Shipbucket

The final two iterations are (tentatively) finished:



August, 1941 during the shakedown cruise. Note the austere decks (no 20mm Oerlikons had yet been fitted), lack of fire control radars, and presence of the Mk.35 navigational rangefinders above the pilot house and turret #3. From what I've read, these were used to calibrate the Mk.37 directors for the secondary battery. I have chosen to display the ship in Measure 1 - a pattern consisting of Dark Grey to the funnel tops, with Light Grey on the mast structures above. Various books cite the correct camouflage as Measure 2 (a similar pattern consisting of a Sea Blue (5-S) hull, Ocean Grey (5-O) superstructure, with Haze Grey (5-H) above the funnel tops), but I can't reconcile that with the superb color photos of the ship during its shakedown cruise available in one of the Warship Pictorial books I have. Snyder & Short (the holy bible of ship camouflage) lists both Measure 1 and 2 for BB-55 in 1941, so I may not be wrong.

One of the books I have lists "12" .50-caliber machine guns fitted during the shakedown, but as I can't locate them in any photographs (all save for one), I've chosen not to display them - if anyone has any idea where they might be located, please let me know.

Note the 1.1" quad mounts - only four quadruple mounts exist, woefully inadequate for the aerial threats about to be encountered. The ship's November 1941 refit significantly increased the ship's AA fit - adding many more .50-caliber machine guns and 20mm Oerlikons. That same refit also added the large bracing to the aft Mk.38 director tower in an attempt to reduce vibration. Note lack of sky lookouts and target designators at the air defense level - these would be added in 1942.



This is the ship as it appeared in June of 1942. Note the massive increase in anti-aircraft guns, as well as the addition of fire control radars on the Mk.38 main battery directors (carrying Mark 3 Mod. 1 sets), and Mark 4 sets on the Mk.37 directors (all except the aft director, which won't receive its Mark 4 until 1943). Note the removal of the Mk.35 navigational rangefinders and their (probably prudent) replacement with 20mm Oerlikon cannons. The ship has received more whip antennas and life rafts, among others.

I think I've finally found a Measure 12 modified color scheme that actually works - taken from the Wikipedia USN camouflage page.

Parts sheet to follow shortly...

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USN components, camouflage colors, & reference links (World War II only)

VERY nice work!

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MS State Guard - 08 March 2014 - 28 January 2023

The Official IJN Ships & Planes List

#FJB

Masterful job, she is splendid!

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My Worklist
Sources and documentations are the most welcome.

-Koko Kyouwakoku (Republic of Koko)
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Shipbucket at its finest! (not too say other thread drawings aren't fine, they're great too!)

Little comments about the 1941 version


The 1942 version is being my favorite one for this entire class, I'll be more vicious

Where have you found these excellent high-res photos? I've been mostly relying on books as I couldn't find many online images of the early versions.

Re: the Measure 5 false bow wave - this was never actually used on any of the BB-55 class. What you're seeing is paint chipping along the waterline.

Re: Measure 12, the colors just did not look right to me - especially the Light Grey above the funnel tops. From the few color photos available, the contrast between the dark grey superstructure (either the official color "Dark Grey" or the "Ocean Grey 5-O" listed in the Measure 12 specifications) and the Light Grey tops was not stark enough. I will post a WIP of the Measure 12 version using the correct colors in the Wikipedia article shortly for review. I must point out, however, that Snyder & Short lists the camouflage for BB-55 in 1941 as both Measure 1 and Measure 2.

Excellent catch on the small clipping room between the forward tubs above and immediately aft of the Mk.37 director... I didn't have any of these nice high res photos to work from otherwise I probably would have noticed that. I was wondering why a clipping room was present there during the shakedown, given there were no large Oerlikon batteries to serve...

Noted re: the aft-most life raft. I just couldn't tell from the few photos I had available...

You have circled two vents on the aft superstructure - both of which are clearly present from the photos you've posted. Would be interested to know why you have circled them...

Nice catch on the spotting glass above the conning tower... also didn't notice that hadn't been fitted yet. From looking at the photos I have of the Nov 1941 refit, seems it must have been fitted then - likely as a replacement for the capability lost when the Mk.35 rangefinders were landed in favor of additional 20mm Oerlikons.

You've also circled the aft boat boom - which is present and in the correct position according to the 3rd photo in your set. Seems the hull number was not painted on the bow or stern - so need to remove that.

Good catch on the template... that's the result of doing this at 3am... I need to fix my sleep cycle...

Thanks Mike - I'm very interested to see what you can come up with for the 1942 version. Please respond in depth to my comments - I would like to get these drawings as perfect as possible.

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USN components, camouflage colors, & reference links (World War II only)

Refining the 1941 version (aka april - october 1941 version)


Be patient for the V. 1942

Corrections made where I believe they're applicable:



Here's Measure 12, made following the guidelines available both on Snyder & Short and the Wikipedia article. I don't agree that this is the scheme worn during shakedown:



There's just not enough contrast between the Haze Grey structures above the funnel tops and the Ocean Grey superstructure. Furthermore, the ship's color photos contrast levels seem to match those of other ships which were definitely painted in Measure 1...

As for the Measure 5 False Bow Wave, I have several references (published works) that definitively say Ms.5 was never applied to any of the BB-55 class: what you are seeing is chipped paint. If you can find some official Navy Department or BuShips documents that specifically list Measure 5 for this class, then I will gladly amend it - but for now I have seen no clear evidence supporting it outside of photographs.

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USN components, camouflage colors, & reference links (World War II only)

Hmmm, maybe but dubious for me (due to ww2 various camo scheme)

MS 5

Yes, I have no doubts whatsoever that it looks very similar to the false bow wave sometimes applied to other ships - but, like I mention above, I have not seen any official evidence supporting this conclusion. From reading more of my sources, seems there's no agreement here... people aren't sure if it's the result of wave action on the new camouflage, or if it was actually a prescribed false bow wave... again, I would prefer to see some official documents that mention it before I draw it.

http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-u ... n/bb55.htm

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USN components, camouflage colors, & reference links (World War II only)