The
Royal Navy introduced the aircraft carrier during World War One. Although the
type was new, many naval officers could envision the operational possibilities
of striking an enemy fleet from well beyond the horizon. In the 1920s
Japan
and the
United States
also built small fledgling carriers with the Hosho
and Langley
as their first experiments in aircraft carriers. With the Washington Treaty of
1922 all three major naval powers moved some of their capital ship construction
into conversions for aircraft carriers. The Royal Navy did this in a small way
with a conversion of a slow battleship into HMS
Eagle and conversion of the hybrids, Furious,
Glorious
and Courageous
into full aircraft carriers. These were all smaller and less capable ships than
the Japanese and American conversions.
Japan
converted an unfinished battleship and battle cruiser into the Kaga
and Akagi,
while the USN converted two unfinished battle cruisers into the
Lexington
and
Saratoga
. All three powers still had available tonnage for carrier construction for the
rest of the decade but this period was used for experimentation with the
existing ships as they entered service.
By
the mid 1930s aircraft types had made such a great leap in performance that all
three powers built new carriers designed from the keel up as aircraft carriers.
All three built up to their maximum tonnage allowed under the 1930 London
Treaty. Of the three,
Japan
went a step further. Although no more carriers were allowed under the treaty,
other types of warships could still be built. The Japanese Navy clearly foresaw
the possibility if not probability of war with the
United States
and to a lesser extent
Great Britain
and also recognized the importance of the aircraft carrier. A number of hulls
for new construction were started and slated for different types of ships, such
as fast fleet oilers or seaplane tenders, but were also designed to be
relatively quickly converted into light aircraft carriers. With the lapse of
international treaties and the coming of World War Two, most of these ships were
indeed converted into aircraft carriers.
At the start of World War Two the Royal Navy desperately
needed additional carriers, for convoy protection as much as for fleet duty. CAM
ships could provide one shot protection by catapulting a single fighter to
counter German aircraft but that was unattractive duty as the plane had to ditch
when in ran out of fuel and rescue of the pirate was problematical. The answer
came with merchant ship conversion into a new type of carrier, the CVE. Usually
these were slow with a limited air complement but they were crucial in swinging
the
Battle
of the
Atlantic
towards allied victory. They could also be used in the Pacific but that huge
arena of combat also demanded fast carriers. Attrition was high among the fleet
carriers of the USN in 1942.
Lexington
,
Yorktown
, Hornet
and Wasp
were all lost.
Saratoga
was a torpedo magnet and spent far more time under repair than in operations.
At one point the operational carriers of the US Pacific Fleet consisted only of USS
Enterprise. The
Essex
class fleet carriers would be coming on line in 1944 (as originally forecast)
but these big carriers took time to build. There was, however, one other class
of carrier that would come into service in 1943 to supplement the fleet until
the mass of
Essex
class fleet carriers were ready. This was the
Independence
class of light carrier.
The aircraft carrier had already proven its worth in service with the Royal
Navy, especially the attack on
Taranto
, which immobilized the Italian fleet. However, the USN needed more carriers.
The Hornet
CV8 would not be completed until late 1941 and the
Essex
class was years in the future. The initial units of the class were ordered but
at this time it appeared that they would not be available until 1944. The
President wanted carriers before that time.
The
Independence
class light carrier owes its birth to President Franklin D.
Roosevelt. In early 1941 President Roosevelt was worried about the status of the
United States Navy. Europe seemed firmly under control of
Germany
, as
France
had fallen the year before. The British continued to receive reversals and
since
Germany
and the Soviet Union had a non-aggression pact, it seemed that there was no
likely relief for the beleaguered island, other than the possibility of the
United States
. In the Pacific relations were steadily worsening with
Japan
. He insisted that the navy convert a number of cruiser hulls of the large
Cleveland
class light cruiser program into aircraft carriers. He looked at the
construction program and noticed a huge number of
Cleveland
class light cruisers already under or slated for construction. Why not convert
some of those to aircraft carriers? At first the admirals were against the idea
but it was fortunate that the President had the foresight to insist upon the
carrier conversion. When presented with the President’s plan, the Admirals
found only difficulties with its implementation. The hulls were too narrow and
since the bow sheer was pronounced, the hangar and flight deck would be too
short. There would be difficulties in routing the stack trunks and the forward
elevator would be too far aft because of the narrowness of the bow. However,
President Roosevelt wanted new carriers and acceptable compromises were
developed to overcome the problems. A small island was built outboard of the
hull and instead of trunking all exhausts into one stack, exhaust ducts were run
outboard and the four stacks supported with bracing. Thus the
Independence
class of light aircraft carriers was born.
