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1/350 USS Solace "What If" LHD Hospital Ship
Cracked_Ice
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Wisconsin, United States
Joined: February 16, 2015
KitMaker: 18 posts
Model Shipwrights: 9 posts
Posted: Saturday, October 22, 2016 - 06:14 AM UTC
Here is something I've been working on the last 2-3 years. A 1/350 scale Gallery USS Wasp amphibious assault ship converted into a What If? hospital/humanitarian relief ship.

Comments and questions are welcome.


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Grauwolf
#084
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Quebec, Canada
Joined: September 14, 2005
KitMaker: 2,485 posts
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Posted: Saturday, October 22, 2016 - 06:33 AM UTC
Very nice build.
Cheers,
Joe
fhvn4d
#159
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Massachusetts, United States
Joined: April 07, 2008
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Posted: Saturday, October 22, 2016 - 06:06 PM UTC
LOVE THIS BUILD... and the concept is interesting too!!! It would be an interesting second life for the wasp class ships and some of the older ships of the amphib service to provide humanitarian aid when they were not being used for warfare anymore...... but then again... many such as the wasp already have a fairly intricate hospital suite in them. So, it wouldnt take a whole lot of effort to expand them into this kind of thing !
Cracked_Ice
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Wisconsin, United States
Joined: February 16, 2015
KitMaker: 18 posts
Model Shipwrights: 9 posts
Posted: Saturday, October 22, 2016 - 09:04 PM UTC

Quoted Text

LOVE THIS BUILD... and the concept is interesting too!!! It would be an interesting second life for the wasp class ships and some of the older ships of the amphib service to provide humanitarian aid when they were not being used for warfare anymore...... but then again... many such as the wasp already have a fairly intricate hospital suite in them. So, it wouldnt take a whole lot of effort to expand them into this kind of thing !



There's an organisation called Coalition of Hope. They have a website where they proposed and discussed the possibility of buying and renovating the old USS Nassau amphibious ship for humanitarian purposes. This is the site where I got my inspiration from to make my model. Well......partly. But I also did it because I had read that the US Navy Military Sealift Command's MERCY class hospital ships were 40+ years old and needed to be replaced. An LHD would make an interesting replacement.

Think about this:

MERCY CLASS HOSPITAL SHIPS:
1. Too old. Originally built in the 1970’s as oil supertankers. Converted to hospital ships in the mid 1980’s. The ships are about 40-45 years old.
2. They are too slow, with a maximum speed of just over 17 knots.
3. They are not easily or quickly deployed or docked. It can take 3-5+ days to prepare the ship for deployment.
4. Their size gives them a substantial radar signature that, combined with lack of maneuverability, makes them vulnerable to attack (although this should not occur, as attacking a hospital ship is a war crime under the Hague Convention of 1907).
5. While the ships are underway or in rough seas, patients must be transported by helicopter. However, helicopter capacities are limited, as each ship has only one landing pad.
6. Other points for receiving of patients is severely lacking. Raising and lowering of ship’s boats via the davits is too slow and time consuming. Port and starboard sideports are too small for boats to dock alongside and transfer patients.
7. Patient movement within the ship is limited. Built as oil tankers, the original oil storage bulkheads were retained, but have no hatches, which means that patients must be brought up to the top deck in order to be moved from a lower compartment in one part of the ship to another.
8. Can only receive up to 200 patients a day.
9. Cargo capacity/storage limited for humanitarian relief missions.
10. VERTREP (Vertical Replenishment) of a Mercy class ship must use the same small flight deck that patients are brought aboard.
11. Evacuation of ship personnel and patients in an emergency is mainly by 10-12 lifeboats, which would take too long to fill, and lower in the water. Flight deck is inadequate as only 1 helicopter can land at a time.

