can someone ID this ship

[Thor996]

This picture was taken by a sailor who served aboard the USS Shaw late 1930s early 1940. thanks

[Bob Hudson]

Looks like it could the the Yorktown CV-5 - http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/05.htm

[Redleg13a]

It's Yorktown class so it's either Yorktown (CV-5), Enterprise (CV-6) or Hornet (CV-8). Can't see any numbers on either the carrier or the DD or DE. Looks more like a DE alongside but I'm not up to snuff on the smaller classes. Looks like a director above the bridge and behind the stack so I would guess the photo was taken during wartime but that's just a guess.

[Thor996]

Thank you both for your responses. Pardon my ignorance, but what is a director and why is that it would only be on a carrier during wartime?

[Redleg13a]

Thank you both for your responses. Pardon my ignorance, but what is a director and why is that it would only be on a carrier during wartime?

 

Sorry, I screwed up when I put that in there. The directors were there prewar as well, just without radar.

 

A director is used to identify targets and compute aiming data for the guns or missiles. They use optics and radar to identify and track the target and then compute firing solutions and fuze settings for the anti-aircraft guns or main and secondary batteries. If you look at the boxes above the bridge and behind the funnel, those are directors for the carriers anti-aircraft guns, most likely the 5" guns. I'm not sure the 1.1" guns had directors and I know the 20mm and .50 calibers didn't.

 

Later in the war, everything from destroyers to battleships and carriers had radar on the directors. They still used optics as well, especially with the 40mm anti-aircraft guns which had their own separate optical directors, but they relied on radar more heavily for the main batteries on the battleships and cruisers as well as the 5"38 caliber duel purpose anti-aircraft guns. If you look at mid to late war photo's of most ships, you can see the squiggly box like structure on top of the directors and that is the radar. Post war, these were replaced with a round radar dish like you see on the Iowa's in the 1980's.

[Thor996]

AH, I know exactly what you are talking about now! Thanks so much for the reply. I do appreciate the reply and information. :thumbsup: