Below are the comments that I have attached to each ship displayed at my various exhibitions. These commennts are my personjal musing and thoughts regarding each ship I have built. If there are any glaring errors please feel free to highlight the problem wit positive feedback. They basically give an overview of the ship, displacement, guns etc, as well as why I built her, if there were any major problems building her etc.

Before we look at my models individually, there are a few that have an interesting connection/story.

Interesting Connections

Collision at Sea

RMS Queen Mary; HMS Curacao

The first one is the RMS Queen Mary and the HMS Curacao. HMS Curacao was the lead ship of the escort sent out to bring the RMS Queen Mary into port and met her off the Irish coast. Unfortunately, for some inexplicable reason both Curacao AND Queen Mary believed that they had the right of way due to their understanding of the rules of the sea. Curacao believed that she had right of way due to her being overtake, whilst the Queen Mary believed that she had right of way due to her being the larger ship. Unfortunately, Curacao was caught 6 feet from the stern, spun around and cut in half with enormous loss of life. As a result of this collision, a legal battle was fought (during a world war) between Cunard and the British Admiralty where blame was placed 2/3 with the Admiralty. Apparently very few people on board the Queen Mary were aware that they had sunk a 4,000-ton cruiser!

 Ill Fated ABDA Fleet

 Battle of the Java Sea

HMAS Perth (I), USS Houston, HMS Exeter, HNLMS Java and HNLMS De Ruyter

These five cruisers were sent to try and stop the Japanese onslaught against the Dutch East Indies. It was led by the Dutch Admiral K Doorman and was doomed from the start. Combining ships from four different navies, without any training or exercising together, with different battle tactics and you have a disaster in the making. Having said that, the allied crews fought bravely and suffered horrific losses with every single cruiser being sunk within three days of each other. Sadly, these and other allied ships have suffered from illegal salvage and all but a small amount of HMAS Perth (I) still exists.

As an aside all five of these models are now on permanent display at the HMAS Perth I Memorial in Fremantle.

Royal Australian Navy

Battlecruiser

HMAS Australia – Indefatigable class

Builder John Brown & Co Ltd, Clydebank, Glasgow, Scotland

Laid Down 26 June 1910

Commissioned 21 June 1913

Fate      

Scuttled on 12 April 1924

Displacement    17,055 tonnes

Length  590 ft

Beam    80 ft

Draught 27 ft

Speed   25 knots

Armament

8 x 12-inch guns

14 x 4-inch guns

2 x 18-inch submerged torpedo tubes

The RAN’s first and largest flagship. HMAS Australia was sadly caught up in the aftermath of the Washington Naval Treaty that saw so many ships scrapped in order to halt the naval arms race that was starting to worry the naval powers of the time. She had two sisters, HMS New Zealand and the ill-fated HMS Indefatigable, sunk with huge loss of life at the Battle of Jutland in 1916. There are many photographs of Australia being scuttled. I really wanted to show her with the torpedo nets as few people understand that this was a legitimate attempt at defending capital ships against torpedoes.

Seaplane Carrier

HMAS Albatross

Builder  Cockatoo Docks and Engineering Company Pty Ltd, Sydney

Laid Down 16 April 1926

Launched 23 February 1928

Commissioned  23 January 1929

Fate      

Transferred to Royal Navy in 1938

Displacement    4,354.49 tonnes

Length  443 ft

Beam    60 ft

Draught 16ft 3in

Speed   20 knots

Armament

4 x 120mm guns

2 x 40mm pom-poms

4 x 3-pounder saluting guns

24 x .303-inch machine guns

Other Aircraft    9 floatplanes or amphibians such as Supermarine Seagull and Walrus (6 active, 3 reserve)

TI have had very dodgy plans of HMAS Albatross for over 30 years. They provided little detail, and I knew of better ways to ruin my day, so they stayed at the back of the to do list. Then a Polish company put out a really good set, so I immediately put her at the front of the to do list! She was going to be an aircraft carrier of sorts, but the Australian Government realised that this would be too expensive and so asked the British Admiralty to come up with an advanced seaplane carrier. Thus, was born Albatross. She was completed in the late 1920s and arrived just prior to the Great Depression and so she was laid up for a large part of her career. However, she did provide the fledgeling Fleet Air Arm with a good basis for training personnel in operating aircraft in the naval environment. The Australian Government, in an amazing “sting” convinced the British Government to accept her as part payment for the purchase of the 3 Amphion class cruisers, later to be called Perth, Hobart and Sydney. Her complex AA armament was 3D printed but the aircraft were hand crafted as were the 3 cranes. I was really quite pleased with her final appearance.

