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USS Mahan DD-364 - 1938

Background

The USS Mahan DD-364 the first of a class of eighteen destroyers. Launched in October 1935, The Mahan was named for Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan who authored "The Influence of Seapower on History". His work credited him as "father of modern naval strategic thought."

On 7 Dec 1941, the USS Mahan was at sea with Task Force 12 who was sent to intercept the Japanese fleet after the attack. Seriously outnumbered, Task Force 12 arrived at the believed location of the Japanese fleet, but found only empty ocean.

During the Second World War, USS Mahan accumulated an extensive combat record and suffered in the course of battle. In one incident, the Mahan had executed some violent maneuvering to avoid a submarine contact only to collide with the battleship USS South Dakota. After temporary repairs, Mahan returned to Pearl Harbor for a new bow.

The USS Mahan took part in numerous sea battles in the Pacific until 7 Dec 1944, when three kamikazes were able to strike the ship. Severely damaged, the Mahan's crew was rescued and the burning ship was sunk.

The Kit

This release from Midship Models is another nice waterline kit. The kit is presented on three parts trees, two molded in light gray and containing the hull and superstructure parts while the second tree is molded in white and contains the guns, turrets and various fittings. The kit was designed to support releases of a variety of ships in this class at various times of their operational careers, so there will be parts not used in this project.

Let me first say that these instructions are awesome! They are printed in color on high quality paper. The assembly diagrams are very clearly illustrated and the painting diagrams are equally nice. The paint key is in color and provides equivalent paint numbers from the Testors Model Master and the White Ensign Models Colourcoats paint lines. Other kit manufacturers should take note of the instruction sheet as this is how kit instructions should be done!

The kit is designed as a waterline vessel. The kit comes with the enclosed (turret) 5 inch gun mounts, open 5 inch gun mounts, torpedo tubes, and depth charge racks. There is also a single resin part included that is part of the bridge structure.

A nice sheet of decals is also provided with generic hull numbers, ID numbers, US flags (in-port as well as at sea), and an array of signal pendants.

Conclusion

This is an impressive kit and I can't wait to see what other destroyer classes are coming in this series!

Definitely recommended!

My sincere thanks to Midship Models for this review sample!

References

• Destroyers.org