Carrier Deck Vietnam

[Burik]

Hi All,

I have been trying to figure out a good subject for a small dio. I have settled on an F-4J using the Eduard kit. So I will scratch a section of carrier deck.

Should I be concerned about which tie downs to use? Star or crossed? I suppose I will order a PE set and drill out my own cups/holes in the deck. Also, what would be the distance between them in 48th scale? Maybe someone has one of those pre-made decks they could check for me?

Thanks.

Bob

[Burik]

I might have gotten ahead of myself. I see a pinned thread about carrier decks in dioramas. Maybe I can figure out measurements from those renderings.

Did they have both stars and crosses for tie downs during Virtnam?

[Crusader nut]

My best suggestion would be to choose a specific ship and research the deck details of that ship. Remember, there were multiple classes of carrier that served in Vietnam and they might have had different tie-down anchors installed. We still had some of the old 27 Charlie modified Essex class carriers, though your choice of a Phantom rules those out because the F-4 did not operate from the 27 Charlie decks. But there were still 3 Midway class, 4 Forrestal class, 3 Kitty Hawk class, and the Enterprise, all of which sailed with Phantoms aboard. The F-4J was introduced to squadron service in December 1966, so if you intend to do a Vietnam-deployed F-4J that takes USS Independence out of the possibilities, because she took only one WESTPAC in 1965 and only had F-4B's aboard, no -J's.

It really comes down to whichever ship you want to model, which then in turn will require you to choose the markings for the aircraft too.