by Dan Keck
1/350 USS Wiseman DE-667 (Trumpeter)
This is a Trumpeter 1/350 Scale (conversion from the USS England Kit)
This model is a major conversion of a Buckley Class Destroyer escort to a “TEG” (Turbo Electric Generating) configuration.
The conversion necessitated the removal on all 20MM secondary armament and shielding as well as the addition of a quad 40MM mount in the aft position just forward of the main deck 3” 50 cal. Anti aircraft mount. The bridge and mid-ship 01 level was extensively modified, as was the forward deckhouse and radar mast.
The turbo-electric generator unit and two cable reels were fabricated fron “Evergreen sheet and strip styrene material, and are located just aft of the stack on the 01 level. They are not rigged out as they were secured while at sea.
The radar mast was completely rebuilt with brass wire to match the 1958 up-grades. These ships maintained anti submarine warfare capability as evidenced by a full depth charge array.
TEG’s were first used late in WW2 to moor close in and supply power and fresh water to heavily destroyed ground installations. One of the first support missions was to provide power to sections of Manila in April-December 1945. Wiseman was the only TEG deployed in WW2. (Buckley Class Destroyer Escorts; Franklin, B.H., Naval Institute Press, 1999, Annapolis)
All photoetch is Toms Modelworks Buckley Class destroyer set and/or scrap Fletcher Class Destroyer sets. The 40 MM quad mount is made by L’Arsenal.
Note: In late 1958 a sister ship (USS Whitehurst DE/TEG 634 ) was detached from her duty station in Hawaii to serve in making the film “The Enemy Below” with Robert Mitchum and Kurt Juergen. Other Buckley class DE’s converted to TEG’s included: USS March DE 799, USS Marsh DE 634. None remain in commission today.
