Ahoy maties!
This is something new here at MSW, introducing our first in a series of detailed walk-arounds, in an ongoing effort to expand our NEWS section, and bring you valuable modeling help and reference.

Site member and Naval Historian Pieter Bakels, (PBBAKs), will be providing us with detailed photo-walkarounds for modeling reference.


"#1 in this series, we will begin with a selection of High Resolution images from BB55,59, & 60, with more to follow!"
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The first image, showing her Foretop (see#2), of a large series of USS MASACHUSETTS (BB59), taken at Fall River, Ma. in 1991.

Several radars are visible in image #2: the Mk.13 (see#252) Main Battery Fire Control Radar, 3cm radar within a radome that replaced the earlier Mk.8, the more complex mechanically scanned polyrod array, mounted on top of her large Mk.38 Main Battery Director One with its 26.5 ft stereo (Mk.48) rangefinder.

Above it, the SK-2, with its 17ft dish antenna for long range radar detection of aircraft. Right behind it, the "SG" surface search radar is visible. Barely visible inside the SK-2 dish, the BM interrogator of the Mk.III IFF system without which controllers would be unable to
distinguish friendly from enemy aircraft. (see: #248)

On her maintop "SR"(see#257), a back-up against failure of the SK-2 with its 15ft x 6ft air search antenna. Mounted on a new mast, a second "SG" surface search radar.

In front of her tower, directly above a (now removed 36-Inch searchlight), the back-to-back antenna arrangement of her large TDY jammer, covering both low-and high bands, for force screening which proved very useful in the latter part of WWII against both sea and airborne targets.

Behind it on both sides of the fire control tower, another pair (P. /S.) of TDY jammers are visible. On her House Top level, a Mk.12 antenna, mounted on top of a here not visible Mk.37 Secondary Battery Director, which is a replacement for the earlier Mk.4, a fire control radar for the dual purpose, rapid firing, tray loading, 5-Inch/38 Twin Mounts(Mk.28) of the ship.

Breech action of this weapon was semi-automatic with power rammers, which permitted loading at any angle of elevation. These mounts had power driven train, elevation and ammunition hoisting,
with alternate manual operation.

The MK.12 radar proved very successful but
ineffective against low-flying aircraft such as Japanese torpedo bombers. A parabolic
height-finder, Mk.22 ("Orange Peel"), was therefore mounted alongside (right-hand side) Mk.12.

Visible just under the Mk.12 is the Mk.29radar dish for use with the GFCS (Gun Fire Control System) Mk.57 (see#133 and 134), a 40mm primary control system. It could also be used to deliver 5-Inch/38Cal. gun orders instead of 40mm gun orders by throwing several ballistic switches in the equipment.

Early Mk.57 director installations, lacking a fuze computer and parallax corrector, were used for 40mm gun control only. GFCS Mk.57 used manual tracking and radar range.

"Blind" tracking was aided by a "smoothing control", damping the lead angles measured by the computer (Mk.17). In front of the Mk.12/22, a short-range ship-to-ship whip antenna. The small antenna mounted centrally in front of the main antenna was used for Side lobe suppression.