USS Cape (MSI-2) by Dr PR - 1:48 - Inshore Minesweeper

[Dr PR]

It had an open bridge, but with a windshield on the bulwark and a canvas awning overhead. But it was cold and windy, and pretty wet when it rained. In heavy seas we could take water over the bulwark -  once I had several inches of water sloshing back and forth on the deck, and wet feet. When it got really nasty I would step into the pilot house to warm up.

 

Many (most?) US Navy ships had open bridges until after WWII. I guess it was supposed to "build character" for the watch standers. In the 1950s many ships had the bridges enclosed, with open wings.

[Jim Lad]

Were open bridges 'character building', or were they merely preferred because they gave a much better, uninterrupted, view of what was going on around the ship? Maybe once navies turned electronic, such considerations weren't so important.

 

John

[Dr PR]

Jim,

 

I am sure the open exposed bridge did give better views of what was happening. This was especially critical before radar and sonar when all eyes on watch was very important.

 

On the USS Oklahoma City CG/CLG-5 most of the open bridge had been enclosed, and the bulkhead between the enclosed bridge and pilot house had been removed (the USS Little Rock CG-4 museum ship still has the bulkhead between the bridge and pilot house). However, we always stepped out to the open wing of the bridge to look around before executing a turn, and all maneuvering for UNREPS was done from the open bridge wing.

 

Still, I would like to think standing on an open bridge with freezing water sloshing over your feet for four hours did build character!

[Jim Lad]

Merchant ships of my day had an enclosed wheelhouse and almost invariably a chartroom and radio room abaft it. Definitely a need to do the bridge wing thing before doing anything rash.

 

"Look astern before you turn."

 

John

[Dr PR]

Still working on the small details for the O1 deck house.

 

 

The bell bracket was made from 0.030 inch (8 mm) brass. The bell is from Bluejacket Ship Crafters (1/4 inch, part F0483). I have made bells from scratch, but it was much easier to order the bell while I was also ordering the propeller. The parts on the right are brackets to belay signal halliards.

 

 

Here are a couple of photos of the signal bridge. the flag bag (flag locker) has a "canvas" cover. It was made from some of the scrap silkspan I had left over from the topsail schooner build. It was painted off-white for the schooner sails so I brushed on some Tamiya "German Grey" (XF-63). This is what I will use for the O1 and O2 level decks.

 

A board with cleats for securing halliards is above the flag bag, with the halliard belays on either side. The thing with the red top is the shore connection box where the ship was "plugged in" to shore power while docked. There are three vent hoods from the fan room at the aft end of the O1 level house.

[Jim Lad]

It's amazing just how much detail there is on even a small ship!

 

John

[Nirvana]

I like the super detailing! Yes, it is the details that makes the models.

[Dr PR]

I am fortunate to have some close-up photos that show the details. The blueprints are good for showing the equipment, but they don't show the small details such as the wiring or notices/instructions attached to bulkheads. And often the equipment is different in the photos, or in the positions. For example, on the starboard interior bulkhead of the pilot house the blueprints show two AM-215/U amplifiers below the windows. However, I found the data sheet for this amplifier and the dimensions were larger than shown in the blueprints. They were too large to fit two as shown in the blueprints. And the pilot house photo shows only one, in the position I placed it in the model.

 

I don't have enough photos of the Cape as it was in 1969 when I was aboard. For example, I don't know what was attached to the exterior of the pilot house forward bulkhead, in the open bridge. One photo does show a phone handset cradle and a box (for a sound powered phone headset?) on the starboard side, but it doesn't show what else might be on the center or starboard side of that bulkhead, such as a speaker, light, etc. I haven't found those details in the blueprints.

 

While I was on the USS Oklahoma City CLG-5 I took thousands of photos. I even thought that I might someday make a model of that ship so I went around photographing almost every exterior surface, plus the bridge and pilot house. Even so, there were two places (under the port and starboard boat decks) that I did not have pictures. Those photos were invaluable for creating the CAD model as the ship was in the summer 1971. I have the 1959 blueprints, but the ship had undergone many modifications by 1971 - some pretty extreme - that weren't shown in the drawings.

