When Allied forces first faced Kamikazes in October of 1944, it quickly became apparent the 20mm's and 40mm's used for close-in AA defense were inadequate to meet this new threat. The warhead was just too small to knock out a kamikaze before impact. The USN choose the 3"/50 Mk 22 then in production; it was the smallest gun which could fire a VT (proximity fuze) shell, and was easily convertible to an automatic gun. The twin mounting of the new 3"/50 automatic gun was called the Mk 27, and was close to the size and weight of the quad 40mm mount, allowing them to be swapped out on a one for one basis. The Mk 27 wasn't ready until after the war, but found service on many ships during the post-war era. Mk 27 was later upgraded to the Mk 33 mount, and some made it into the 21^st century still in service.

This kit of 3"/50 AA guns has parts for making 4 mounts, and also includes the parts for 4 Mk 56 3" directors. Each mount consists of 6 pieces; the base, 2 gun mounts, the rotary loader and 2 pieces of photoetch railings. The barrels can be placed at any angle between 0 and 45 degress (the real mount had elevation range of -15 / +85 degrees). The barrels are molded slightly long to allow for miscasts and breakage- you may need to trim to length. There are also three parts to each Mk 56 director; the director housing, the round radar dish and a photoetched antenna for the dish. These parts are quite detailed, but delicate.

The instructions show the assembled mount, and simple steps required to build it. They reference using a "blower" to help fix bent barrels, which must be an allusion to a blow dryer- although hot water might be a better method.

A great, highly detailed accessory for your 1/700 post war fleet. Definately recommended.

This is set #VTM-70001 USN MK-22 3"/50 Twin Open Mount (with Mk56 Gun Director) with a list price of $20.95.

Veteran Model products are distributed in the US by Georgetown Hobbies and are available at the following stores. Thanks to Veteran Models for providing this review sample.