1/350 USS Enterprise CV-6 (Trumpeter)

 I have been fascinated with "The Big E" and the Battle of Midway since reading " Flight Deck " a novel by Robb White, in 1966, and " Incredible Victory" by Walter Lord in 1967. My only prior build of this ship was the old classic Revell kit in the late 1960's with the 20 SBD's. Thrumpeter's Hornet kit was a good starting point to build a more detailed CV-6. Upgrade and conversion sets were used, however, the kit is finished without rigging, railings, or crew and is not weathered. The ship was fashioned similar to a Tamiya display model. Available photos of the ship in late May 1942 were used for reference as well as Yorktown class ship plans.

The kit is built full hull with brass propeller shafts. To show the hangar, I decided to remove the hangar doors, which was a difficult task, using a Dremel tool. Plastic strips were used to replace the door dividers. The finish is with White Ensign paints: hull bottom  Norfolk 65A, ship Navy Blue 5 N,  Flight Deck Blue 20 B, and the hangar Light Gray 5 L. Weapons were Veteran 5"/38 with brass barrels, Paper Lab's amazing 1.1" guns, 20mm guns from a Classic Warship kit, and .50 cal guns from the USS Lexington (Thrumpeter). Additional life rafts are from Classic Warships kit. The flight deck was the impressive Nautilus wooden deck replacement. Conversion of the Island was accomplished with the Nautilus Enterprise conversion set using brass rod  for the foremast. The hangar deck was further finished with the White Ensign hangar kit, with parts also used to brace the wooded flight deck underneath. The flight deck required lead weights glued to offset the weight of the resin Island and keep the deck level. Parts from the Hornet kit were used to complete the Island. The White Ensign Hornet PE fret was used for the radar and stack grills,  LSO stand, etc. The elevator piston lifts came from the Hornet kit. The piston lifts, painted a metallic gray, seem to be in the ship plans, although this may be wrong.

The "real fun" was building an entire air group in 1/350. Thrumpeter kits F4F 12 +19 folded (VF), SBD  1 GC, 18 VS and 18 VB, and TBD 14 + 14 folded (VT). The paint used was Aeromaster Blue Grey acrylic (nice paint). Actual air group for the battle 27 VF, 37 VSB, 14 VT. Airplane ordnance was hand-made with rough resin copies made for 500 lb and 1000 lb bombs and the Mark 13 torpedos. The airgroup can be placed to set each stage of the battle. Aircraft noted below are numbered for emphasis.

Thursday June 4, 1942 0700 1st Strike, first spot  8 VF for CAP, 16 VS (500 lb) bombs, lead plane S-1 LT W.E. Gallaher, S-13 struck below, GC LCDR C. Wade McClusky with 2 VS , 18 VB (1000 lb) bombs, B-1 LT Dick Best in the lead ,B-4,B-10 and B-17 struck below. 32 SBD's  total, S-9 returned (mechanical problem). SBD S-15 with ENS John McCarthy and crew lost their plane, but were the only survivors of the "Lost Flight" of 6 planes on the return from the attack. SBD's of the Enterprise sank the IJN Kaga . LT Best sank the flagship IJN Akagi by himself with one well-placed 1000 pounder.
In the hangar were 19 VF and 14 VT add 5 SBD from above mechanical problems. 0745 2nd spot 10 VF, F-1 LT Jim Gray in the lead, 14 VT T-1 LCDR E.E. Lindsey in the lead, most VT lost except T-3, T-4, T-5 returned as the only TBD's in the fleet still able to fight. T-11 came back as a wreck. No torpedo hits were scored. In the hangar 9 VF and 5 SBD.

1525 2nd Strike a mixed group of Yorktown orphans and Enterprise SBD's, total 26 with S-1 in the lead, B-1 leading last 2 VB-6, S-16 returned, leaving 25 to proceed to the target. This strike group sank the last IJN carrier Hiryu. LT Best in B-1 may have scored his second hit that day on Hiryu. His last flight in combat.

Friday June 5, 1942 1500 another mixed strike group: 32 SBD's, one lost with no results in attack on lone IJN DD.

Saturday June 6, 1942 0500 6 VF CAP, 18 VS Scouting mission. 1045 Strike 12 VF, 31 VSB, 3 VT (the TBD's final combat mission of the war). Result: IJN Class A Cruiser Mikuma sunk, another Mogami sustained major damage. Enterprise losses in the battle were heavy: 10 VT-6, 11 VB-6, 9 VS-6, and 1 VF-6, plus 3 VSB lost from Yorktown group. Planes flown from her decks sank three of four IJN Carriers, and helped to sink one heavy Cruiser and damage another.

Including orphaned Yorktown planes, she returned to Pearl Harbor with 28 VF, 28 VSB, and 3 VT.

USS Enterprise CV-6 was sold for scrap in 1958. What a sad end for the most decorated USN ship of WWII.

You can imagine my dismay when I found a new kit for the USS Hornet available in 1/200 scale. What are they thinking? The Fine Scale Modeler lists CV-6  as the most desirable ship kit in a recent survey. Where is a 1/200 CV-6 with much more detailed options for the planes ( guns and ordnance) and ship ( hangar and gun details)? Also, the ship could be adapted to display from 1941 until the end of the war. The Hornet was lost in the fall of 1942.
 

Gallery updated 2014

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