US Army Ship Col. John Glover

Joe C-P · May 29, 2006, 03:33:35 PM

(Finally finished this one! More to come.)

Here are images of the US Army Ship Col. John Glover, SpecOps Support Vessel 76. When the US Navy rejected Congress' call for an air-capable Spruance class destroyer, the US Army took over the project and completed the vessel as a support ship for small US Army and Air Force Special Ops teams.

These images show the ship docking in Japan. In the late 1990s it toured the western Pacific, exercizing with various navies and armies; for much of the trip it sailed with the JMSDF ship Honshu and HMS Tiger.

Differences from the standard Spruance class outfit included replacing the forward 5" gun with a 155" howitzer, using a modified SPG mount. The VLS tubes generally carry Tomahawk land-attack missiles, but can also carry Standard SM-2 AA missiles for ship self-defence.

Amidships, there are a pair of Phalanx CIWS mounts, two quad Harpoon/SLAM-ER launchers, a pair of 20mm Oerkilon machine guns for close-in defence, and two RHIBs for the SpecOps team members.

Atop the extended hangar is a Sea Sparrow launcher. The hangar itself can hold up to 4 MH-60, OH-58, or AH-6 helos, or a combination thereof.

The after 5" gun was replaced with extra accommodations for the SpecOps troops, their equipment and ammunition. The after deck was modified with a ramp to allow the disembarkation and reembarkation of a pair of AAVP7 amphibious assault vehicles, to give the landing teams extra protection and punch when the mission required.

anthonyp · May 29, 2006, 03:45:26 PM

DANG!!! Been looking forward to seeing this since you first mentioned it sometime last year. Very cool!! But... green? I mean, they may be the Army, but they gotta know that if they paint a ship green, they need palm trees and other shrubbery to make it look like a moving island

I like the forward turret. Thought for a second it was a 1/700 M109 turret, in which case I would have asked where you found a 1/700 M109!

Vert cool! Almost makes me want to finish up the ships I started last year.

Almost...

Joe C-P · May 29, 2006, 04:00:49 PM

Skywave JMSDF set has a SP howitzer that looks close enough.

And of course it's green! Why would paint an Army vessel boring old Navy gray? ^_^

JoeP

Captain Canada · May 29, 2006, 04:44:42 PM

Looking good, Mr. Poutre !

I like thegreen as well, nice touch. I wouldn't mind seeing more pics of the JMSDF ship as well, and especially the airwing. Looks like a wee little Sky Crane.

BlackOps · May 29, 2006, 05:58:41 PM

Joe, it came out pretty nice. I have to admit the green caught me off guard but it's growin on me fast

Jeff G.

Dork the kit slayer · May 29, 2006, 06:32:43 PM

Cool build,lots of "stuff" going on there.

Im glad I dont have to work out the stability when they ballast down to get those Amphtracks off.

Brian da Basher · May 29, 2006, 07:15:03 PM

Great looking ship there JoeP! I really like the green....it does indeed grow on you. You've got some other interesting looking things in your pics as well. I'm very fond of that flying boat that's in the background of the first shot.

Excellent stuff!

Brian da Basher

anthonyp · May 29, 2006, 08:47:26 PM

QuoteAnd of course it's green! Why would paint an Army vessel boring old Navy gray? ^_^

Sorry, was a dig on my coworkers in absentia

Army colonels can be a bit thick-headed at times. That, and it'd look so much better in in shades of ghost grey

I am REALLY fighting back the urge to pull out those ships I started last year... I've got enough kits that need finishing!!!

Gary · May 30, 2006, 04:19:28 AM

I don'tknow diddly about ships but I do know what I like.

I like, very cool indeed.

I tried a ship once, but I called mine the Danny Glover. Based out of Hollyewood, it was never really a lead in anything but B wars.

Joe C-P · May 30, 2006, 12:01:15 PM

I've already posted photos of the Honshu and Tiger here, but I can dig them up and repost if anyone is interested.

The name is a reference to a real historical figure; I'm not certain if he ever had a ship named after him, and I should note that he did eventually reach Brig. General in rank. The Col. is specific to his rank at a significant event.

And I just had to go with the green, for the shock value. Grey wouldn't give the same "what-the?" effect.

JoeP

ysi_maniac · August 09, 2010, 06:08:32 AM

Where are the pics?

Joe C-P · August 16, 2010, 07:47:05 PM

Reposting images as requested

EDIT: Fixed links so the same pic doesn't keep showing up.

anthonyp · August 16, 2010, 08:04:18 PM

Uhhhhhhh, you posted the same pic five times...

FIXED!!!

ysi_maniac · August 17, 2010, 05:52:42 AM

All those tiny aircrafts, trucks, hovercrafts and, of course, ships are lovely

proditor · August 17, 2010, 06:44:53 AM

Considering all of the Spruance hulls I have laying about, I may have to make an "homage".

That little sucker is really neat. Is the front turret the artillery piece from the Skywave West Wings 2 set?