Recently Marc Terraillon (see the French-language website Navires De La Grande Guerre) contacted me about a project he and some others have undertaken, to post information about the U.S.-built submarine chasers that were sold to France in 1917-1918. This led to some correspondence about resources on the French chasers, and a plan to translate some of this material into English. This month some of this material is online in The Chasers section, and more to come.
Those of you who are model builders will appreciate the re-release of the Glencoe 1:74 scale WWI subchaser model, now (or soon to be) on the shelf in hobby stores. I am by no means a model builder, but might just jump in and build one.
--Todd Woofenden, Editor
English Translation of French Typescript
In 1917-1918, France purchased two sets of fifty 110' submarine chasers from the U.S. In a French-language typescript, La traversée de l’ Atlantique par les Chasseurs de Sous Marins contruits en Amérique, the story of these chasers crossing the ocean is presented.
Marc Terraillon has graciously agreed to translate into English, over time, sections of this typescript. I'm taking on the role of English language copy editor for the translation, and as I work through the pages I will post them to the section, The Crossing of the Atlantic Ocean...
Posted so far are the introduction section and a short piece of the first chapter, and the first Appendix, which contains a list of the chaser hull numbers and the U.S. and French hull numbers.
Short Accounts of French Chasers
Marc Terraillon, Franck Le Bel and Yves Dufeil are compiling a list of short accounts of the 110' U.S.-built submarine chasers sold to France. I am posting excerpts from this work in another section of The Chasers.
This will be a continuing project over time, but already there are some interesting tidbits. Coming soon is a listing that includes an incident of sabotage during the crossing of one of the chasers, in which the propeller shaft was deliberately damaged.
Glencoe Chaser Model Reissue
Glencoe Models just re-released the popular WWI chaser model.
In the Chaser Models section is a new page, for the 2009 Glencoe release, with images of the box art and contents.
While I might jump in and build one of these, I would be particularly interested, if someone else plans to build one, in posting some photos of the build process.
Looking for Photos of Older Model Kits
Several other chaser model kits have been released in the past, including the old Boucher kit and the Marine Model kit.
In coming months I'll be looking to fill out the Chaser Model section with some information and images on these older kits. If you have one, either built or still in the box, please consider sending some digital images. Contact me for details.
Hull Number Photos
New in the Hull Number Photos collection is an exceptional shot of submarine chaser SC 309, at Taku glacier, Alaska.
This chaser was one of two that served during the war in Alaskan waters.
(The other was SC 310.)
Given the dearth of submarine activity in the region, these two chasers mainly performed patrol duties.