72-011 USS WAHOO SS-238 1942

 

The WAHOO is perhaps the most famous of the US submarines during the early stages of the Pacific War. In 1942, she struck out and members of her crew blamed her over-cautious skipper, LtCdr M. G. Kennedy for their lack of success. On Wahoo's second a new PCO (Prospective Commanding Officer) was aboard to learn the ropes of running a fighting boat without being encumbered with the duties of also being the XO,  LtCdr Dudley Morton reported aboard the Wahoo in November 1942 while the boat was undergoing a minor refit at Pearl Harbor.

This model is offered as a tribute to the fighting men of the Wahoo and their mission to "Shoot the Sunzabitches!"

Built at Mare Island and commissioned in June 1942, the Wahoo was built with the fully enclosed periscope shears and cigarette deck this model represents. The side plating around the cigarette deck was removed during a post-shakedown refit at Mare Island before the Wahoo sailed to Pearl Harbor for her first war patrol on 23 August 1942. To represent the Wahoo during her first thru fifth patrols is a matter of simply applying a vinyl mask and removing a portion of the resin plating aft. The conversion set can be used to represent Wahoo from her commissioning in June 1942 thru her second patrol ending in January 1943. With some modifications, the kit can be converted to represent WAHOO from her third thru fifth patrols, up to her first major refit at Mare Island Ship Yard in July 1943. During this time, Wahoo managed to sink an impressive amount of shipping:

date Patrol vessel name vessel type tonnage
Dec 10 1942 2 Kamoi Maru Cargo 5355
Jan 26 1943 3 Unknown Maru Cargo 4000
Jan 26 1943 3 Buyo Maru Transport 5447
Jan 26 1943 3 Fukuei Maru No. 2 Cargo 1901
Mar 19 1943 4 Zogen Maru Cargo 1428
Mar 19 1943 4 Kowa Maru Transport 3217
Mar 21 1943 4 Nittsu Maru Cargo 2183
Mar 21 1943 4 Hozan Maru Cargo 2260
Mar 23 1943 4 Unknown Maru Cargo 2427
Mar 24 1943 4 Takaosan Maru Cargo 2076
Mar 25 1943 4 Satsuki Maru Cargo 827
Mar 25 1943 4 Unknown Maru Cargo 2556
Mar 29 1943 4 Yamabato Maru Cargo 2556
May 7 1943 5 Tamon Maru No. 5 Passenger-Cargo 5260
May 9 1943 5 Takao Maru Passenger-Cargo 3204
May 9 1943 5 Jinmu Maru Cargo 1912

The set is also applicable to a large number of early war boats and can also be used to represent several of the prewar classes with some minor modification. It would be relatively easy to represent the GAR, TAMBOR, SEADRAGON, SEAL and SALMON classes. These conversion would rely upon a reworked periscope, a new deck gun and a revised torpedo tube arrangement for some of the classes.

THE RESIN CONVERSION SET

The resin in this set consists of the following pieces:

Main Fairwater Main Induction Valve Main Ventilation Valve Signal Bridge (lookout platform)
Bridge Locker Binnacle Binnacle Top Periscope Shears
Large Signal Siren Small Signal Siren Control Wheel Control Wheel Linkage
Trim Wheel Trim Wheel Linkage Bridge Top Pilot's Seats
Pilots Step Lookout Step Bench Gunners Step
Siren Handle Masthead Light & Mast DF Loop & Mast  
       
       

CLICK ON THE PHOTO FOR A PAGE SIZE PHOTO (avg. 500kB)

WAHOO001.jpg (573782 bytes)    WAHOO002.jpg (547720 bytes)    WAHOO003.jpg (559525 bytes)    WAHOO004.jpg (551341 bytes)    WAHOO005.jpg (556257 bytes)

WAHOO006.jpg (583042 bytes)    WAHOO007.jpg (558370 bytes)    WAHOO008.jpg (565164 bytes)    WAHOO009.jpg (574741 bytes)

 

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