The model is by Argonaut and it is the only model of the ship in the photograph of the models that is out of period for the event. All the Neptun models are in late war condition. Argonaut models in general are of between war or early war configuration. I made up a kit from John's Model Shipyard in Mediterranean camouflage and, if you can still find one of those, it could be kit-bashed to a six-gun ship....
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n/t Previous Message
Australia was first hit by a plane on 21 October 1944 off Leyte, which showered the bridge with debris and killed Capt Dechaineux, six other officers, and 23 sailors, with many other wounded. This may not have been a deliberate kamikaze mission, but a last-minute act of a dying pilot.
There is a picture on Wikipedia of the open bridge showing how exposed men on it would be in such an event. Previous Message
I thought Australia's bridge was hit and her Captain killed. Mind you, that's from memory, so I could be wrong! Previous Message
All four were struck by kamikazes on 5-6 January 1945 on the way to, or at, Lingayen Gulf for the invasion of Luzon. The hit on the bridge of New Mexico killed the ship's captain R. W. Fleming, British LtGen Herbert Lumsden (Churchill's personal liason to MacArthur), and several others, while narrowly missing Adm Bruce Fraser, future commander of the British Pacific Fleet. Australia was hit both days, and would go on to be the most kamikazed ship before the end of the war, with six hits. Previous Message
Could I suggest all were hit by kamikaze? Previous Message
not quite what I had in mind. The ships are USS Allen M. Sumner, HMAS Australia, USS New Mexico, and USS Louisville, so the identifications are all reasonably valid. But what did my four ships have in common? Previous Message
USS Hubbard DD (Allen Sumner)
HMAS Shropshire CA (County)
USS Mississippi BB (New Mexico)
USS Louisville CA
Battle of Surigao Strait 10/1944
Sorry, I don't know the manufacturers. Previous Message
Identify these ships (and models) and a historical connection between them:
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