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US Navy Flush Decker
"4 Pipers" Ship Models

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"4 Piper" early American Destroyer built between the Wars
Blue Jacket wooden kit   39.5" long     $345.95

 

Baseboard   $33.00 Paint  $33.95 Pedestal  $7.00

The four-piper U.S.S. WARD was the first American ship to sink an enemy vessel in W.W.II.
Her sister, the U.S.S. RUEBEN JAMES, was the first U.S. DD lost in action in the same war.
One of the 50 four-pipers traded to Great Britain in the Lend-Lease program rammed and blew up the dock gates in the dramatic raid on St. Nazairaine (H.M.S. CAMPBELLTOWN)
    Altogether, 273 four-pipers were built, and it seems that no two were precisely the same, even though their distinctive silhouette would suggest they were like peas in a pod.
Armament was usually four 4-inch/50 guns, one or two 3-inch AA guns, twelve torpedo tubes, plus depth charges.
    
Different, Navy adjustments, and experience at sea brought about numerous changes.
    The instructions by noted naval historian Alan Raven are aimed at the intermediate modeler.
 The kit contains a pre-carved basswood hull, all materials for stacks, deckhouses, masts, etc., plus an abundance of brass and finely-cast Britannia pewter fittings.
Detailed construction plans, and complete information on painting and finishing make this a satisfying project for advanced builders as well.

August 30, 2002

By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer

After looking for 15 years, finding the Japanese submarine that drew the first fire of the United States in the war in the Pacific was not something the University of Hawai'i was completely prepared for.

The Hawai'i Undersea Research Laboratory found that out when it returned to port Wednesday and saw a pier lined with reporters.

When lab acting director John Wiltshire arrived at his office at 7 a.m. yesterday, he had 100 e-mails and 30 phone messages. The German newspaper Der Spiegel had called. So had BBC World News. There were a lot of messages from Japan. Wiltshire figures he talked with 20 to 25 media outlets.

"I'm still in sort of a state of shock," Wiltshire said late yesterday. "I didn't realize (the discovery) would generate anything like this. We've been looking for this on and off for 15 years."

The destroyer USS Ward opened fire and depth-charged the two-man submarine at 6:45 a.m. Dec. 7, 1941, when it was spotted outside Pearl Harbor a little more than an hour before the massive aerial attack to come.

The sub's fate would become a mystery and its sighting part of the national debate over whether the United States could have been better prepared for the attack.

"There are two big what-ifs in the Pearl Harbor attacks," said Daniel Martinez, historian for the National Park Service's USS Arizona Memorial. "Certainly, the sub incident that morning ... and at 7:02 the radar contact (with aircraft approaching O'ahu) are those ingredients."

The submarine, with two 18-foot torpedoes still on board, is part of the "intriguing history" of the Pearl Harbor attacks, Martinez said.

"This midget submarine was involved in the first incident of that Pacific war and so it's hugely significant," he said. "It launched two countries into a dramatic and climactic struggle in the Pacific that lasted over 3 1/2 years." p>Video taken by UH deep-diving submersibles revealed that the 78-foot submarine came to rest upright in 1,200 feet of water three to four miles outside Pearl Harbor.

"It's in amazing condition," said Martinez, who also found that depth charges did not appear to damage the vessel.

Wiltshire called the sub's discovery a "tremendous find for the University of Hawai'i."

"This puts us on the map as a major player on the world oceanographic scene," he said. "We were that already, but now we're in the national news."

Martinez said the underwater video shows that a 5-inch round from the Ward punched through the base of the sub's conning tower, probably killing the crew member who would have been positioned there, and leaving a 6-inch-wide entrance hole and, on the other side, an exit hole about 18 inches in diameter.The round is believed to have exploded outside the sub.

Martinez said the hatch remains closed, leading researchers to believe that the remains of the two crew members are still inside.

The sub, which also had small holes in the hull believed caused by shrapnel, likely sank from taking on water, Martinez said.

"The dive planes were up, which means that the crew was desperately trying to keep the vessel from sinking," Martinez said.

Evidence that the Ward found its mark with its 5-inch gun has created a new controversy: Some media reports portrayed the United States as having started the war by firing the first shots.

"Nothing could be more further from the truth," said Martinez, who noted how the portrayal angered some veterans who have begun sending out a flurry of e-mail.

"What had happened that morning was the Japanese had committed their military forces to attack the United States here in O'ahu," he said. "It was a two-pronged attack. One was coming by sea. ... The Japanese had committed their first overt act of war at 12 o'clock that evening when the midget submarines were launched."

