DD-731 USS Maddox
by Dave Becker

1/350 USS Maddox DD-731 (unknown)

Model is a resin 1/350 scale kit supposedly representing a A. M. Sumner class destroyer.  I believe this is a old recycled early era resin kit. Some of the scale is off, in particular the narrowness of the bow.  I picked up the kit cheap, I never heard of the manufacturer so I won't bother to mention them.

I built the kit as the USS Maddox at the beginning of the Viet Nam War (Gulf of Tonkin Incident).  Kit came with WW-2 style equipment that I had to rebuild or replace with more modern equipment.  Like 3"/50 twin autoloader guns, Mark 56 gun director, AN/APS 10 and 40 radar's, triple Mk. 32 torpedo launchers to name just a few.  About the only thing original left of the kit is the hull.

MADDOX was deployed in the Western Pacific from 13 March 1964 to 2 October 1964. During this time the MADDOX operated with the fast Carrier Task Force Seventh-Seven, and during the seven month deployment she screened five different heavy attack aircraft carriers.

During the early part of August 1964, MADDOX was assigned special patrol duty in the Gulf of Tonkin off the coast of North Vietnam. On the second  of August she earned the distinction of being the first U.S. Warship to be fired upon since the Korean War. While on patrol duty, MADDOX was attacked by several North Vietnamese torpedo patrol boats. She answered the challenge with her five inch and three inch gun batteries sinking one torpedo boat and damaging the other two.