| USS Phelps, a 1805-ton Porter class destroyer
built at Quincy, Massachusetts, was commissioned in February 1936. She
mainly served in the Pacific prior to World War II and remained in that
ocean during the first two and a half years of that conflict. Phelps was
present in Pearl Harbor when the Japanese began the war with their 7 December
1941 surprise attack. She operated with USS Lexington in the south Pacific
early in 1942 and helped to scuttle her after the big aircraft carrier
received fatal damage in the Battle of the Coral Sea in early May. A month
later, Phelps took part in the Battle of Midway and in August 1942 she
screened the carrier Saratoga during the invasion of Guadalcanal and Tulagi
and the Battle of the Eastern Solomons.
Following a west coast overhaul, Phelps operated in Alaskan waters, participating in the Attu landings in May 1943. She successfully fought off a Japanese aerial counterattack during that time and later shelled Kiska island. In November 1943 and in January-February 1944, the destroyer provided close-in support during the invasions of Makin Island, in the Gilberts, and of Kwajalein, in the Marshalls. She also helped to sink the Japanese submarine RO-40 near Kwajalein in mid-February. Phelps escorted a refueling group during carrier raids in the central Pacific in March and in June used her guns to bombard Saipan when U.S. forces landed there. On 18 June, while so engaged, she was damaged by Japanese coastal artillery, but continued in action against enemy shore positions and landing craft for several more days. In mid-1944, Phelps was transferred to the Atlantic. After being refitted with new guns and other improvements, she served for the rest of World War II on convoy escort duties between the U.S. and the Mediterranean. USS Phelps was decommissioned in November 1945 and spent a little over a year in the Reserve Fleet. She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register in January 1947 and in August was sold for scrapping. From the Navy
Historical Center dd360 page.
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| We don't typically find finished ships in 1/700 scale.
But this new ship from Darius Lipinski of Paper Lab Publishing might just
change that. This USS Phelps is offered from USA Models in a late war fit
to represent the ship in the 44-45 time frame. After first losing one of
her original 5" twin turrets, she was rebuilt with the two of the new 5"
38 twin mounts and a single 5" 38 mount. A quad 40 mm gun replaced the
#2 gun mount. The bridge was reworked resembling the British closed style
and many other changes made this ship stand out.
The ship comes fully assembled and painted in a Navy Blue (MS-21) paint scheme. Details such as funnel tops, and boat interiors are hand painted. There are even red and green position lights on each side of the bridge. This destroyer features the same highly detailed weapons and fittings now available from Paper Lab. |
Click images
to enlarge
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3D
CAD renderings of the Phelps.
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Conclusions:
 This
new ship is a little different than what most modelers will expect. All
the hard work has been done for you. Most will be content to display it
as is, and some might be tempted to superdetail it with photo etch. Ether
way it represents an extremely detailed version of this unusual Porter
class destroyer. This is #USA701 USS Phelps 1944/45 with a price of
$84.95 US. Available from Morning
Sunshine Models. Check out their complete line of USA Models ships
on their website as well as other 1/1250 ships. |
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