 

Just about any photos are good. They may be of sailors working or goofing off, but in the background are details.

Edited Wednesday at 03:14 PM by Dr PR

[Dr PR]

More details on the deck houses. I have put the "lid" on the O1 deckhouse. I still haven't attached the O1 level house to the main deck house.

 

 

 

I have been adding some deck edge trim around the sides of the deck houses. While it adds some nice detail it also serves a very good modelling purpose. The house sides and decks are made of 1/16 inch (1.6 mm) plywood, with the decks resting on the top edges of the sides. Finishing the edges of plywood is trickier than the surfaces, with multiple porous layers to fill.

 

The upper horizontal trim is 5/32 x 1/32 inch (4 x 0.8 mm), and the lower vertical piece is 3/32 x 1/32 inch (2.4 mm x 0.8 mm). These dimensions are pretty close  to scale. The vertical piece conveniently hides the edges of the plywood deck.

 

The real ship was built with 3/4 inch (19 mm) plywood house sides and deck. The trim served to seal the edges of the plywood from the weather.

 

 

The main deck house has the same type trim as the O1 level house. There is also another 3/32 x 1/32 trim piece at the bottom of the deck house sides. The houses fit pretty tightly to the decks, but there are some slight gaps. These bottom trim pieces allow me to cover any gaps and seal the houses tightly to the decks.

 

A vent trunk fits to the rear of the main deck house. Inside was a large fan that ventilated the engine room below.

 

The blueprints and early photos of the MSIs show deck edge trim like on the house sides, and a hawser reel on top of the vent trunk. However, when I was aboard in 1969 both of the MSIs had an inclined ladder from the main deck to the top of the vent trunk. Steps had been added up to the O1 level. I will be adding the ladder and steps.

 

Originally, if you were on the O1 level and wanted to get to the main deck you had two choices. There was a vertical ladder on the starboard aft side of the main deckhouse. Or you could go through the pilot house to the radio room, and down an inclined ladder in a companionway. Then you could go through the mess decks and passageway to the door at the port rear of the deckhouse (shown in this picture).

 

I guess they got tired of taking the long way around and added the inclined ladder. The hawser reel was moved to the port rear corner of the O1 level, above the door.

 

There was another addition to both MSIs inside a recess in the main deckhouse port side. There was a scuttle in the deck at the bottom of this recess. It was an escape scuttle from the mine sweeping generator room.

 

Originally there was nothing in the recess. But somewhere along the line a locker was added at the top of the recess. I do not recall what was stowed in the locker. The recess was 3 feet (about 1 meter) wide, and the locker was about the same height. It would have been about 18 inches (about half a meter) deep.

 

I'll be adding more small details to the main deckhouse sides, and planning for the life rails on the O2 level. I have also started on the mast. Conveniently, it was 12 inches (305 mm) square, and that is 1/4 inch (6.4 mm) at 1:48 scale. I used a 1/4 inch square dowel and rounded the edges slightly like the real mast.

 

Edited 13 hours ago by Dr PR

[Nirvana]

Phil, that is amazing! Love the detail you are putting in.

[Coyote_6]

That vent for the engine room is very very very nice!  Wow.  The slats are so uniform.

Edited 6 hours ago by Coyote_6

[SaltyScot]

I agree, Phil, the detail you are adding here is quality stuff. Very inspirational indeed.

[Dr PR]

Thanks for the complements fellows!

 

For the vent there are supposed to be eleven "slats." I used 1/64 inch (0.4 mm) plywood for the slats and started out with them at a 45 degree angle. I prepared a spacer to set them at a uniform spacing. "The best laid plans ..." I only got eight to fit, and the upper slats are not at exactly 45 degrees. But the spacing is pretty good so it looks OK. Besides, it will be hidden under a ladder.