...I mentioned this to Bob a couple months ago and have been planning to mention it here to see if anybody knows anything on the subject.
The Fair Melissa and I went up to Wilmington NC a month or two back to spend a wonderful day aboard USS North Carolina. In the visitors center was a display of ship models, including an Ideal wooden kit of the Showboat that dates back to the late 30s. The model was beautifully built, and the plans were a joy all by themselves. What was interesting though was a part of the plans where the names of the ships were printed for you to cut out and glue to the stern. 'Build them all!", the plans commanded - North Carolina was there of course, followed by Washington....then Alabama, South Dakota, Massachusetts, and Indiana! Is this an indication that there were originally five ships planned for the class, or somebody getting ahead of themselves? I know that at one time BB names actually were selected in some kind of order, and that there were supposed to have been two more South Dakotas - named Iowa and Missouri. (Not to mention the three planned sister ships to Ranger CV-4 - the first two of which were to have been Yorktown and Enterprise, but thats another story.)
Mike
The Fair Melissa and I went up to Wilmington NC a month or two back to spend a wonderful day aboard USS North Carolina. In the visitors center was a display of ship models, including an Ideal wooden kit of the Showboat that dates back to the late 30s. The model was beautifully built, and the plans were a joy all by themselves. What was interesting though was a part of the plans where the names of the ships were printed for you to cut out and glue to the stern. 'Build them all!", the plans commanded - North Carolina was there of course, followed by Washington....then Alabama, South Dakota, Massachusetts, and Indiana! Is this an indication that there were originally five ships planned for the class, or somebody getting ahead of themselves? I know that at one time BB names actually were selected in some kind of order, and that there were supposed to have been two more South Dakotas - named Iowa and Missouri. (Not to mention the three planned sister ships to Ranger CV-4 - the first two of which were to have been Yorktown and Enterprise, but thats another story.)
Mike