In fact, when the sub was attacked and sunk by the Ward, the first wave of Japanese aircraft already had been launched 230 miles north of O'ahu, Martinez said.

Yoshiaki Yoshima, a historian at Tokyo's Chuo University, said yesterday that the news of the sinking of the sub offered little in the way of revisionist thinking. "The fact that the sub was found where it was proves that Japan was preparing for the surprise attack," he said.

The submarine was one of five launched as part of the Dec. 7 attack from the backs of larger subs 10 to 12 miles from the harbor. Four of those submarines have now been accounted for; a fifth, possibly still at the bottom of Pearl Harbor, remains unaccounted for.

UH deep-diving submersibles located the midget sub in a Navy dumping ground that includes tracked assault vehicles and 2,000 Navy cups. Over the weekend, researchers located an unidentified 200-foot gunboat that had been scuttled.

Martinez, who regards the submarine as a sovereign vessel of Japan, said the discovery brings up larger issues "having to deal with ownership of the submarine." Who has jurisdiction over the submarine probably will be determined within the next couple of days, he said.

Hiroko Taniguchi, the officer in charge of public information and culture at the Japanese Consulate General in Honolulu, met yesterday with National Park Service and UH undersea lab officials as part of a fact-finding investigation.

Taniguchi, who said the consulate learned only yesterday of the submarine's discovery, had no comment on whether crew remains are still aboard — a "hypothetical" matter, she called it.

"We started the fact-finding process," she said. "I met a couple of people already, but I'm still in the process (of determining what was found)."

Wiltshire said the submarine could be raised.

"It would be a difficult and expensive task," he said while citing the precedent for raising submarines such as Russia's Kursk. In waters off Hawai'i, too, the Navy lifted the wreckage of the Japanese fishing vessel Ehime Maru.

Wiltshire said UH, the National Park Service, the State Department, the Navy and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will be involved in discussions as to the submarine's future.

The Discovery Channel already has been brought on board for the next submersible trip to the site in December.

With the midget submarine found, it's clear that all the years of searching has paid off for UH.

"This is probably the most significant marine archaeology discovery in the Pacific," Wiltshire said.

Advertiser wire services contributed to this report.

Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5459.

 

 

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Click the pic for a great book on building this ship.

 