WASP CLASS LHD SHIP:
1. 50 ft. shorter, 2 ft. less wider, 6 ft. less draft, and 5 knots greater speed, over the existing Mercy class hospital ships.
2. 8-9 landing/takeoff spots for a wide variety of aircraft such as V-22, SH-60, CH-53, CH-46, or other helicopters.
3. Large internal hangar space for storage/maintenance of aircraft.
4. Large well deck can handle up to 3 LCAC (Landing Craft Air Cushion) vehicles or other water craft for transfer of cargo and personnel.
5. Large flight deck, plus large well deck, plus two sideport entrances, provides rapid embarkation/debarkation of personnel and cargo.
6. Large volumous upper and lower vehicle storage decks which can handle a wide variety of vehicles for humanitarian missions.
7. Berthing used for troops could be converted to handle patients.
8. Cargo holds used for ammunition and other warfighting materials could be converted for holding medical and humanitarian supplies.
9. Six cargo elevators for rapid movement of personnel and/or cargo from the flight deck to other decks and/or the well deck on the ship.
10. Even if an LHD hospital ship cannot dock at a regular port for any reason, personnel and cargo can still be transferred to/from the ship via aircraft and LCAC’s. LCAC’s have the ability to “land” or go ashore beaches or other land areas where other vehicles and water craft might not have access to.
11. Because of the large well deck and flight deck, an LHD ship would be able to receive twice (500+) the amount of patients per day over the amount that a Mercy class ship would (200+ per day).
12. In an emergency, ship personnel and patients can be quickly evacuated via landing craft in well deck, or by mass helicopter evac on flight deck due to 8-9 landing/takeoff spots, and also from the ship’s boats and liferafts.
13. An LHD would have a warship power plant designed for commonality with other warships. Also, an LHD would have much tighter subdivision and better damage resistance than a merchant ship conversion.


NOTES ABOUT MY MODEL PROJECT:

Kit Used: 1/350 scale Gallery Models/MRC U.S.S. WASP LHD Amphibious Assault Ship (Kit # 64001)

1. Main hull painted with Testor Model Master Acryl FS-37875 Flat White, and # 4714 Insignia Red. Flight deck painted Testor Gunship Grey.
2. All other aircraft, vehicles, ship fittings, etc. painted in a variety of Testor Model Master Acryl or Tamiya paint colors.
3. Majority of cargo, crates, and fuel oil drums from aftermarket vendors Niko Models, Black Dog, and L’Arsenal.
4. Majority of aircraft are from main ship kit. UH-1 Huey’s from Trumpeter.
5. Small Red Cross decals for vehicles by GHQ Wargaming. Red Cross decals on ship hull sides from extra 1/35 scale modern armor vehicles.
6. Ship bridge windows and aircraft/vehicle windows “painted” so to speak with Sakura Pigma Micron 0.25mm ink pens.
7. Life raft canisters painted Testor Model Master Acryl # 4682 International Orange to make them more visible against a white painted ship and/or ocean background.
8. Extra flight deck tractors and forklifts from MRC Carrier Deck Equipment Accessories Set.
9. Extra ship’s boats and RHIB’s from spare model kits.
10. Extra cargo trucks and Humvee’s from GHQ Wargaming miniatures.
11. Large and medium ship cranes are from spare kits.
12. Water effect in well deck made from acrylic gel medium.
13. Ramp from upper vehicle deck to lower vehicle deck scratchbuilt.
14. Well deck ramp side platforms are scratchbuilt.
15. Port side embarkation entrance cut open and doors are scratchbuilt.
16. Cargo elevator and flight deck tunnel ramp are both scratchbuilt.
17. Lighting of vehicle deck & well deck with Electroluminescent (EL) Wire.
18. Cutouts in flight deck and hangar bay floor made with a Dremel rotary tool. Flight deck cutout is 15 ¾” x 2”. Hangar floor cutout is 8” x 1 3/8”.
19. 20ft. white medical shipping containers scratchbuilt from square plastic rod.
20. Spinning aircraft rotors made from clear acrylic sheet, then sanded to give the illusion of spinning rotors.
fhvn4d
#159
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Massachusetts, United States
Joined: April 07, 2008
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Posted: Saturday, October 22, 2016 - 11:18 PM UTC
You need to pitch this Idea to CNO ( chief of naval operations) or whomever it is that has that kind of drag... I think it makes complete sense to re-purpose them.... I just dont know that the operating costs would make it feasable... but im just a guy holding up the guy on the bottom of the totem poles lOL
Cracked_Ice
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Wisconsin, United States
Joined: February 16, 2015
KitMaker: 18 posts
Model Shipwrights: 9 posts
Posted: Sunday, October 23, 2016 - 12:17 AM UTC

Quoted Text

You need to pitch this Idea to CNO ( chief of naval operations) or whomever it is that has that kind of drag... I think it makes complete sense to re-purpose them.... I just dont know that the operating costs would make it feasable... but im just a guy holding up the guy on the bottom of the totem poles lOL



I doubt my idea would get very far. And I'm probably sure somebody in the US Navy or elsewhere has pitched it before long ago. Besides, If you Google "LPD-17 hospital ship", you'll come across links and websites where there is already proposals and plans to build/convert a SAN ANTONIO class LPD into a possible future hospital ship. An example link is here:
http://www.mobilehospital.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/ADA554335.pdf
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