Hello can you help please i would like to know what the long poles are on ww2 aircraft carriers there located right at the edge of the deck on both sides and can be raised or lowered as required when lowered there horizontal to the deck . I think there radio antennas but i am not sure. Whatever they are do you know if i can buy them and who from many thanks. John

John the first thing, the masts are W/T masts, W/T stands for Wireless Telegraphy. Second which ship are you talking about as the masts differ greatly between ships of different classes and nation, some being booms others lattice masts and some others a mix of the two.

An example HMS Victorious was fitted as built with two hinged W/T receiving masts forward and six hinged W/T transmitting masts aft. While an Essex class had two hinged W/T masts forward and two aft all on the starboard side.

As for replacing the kit ones the only way apart from scratch building would be in some of the bigger pe sets from the like of Pontos or Mk 1 for the ship your building. I'm not aware of any company that do just the masts.

Hi bit late in saying thanks for your reply very helpful cheers

John,
Luciano is correct as to the purpose of the masts, but there were several variations for Essex class carriers depending on which ship and what period you are referring to. The USS Essex as commissioned in 1942 had three large masts forward on the starboard side, and two at the stern end. I know late in the war, some of the long-hulled Essex carries had the W/T arrays at the aft end only, with single folding radio antennas at the forward end. The masts themselves supported the W/T lines strung between them, just like a telephone pole, and all of them folded for flight ops. The Essex class also had medium-range radio antennas spread about the bridge and mast area for flight ops and shorter range communications, depending on what ship in the class, but these were fixed "whip" type antennas. Post-war Essex class carriers did away with the large folding W/T antenna arrays, and went to the rigid "whip" radio antennas that folded along the deck edge on both sides of the deck. I recommend you research the ship you are building, as things likely changed at some point or another.
VR, Russ

John,
P.S.: The three 1/350 scale manufactures I know of that make W/T type masts are Gold Medal Models, Tom's Modelworks and White Ensign, but you'll need to buy the entire ship PE sets, as they come with the rest of the PE fret, and I don't believe the antenna masts are sold separately. Dragon and Trumpeter packaged PE W/T masts in their 1/700 Essex class carrier kits. VR Russ