Preview: Out to sea and into dry dock with three new exiting kits from Takom
Charlestown Navy Yard Dry 1 & USS DD-742 Frank Knox 1944
From Takom
1/700th scale
Kit No 7058
Photo-etch included
Designed with Snowman Model
3 marking choices included in the box
The subject: Charlestown Navy Yard Dry 1 & USS DD-742 Frank Knox 1944
USS DD-742 Frank Knox 1944:
Frank Knox was built at Bath, Maine and named after Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox. Commissioned in December 1944, she arrived in the western Pacific war zone in mid-June 1945, in time to participate in the final carrier air raids on the Japanese home islands as part of Task Force 38, as a radar picket destroyer giving early warnings of incoming air raids. She was present in Tokyo Bay when Japan formally surrendered on 2 September 1945 and remained in the Far East until early February 1946 Frank Knox again steamed across the Pacific to take part in hostilities in early July 1950, shortly after the outbreak of the Korean War. During this combat tour, her missions included support of the Inchon invasion, shelling enemy targets ashore and patrolling the Taiwan Straits.
In 1960–1961 Frank Knox was modernized under the FRAM II program, which gave her updated radars and other new equipment. She was based in the Far East from late 1961 until mid-1964, then she briefly served off Vietnam conducting naval gunfire support and coastal patrol operations. In 1966 she resumed her pattern of nearly all annual Seventh Fleet cruises, frequently taking part in Vietnam combat missions. Redesignated DD-742 at the beginning of 1969, she completed her final deployment in November 1970 and was decommissioned at the end of January 1971.
Charlestown Navy Yard Dry 1
Since its completion in 1833, Dry Dock 1 has played an integral role in shipbuilding at the Charlestown Navy Yard. It took six years of labor to complete construction of the dry dock at the Charlestown Navy Yard. For over one hundred and forty years, Dry Dock 1 has serviced U.S. Navy ships, particularly during times of war. One of the ships built at the Navy Yard was the U.S.S. Hartford, flagship of Admiral David Farragut during the American Civil War. Following the end of the nation's bloodiest conflict, the Navy Yard was reduced in capacity and labour as demand decreased. Though there was an upswing in work during World War One, the economic downturn slowed work down to a crawl. The coming of World War Two brought the yard to full capacity, with workers using Dry Dock 1 to construct and repair ships. To support these needs of the Yard, Dry Dock 1 has been expanded throughout its history. Originally built at three hundred and five feet, the granite dock now stands just shy of four hundred.
Dry Dock 1, Charlestown Navy Yard.
Though no longer in official use since the yard's closure in 1974, Dry Dock 1 still serves the purpose to this day. Visitors may see the dock in use for repair work on Constitution and USS Cassin Young (DD-793). It serves also as a reminder of the roots of the United States Navy and the civilian labourers who poured sweat and soul into their craft.
The kit from Takom: Charlestown Navy Yard Dry 1 & USS DD-742 Frank Knox 1944
Takom has taken up with Snowman Model in the design of this 1/700th scale kit that includes not only a model of the USS DD-742 Frank Knox but also of the Charlestown Navy Yard Dry 1 to repair it in! The box includes plastic parts with photo-etch parts included. There are three marking choices included in the box which we would think are for the Frank Knox.
Gearing Class Destroyers USS DD-743 Southerland 1945 (Full Hull)
w/ Bonus Mk.38 5/38 Twin Gun Mount
From Takom
1/700th scale
Kit No 7057
Photo-etch included
Designed with Snowman Model
4 marking choices included in the box
The Subject: USS SOUTHERLAND DD-743 (1944-1981)
The USS Southerland was named for Rear Admiral W. H. H. Southerland. Commissioned on December 22, 1944. The Southerland joined Task Force 38 for July 1945 raids on the Japanese home islands. From then until the Japanese surrender, the destroyer screened carriers and carried out bombardments of Honshu and Kamaishi. She covered for troop landings at Yokosuka and Huttu Saki and was the first warship to enter Tokyo Bay for the surrender ceremony. The ship then patrolled the western Pacific until February of 1949. The Southerland was designated DDR-743 in March of 1949.
When the Korean Conflict escalated in mid-1950, the ship moved from Hawaii to Okinawa. She then took up bombardment and patrol duties along the coast of Korea. She was critical to the landings and battle on Wolmi-do and in Inchon. However, she was damaged by enemy fire and retreated in September. After undergoing repairs, the Southerland screened for Task Force 77 on the Korean coast and worked as an escort and screener off Japan. She also aided flood survivors in Ceylon in December of 1958. The Southerland received new equipment and was redesignated DD-743 in early 1964. She served on Vietnamese tours in the South China Sea & provided gunfire support in attacks on Viet Cong communications points. The Southerland next served as a School Ship before joining the 7th Fleet for a final tour of Vietnam. The ship assumed escort duties and provided fire support until returning home to San Diego in late 1970. Decommissioned and struck from the Naval Register in 1981. The destroyer earned one battle star during World War II service, eight during the Korean War, and ten for tours off Vietnam. She was sunk as a target on August 2, 1997.
The subject: The Mk.38 5"/38 Twin Gun Mount
The 5"/38 (12.7 cm) calibre gun Mark 12 was a US naval gun. It was unquestionably the finest dual-purpose gun of World War II. Originally designed to arm new destroyers being built in the 1930s, the 5"/38 (12.7 cm) wound up being used on nearly every major US warship built between 1934 and 1945 and was still being used on new construction as late as the 1960s.
Forward Mk 38 5"/38 calibre mount aboard the destroyer USS Hamner.
The dual mount was designed originally for destroyers, but it was so successful in its dual role that the 5"/38 was installed on all new destroyers, cruisers, battleships and aircraft carriers as the primary anti-aircraft weapon.
A drawing of the insides of the gun mount.
The twin gun mounts also served a secondary role for shore bombardment and engaging enemy surface ships. It is considered to be the most successful dual-purpose gun of World War II, and it continued to serve in the US Navy until the mid-1990s.
Mark 38 twin mounts on USS O'Brien DD-725, an Allen M. Sumner class (DD-692) destroyer, in August 1961
The kit from Takom
The new kit of the Gearing Class Destroyers USS DD-743 Southerland 1945 in 1/700th scale features a full Hull, Photo-etch parts, four marking choices included in the box. It is designed with the help of Snowman Model.
The bonus Mk.38 5/38 Twin Gun Mount is a downscaled version of the recent 35th scale kit from Takom, and it will be a decent size on its own!
15cm SK C/28 Guns Bismarck BbII/ Stb II Turret
From Takom
1/72nd scale
Kit No 5014
Photo-etch included
1 marking choice included in the box
The Subject: 15cm SK C/28 Guns Bismarck BbII/ Stb II Turret
The 15 cm SK C/28 was a German medium-calibre naval gun used during the Second World War. It served as the secondary armament for the Bismarck class and Scharnhorst-class battleships, Deutschland-class cruisers and the Graf Zeppelin-class aircraft carriers. A number of surplus weapons were used as coast-defence guns and eight were adapted to use Army carriages and used as heavy field guns as the 15 cm Schiffskanone C/28 in Mörserlafette
Here you see the 15 cm/55 (5.9") mounts on Bismarck
This kit from Takom
In the tradition of their recent large turrets of battleships, this turret of the Bismarck, this gun turret from the great battleship s made in 1/72nd scale, and like the previous Takom kit has photo-etch parts included. There is one marking choice included in the box - that would be from its service on the Bismarck
That is all we know about these releases for now. You can see more about Takom's kits on their website or on their Facebook page
