/ships.asp?ship=charlton&type=LMSR If this is the ship you saw, I surprised she is in for repair, because she is only about 4 years old. Maybe it is just routine maintenance. She was probably used to supply our forces in Iraq, as that is her job. I believe United States Navy Ships are manned by civilian personnel, with USN or USNR Commanding Officers. A few years back when the cargo ship Southern Cross was still berthed across from the USS Salem, it was also marked the same way, with the USNS part painted over, but still legible. She was, and still is, the ex-USNS Southern Cross and I think she is stored in the James River inactive ships area. Larry Ouellette Volunteer, USS Salem (CA 139) United States Naval Shipbuilding Museum Quincy, Massachusetts, USA http://www.uss-salem.org/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) From: "Rod Dauteuil" Subject: Unusual ship in Boston Franklyn, Just doing a simple search in Yahoo shows that it is a USN RO/RO (Roll On-Roll Off) cargo ship. In fact I came across a whole page for that class of ship: http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/takr-300.htm Rod ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) From: Erwin Van Deynze Subject: Re: ICM >> Yeah! What the heck is going on. I've been waiting for them to come out with their 1:350 HMS Hood. It even appeared on the Hannants website as a "Coming Soon" item with box art and everything. I heard a rumour that they went belly up. Is this true? << Latest news from the Hannants Mailing list is that ICM completely stopped production... They were takenover by Alanger some time ago. Wienne ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) From: "William H. Shuey" Subject: Re: ICM The latest Hannant's e-flyer states that ICM has "ceased production" and Hannant's is putting their remaining stock of ICM model aircraft kits on sale. That said, I have heard that there is a new firm to rise from the ashes, so I am taking a wait and see attitude on this. I too was looking forward to ICM's Hood with anticipation. As far as I know their last ship release was another iteration of their German Battleship kit as "S.M.S. Markgraf". Bill Shuey ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) From: "Fox, John" Subject: Re: unusual ship This ship is a Military Sealift Command (MSC) ship. MSC provides sea transportation for the DOD. It is not a commissioned USN ship, so it doesn't carry the USS designation, but uses USNS (United States Naval Ship). They are manned by a civilian crew and are commanded by a Master. They are usually painted haze gray, and look like regular Navy ships, but they have a blue and a gold band painted around the stack. USNS Charlton (T-AKR 314) is a RO-RO ship (Roll-on/Roll-off). Go to the link below for info: http://www.msc.navy.mil/inventory/ships.asp?ship=charlton&type=LMSR John Fox ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) From: "Tony Mattson" Subject: Re: USNS Charlton T-AKR 314 hi Franklyn, you were looking at one of the 19 LMSes - large, medium-speed, roll-on, roll-off ships constructed for the Military Sealift Command. I've seen Charlton refered to as a Bob Hope class and Watson-class, but I can't explain the unusual naming convention. Here are a few links for you: http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/takr-300.htm http://www.nassco.com/news/121399.html http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Oct1998/b10061998_bt521-98.html http://www.msc.navy.mil/inventory/ships.asp?ship=charlton&type=LMSR ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15) From: "Craig Bennett" Subject: Re: Unusual ship Hi Concerning the USNS CHARLTON. The "USNS" means the crew is civilian. Employees of the Military Sea Lift command a branch of the Navy. If the ship was a active with full navy crew then "USS" would apply. Most of the civilians on board are ex-navy now employed by the Federal gov't. The ship is a roll on-roll off cargo ship that the Federal gov't has been building up on. When the first Persian gulf war occurred it became apparent that the merchant mothballed fleet haven't been properly cared for and broken down while transporting troops and equipment to Saudi Arabia. They have website for it www.USNS CHARLTON.com. I looked at it and for a 950 ft long ship ,wow. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16) From: Kdg345 Subject: Re: The Navy ship Charleton I have seen those type of ships at the Tacoma waterfront and understood that they are Navy ships but have the USNS designation meaning that they are owned by the Navy and operated by a civilian crew. Since Fort Lewis Washington is very near by I assume these ships are on standby for loading heavy equipment. Ken Groom ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17) From: andrew jones Subject: Pt-109 Tv show I was catching up on my videos of shows i tape from the TV & was watching a show that was on the ABC about a month ago..True Stories..the search for Pt-109 by Robert Ballard..it was a good show & they even interviewed the 2 natives that rescued Kennedy, it was such a pity, Kennedy had promised that they were welcome to the US & he would meet up with them & one of them did go to the US or tried to get to the US but was refused entry as he could not speak english & im not sure if the other one tried as well or not.