Painting of a ship in the movie: In Harms Way

That would be my guess as well guys, a quickie movie prop put together to fill-in the background in a "naval" way keeping in step with the overall theme of the movie itself.

 

Hey Guys,

Supposing the painting is a movie prop, where could I find a print of a Battleship that is close to that same appearance and that angle?

Do you have a suggestion of where such a print or similar would be purchased?

You guys are a "gold mine" of information.

I really do appreciate all you've given me on this.

Thanks!

 

I'd suggest finding an artist locally to reproduce it for you. You can also try the US Naval Institute as one source right off.

Historical Art Prints | U.S. Naval Institute

One genuine Chief to another from the goat locker.

 

Lots of "very educated" guesses here .... I'm joining the fun.

Slipdigit no way the cruiser picture you linked could be Cleveland, the four turrets make her either Pensacola or Salt Lake City.
AFAIK no US cruiser had two big tops like the battleships.

Biak that drawing of USS Texas highlights the camouflage, she still has the ram bow but the light paint is made to make it look like she's clipper bowed.

I'm also thinkng of a prop, so not all details are llikely to be 100% correct, but the artist is likely to have worked from a photo, can we find it?

My vote goes to a New Mexico, even if the bow is not 100% right, I could find no drawing for their tripod masted guise but the lattice masted drawing in my copy of Jane's shows what looks like a "swan neck" rather than a "clipper" bow.

View attachment 13436

 

Alright kids......Henry Fonda was playig the part of Admiral Chester W. Nimitz who infact commanded the Cruiser USS Agusta just prior to becomming the Chief of the Bureau of Navigation; which was just prior to assuming command of CinCPac. Ergo my money is on the painting as being that of the Cruiser Agusta CA-31:

 

The bow looks right for USS Augusta but almost everything else isn't, if that was the intention it looks like the painter took a lot of liberties. This pic is before they replaced the mainmast to add electronics and shows her original one had a noticeable top but not as big as shown.

 

USS Augusta? I really really doubt it. As TiredOldSoldier said, almost everything else is wrong. From the visible details in the painting, the warship in question is clearly a battleship.

painting


USS Augusta in 1941



Now try the USS Pennsylvania

painting


USS Pennsylvania

 

You won't find any photos of the New Mexicos with tripod masts, because they were never fitted with them. Instead, they were reconstructed with the "tower" bridge, that was then in vogue. It was reasoned that the "tower" structure was more resistant to damage then the tripod mast, thus it was worth the lower height of the main battery fire controls. An additional factor was the increasing use of spotter aircraft to adjust main battery fire, rather than the battleship's own main battery directors.

 

Along the same lines, the reason the cage mast was used originally, was that the cage structure allowed them to take multiple hits without destroying the structural integrity.

 

Yep, that's true. Unfortunately, practical experience proved the cage mast did not stand up well to a more common foe, bad weather.

USN justification for the cage mast can be found on the net here: Cage vs Tripod Masts in the USN

 

This actually makes the most sense

 

Ha! Thanks for the references guys! That is a cool looking painting and it would be fun to re-paint a Hollywood prop like that.

I tend to get attached to my paintings for a while after I finish them, plus I have no knowlege of how to sell them, but I could post a high resolution photo of the finished work online for those who want to download it.

I guess no one would know what the painting would look like in color, right? Grey sky, kind of brown looking forboading clouds like dramatic naval art was back then?

It might be a month or so before I can get to it, as I now have a job and still have to finish the "Sammy B". Also, is the smoke between the tripod masts smoke from a salvo or from the funnel?

 

The turrets are trained fore and aft so the smoke would be from her funnel(s) as we haven't identified her we don't know if she has one or more. IMO a bit of artistic licence there as well as with that kind of sea condition you would get enough wind to dissipate smoke from an oil burner.

 

There are good paintings and pictures about this historic event in whole world. I love it.

 

Oh, I'll post it. You folks are the only ones I know that can appreciate the subject matter. I get blank looks and "oh's" when I try to explain it to friends and family.