Aircraft Carrier

HMAS Sydney (III) – Majestic class

Builder  HM Dockyard, Devonport, England

Laid Down 19 April 1943

Commissioned  16 December 1948

Fate      

Sold to Dong Kuk Steel Mill Co, Seoul, South Korea, and broken up 12 November 1973

Displacement   

15,740

Length  696 feet

Beam    80 feet

Draught 25 feet

Speed   24 knots

Armament

30 × Bofors 40 mm guns (18 single mountings, 6 twin mountings)

Aircraft carried: Up to 38 aircraft – Firefly and Sea Fury

Sydney was employed in many operations, the main one, as a carrier, was of course the Korean War where she operated in some of the worst weather conditions imaginable. There are photographs of her in a gale that destroyed numerous Firefly and Sea Fury aircraft that were stowed on deck. This is the second build of this ship. I talked a friend of mine into purchasing the original model. I had been using fibreglass resin to coat the hull, but unfortunately, quite often the resin was old and refused to set. This meant I had to strip the hull using VERY rough sandpaper and lots of inappropriate words! I had a lot of fun building the aircraft which made up for the frustration associated with the drawings being incorrect and having views from other ships included that I had to research to find out if they should be included or not. This photo is of the second build that I still have in my collection.

Breastwork Monitor

HMVS Cerberus

Builder  Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company, Jarrow

Laid down           1 September 1867

Completed         August 1870

Fate       Sunk as breakwater, 2 September 1926

Displacement    3,340 tons

Length  225 ft

Beam    45 ft 1 in

Draught 15 ft 6 in

Speed 9.75 knots

Armament         

2 × twin 10-inch rifled muzzle loading guns

2 × single 12-pdr bronze howitzers

4 × 4-barrel 1-inch Nordenfelt guns (1883)

2 × single Nordenfelt 6-pdr QF Guns (1890)

2 × single Maxim-Nordenfelt 14-pdr QF Guns (1897)

This is an historic warship as it is the only surviving example of a breastwork monitor. Cerberus is in Port Phillip Bay Victoria where she is sadly in a state of collapse as a number of attempts to save her have fallen through. She is a colourful example of the early Australian attempts at defending ourselves based on the misguided belief that “The Russians are coming; the Russians are coming!”

Heavy Cruiser

HMAS Canberra – County class

Builder John Brown & Co Ltd, Clydebank, Scotland

Laid Down 9 September 1925

Commissioned  9 July 1928

Fate      

Lost in action on 9 August 1942

Displacement    9850 tons

Length  630 feet

Beam    68 feet 4-inches

Draught 16 feet 3-inches

Speed   31½ knots

Armament

8 x 8-inch guns

4 x 4-inch guns

4 x 3-pounder guns

I have always felt sorry for Canberra as she was never given a chance and was always maligned for being sunk at the Battle of Savo Island. It is believed by many (including myself) that she was torpedoed and disabled by a torpedo from the US destroyer that was escorting Canberra. Whilst she was still afloat and could have been saved, the American Admiral ordered Canberra to be sunk if she was unable to steam. An incredibly sad loss to the nation. Even sadder, when her crew came home to Sydney, it was reported that people gave them white feathers as they believed that Canberra’s crew had acted in a cowardly manner during the action. Later it was clear that she had been overwhelmed by a massively superior force of Japanese cruisers and had been disabled just prior to her main armament opening fire. I really enjoyed making Canberra. I think the three funnels (made even taller than on Royal Navy County Class) makes her look old-worldly.

Light Cruisers

HMAS Sydney (II) – Amphion class

Builder Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson Ltd, Wallsend on Tyne, England

Launched 22 September 1934

Commissioned  24 September 1935

Displacement    6830 tons

Length  555 feet

Speed   32.5 knots

Armament

8 x 6-inch guns

4 x 4-inch guns

4 x 3-pounder guns

4 x 2-pounder guns

Torpedoes          8 x 21-inch torpedo tubes

Aircraft Walrus amphibian

Many stories of the battle have been written and I’m not here to put forward my opinions, however, a brief account should be given. The source of the battle was obtained from interrogations undertaken by the Australian Army of the Kormoran survivors in which they stated that when HMAS Sydney intercepted the Kormoran there was a time when the Sydney was trying to establish the identity of Kormoran and that she came too close and asked a question that the Kormoran could not answer so Kormoran opened fire and in the ensuing battle HMAS Sydney was savaged by around 90+ heavy hits almost evenly distributed on both sides and that in the closing minutes of the battle HMAS Sydney managed to set the Kormoran on fire leading the captain of the Kormoran to eventually abandon ship. Over time there have been many theories surrounding the hows and whys of the battle, and even with the discovery of the wrecks, more questions have been raised than answered. The only definitive thing that I have come away with from making the model is the bravery, guts and determination that the crew of HMAS Sydney displayed to have survived the battle and still be trying to get back to Fremantle given the carnage and devastation that the video footage of the wreck shows.

