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VITAL
STATISTICS
LAID DOWN - September 19, 1934
LAUNCHED - September 14, 1935
COMMISSIONED
- April 10, 1937 EXPENDED - July 2,
1948
ARMAMENT (1944) - four 5 inch guns, twelve 21 inch torpedo
tubes, four 40mm AA guns, five 20mm AA guns
DISPLACEMENT
- 1,488 tons standard ; 2,103 tons FL
PERFORMANCE - 49,000 shp ; 36.5 knots |
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By 1944 all of the class had received substantial modifications.
Number three gun was landed in order to accommodate more AA positions. By 1944 the
standard fit for the class, including Conyngham, was four 5" guns, four 40mm in two
twin mounts, five 20mm in single mounts and the original torpedo armament. There were
exceptions, Lamson had the wing torpedo mounts landed to convert the twin 40mm mounts into
quads and Shaw was reduced to three 5" mounts. Cassin and Downes differed completely
from the rest of the class. They were almost totally destroyed at Pearl Harbor. New ships
were built around the old machinery and they came out looking almost British in
appearance.
The Iron Shipwright USS Conyngham
This review is a hybrid. It is part preview and
it is part build up. I received the resin parts of the ship and a fret from the IS USS
Hull (Farragut Class) Destroyer at the end of September. The fret and instructions for
Conyngham have not yet been done. The following week I read that Profile Morskie was
releasing a title on sistership, USS Drayton. I ordered the volume and waited for it to
arrive before starting on the kit. The Profile Morskie was a perfect match for this kit.
The plans and the kit look like they were done together in that they complement each other
perfectly.
| REFERENCES- USS DRAYTON, Profile Morskie # 28, is the best
reference to use in the construction of this kit. It includes 45 photos of ships in the
class, 16 pages of line drawings a two page line drawing pullout line plan & profile
in 1:400 and a two page color plan & profile. The drawings & pullouts depict the
ship in 1944. DESTROYERS OF WORLD WAR TWO, by M.J.Whitley gives an
interesting overview of the class and some battle history. Both UNITED STATES NAVY
DESTROYERS OF WORLD WAR TWO by John Reilly and US DESTROYERS, AN ILLUSTRATED
DESIGN HISTORY by Norman Friedman give great detail on the design history of the
Mahan class destroyers. |
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The resin parts were typical of IS. All were nicely cast. The hull had a great deal of detail cast integral to it.
The bottom of the hull had some small pinhole voids easily filled and sanded smooth.
The port bilge keel was damaged in one place. The damage was squared off and appropriate
size Evergreen plastic used for repair. On the upper hull, some of the mushroom vents had
small voids that had to be filled with super glue and one wing of the shelter for the
after control position had to be replaced with Evergreen plastic. All of these corrections
are easily accomplished in minimal time. There were no defects in the smaller resin parts.
All parts fitted perfectly with each other.
The IS Conyngham is in the 1944 fit.
The significant features of this fit include the change in the bridge windows. Originally
the bridge had large square windows. This was great for observation but a definite hazard
in battle. In 1944 the windows were gone and smaller portholes were present. Because the
kit has the portholes rather than the larger windows, this kit does not lend itself into
making an earlier version of the class. However, other than Cassin and Downes, almost
every other ship in the class as of 1944 can be modeled from this kit. Lamson and Shaw
would need the greatest modifications but the others are simple. The kit comes with an
option of using one of the two different platforms that sit atop the gun crew shelter.
Most of the class, including Conyngham, would use the smaller, narrow platform, which
mounted one 20mm gun. However, Cummings was unique in having three 20mm on the single
larger platform (see line
drawing at page 102, U.S. Destroyers, An Illustrated Design History by Norman
Friedman) Conyngham’s Mk 4 (rectangle) and other ship’s Mk 28 (small circular
dish) radar normally projected from the face of the director but the Mk 4 of Cummings was
mounted on top of the director. Ted Paris of IS told
me that the IS Conyngham fret will have both Mk 4 and
Mk 28 radars, which will allow the Drayton, Flusser, Cummings or other ships of the class
to be built. As far as I could observe, the only differences between Conyngham and Drayton
were; Conyngham had a Mk 4 radar, Drayton has a Mk 28; Conyngham has vertical 5 "
ready ammo lockers behind the aft control position on the aft superstructure and Drayton
does not.
