The Foudre was a French seaplane carrier, converted from an 1896 torpedo boat tender in 1911. This 1/6000 scale model is an approximation based on photos. Also shown is a German Navy dirigible and a generic game marker for a deployed seaplane (or other scouting aircraft). The seaplane is oversize for 1/6000, but is as small as I was able to carve.
Archive for the ‘1/6000 Naval’ Category
1/6000 Naval – French 1911 Seaplane Carrier Foudre
March 13, 2020
WW1 Naval – Never Were Ships Britain-France vs Austria-Hungary
February 6, 2020This scenario was designed to examine the tactical employment of several planned battleship and battle cruiser designs. See this post for the designs of the Austro-Hungarian Porject V and VI classes.
Winds WSW at 5 knots. Sea state 3. Visibility 12 NM.
Player reports
British-French
Austro-Hungarian
Plots
0-25 minutes
25-45 minutes
All
Computer code (described here)
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- A-H cruisers lay smoke to cover the weaker rear divisions while their guns are out of range.
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- The British and French begin to deploy.
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- A-H battle cruisers were initially positioned to support the light cruiser screen, but that puts them in a dangerous position when the British G3 battle cruisers deploy in their direction.
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- The British G3 battle cruiser division is disordered in evading torpedoes from the A-H CL screen.
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- The A-H Project VI battle cruisers rapidly take serious damage from the G3s.
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- Torpedoes from British destroyers force the A-H Project V battleships to evade.
With the A-H battle cruisers wrecked and the best A-H battleships damaged and in disarray, we called the game. The scenario was unbalanced, due in part to the powerful G3 and N3 classes and the weak (four gun) primary armament of the A-H battle cruiser class. We have yet to come to any conclusions about how to effectively employ divisions with differing speeds.
1/6000 Naval – 1905 British Scout Cruisers
January 5, 2020These are eight scout cruisers completed in 1905 and modeled in 1/6000 scale.
From Conway’s All the World’s Fighting Ships 1860-1905, pages 84-85:
“These eight cruisers were intended to work in company with destroyers as scouts, to lead torpedo attacks and to back up their flotillas when attacked by enemy destroyers. The Admiralty provided a broad specification …. for a 25kt ship, with a 1-1/2 inch protective deck or equivalent side armour, shallow draught … 10-12pdr, 8-3pdr and 2TT. …[This] resulted in four sub-classes … that varied substantially in form, machinery and structure. … During 1911/12 they were rearmed with 9-4in guns.”
1/6000 Naval – Never Built US Torpedo Battleship Design
December 28, 2019This is a US design from 1912, modeled in 1/6000 scale.
Displacement 30,000 tons
Waterline length 780 feet
Six 14 inch guns
Sixteen 6 inch guns
Eight 21 inch submerged torpedo tubes
Oil fired, 27 knots
WW1 Naval – Baltic Convoy 1916
April 7, 2019This scenario was inspired by the Russian attack on a convoy of iron ore sailing from Sweden to Germany described in “After Jutland“, Chapter 6, pages 90-91. The Russian attack group of destroyers has a close cover force of cruisers and a distant cover force of dreadnoughts. The Germans expect the operation and counter with their own cruiser and dreadnought supporting forces.
Winds WSW at 5 knots. Sea state 2. Visibility 6 NM.
Plots
0-25 minutes
25-50 minutes
50-75 minutes
All
Computer code (described here)
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- Convoy escorts (one armed merchant cruiser and two groups of trawlers) attempt to distract the attacking Russian destroyers.
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- The escorts make smoke.
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- The convoy makes smoke and heads south at its best speed of 10 knots.
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- The convoy is destroyed. The old German cruisers are losing the fight with the Russian cruisers.
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- German dreadnoughts are sighted.
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- The Russian dreadnoughts press on southwestward to support their cruisers.
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- The German dreadnought divisions deploy into a battleline while the Russian dreadnoughts reverse course and head northeast.
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- Cruisers and destroyers clear the line of fire for the dreadnought action.
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- With the visibility only 12,000 yards the battlelines close to under 10,000 yards. Hits accumulate rapidly.
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- The two lead Russian dreadnoughts are overwhelmed by a fortunate series of hits from four German dreadnoughts.
With only two Russian dreadnoughts left to face six relatively intact German dreadnoughts, we called the game. The convoy and most of the German cruisers had been destroyed, but the loss of the Russians dreadnoughts was a high price to pay for meeting the mission objective.
1/6000 Naval – Never Built Dutch Dreadnoughts
April 6, 2019This is a Dutch dreadnought design from 1913, modeled in 1/6000 scale. Various designs were proposed from 1912 through 1914, as described in Warship International No. 4, 1988, No. 1, 1989 and No. 4, 1989. The 1913 quadruple turret design was chosen because it differed the most from contemporary German designs.
Normal displacement 20,700 tons
Length 169.2 meters
Eight 34.3cm L/45 in quadruple turrets
Sixteen 15cm L/50in casemates
Oil fired, 22-23 knots
The names were taken from late 19th Century Dutch cruisers.
1/6000 Naval – Never Built Ships
January 4, 2019These are various ship designs from WW1 or shortly thereafter, modeled in 1/6000 scale. Many had little or no chance of being built.
La Motte-Picquet class French cruiser.
1917 Russian design for a Black Sea Battleship. The link has several 16-inch gun designs. Version 2 of the four variations by V.P. Kostenko (at the bottom of the page) was modeled since it was among the later designs (1917) and matches the drawings provided.
