HMS Ark Royal HACS

[Mick4350]

Was the HMS Ark Royal ever fitted with radar on her High Angle Director Towers ?  The new Trumpeter kit ( #06713 ) has what appears to be radar aerials fitted to all four of her directors. The kit is supposed to be in a 1939 fit.

 

Or has Trumpeter yet again produced a kit with incorrect details like their HMS Barham kit that also has radar fitted to the HACS ?

[EwenS]

According to Hobbs "British Aircraft Carriers" she never received any radar.  Evidenced in the following photos at the time of her sinking.

 

Port forward - https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205140449

Starboard side - https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/HMS_Ark_Royal_sinking.jpg

[junglierating]

So what is a high angle director tower....serious question twelve clips....safers 

[Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies]

1 hour ago, junglierating said:

So what is a high angle director tower....serious question twelve clips....safers 

 

HACS - High Angle Control System

 

 

The terrestrial TV style aerials (Yagi-Uda antennae) on top are typical of HA director radar - e.g. the Type 282 Pom Pom directors

 

They were used for directing fire at high elevations (e.g. for anti-aircraft fire). These could be used to direct secondary High Angle armament such as a King George V class' QF 5.25" twin mounts, as well as the 2pdr PomPom anti-aircraft weapons.

 

Without radar, they are aimed optically. The Type 282 PomPom director was introduced in 1941 and I don't believe Ark Royal received any before she was sunk.

[junglierating]

Thanks everyday a skool day....cant have been very accurate?..more of a general direction thing then supress with high rate of fire?

..not a gunner so its all new

[Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies]

They weren't too hot for close in attacks and deflection shooting. They Type 282 radar had a plotted range display of up to 5000yards and the radar could help the ranging high altitude level bombers etc better than doing it visually.

 

Prince of Wales was the second vessel to receive a Type 281 air gunnery radar outfit, upon refit after the Bismarck exchange of fire and damage.

 

The gunners reported that that radar type was only effective when the bombers flew straight at them.

 

The PomPom also had a fantastic rate of fire, but a pretty low muzzle velocity so the shells fired couldn't actually reach the altitude of the bombers!

 

It was a fairly good close-in AA weapon though. 

[Mick4350]

11 hours ago, junglierating said:

So what is a high angle director tower....serious question twelve clips....safers 

The Ark Royal had four directors for its 4.5 inch dual purpose guns, two on each side. In the Trumpeter instructions they are similar to what is shown in the fourth post of this topic as it has two plastic parts ( E6 and E10 ) and two photoetched parts ( PE4 and PE5 ) that fit atop of the director and completely missing from the kit is the canvas cover of the four directors. This is shown on step 6 of the instructions.

 

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/image/10489819 

[junglierating]

Thanks people as I said everyday is a skool day...always quite liked the look of AR3 ..think it 3 pretty sure I was on 5...the last gash barge ......but i may be out by one number

[grahamwalker]

out of interest which is the best kit of the two makes in 1/700 plastic kits?

 

[Mick4350]

15 hours ago, Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies said:

The PomPom also had a fantastic rate of fire, but a pretty low muzzle velocity so the shells fired couldn't actually reach the altitude of the bombers!

 

It was a fairly good close-in AA weapon though. 

 

Additionally what is supposed to be the directors for the Pom Poms seem to have been replaced with search lights and no attempt has been made by Trumpeter to make a reasonably accurate kit.

[hj1985]

On 27/03/2018 at 06:01, Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies said:

 

HACS - High Angle Control System

 

 

The terrestrial TV style aerials (Yagi-Uda antennae) on top are typical of HA director radar - e.g. the Type 282 Pom Pom directors

 

They were used for directing fire at high elevations (e.g. for anti-aircraft fire). These could be used to direct secondary High Angle armament such as a King George V class' QF 5.25" twin mounts, as well as the 2pdr PomPom anti-aircraft weapons.

 

Without radar, they are aimed optically. The Type 282 PomPom director was introduced in 1941 and I don't believe Ark Royal received any before she was sunk.

 

So Ark Royal did have PomPom director, just without the Type 282 radar, correct?

 

I recalled someone also mentioned the Pom Pom directors were not done properly in Merit Intl kit. 

I think both Merit Intl, Trumpeter and Aoshima all incorrectly depicted PomPom director as "lollipop searchlight shaped object". 

 

Also I would like to double check if all pom pom directors were located in bridge, totalling 6 of them (picture below), right?

 

https://flic.kr/p/2nhXgBE

Edited May 2, 2022 by hj1985

[foeth]

Note that the HACS and pompom directors are two different directors with a type 285/282 radar (if fitted), respectively (5/6 versus 2 Yagi aerials). Photographs of Ark Royal sinking do not show the radar on either director.

[hj1985]

3 hours ago, foeth said:

Note that the HACS and pompom directors are two different directors with a type 285/282 radar (if fitted), respectively (5/6 versus 2 Yagi aerials). Photographs of Ark Royal sinking do not show the radar on either director.

Thank you foeth.

 

I circled all Pom Pom director positions below, may I check with you if it is correct?

 

HMS Ark Royal by xxx, on Flickr

Edited May 2, 2022 by hj1985

[dhogue]

Just a heads up. The Ark Royal wasn't fitted with her port PomPoms until circa June 41. Before that the aft port PomPom director and the middle director on the island weren't fitted.