My model of Kormoran was designed to show her as both an innocent merchantman and the dangerous armed merchant cruiser. I therefore had the port side with all armament uncovered and the starboard side with all armament covered up. She is currently displayed at the WA Maritime Museum.

In 1991 Mike McCarthy held the HMAS Sydney Forum at the WA Maritime Museum in Fremantle. After the forum I mentioned to Mike that if and when the Sydney was found, I would love to make a model of the wreck, never really thinking that it would happen in my lifetime! However, it did. I was lucky enough to be allowed access to the video footage of the 2015 review of both wrecks. I then sat for about 6 months with a laptop on my desk that I referred to every few minutes when making the various components of the model. I was disconsolate on many occasions as I had to build every bit of the ship as she was, and then break, bend, cut and generally butcher the items. For example, when Sydney hit the ocean floor, she hit stern first and then bounced and rotated to starboard. To simulate this, once I had completed the hull, I then had to bend the stern up, squash down the aft deck and push the sides together to simulate the hit and implosion of the decks. Once I had built the searchlight platforms I then had to tear and bend them to match the current condition. Same with the crane and the turrets, not to mention cutting and breaking off the bow and bending back the side plating to match the twists and turns of the real ship’s side. When you look at the damage, the collapsing of the forward bridge structure, the gaping hole where the torpedo struck, the damage inflicted by the shell hits, especially the damage and carnage that must have been inflicted internally, you have to acknowledge the bravery and courage of Sydney’s crew whilst understanding why there were no survivors after she capsized. As an aside, I was very interested in trying to work out what happened after she capsized and based upon the evidence I would surmise that as the Royal Commission postulated, the bow broke off after she sank, but I believe that the bow then swept back up and over the hull, tearing off the “A” turret sides and top, then hit the bridge front, collapsing that, then drove the bullet proof screen into the 6” Director, smashing that off and finally removing the High Angle Control director before floating down to the ocean floor. I think I will always see this as my Magnum Opus!

HMAS Perth (I) – Amphion class

Builder Portsmouth Naval Dockyard, England

Launched 26 July 1934

Commissioned  10 July 1939

Displacement    6830 tons

Length  555 feet

Beam    56 feet 8-inches

Draught 15 feet 8-inches

Speed   32.5 knots

Armament

8 x 6-inch guns

8 x 4-inch guns

4 x 3-pounder guns

4 x 2-pounder guns

Torpedoes          8 x 21-inch torpedo tubes

Aircraft Walrus amphibian (of 9 Squadron, RAAF)

Modified Leander Class cruiser. Originally launched as HMS Amphion, Perth was purchased by the Australian Government. She spent time in the Mediterranean during WWII and was eventually sent to the Dutch East Indies as part of the ill-fated Australian, British, Dutch and American (ABDA) fleet that had been cobbled together in a vain attempt to stem the Japanese attacks on Allied territory. She participated in the Battle of theJava Sea and returned to Tanjong Priok in the Dutch East indies with the USS Houston where they refuelled and then headed west on their way to safety via the Sunda Straits. Unfortunately, they ran into the Japanese invasion fleet in Bantam Bay and after a fierce fight Perth ran out of ammunition for her guns. The fact that she wasn’t firing anymore emboldened the Japanese who closed in and sank her with a number of torpedo hits.

This ship was the one that first made me aware of the pathetic state of plans. British Admiralty plans were always drawn in colour, and if a ship was changed, modified, or refitted, these were drawn in a different colour, and the changed lines were hatched (crossed) out. Perth was modified and refitted. As such, the plans had three sets of lines, mainly around the 4” AA gun deck and between the funnels. Unfortunately, the person that drew the plans didn’t do any research and just arbitrarily picked the lines. This resulted in him having to make-up the crew shelter, as he couldn’t fit in the actual shelter.  I only found this out as I was given a set of beautiful, clear photographs of Perth and one of us was wrong! As I was nearly finished, it took me quite a while to work out the correct lines and make the necessary changes to ensure the accuracy of my model. Unfortunately, since then, most drawings of Perth have been copied from the incorrect plans. The photo is of the second build that I have retained in my collection, the first one was is on display at the WA Maritime Museum with my model of the HSK Kormoran.