Ships by Hull Number


Alphabetical Listing


  1. DD 75 Wickes
  2. DD 76 Philip
  3. DD 77 Woolsey
  4. DD 78 Evans
  5. DD 79 Little
  6. DD 80 Kimberly
  7. DD 81 Sigourney
  8. DD 82 Gregory
  9. DD 83 Stringham
  10. DD 84 Dyer
  11. DD 85 Colhoun
  12. DD 86 Stevens
  13. DD 87 McKee
  14. DD 88 Robinson
  15. DD 89 Ringgold
  16. DD 90 McKean
  17. DD 91 Harding
  18. DD 92 Gridley
  19. DD 93 Fairfax
  20. DD 94 Taylor
  21. DD 95 Bell
  22. DD 96 Stribling
  23. DD 97 Murray
  24. DD 98 Israel
  25. DD 99 Luce
  26. DD 100 Maury
  27. DD 101 Lansdale
  28. DD 102 Mahan
  29. DD 103 Schley
  30. DD 104 Champlin
  31. DD 105 Mugford
  32. DD 106 Chew
  33. DD 107 Hazelwood
  34. DD 108 Williams
  35. DD 109 Crane
  36. DD 110 Hart
  37. DD 111 Ingraham
  38. DD 112 Ludlow
  39. DD 113 Rathburne
  40. DD 114 Talbot
  41. DD 115 Waters
  42. DD 116 Dent
  43. DD 117 Dorsey
  44. DD 118 Lea
  45. DD 119 Lamberton
  46. DD 120 Radford
  47. DD 121 Montgomery
  48. DD 122 Breese
  49. DD 123 Gamble
  50. DD 124 Ramsay
  51. DD 125 Tattnall
  52. DD 126 Badger
  53. DD 127 Twiggs
  54. DD 128 Babbitt
  55. DD 129 De Long
  56. DD 130 Jacob Jones
  57. DD 131 Buchanan
  58. DD 132 Aaron Ward
  59. DD 133 Hale
  60. DD 134 Crowninshield
  61. DD 135 Tillman
  62. DD 136 Boggs
  63. DD 137 Kilty
  64. DD 138 Kennison
  65. DD 139 Ward
  66. DD 140 Claxton
  67. DD 141 Hamilton
  68. DD 142 Tarbell
  69. DD 143 Yarnall
  70. DD 144 Upshur
  71. DD 145 Greer
  72. DD 146 Elliot
  73. DD 147 Roper
  74. DD 148 Breckinridge
  75. DD 149 Barney
  76. DD 150 Blakeley
  77. DD 151 Biddle
  78. DD 152 Du Pont
  79. DD 153 Bernadou
  80. DD 154 Ellis
  81. DD 155 Cole
  82. DD 156 J. Fred Talbott
  83. DD 157 Dickerson
  84. DD 158 Leary
  85. DD 159 Schenck
  86. DD 160 Herbert
  87. DD 161 Palmer
  88. DD 162 Thatcher
  89. DD 163 Walker
  90. DD 164 Crosby
  91. DD 165 Meredith
  92. DD 166 Bush
  93. DD 167 Cowell
  94. DD 168 Maddox
  95. DD 169 Foote
  96. DD 170 Kalk
  97. DD 171 Burns
  98. DD 172 Anthony
  99. DD 173 Sproston
  100. DD 174 Rizal
  101. DD 175 Mackenzie
  102. DD 176 Renshaw
  103. DD 177 O'Bannon
  104. DD 178 Hogan
  105. DD 179 Howard
  106. DD 180 Stansbury
  107. DD 181 Hopewell
  108. DD 182 Thomas
  109. DD 183 Haraden
  110. DD 184 Abbot
  111. DD 185 Bagley
  • Aaron Ward DD 132
  • Abbot DD 184
  • Anthony DD 172
  • Babbitt DD 128
  • Badger DD 126
  • Bagley DD 185
  • Barney DD 149
  • Bell DD 95
  • Bernadou DD 153
  • Biddle DD 151
  • Blakeley DD 150
  • Boggs DD 136
  • Breckinridge DD 148
  • Breese DD 122
  • Buchanan DD 131
  • Burns DD 171
  • Bush DD 166
  • Champlin DD 104
  • Chew DD 106
  • Claxton DD 140
  • Cole DD 155
  • Colhoun DD 85
  • Cowell DD 167
  • Crane DD 109
  • Crosby DD 164
  • Crowninshield DD 134
  • De Long DD 129
  • Dent DD 116
  • Dickerson DD 157
  • Dorsey DD 117
  • Du Pont DD 152
  • Dyer DD 84
  • Elliot DD 146
  • Ellis DD 154
  • Evans DD 78
  • Fairfax DD 93
  • Foote DD 169
  • Gamble DD 123
  • Greer DD 145
  • Gregory DD 82
  • Gridley DD 92
  • Hale DD 133
  • Hamilton DD 141
  • Haraden DD 183
  • Harding DD 91
  • Hart DD 110
  • Hazelwood DD 107
  • Herbert DD 160
  • Hogan DD 178
  • Hopewell DD 181
  • Howard DD 179
  • Ingraham DD 111
  • Israel DD 98
  • J. Fred Talbott DD 156
  • Jacob Jones DD 130
  • Kalk DD 170
  • Kennison DD 138
  • Kilty DD 137
  • Kimberly DD 80
  • Lamberton DD 119
  • Lansdale DD 101
  • Lea DD 118
  • Leary DD 158
  • Little DD 79
  • Luce DD 99
  • Ludlow DD 112
  • Mackenzie DD 175
  • Maddox DD 168
  • Mahan DD 102
  • Maury DD 100
  • McKean DD 90
  • McKee DD 87
  • Meredith DD 165
  • Montgomery DD 121
  • Mugford DD 105
  • Murray DD 97
  • O'Bannon DD 177
  • Palmer DD 161
  • Philip DD 76
  • Radford DD 120
  • Ramsay DD 124
  • Rathburne DD 113
  • Renshaw DD 176
  • Ringgold DD 89
  • Rizal DD 174
  • Robinson DD 88
  • Roper DD 147
  • Schenck DD 159
  • Schley DD 103
  • Sigourney DD 81
  • Sproston DD 173
  • Stansbury DD 180
  • Stevens DD 86
  • Stribling DD 96
  • Stringham DD 83
  • Talbot DD 114
  • Tarbell DD 142
  • Tattnall DD 125
  • Taylor DD 94
  • Thatcher DD 162
  • Thomas DD 182
  • Tillman DD 135
  • Twiggs DD 127
  • Upshur DD 144
  • Walker DD 163
  • Ward DD 139
  • Waters DD 115
  • Wickes DD 75
  • Williams DD 108
  • Woolsey DD 77
  • Yarnall DD 143

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