The
Independence
class could steam at 32 knots and stay with the fleet. On a limited
displacement of 10,000 tons the ships packed a very formidable air wing of 45
aircraft. This air complement was far more formidable than the numbers of
aircraft that could be carried by the Japanese converted aircraft carriers and
was at least equal to the striking power of most British full fleet carriers.
Hull
bulges were added to the cruiser hull for stability because the light carriers
carried more weight higher on the ship than
Cleveland
class cruisers. Only a single H-IVC catapult was mounted and carried on the
port side but in 1945 the surviving ships received a second catapult.
Princeton
CVL-23 was sunk at the Battle of Leyte Gulf after bomb damage detonated the
ship’s torpedo magazine.
Originally they were to
use the standard CV nomenclature but due to their smaller size, they renamed
light carriers CVL. Nine were ordered and converted from
Cleveland
class light cruiser hulls. All nine were commissioned in 1943 with USS
Independence CVL-22 the first on January 1, 1943 and USS San Jacinto CVL-30 the
last on December 15, 1943. The first two ships,
Independence
and
Princeton
had open mount 5-inch/38 at bow and stern but carried them for only six weeks
when they were landed and replaced with quad Bofor mounts. They carried a
composite air group that was customized depending upon the mission. Sometimes
they carried only Hellcats to provide extra fighter protection for the
Essex
class and their strike aircraft. They carried TBM Avengers but when it came to
dive bombers they only carried the Dauntless, as the Helldiver was too heavy to
safely operate off their lighter, narrower and shorter decks. The flight deck
was 525-feet long and 73-feet wide, which is far shorter and narrower than that
of the
Essex
class, which measured 886-feet in length and 90-feet in width. The Admirals who
opposed Roosevelt’s original idea to convert
Cleveland
class cruiser hulls into aircraft carriers were right about the cruiser too
narrow. It was the very narrow bow, which prevented a longer deck. As a
consequence the forward edge of the flight deck ended far short of the bow
giving the bow Bofors mount and wide field of fire when compared with the
limited field of fire of bow mounts of the
Essex
class.
The design did
provide fast carriers on a comparatively light displacement and were very
cramped because of their small size. However, in comparing the
Independence
class with Japanese light carrier designs, the USN CVL packed a very strong
punch. Originally slated to carry 45 aircraft, the
Independence
could carry 40 in the hangar. Because of their high speed they served with the
fast fleet units and were normally teamed with
Essex
class fleet carriers. Near the end of the war with a surplus of
Essex
class construction, they would sometimes serve to ferry aircraft with 40 in the
hangar and 60 to 70 on deck. They had a limited future after the war, as they
were simply a war time expedient. Originally slated to carry only fighters, they
were to carry 48 F8F Bearcats and operate with the
Essex
and Midway
classes, which would carry the attack aircraft. With budget cuts
they were quickly removed from the fleet and placed in reserve status.
The
Independence
was completed with two 5-inch/38 guns, sixteen 40mm guns and ten 20mm guns. As
the war progressed the Oerlikons disappeared in favor of more Bofors. By the end
of the war all of the class mounted 26 or 28 40mm guns in twin and quadruple
mounts.
Independence
was part of the carrier strike force used in the invasion of
Tarawa
. During this campaign she took a torpedo from a Japanese aircraft in November
1943 and spent half a year under repair. She rejoined the fleet and was with the
other fast carriers throughout the rest of the war. After the war the
Independence
was part of the atomic bomb tests at
Bikini
atoll in 1946. She received minor damage as she was removed from the epicenter
of the blast. Decommissioned in August 1946, she was used for weapons trials. In
February 1951 she was used as a target and sunk. (History
from: Aircraft Carriers of the World, 1914 to the Present, 1984, by
Roger Chesneau )
Dragon 1:350 Scale USS
Independence
Finally modelers have there
is an excellent 1:350 scale kit of the
Independence
class light aircraft carrier. The Essex
class is no longer alone in the fast strike groups, as in most cases, an Essex
strike group had an
Independence
class light carrier within the group. The Dragon
Independence
is a kit of options. Do you want to build it full hull or waterline? Do you want
to build it as completed with 5-inch open mounts or with Bofor guns, as the
ships appeared in their Pacific battles? What about the air complement?
Will the Hellcats and Avengers have folded or deployed wings, or both?
There is no choice with the Dauntlesses, as their wings didn’t fold. Which
ever way you go, you won’t be disappointed.
