My uncle fought in the Pacific, I'd like to find the model of his ship

[TrackHawk]

I don't know much about ships and the names/classes. I could use some help

Only info I have is he was on two different ships. The Wasatch and the Blue Ridge. Both a Mt McKinley class ships according to Wikipedia.

I did find a Blue Ridge by Trumpeter, but my question is, are there others I should be looking at. IE, if I found any Mt. McKinley class ship, would that be the same? Is Blue Ridge and Wasatch the name they just put on ships that were identical?

 

I'd love to be able to surprise him with the same or as close as possible, he's 95 now!

 

Side note of interest, his two brothers also fought in WW2, one was in Africa, one was a medic on a train in France. all came back home

 

Thanks!

Edited November 25, 2020 by TrackHawk

[czechnavy]

The Trumpeter USS Blue Ridge is a modern amphibious command ship which came in to service in 1970 so very different from the ship your uncle was on in WW2.

 

[TrackHawk]

58 minutes ago, czechnavy said:

The Trumpeter USS Blue Ridge is a modern amphibious command ship which came in to service in 1970 so very different from the ship your uncle was on in WW2.

 

Ahhh, phew. ok good to know. Thanks

[EwenS]

2 hours ago, TrackHawk said:

I don't know much about ships and the names/classes. I could use some help

Only info I have is he was on two different ships. The Wasatch and the Blue Ridge. Both a Mt McKinley class ships according to Wikipedia.

I did find a Blue Ridge by Trumpeter, but my question is, are there others I should be looking at. IE, if I found any Mt. McKinley class ship, would that be the same? Is Blue Ridge and Wasatch the name they just put on ships that were identical?

 

I'd love to be able to surprise him with the same or as close as possible, he's 95 now!

 

Side note of interest, his two brothers also fought in WW2, one was in Africa, one was a medic on a train in France. all came back home

 

Thanks!

 

These are the ships your father served on 

http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/01/0109.htm  Wasatch

 

http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/01/0102.htm The WW2 Blue Ridge.

[bootneck]

Hi Trackhawk,

 

The basis of the Mt. McKinley class of ships was the C-2 cargo type, some of which were converted for use as Amphibious Force Command ships.  I don't know of any kits of that class; however, there is a kit of the next version, the C-3 class, with the Revell USS Burleigh.  The shape and superstructure is quite similar to the ships your uncle served on, although there would still be a fair amount of changes to be made; most of which could just be cosmetic such as removing the landing craft etc.  The model is 1:400 scale which makes it a good size model for you to build; unfortunately it is out of production but you may find one on eBay or wherever.

For the purists, before they start quoting lengths, breadths, theatre of operations and all the other badinage; please note that Trackhawk isn't a ship model builder and his uncle is 95 years old, therefore this model should be a close enough look-alike for USS Wasatch or USS Blue Ridge.

 

Mike

[TrackHawk]

39 minutes ago, bootneck said:

Hi Trackhawk,

 

The basis of the Mt. McKinley class of ships was the C-2 cargo type, some of which were converted for use as Amphibious Force Command ships.  I don't know of any kits of that class; however, there is a kit of the next version, the C-3 class, with the Revell USS Burleigh.  The shape and superstructure is quite similar to the ships your uncle served on, although there would still be a fair amount of changes to be made; most of which could just be cosmetic such as removing the landing craft etc.  The model is 1:400 scale which makes it a good size model for you to build; unfortunately it is out of production but you may find one on eBay or wherever.

For the purists, before they start quoting lengths, breadths, theatre of operations and all the other badinage; please note that Trackhawk isn't a ship model builder and his uncle is 95 years old, therefore this model should be a close enough look-alike for USS Wasatch or USS Blue Ridge.

 

Mike

 

Hah, thanks Mike. You nailed it. I'm only on my 6th tank model now and just getting into this hobby, building a ship, let alone one that needs to be even somewhat close to what my uncle served on my be way too tall of an order. Granted, he is 95, but still sharp as a tack which is amazing in itself. I may pass on all this and think of some other options.

56 minutes ago, EwenS said:

 

These are the ships your father served on 

http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/01/0109.htm  Wasatch

 

http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/01/0102.htm The WW2 Blue Ridge.

 

Thanks Ewen, very helpful!

Edited November 25, 2020 by TrackHawk

[TrackHawk]

Here he is, upper left corner on the Wasatch.