Austro-Hungarian Project V Battleship. Austro-Hungarian Project VI Battlecruiser. The last Austro-Hungarian battleship and battlecruiser designs were modeled.
German Post-Jutland Battleship Design Studies. Battleship study L20eɑ was modeled since it was selected on 11 September 1918 as the basis for the next German battleship (Dodson, “The Kaiser’s Battlefleet” page 126). Battlecruiser study GK4541 was modeled since it was among the last designs considered (Dodson, “The Kaiser’s Battlefleet” page 127) and since it was included in the Avalanche Press game “Jutland 1919“.
Tillman Battleships. Design IV-2 was modeled since it was the one presented to Congress early in 1917.
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- Left: 1917 Russian Black Sea battleship Version 2. Right: La Motte-Picquet class French cruiser.
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- Left: 1917 Russian Black Sea battleship Version 2. Right: La Motte-Picquet class French cruiser.
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- Left: Austro-Hungarian Project V battleship. Right: Austro-Hungarian Project VI battlecruiser.
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- Left: Austro-Hungarian Project V battleship. Right: Austro-Hungarian Project VI battlecruiser.
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- Left: German battleship study L20eɑ. Right: German battlecruiser study GK4541.
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- Left: German battleship study L20eɑ. Right: German battlecruiser study GK4541.
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- Tillman battleship Design IV-2.
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- Tillman battleship Design IV-2.
WW1 Naval – Oran 1914
December 2, 2018This alternate history scenario was a confrontation between British and French ships in November 1914. The British were tasked with preventing the return of the French fleet from Oran to Toulon. The French were to get underway from the anchorage at Oran and get past the British.
Player reports:
British
French
Plots of ship movements:
0-30 minutes
30-45 minutes
40-60 minutes
All
Computer code (described here)
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- All ships except the rear French battleships have been sighted.
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- The British battleline of the four oldest dreadnoughts and eight pre-dreadnoughts.
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- The French have deployed into a line with the armoured cruisers leading and the new dreadnoughts in the rear.
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- French DDs attack unsupported and are shattered by the fire of British 4 and 6 inch guns.
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- The Devonshire should not be in a camouflage paint scheme in 1914.
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- The British dreadnought division passes through the French fleet. One collision occurs. The Bellerophon blows up and the Temeraire sinks.
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- The Dreadnought blows up.
We stopped play after 12 turns (60 minutes of game time) and about 4 hours of real time.
Heligoland Bight – 1916
November 2, 2018This Friday we played a fictitious naval battle set in the North Sea in 1916. The British attempt to sweep the Heligoland Bight to eliminate German patrols. The Germans are supporting their light forces with heavy ships. The scenario includes ships not actually available in the North Sea at the time.
Winds WSW at 3 knots. Sea state 2. Visibility 5 NM toward the SW, 6 NM toward the NE.
Player reports:
British
German
Plots of ship movements:
0-30 minutes
30-50 minutes
All
Computer code (described here)
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- Initially only the 3rd British BCS and its CL screen enter the Bight.
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- When German BCs are engaged, the remaining British forces move in from the north.
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- Heligoland in 1/18000 scale (the game’s ground scale)
We played for about 4 hours without a decisive result. The British had suffered somewhat more damage. In spite of a lot of torpedo fire from the light cruisers and destroyers, the only two torpedo hits were achieved by the Von der Tann and the Blucher.
Seekrieg 5 – Tsushima
May 26, 2018This weekend the local HMGS-South group played a Russo-Japanese War naval game using the Seekrieg 5 rules. The scenario included battleships from the Battle of Tsushima.
The battle was fought in calm seas and hazy weather, visibility 12,000 yards. The lead ships started about 12,000 yards apart.
Japanese ships in a single line ahead:
Mikasa, Asahi, Fuji, Shikishima, Chin Yen
Russian ships in two divisions, each in line ahead:
Kniaz Suvarov, Imperator Alexander III, Borodino, Orel
Oslyabya, Sissoi Veliki, Navarin, Imperator Nicolai I
Crew quality was randomized, with the Japanese having a probable advantage:
Japanese:
1-20% +1
21-80% +2
81-100% +3
Russian:
1-30% -1
31-90% 0
91-100% +1
The battle opened with the Borodino class ships firing at the four new Japanese battleships, the Oslyabya firing at the Chin Yen and the four Japanese battleships firing on the lead pair of each Russian division. The guns of the remaining ships would be out of range for several turns. The Japanese soon switched to firing their primary guns on the four Borodino class and their secondary guns on the older Russian ships. The Imperator Alexander III lost an engine room on the first turn, forcing her to leave the formation. That was the story for the rest of the battle, with the Russian first division taking most of the damage.
After 14 turns and more than four hours of real time, the damage was:
Russian:
Kniaz Suvarov 3 tiers, speed reduced to 7 knots
Imperator Alexander III 1 tier, speed reduced to 9 knots
Borodino light damage
Orel 8 tiers, speed reduced to 11 knots,
– no main battery, sinking
Oslyabya light damage
Sissoi Veliki light damage
Navarin light damage
Imperator Nicolai I light damage
Japanese:
Mikasa light damage
Asahi light damage
Fuji light damage
Shikishima 1 tier, speed reduced to 8 knots
Chin Yen 1 tier
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- The positions after several turns.
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- The Russian rear division follows the remaining ships of the first division.
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- The Japanese division is scattered, but still in good condition.
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- Two of the Borodino class are limping to the south while the rest continue north toward Vladivostok.