As mentioned, the hull can be completed full
hull or waterline. Dragon provides a separate lower hull for those who prefer
full hull. The upper hull displays their cruiser beginnings, with the bow sheer,
squared off stern and lack of portholes. About the only protrusions or
indentations on the hull sides are the anchor hawse, which are open so anchor
chain can be passed through, and hull bulges. The lower hull has nice bilge
keels but it is at the stern where the original cruiser design is most evident
with the very narrow bow, centerline keel and angular stern. Don’t expect the
large deck of the Essex,
as the flight decks of the
Independence
class were shorter and narrower. The two elevators positions are open with
separate elevators, so they can be position raised or lowered. The model has
only the single H-IVC catapult located on the port side, so the model is
suitable for the ship from commissioning until early 1945 when a second catapult
was mounted. The flight deck planking and tie down strips are very finely
executed and ammunition elevators are present. Arrestor wires are molded on the
deck along with the arrestor wire machinery at deck edges. The upper and lower
hull and flight deck are only three of the 1300 parts provided in the kit. As
with other Dragon kits the other
parts are provided in alphabetical sprues.
A
and B sprues are more accessories
than ships parts. Dragon has provided
a few crewmen in their other 1:350 scale kits but they have increased the count
to 18 with the
Independence
. Dragon also provides deck vehicles
with four tow tractors in sprue A and two Jeeps with separate tires in sprue B.
To round out the goodies are two types of tow bars. All of these parts are
nicely done and the crewmen appear to scale, which is remarkable. Resin crew
castings have always been finer than plastic crewmen in the past because of the
limitations in molding plastic but Dragon
has provided plastic crewmen as good as resin figures. There is undoubtedly a
market for these figures if Dragon
decided to sell them separately. D
sprue is a big ticket item with the forecastle/hangar deck/quarter deck as a
continuous deck, hangar bulkheads and lower hull parts. At the forecastle are
open anchor hawse just as the exit hawse are open on the hull sides. This allows
the modeler to run anchor chain along the anchor chain plates, through the deck
hawse and out the hull hawse. You can portray the ships at anchor, with anchors
raised or in the process of dropping/raising anchor. All in all, this is a very
thoughtful touch by Dragon. The deck
hawse fittings provide extra interest and other forecastle fittings such as open
chocks and a deck coaming are separate parts. However there is a mystery, for
which I still haven’t found an answer. There are two openings, which I assumed
were for windlasses to raise and lower the anchor and pass the chains through a
curved fitting guide to the chain locker. However, in looking at the
instructions, I couldn’t find separate windlasses to fit in the holes. The
windlasses have to be on a separate parts sprue but I did not find them in
examining the sprues. Amidship wells are provided for placement of deck
elevators lowered into the hangar. The short quarter has basically locator holes
and inset for attaching the aft Bofors sponson. The other two main items are the
hangar bulkheads which have detail on the outside but also inside, in the
hangar. If you need a dose of portholes, you’ll get it here with portholes
with rigoles (eyebrows), piping, open hangar ventilation doors and even open
access doors. This is in step with the Dragon policy of providing as many
options as possible. You can choose with each of the many doors whether they
will be open, closed, or anywhere in between. On the inbound or hangar side of
the bulkhead you also get plenty of detail with support ribbing. Separate parts
are provided on other sprues for the interior stack trunks, and various other
bulkhead fittings.
Sprue E is the gallery and platform sprue. Here are all of the flight deck
edge galleries with the gun tubs for the quadruple and twin Bofors mounts, as
well as Oerlikon galleries and Mk 51 directors tubs. You’ll also find a series
of rectangular tubs with exterior support ribs and the elevator support pillars.
The main radar set/fittings parts are on this sprue but don’t use the solid
plastic radar parts. Dragon provides
an optional brass photo-etch in the kit, which provides a far superior choice
over the solid parts. Sprue F has a
mixture of fittings. The four stacks with their support bracing, the deck
elevators and the bow and stern platforms. The funnels have hand/foot rungs
molded on them. The elevators have the same beautiful planking and tie down
strips as provided on the flight deck. The hangar end bulkheads have door,
piping and hand rung detail. Sprue H
concentrates on the island with detailed bulkheads, including an open access
door from flight deck to island. There is a detailed navigation deck for the top
of the island and multiple parts for the lattice mast structure. There is an
assortment of parts for other areas of the ship, such as twin bollard fittings
for the deck edges or cable reels for the aft gallery. The plastic aircraft
crane is remarkably open instead of the solid cranes almost always found in
plastic kits, although I would still prefer using brass photo-etch for equipment
such as cranes. Sprue I is a mishmash
of various parts such as life buoys, bulkhead fittings, open funnel caps and
grates, stack brackets, hangar fittings, and fire hoses. Likewise sprue J
carries various common USN equipment and fittings, such as the carley rafts,
floater net racks with the net inside, closed deck edge chocks, twin bollard
settings and search/signal lights.
