Scale Model of sloop of war U.S.S. Peacock built at Pearl Harbor 1924

[Kapena Kuke]

I am seeking the whereabouts of a scale model of the U.S.S. sloop of war Peacock built at the Pearl Harbor Navy Ship Yard in 1924. A photo of the model appeared on the front page of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin on Monday, October 27, 1924. The Peacock and the frigate Dolphin arrived in Honolulu in 1826 and were the first U.S. Navy warships to visit Hawaii. 

 

Photo of model is at this link.

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/93996264/peacock-model-at-pearl-harbor/

 

[allanyed]

James (or do you prefer Jim or Captain😀),

Welcome to MSW!

 

Are you looking for the actual model in that photo from 1924?  Do you know where the model was photographed?  As it was a model put in the water, it may very well not have stood up to the past 98 years and no longer exists.   If you can locate contemporary plans of her you could always build a model at whatever scale you wish and it would probably look more like the actual Peacock built in 1813 than the model in the photo.  If you look at the photo (which I have enlarged below) and contemporary paintings of Peacock  prior to being rebuilt in 1827/1828, you will see that other than having two masts  the model in the photo looks nothing like the Peacock when she visited Hawaiii 1826.  Perhaps this model is what she looked like after being broken up and then rebuilt in New York.  A few  examples just to start are that the gun ports are not placed properly, she would have three square sails on each mast, not five, and the bow appears to be far too sharp rather than somewhat bluff bowed for that era and the list goes on.   

 

Allan  

 

 

Edited February 3, 2022 by allanyed

[wefalck]

Wasn't there a report on the voyage of U.S.S. PEACOCK printed ? I vaguely remember that there was a chapter on polynesian seafaring, but I could also mix this up with another ship.

 

Also the Bernice P. Bishop Museum (https://www.bishopmuseum.org) may have some information.

[WILLIAM H CLARK]

USS Peacock https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Peacock_(1813)#USS_Peacock_.281828.29 commanded by William L. Hudson https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_L._Hudson was a sloop of war in the US Navy Squadron that explored the South Pacific, Antartica, Western North America on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Exploring_Expedition 

[WILLIAM H CLARK]

USS Peacock was was 650 ton Sloop of War commanded by William L. Hudson the the US Ex Ex 1848 circumnavigated planet including exploration of antarctica and south pacific.

[allanyed]

Welcome to MSW William

Please do post a little intro about yourself in the new member forum here at MSW.

Again, welcome aboard.

Allan 

[michaelpsutton2]

I do not think that the model in the picture was an accurate depiction of any of the several USS Peacocks. It would fall into that category of decorative models. Looks good in the water with the sails drawing though.

[willysdsd]

The only existing full model of the USS Peacock (Sloop of War) commanded by William L Hudson during US Ex Ex that am aware of is at the Museum of the American Philosophical Society at https://amphilsoc.pastperfectonline.com/webobject/A168338A-4464-4842-B960-244872918537

[allanyed]

Welcome to MSW Willy!! 

 

The model in the photo does not look like any contemporary or modern drawings of Peacock that I could find.   Maybe Peacock was an exception, but It appears to have too many yards/sails rigged to each mast than would be found on a sloop of war. 

Allan

[Jaager]

A Sloop-of-War (or corvette for an easier to type word) was a three masted vessel with one gun deck.

Peacock II  - the one that began as part of the U.S. Ex. Ex. was launched in 1828.  It was wrecked on the Columbia river bar.

Peacock I 1813 was also a corvette - 3 masts.  It did not have a forecastle or a quarter deck, so no waist.  It may have had a spar deck - I do not know when these were added to corvettes - but they were mostly sun shades over the main deck that could be walked on to handle the sails - too light for ordinance. 

The Dolphin that visited in 1826 was a schooner and not a frigate.  It was the second of that name.

The name Dolphin was reused in 1836 for a brigantine that was a sister to the Porpoise - brigantine - rerigged as a brig - that was one of the two vessels that completed the U.S.Ex.Ex.

Peacock I  and Dolphin II have plans done by HIC and are available from the S.I.

The six vessels that began the U.S.Ex.Ex. also have plans at the S.I.  although the Flying Fish is a substitute using Webb's John McKeon  as a substitute.  Which needs scale adjustments to match the size of the NY pilot schooner Independence (re christened Flying Fish by the Navy).

 

The sailing model in the newspaper photo from 1924 is at best a chimera from the builder's imagination.  The hull  looks inspired by pre revolutionary merchant vessels  and the rig late 19thC.   The gun locations  look to be inspired by post WWI German decorator models as does the hull itself.