I was able to build the smoke stack a bit last month but didn't have time to post any pics of it. Included on it are the steam pipes running for and aft of the stack itself. On the front face of it near the top are the stream whistles. The platforms that are half way up the stack are for the signal lights. that's where my grandpa would have been stationed at times. He told us the story of how he was able to signal to his cousin on another U.S. ship on the other side of an island at the battle of Guadalcanal by using the low clouds as reflectors!
I'm not sure what the little house is just in front of the smoke stack, but it might be a sort of steam room housing?
Also are two observation boxes added to the aft of the superstructure.
This big thing I did today was the battle bridge, which was a way to pilot and navigate the ship from the roof of the pilot house. what it had was an outdoor ship's wheel and binnacle and a speaking tube. also a table for the charts.
I'm not sure yet what the large round structure is behind the ship's wheel, maybe something to do with radar, a spotlight, or a horn? other Harris apa's had whatever the hardware was up on a pole instead of the huge tube structure.
I then added the hatch covers to the foredeck and some more supports for the forward upper gun nest.
Now, the hatch layout is pretty much a mystery, and what I made was a guess from this bad overheard shot:
They will be covered with landing boats in the end, but I think this is what they probably looked like. Behind the second crane structure, just in front of the superstructure, it looks like there might be a continuation of the large hatch, but I'm not sure enough to include it. There doesn't look like there was one on the aft well deck, but there were on other apa's.
Next I'm going to continue with the deck structures, housing, and gun nests.
Over and out for now.