Modifications
I truly enjoyed building this model. Naturally, part of the enjoyment came from
working on a kit that had not been released. Another part came from the ease of assembly
of the kit. A third area of enjoyment came from making minor modifications to the resin
portion of the kit. The kit comes with two AA director tubs that sit between the main mast
and 40mm mounts. The parts provided show the tubs mounted on narrow pedestals. Through
examination of the photographs of Conyngham and other ships in the class as of 1944, I
believe that the tubs should have their lower halves of the same dimensions as the upper
halves. To do this, I cut slices from a plastic straw and glued them to the lower halves
of the tubs. I also fabricated a torpedo loading boom from scrap resin and mounted it on
the starboard side of the aft funnel. Lastly I used Evergreen plastic rod to fabricate
what appears to be the galley smokestack that immerges from the forward end of the aft
superstructure. The bridge level of the model did not have passageways cut in the deck for
the inclined ladders found inboard of the bridge wing bracing. Using a hand drill, I
drilled four holes on each side of the deck, where the opening should be located. Then I
used a hobby knife to enlarge and square off the correct rectangle shape. I also added
small details and platforms on both masts using scrap resin and stretched sprue. All
rigging was done with stretched sprue. None of these modifications took any great degree
of skill.
As I mentioned, the photo-etch fret for Conyngham still remains
to be done. Although an IS Hull fret was provided,
that fret was not sufficient for the details needed for Conyngham. It was necessary for me
to scratch build the two rectangles of diagonally cross-braced bridge wing supports on
each side of the ship. Additionally I scratch built brass support posts for the 40mm
positions. Photos indicate that they are not just cylindrical posts but instead have a
definite flair at top and bottom. I cannibalized my fret from the IS
USS Moffet for the four K-gun racks and the Mk 4 radar mounted of the face of the gun
director. These items, as well as the Mk 28 radar, will be addressed in the Conyngham fret
when it is prepared.
Painting
One reason I like this model is the dazzle paint scheme employed in 1944 on
the prototype. In 1944 Conyngham, Mahan, Cummings, Drayton, Lamson, Flusser and Smith all
sported Measure 31/ pattern 23d dazzle paint schemes. This information is from the
invaluable camouflage database maintained by John Sheridan at www.shipcamouflage.com. The
color insert in the USS Drayton Profile Morskie
portrays this scheme. Although the pattern does have some curved lines, most are straight.
I find it much easier to mask straight lines for painting rather than the complex curves
found in British Disruptive camouflage schemes. I have found that Tamiya yellow masking
tape is the best product to use for masking. From the boot top up, all paints used were
Tamiya because of their ease in spraying. Because Tamiya does not market the USN colors,
the paints needed to be mixed to the right shades and tints. The best source for this are
the series of color chip sets produced by Snyder and Short. For someone who has not spray
painted an USN dazzle scheme, this is a good one for starters because of the prevalence of
straight lines. The deck pattern was brush painted with Model Shipways paint and the
weathering was done with artists chalk.
Pendente Lite Findings
The court finds that after taking IN REM jurisdiction over the
subject matter, that petitioner, IRON SHIPWRIGHT, has
presented evidence of such clear and convincing nature as to more than meet
petitioner’s burden of proof. Accordingly it is the finding of this court that,
pending final adjudication of the merits of the photo-etch and instructions of petitioner,
that petitioner’s model of USS Conyngham be and
the same is hereby declared to be the 43rd President of the United States with
no dimpled or hanging chads being apparent. (Sorry, I was carried away since this is being
written on the night of December 11, while the US Supreme Court is still deliberating
it’s second decision in the Presidential free for all.)
Sometimes people will ask on the message board for suggestions for their
first 1:350 resin kit. Quite often a small PT or PC will be recommended. I do not hesitate
to recommend this kit. It is easy to build, the parts almost clicked into place. The only
drawback was the minor finishing and repair that was needed on the hull, which is easily
accomplished. I would further recommend it to anyone who has an interest in the
1930’s 1500 ton destroyers. The build is enjoyable and it makes a very nice model.
It wasn’t until Fiscal Year (FY) 1932 that Congress opened the purse
strings to allow new destroyer construction. There were two designs that were put into
production, the Farragut class of 1500 tons,
to be the standard fleet destroyer and the Porter class
of 1850 ton destroyer leaders. The Mahan class
of sixteen ships was the follow-on design for the Farraguts and made minor improvements to
the Farragut design with one major improvement. The Mahan’s introduced an advance in
propulsion. The maximum rotation of the Farragut’s turbines was 3,460 rpm,
while the new design used in the Mahan’s was 5,850 rpm. Other changes were cosmetic,
including the introduction of a crew shelter located between the bridge and number 2
mount. In 1934 all 16 vessels in the class were laid down and they joined the fleet in
1936 and 1937. Three of the class are prominently featured in the photographic record of
the Pearl Harbor attack. The photograph of the magazine explosion of the Shaw and the
picture of the battered hulks of Cassin and Downes in dry-dock ahead of USS Pennsylvania,
are standard fare in accounts of the event. Six of the sixteen were lost during the war
(View the US Navy Historical Center's excellent photos of the Mahan class destroyer
USS Shaw DD-373).
