AA Military Research
Somers Class Plans CD
ModelWarships.com Review
Reviewed by Timothy Dike
This new Plans CD from Ron Smith of AA Military Research is a perfect companion to the Somers class photo CD previously reviewed. 
The plans included on this CD show the Somers class in their as built and wartime fits. They are extremely detailed as this actual size image sample on the right show. The full image is shown below on the left. As you can see the full interior of the ship is shown in both plan and elevation. The Somers class underwent some big changes in armament and these plans help show them. You can compare the original 4 x 5" twin armament with the 3 x 5" twin with extra light AA plans. Equally fascinating is the interior views showing all the compartments.

The images are very large and I would not recommend getting this CD unless you have a newer computer with lots of RAM. Thankfully the images include both tiff and jpeg, so you should be able to view them in most any viewer. I would recommend the jpeg for on screen viewing and the tiff for printing.

 

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The full list of the Plans for Somers Class Destroyers include:

DD-381:

  • DD-381/383 Faired Lines, Body Plan, Molded Offsets, ¼”=1’, March 4, 1935 (orig.) with last change Nov. 19, 1937, 83.7MB, 75”X28.25”
  • Booklet of General Plans Cover Sheet, no scale, July 1, 1936 (orig.) with last change Mar. 28, 1945, 36.9MB, 62”X29.75”
  • Main Deck, Forecastle Deck, Bridges, 1/8”=1’, July 1, 1936 (orig.) with last change Mar. 28, 1945 (note-shows 40mm’s), 38.3MB, 62.75”X30.5”
  • Compartment & Access Inboard Profile, ¼”=1’, March 16, 1935 with last change Nov. 11, 1937 (note-shows 1.1” guns), 72.2MB, 75”X28”
  • BoGP Inboard Profile, 1/8”=1’, June 24, 1936 with last change Mar. 28, 1945 (note-shows 40mm’s), 34.5MB, 61.25”X28.25”
  • BoGP Outboard Profile, 1/8”=1’, June 24, 1936 with last change Mar. 28, 1945 (note-shows 40mm’s), 41.5MB, 68”X30.5”
DD-381/383:
  • Outboard Profile, ¼”=1’, July 23, 1937 (orig.) with last change Jan. 28, 1935 (note-shows 1.1” guns), 77.6MB, 75”X30.5”
DD-383:
  • Main Deck, Forecastle Deck, Bridges, 1/8”=1’, July 1, 1936 (orig.) with last change Mar. 28, 1945 (note-shows 40mm’s), 35.8MB, 61.5”X29.25”
  • Compartment & Access Inboard Profile, ¼”=1’, March 16, 1935 with last change Jan 17, 1938 (note-shows 1.1” guns), 84MB, 75”X30.5”
DD-394:
  • Body Plan, ¾”=1’, Jan. 21, 1936 (orig.) last change Oct. 22, 1937, 32.4MB, 53.25”X30.5”
  • Booklet of General Plans Cover Sheet, no scale, Dec. 3, 1936 (orig.) last change Oct. 22, 1943, 40.3MB, 67.75”X30”
  • Midship & Type Sections, 1/8”&1/4”=1’, Dec. 12, 1944, 22.5MB, 60.75”X18.5”
  • General Arrangement Forecastle Deck & Bridges, ¼”=1’, Dec. 7, 1937 (orig.) last change Apr. 7, 1938 (note-shows 1.1” and .50” guns), 70.7MB, 75”X30.5”
  • BoGP Inboard Profile, 1/8”=1’, Dec. 3, 1936 (orig., note-shows 40mm guns), 41.6MB, 68”X30.5”
  • Main Deck, Forecastle Deck, Bridges, 1/8”=1’, Dec. 3, 1936 (orig., note-shows 40mm’s), 42MB, 68.75”X30.5”
A note from Ron Smith:
This disc contains very large .tif files, you will need software capable of opening uncompressed raster graphics such as Photoshop, Corel Photopaint or GIMP. These files will put a strain on low end computers with slow CPU's and under 1GB RAM. These files are intended for on screen viewing or printing at full size, attempting to rescale or print on the average home office printer will not yield satisfactory results. Full size prints may be obtained at Kinko's, etal., when printed actual size you will have a paper copy that exactly matches the plans at NARA less the dirt and scanning noise.
We have gone to the expense of obtaining hardcopy from NARA and having it scanned to .tif format. Each drawing has anywhere from 30 to 150 hours labor painstakingly removing scanning noise, dirt and draftsman's pencil cheat lines. Please respect the cost and time involved and do not distribute them to others, we'd like to recover our investment so we can offer more plans as time allows.
Conclusions:
This CD is a valuable tool if you are building a Somers Class Destroyer either in their prewar or mid to late war fits. The files are huge and very detailed and can be printed out as needed by Kinkos. If you have your own large format plotter, you can print out all you need as you need them. Warning: This CD is not for a slow computer. While copies of the images are also provided in JPEG format, they are still large and more than the typical PC can handle.

This CD is only $30 and can be ordered via the AAMilitary-Research.com website with their paypal shopping cart. Note you don't have to be a Paypal customer to order as long as you have a credit card. If you are building a large size version of this ships these plans will prove invaluable. They are also quite handy to refer to for smaller scales.

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