Cool pix!

A wonderful collection of historic photos, especially the colorized ones.

 

I've never understood why Prinz Eugen (Hipper class) was so much larger than other cruisers. She was a good ship, but her armament, armor, speed etc. were comparable to contemporaries like Algerie or Zara. She had advantages over ships like Exeter or the "tinclads", but that was because those designs deliberately made sacrifices to comply with treaty limits.

 

A few interesting items: The 4.5" mounts are flush with the flight deck and don't have the usual angled cap.

The gun mount forward of the island looks like a twin 3"70. This was not widely used, and I've never seen reference to it on a carrier. I don't see any other lighter weapons.

The director is an American Mark 37 with British radar, presumably to control the 4.5s.

Any idea what the ovoid object towards the rear of the flight deck is?

 

USS Saratoga underway circa 1942………no number or letter on the island or the deck? why? Enemy ID perhaps. I thought she was CV-3 at a certain period. I saw a photo of her on a information sheet that came with the model and she had a big letter “E” on the island. That was from 1937. That is all. What was that to indicate? And SARA was painted on the end of her flight deck. I know, a lot of questions. I believe she was converted from another ship.

 

Amazing photo……………I am sorry he passed away, deepest sympathy.

 

Great photo!

 

Sara was indeed CV-3, and for most of her career she had a thick vertical black stripe on her funnel to distinguish her from sister Lexington (CV-2). This became unnecessary after Lex was lost at Coral Sea, May 1942.

The photo is from after her refit in early 1942, showing twin 5" 38s where her original 8" turrets had been. The 8" gunnery control positions above the bridge and at the aft end of the funnel have also been removed.

Sara and Lex were converted from battle cruisers which had been under construction at the time of the Washington Naval Treaty. The treaty allowed the US, Britain, and Japan each to convert two capital ships to carriers. Britain converted the existing "large light cruisers" Glorious and Courageous. Japan was planning to convert the battle cruisers Akagi and Amagi, but the latter was wrecked on the ways by the earthquake of 1923, so the battleship Kaga under construction was substituted. It was not yet clear exactly how carriers would operate, so the treaty allowed them to have guns up to 8", comparable to treaty cruisers.

 

For the same reason he included the Cleveland.

Another clueless reddit user.

All are heavy cruisers, except Cleveland, a light cruiser.

All are "Treaty" cruisers, except Cleveland.

A better title would have been "Which does not belong?"

 

A P -51B Mustang A9-V “Maggie’s Drawers” of the 380th (160th) Recon Squadron 363rd Recon Group, 9th Air Force……..