I'm not normally a ship builder, so please forgive me if this is a
stupid question. I'm preparing to start the Tamiya 1/350 Fletcher, and I
read the article on ModelWarships.com about making the missing flag
bags. It looks pretty simple, but it neglected to mention how many flag
bags should be made, or where on the ship they go when they're finished.
Although called flag bags they were more like metal trays with compartments
for the numerous pennants the ship was carrying.
It's not easy to describe them so I'll post a drawing to
Alt.binaries.model.scale newsgroup
Joe;
There should be two of them, one on each side of the mast at the after
end of the bridge deck. If you're planning to rig the ship then the signal
halyards from the yardarm further up the mast should all meet at the flag
bags. Each yardarm has 4 halyard, I believe. That's 4 halyards per flagbag
for a total of 8. The halyard would be equally spaced over the yardarm but
would be bunched together where they meet at the flag bag (this makes life
easier for the signalmen that have to attach the various flags).
HTH
Paul O'Reilly
Thanks, that helps. So it looks like it would be best to add them before
I add the photoetched railings to the bridge.
Which brings up another question: Is there a rule about when the nets
and canvas covers were added to the rails? Are they likely to be present
during battle?
Joe;
The flag bags would replace any deck edge railings at that point on the
ship so put the flag bags in first and add railings to the remaining open
spaces.
The flag bags would be present during action stations as flag messages
were used even in battle. The question arises as to the presence of deck
edge railings during battle. It was quite common that the railing would be
removed if action was anticipated as the railings could become shrapnel in a
gun battle (from hits by the enemy). However, commanders had to assess the
likelihood of someone going over the side while the ship is in such a
configuration, especially if battle is not joined. What I'm not sure is
whether the removal of deck edge railings was common on smaller ships like
destroyers when in action. I've seen photos of capital ships with their
railings removed in anticipation of a gun action.
Now that I've muddied the waters, I'll leave!
Paul O'Reilly
Wow, I'd never even considered that the railings themselves might be
removed. My question was about the netting on the rails. The GMM
photoetched set comes with two sets of railings: one with and one
without netting. And the railing for the top of the bridge comes with
and without a canvas cover. It was this netting and cover I was asking
about. Both of the paintings I have of Fletchers in combat show the
netting and canvas covers in place, but none of the combat photos I've
seen have been clear enough for me to tell.
The bridge rail cover is a canvas cheater used as a windbreak and to
keep spray off the bridge crew, that would normally be in place on most
Fletchers. The maindeck rails with netting was usually in place while at
sea, you really need to see some pics of a DD in heavy seas to see just
how needed that netting was. Some of the pics you'd swear the ship was
going to sink from all the water over the decks. There's a series of
photos of one DD refueling in heavy seas from a CV and
I'm amazed the deck crew survived.
Joe Jeffers> Wow, I'd never even considered that the railings themselves might be
Joe;
Ron's reply below pretty much says it all. The netting on the rails on
the main deck would undoubtedly be in place all the time, except when the
railings themselves were removed. The canvas covers, which the USN called
fog dodgersIIRC, may or may not be fitted. They wouldn't hold up to
extremely heavy seas so they might be removed as heavy weather approaches.
They were used to reduce the effects of spray on the bridge personnel as
they often had to stand outside for long periods. The canvas dodgers were
just tied onto the railing so they were easy to install and/ or remove. If
you have photos with them in place then, by all means, put them on your
model.
Paul
Thanks to both you and Ron for your answers. So I guess I'll use the
rails with the nets and the canvas covers. Personally, I think the
bridge rails look better without the covers, but I want the ship to
represent as nearly as possible the Fletcher on the night of Nov 13,
1942, and based on your replies and the one picture I have of the battle
(which, admittedly, is a painting not a photograph, and depicts a
different ship of the same class - the O'Bannon), it seems more likely
than not that the covers would have been in place.
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