A new item recently sent to the IPMS/USA for review by the folks at Squadron is the fourth release in their Squadron at Sea series, and this edition covering the USS Saratoga (CV-3). The book is dedicated to “the crew of the Saratoga – the Ship of Happy Landings – who helped pioneer naval aviation in peacetime, fought valiantly in wartime, and who brought many of the comrades safely home…” The publication is 160 pages long, and as one would expect from the publishers at Squadron, it is filled with many black-and-white photographs as well as a few color pictures and some color drawings. Author David Doyle once again does an outstanding job of telling the story of the Saratoga, from her beginnings in New York Shipbuilding in Camden, New Jersey, to her current resting place at the bottom of the Bikini Atoll. I would highly recommend this book as both a reference and, as well, as a historical telling of the life of the third aircraft carrier of the US Navy.

History Brief

Our subject is a Los Angeles Class submarine, the USS Greeneville, SSN-772. It was named after the city of Greeneville, Tennessee, home of President Andrew Johnson, and is the only US Navy ship to have borne that name. She was ordered on 14 December 1988 with the contract going to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Newport News, Virginia. Her keel was laid 28 February 1992, she was launched 17 September 1994, and commissioned on 16 February 1996. The Greeneville had a few bumps and mishaps early in her career but is still serving proudly today.

Our model features an ASDS Advance SEAL Delivery System. It is basically a midget submarine that rides piggyback on larger submarines and is primarily used for covert and clandestine operations by the US Navy SEALs.

This is a re-boxing of Dragon kit #7071 that has already been reviewed by Rod Lees. For photos of the kits parts, you can find that review in the Archives section. I will confine myself to sharing my impressions of this kit.

First off, you have to decide what ship you are building, as there are parts for around four different ships and some surgery is required on some kit parts in some instances. None of this is difficult, but you have to decide right from the git go, as the first step in assembly requires a decision. After that, you need to decide whether you're going to do it full hull or waterline. I like to place my ships in their natural environment, so I went for the waterline. Which was just as well, as a quick check of how the lower hull fit led me to believe that there were a few problems in this area – but, as I said, I dodged that bullet. One small note here is that if you do it full hull, the name plate has the molded-in name "Essex," not "Sheffield."

History Brief

May, 1905 – HMS Dreadnought approved for construction. Entered into service December, 1907, and served as the flagship of the British Royal Navy’s Home Fleet until 1912. March, 18, 1916, during the First World War, the HMS Dreadnought sank the German submarine U-29 in the North Sea. By 1918, the Dreadnought was assigned patrol duty of the Thames estuary. She was then transferred to the Reserve in 1919 and finally demolished in 1921.

The Product

Kit features 2-piece full hull, internal strengthening bulkheads, separately molded bilge keel, engraved deck plank texture, finely molded fittings, well detailed ships boats, hollow tip main battery gun barrels, 12pdr rapid fire guns, filigree masts and yardarms, display stand with nameplates, metal chains, and plenty of photo-etch parts. Includes 4-view color painting guide and decals representing jack, ensign and stern name lettering.

History

The USS Ingersoll was Spruance-class destroyer commissioned in April, 1980. During her short career, the Ingersoll was involved in a collision with a Pakistani oil tanker in the Straits of Malacca. Even though the Ingersoll was one of the newest ships in class, it was one of the first decommissioned. The Ingersoll was sunk as a target in July, 2003.

The Delta III class Russian submarine was first commissioned in December, 1976. There were a total of fourteen produced. As of 2008, six Delta IIIs were active. The model in the box seems to be just a generic representation of the Delta III submarine verse a specific vessel.

The Kits

The Ingersoll kit appears to have been a combination of kits that Dragon had produced. Included in the kit were a USS Ticonderoga plate and several deck options that were not used.