Shipbucket

Here is the Colorado as she appeared in November 1942 onwards through half of 1943:



Sources from this time is scarce, so I made do with two grainy images.

Very nice work!

_________________

MS State Guard - 08 March 2014 - 28 January 2023

The Official IJN Ships & Planes List

#FJB

Very nice work Karle94, but are you sure she had the SG radar on the extension just above the conning tower in 1942?

_________________
Thank you Kim for the crest

"Never fear to try on something new. Remember that the Titanic was built by professionals, and the Ark by an amateur"

While the pictures are grainy, and difficult to see, there is something there.

"There is something there" is not exactly comforting...

From this navsource photo (from October 1944...), you can see a small surface search radar mounted in that spot. It's very likely to be the Mk.27 radar (a range-only search set used in lieu of a spotting glass for main battery gunfire direction). The Mk.27 radar is a relatively "late war" item so I highly doubt it was present on this ship in 1942. The small "dot" immediately ahead of it is likely a range or masthead light. It's definitely not an SG radar, and anyway you are using an older version of the SG set with an antenna which is far too wide. See the link in my signature for the correctly-scaled version.

This page lists the air search radars for BB-45 in 1942 as "SC, SRa / SRa". I see no mention of CXAM as you have drawn...

The small radar above the forward spotting top is a Mk.3 Mod.2 fire control radar (BuOrd designation FC). Find it on the sheet linked in my signature. The spotting tops were the equivalents of the large Mk.38 directors on the fast battleships, hence the presence of a fire control radar like FC.

You will need to replace the late-war "square" life rafts with the early rounded ones... check my signature link as always for that. Also replace the old OS2U Kingfisher with the latest one.

What are the "U" shaped things in tubs abeam the aft funnel? Are those supposed to be Mk.51 gun directors? I have the same question about the small circular item in the tub (I assume) aft of the pilot house. I would think that's a compass - do you know what it is, or have you just traced a plan and assumed no one would notice?

I would agree that there's not much material available for this ship during 1942. This is the only photo I can find: http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/014551.jpg

This is where I would look to our esteemed colleague colombamike for assistance. If you have not already PMed him I suggest you do so.

I would much prefer that you spend more time correcting and perfecting each drawing before just jumping onto the next thing. You have made many errors and glossed over a lot of important areas when these ships deserve a much more detailed approach.

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

The image that you linked to is one of the two pictures that I have used. Looking at the observation platforms on top of the mast, it doesnt look like SC and SRa radars, it looks like the gunnery range radar and CXAM-1 radar. I have changed the boats to the rounded ones. The u shaped objects are supposed to be directors, they dont appear to be the Mk 51, but I have put Mk 51s there for now, still images cant confirm that, too far away for small details like that I`m afraid. The rouned thing aft of the pilothouse, do you mean the large object at the very end of the platform? Secondary director for the 5 inch guns.