& after Kennedy was killed he built a large stone memorial to him & he looks after it himself & the other guy built a wooden canoe to give to the US people as his memorial to Kennedy when he was interviewed by Ballard's team ..one of the guests of the ship was one of Robert kennedy's sons. It was quite sad that Kennedy never got the chance to really repay these 2 guys efforts ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18) From: Darren Scannell Subject: Re: USNS CHARLTON From the Navy League website, >> The Military Sealift Command's fifth Watson-class LMSR was christened Charlton (T-AKR 314) by Fairy M. Papadopoulus, sister of the ship's namesake, and her cosponsor, Marion Stearns White, wife of retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Byron R. White. The principal speaker at the 11 December 1999 christening ceremonies at the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO) shipyard in San Diego, Calif., was Army Maj. Gen. Mario F. Montero, assistant deputy chief of staff for logistics. Also speaking were Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-Calif.), Vice Adm. Gordon S. Holder, commander of the Military Sealift Command, Rear Adm. Dennis G. Morral, program executive officer for expeditionary warfare, and Richard H. Vortmann, president of NASSCO. Serving as matrons of honor were Agatha Fincher, also a sister of Charlton, and Nancy Lippe, daughter of Justice and Mrs. White. The 950-foot LMSR is named for Army Sgt. Cornelius H. Charlton, who was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for heroism in the Korean War. When his platoon was attacked on 2 June 1951 and his platoon leader was wounded, Charlton rallied his men for an assault on enemy positions on a commanding hill. He killed six enemy soldiers with rifle fire and grenades before suffering a severe chest wound from a grenade. Mortally wounded, Charlton refused medical attention and led another attack. The 62,000-ton Charlton is designed to transport Army helicopters, armored vehicles, and other equipment in approximately 390,000 square feet of cargo space to potential trouble spots overseas. Gas turbine engines are designed to power the ship to speeds up to 24 knots. << Darren ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19) From: "Leonard, Michael W" Subject: Re: Unusual Ship >> We have never seen a Navy ship that was not "U.S.S." followed by the name. << USNS ships are owned by the US government (i.e., the Navy) but crewed by civilians. These are logistic support vessels, and many are ex-USS. Mike ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20) From: Bradford Chaucer Subject: Re: Unusual ship SEE: http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/takr-300.htm It is a Bob Hope Class USNS Combat Prepositioning ship Military Sealift Command's newest class of ships — Large, Medium-speed, Roll-on/Roll-off Ships, or LMSR http://www.msc.navy.mil/inventory/ships.asp?ship=charlton&type=LMSR Regards, Bradford Chaucer ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21) From: NAS4853 Subject: Re: USNS CHARLTON I suggest that you see http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/factfile/ships/ship-takr.html which gives information and details of this class of ship that has no home port/base, they are in fact fast heavy lift vessels. So how's that for a research by a "limey" here in the Garden of England Norman SELLS Tenterden Kent UK ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 22) From: "Roberto Paredes" Subject: Idzumi protected cruiser Hi, Does anyone live in Japan? I'm looking pictures about Idzumi protected cruiser (ex-Esmeralda). Someboby told me that there is a picture in Mikasa museum. TIA Roberto ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 23) From: M Brown Subject: Spanish Navy Colours A simple question, anyone know the hull/weatherworks and deck colours used by the Spanish Navy these days? Michael Brown ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 24) From: SteveWiper Subject: New Bismarck & Hood 3D Graphic Web Site! Thought you guys might like to see some of Thomas Schmid's 3D art on the Bismarck and Hood. It is really good, so much so, that they look like real photos. This is called the "3D History" web site, and can be found @ www.3dhistory.de Steve Wiper ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Check out the SMML site for the List Rules, Backissues, Member's models & reference pictures at: http://smmlonline.com Check out the APMA site for an index of ship articles in the Reference section at: http://apma.org.au/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- End of Volume