LA class. Help please

[steveuk]

Hi everyone I'm new here, but not new to modelling.
I am not a Subcommittee member so I hope you don't think it rude of me to be asking here for some help.

I have a sub hull of a LA attack sub which I would like to correct. I think the bows are way off. I have loads of pics in my sub books but no plans which give me a profile to follow.

So my plea for help is - can anyone help me with a simple set of plans for an LA attack sub ? ..Please.

Am I right in thinking there are different shaped front ends for different variants?

[JWLaRue]

hi Steve,

Welcome to our site!

hi Steve,

Welcome to our site! (and no, you are most definitely not being rude!)

A good place to get LA-class plans would be those drawn by Greg Sharpe. He has a web site that showcases his drawings and provides a way for you to order copies. Greg's web site can be found at Deep Sea Designs

...and I'm pretty sure that the shape (geometry) of the bow is the same for all three variants (or flights). Unless you are looking to model the USS San Francisco!

What's different are things like vertical launchers on the later flights....but the bow shape stayed the same.

-Jeff

[diane paterson]

]astro-nut@cogco.ca

]astro-nut@cogco.ca[/email]

[steveuk]

Thanks for the replies
I

Thanks for the replies
I measured my model hull and did the maths - it seems to be made in an odd scale of 1/90. (Hull measures 48'' long and 4.5'' beam)
Not sure if I want to shell out for a complete large plan set but thanks for the link Jeff.

I did a bit of research into uss San Francisco to see why she has a different shaped bow ..Ouch! I see why now!


My confusion over the bow shape is that some models seem to have a more rounded bow whilst others have a more pointed looking bow. The pointed bow is apparent in the spectacular photo of uss Birmingham doing the emergency full rise where her bows are well out of the water. So does that mean some of these other models have an inaccurate profile - if so what a big mistake to have the main profile so wrong!

Here's what I mean..

[steveuk]

Diane thank you for your

Diane thank you for your kind offers. I'm not really after a static model. It would be great to have a drawing which I could print off and scale up to my unusual 1/90 scale and enable me to just re-shape the bows. Then I will have a nice looking r/c LA 688 attack boat in my fleet. ...I'll send you my e-mail...

[steveuk]

Once again thanks for those

Once again thanks for those drawings Diane. I can change them to fit my unusual scale and rebuild the Bow section.

I noticed another anomoly ..Some LA boats have two extra vertical fins on the end of the stern planes (similar to Ohio's) and some don't. Was that only flight 1 variants ?

[diane paterson]

??? Steve]



Edited By Diane Paterson

[color=#000000]??? Steve]



Edited By Diane Paterson on 1130769712

[Scale Shipyard / WLU]

The verticle fins on the

The verticle fins on the ends of the stern planes on the LA class model was something that the art director did for the movie "Hunt For Red October" and are not based on fact, the 688 class did not have these, they can be found on the Sturgeon and Ohio class subs, although I think that a Barbel class SS had them installed, but this could have been a test for the new ( at the time ) Sturgeon class.

[steveuk]

Aha that makes a lot

Aha that makes a lot of sense, since a lot of LA model kits came out as movie tie ins with Hunt for Red October. (..and the Typhoon kit was way off as well as I recall)

The only piece of reference that I found showing these vertical fins on an LA were painted full hull illustrations in one of my Sub books.
But intriguingly I found this pic of Uss Boston launch and there appears to be two distinct wakes at the outset of her stern planes. What do you think?

http://navysite.de/ssn/ssn703_1.jpg

[tom dougherty]

The wakes are from vertical

The wakes are from vertical "warning wands" that are mounted at the end of the sternplanes. Usually international orange or yellow. These keep the tugboats from attempting to approach from the rear and damaging the shallow sternplanes after the launch by running over them. I saw these mounted on the planes at the launch of the USS Hartford at EB.



Edited By Tom Dougherty on 1130802302

[steveuk]

Ah-ha. Thanks for clearing that

Ah-ha. Thanks for clearing that up Tom. So these wands are they only fixed at launch, or are they used more commonly like whenever subs are docked in harbours?

[tom dougherty]

Normally when I see an

Normally when I see an LA going down the Thames River (CT, not England) in or out of either the New London SubBase or Electric Boat, there is no sign of any warnings around the sternplanes. The tugboats tend to stay well away from both the bow and the stern. Saw an early 688 going out on Friday morning with a tug & 2 Coast Guard escorts. Also, appreciate that a newly launched submarine sits considerably higher in the water than it will fully outfitted & equipped and provisioned for a patrol.

If you have a copy of Genat & Genat "Modern US Navy SUbmarines", an excellent low priced book with great photos, it shows on pg 8 the launch of the USS Hartford. You can see the disturbances in the water from the vertical stern markers quite clearly. Same picture, up near the torpedo tube openings, fourth row in the crowd, there's a guy in a blue jacket (one of many). He's holding up his younger son and his older son is standing next to him. That would be me. I got a real good look at the stern both when it was in the shed prior to launch, and when it went sliding by on the way into the river.



Edited By Tom Dougherty on 1130808541

[steveuk]

lucky guy ..you get to

lucky guy ..you get to see the launches.

Well thanks for all the help. I will remove the vertical stern plane fins from my hull. I guess that the guy who started building it got confused when he was doing his research and might have even based it on one of those inaccurate model kits.

I think I have gathered enough information now to start correcting the GRP hull, to make her what she was intended to be - then I can enjoy sailing her. When it is done I will post some pics.

[seadragon021]

While it has been a

While it has been a number of years and memory fades over time, I seem to remember the "warning wands" being painted in red and white stripes similar to a barber pole. They were bolted to the top of the stabilizer.

I also had the unique opportunity to ride two boats into the water (USS Helena & USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul). That memory hasn't faded and I don't think ever will. Launchings are boring now. I miss the old way.

[steveuk]

Launchings are boring now. I

Launchings are boring now. I miss the old way.

How has it changed then?