The two K sprues provided detailed parts for the open 5-inch/38 guns if the
as commissioned fit is used, as well as ship’s boats. There are multiple L
sprues with a single L sprue that has
the stern hull sponson and tub for the Bofors stern mount. There are three L sprues for Oerlikons. The multiple parts Oerlikons are superb,
which I would choose over brass Oerlikons. The detail and proportions look right
and you get the three dimensions that you don’t get with photo-etch Oerlikons.
Parts include separate pedestal, mount, gun shield, and ammunition drum, with
the photo-etch fret supplying training wheel, shoulder rests and center line
sight. It doesn’t get any better than that. M sprue has bow and stern platforms. It also includes the unique bow
Bofors position. There are four N
sprues, which concentrate on Mk 51 directors. Each N sprue has four two part directors with the pedestal and sighting
equipment as separate parts. Have you ever seen a multi-part Mk 51 in any other
1:350 scale kit? P and Q
sprues are all Bofors parts. As with the Oerlikons, Dragon
has done a superb job with the Bofors. With anti-flash suppressers at the
muzzle, recoil cover and loading mechanism, they are top drawer. Dragon also provides a stand and pedestals for mounting the full
hull version, although it is more than likely, it won’t be used by most
modelers.
Eighteen aircraft are provided. Six SBD
Douglas Dauntless, three F6F Grumman Hellcats with wings folded, three F6F
Grumman Hellcats with deployed wings, three TBM Grumman/Martin Avengers with
wings folded and three TBM Grumman/Martin Avengers with wings deployed are
included. With 18 aircraft, plus Jeeps and tow tractors, you can have a crowded
deck right out of the box. Each aircraft is highly detail. As an example the
deployed wing F6F has 22 separate parts including centerline belly tanks and
bombs. Three full photo-etch brass frets are provided by Dragon.
The largest of the frets contains railing but you’ll find the brass parts,
which will replace plastic parts in the kit. Always go with the brass. These
parts include radar parts and LSO safety net. Other parts are anchor chain,
various support braces and inclined ladders without handrails. Another fret
concentrates on hangar bulkhead details with relief etched segmented sliding
hangar ventilation door and personnel access doors with dog detail. The third
fret provides the very delicate and small parts AA parts such as the Oerlikon
hand wheel, shoulder mount and gun sight. Bofors mounts get the gun shield,
sights, gunners’ seats and control device.
Two decal sheets are provided. The large one
provides the
Independence
deck numbers with optional white and yellow deck markings. Aircraft markings
come with red or white outlines. The red outline was only used for a short
period in 1943. The second decal sheet is small and has generic flag detail. The
instructions are well done, although I still have not found reference on the
instructions or parts for the anchor windlasses. As usual it is one large piece
of paper folded into pages and back printed. Page one has a sprue and parts
laydown, Page two has a paint guide and step 1 in the assembly sequence with
modules in assembling 5-inch, twin Bofors, quad Bofors, Oerlikons, Mk-51
directors and each of the four funnels. Page three has assembly step 2 with
modules on assembly of the crane, radar, lattice mast and islands. Pages four as
well as five contain assembly steps 3 & 4 with modules on lower hull running
gear, stern platform & sponson, bow platforms and gun mounting options, boat
positions, as well as the big ticket hull, deck and bulkhead assembly. Page six
contains assembly steps 5 & 6 for radar platform and gallery and hangar
bulkhead detail assembly. Page seven has assembly steps 7 & 8. It finishes
with the gallery and bulkhead detail. Page eight has aircraft assembly as well
as finishing touches on the ship. The last two pages contain a painting guide
for
Independence
from September and November 1943, as well as aircraft painting.
Verdict
Dragon brings all the detail found in
their 1:350 scale destroyer kits to the big time with their USS
Independence CVL-22 1:350 scale aircraft carrier. The kit is
loaded with options throughout assembly from fit to aircraft complement. With
outstanding execution of plastic parts and optional brass parts provided for
equipment, which plastic can’t adequately capture, the Dragon
Independence
covers all of the bases.
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