HMAS Sydney (I) - Town class

Builder London and Glasgow Engineering Co, Govan, Glasgow, Scotland

Launched 29 August 1912

Commissioned  26 June 1913

Fate

Decommissioned 8 May 1928 and broken up

Displacement    5400 tons

Length  456 feet 10-inches

Beam    49 feet 10-inches

Draught 15 feet 9-inches

Speed   26 knots

Armament

8 x 6-inch guns

1 x 13-pounder gun

4 x 3-pounder guns

Torpedoes          2 torpedo tubes

The ship that put the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) on the map, so to speak! As the RAN was only recently established, it was a huge boost to RAN morale to have Sydney fight and overcome the SMS Emden. I obtained these plans from the National Archives when they were still very cheap to purchase. As they had not been catalogued, I just had to take potluck, and managed to get enough to complete her as she was when she took on the Emden. This model has been loaned to the WA Maritime Museum as well as the Princess Royal Fortress Military Museum in Albany.

Destroyers

HMAS Parramatta (I) River class

Builder  Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Co Ltd, Govan, Glasgow

Launched 9 February 1910

Commissioned  10 September 1910

Fate

Decommissioned 22 July 1919

Dimensions & Displacement

Displacement    700 tons

Length  245 feet

Beam    24 feet 3-inches

Draught 8 feet 6-inches

Speed   26 knots

Armament

1 x 4-inch gun

3 x 12-pounder QF guns

Torpedoes          3 x 18-inch torpedo tubes

This was one of the members of the original Royal Australian Navy fleet that sailed into Sydney Harbour in October 1913. She was part of the Royal Navy presence in the Mediterranean Sea during WWI. A very cute little destroyer and a pleasure to build. Mind you, I had a scare when I thought that I had built her to a set of plans that had been reduced to fit a page! However, I was relieved to find that she was ok. This was my first foray into painting over photocopied features (the deck chevrons) and then lightly sanding back to reveal the images

HMAS Swordsman – “S & T” class

Builder  Scott’s Shipbuilding and Engineering Co Ltd, Greenock, Scotland

Launched 28 December 1918

Commissioned 27 January 1920

Fate      

Sold on 4 June 1937 and broken up

Displacement    1075 tons

Length  276 feet

Beam    26 feet 9-inches

Draught 10 feet 10-inches

Speed   36 knots

Armament

3 x 4-inch guns

1 x 2-pounder pom-pom

1 x Maxim machine gun

4 x Lewis machine guns

Torpedoes          4 x 21-inch torpedo tubes

Other Armament            

2 x depth-charge throwers

4 x depth-charge chutes

Swordsman was one of six destroyers gifted to the RAN after WWI. The others included Tattoo, Tasmania, Stalwart and Success as well as the destroyer Leader Anzac. This is one of the many ships that I needed to research prior to and during construction as the plans I had were of a very poor quality and lacked the necessary detail.

HMAS Anzac (I) – Kempenfelt class

Builder  Denny Bros Ltd, Dumbarton, Scotland

Laid Down 31 January 1916

Commissioned  27 January 1920

Fate      

Sold 8 August 1935, scuttled outside of Port Jackson 7 May 1936

Displacement    1660 tons

Length  325 feet

Beam    31 feet 10-inches

Draught 12 feet 1.5-inches

Speed   34 knots

Armament

4 x 4-inch guns

2 x 2-pounder pom-poms

4 x Lewis machine guns

Torpedoes          4 x 21-inch torpedo tubes

After WWI the Royal Navy had a huge number of destroyers surplus to needs so they gave the fledgeling RAN HMS Anzac, Swordsman, Tattoo, Stalwart, Tasmania and Success. All became HMAS rather than HMS but they didn’t last too long and all were scrapped in the late 1930s. Having said that, they were a very good training ground for the future destroyer captains such as Hec Waller, later to be the captain of HMAS Perth during her last days. She is a very unusual, but I think pretty, ship, especially with her 2 very small funnels and the third very tall one. I had a lot of trouble getting plans of her but eventually found them at the Australian Archives.

HMAS Waterhen – “V & W” class

Builder Palmers Shipbuilding Co Lts, Hebburn-on-Tyne, England

Laid Down 3 July 1917

Commissioned  11 October 1933

Fate

Lost in action on 30 June 1941

Displacement    1100 tons

Length  312 feet 2-inches

Beam    29 feet 7-inches

Draught 9 feet 8-inches

Speed   34 knots

Armament

4 x 4-inch guns

1 x 2-pounder gun

Torpedoes          6 x 21-inch torpedo tubes

The V & Ws were the backbone of the Royal Navy between the two world wars. One of the famous “Scrap Iron Flotilla” destroyers, a name given to them by Dr Goebbels in a vain attempt to ridicule them. However, in true Aussie style, the crews of these tough destroyers took it as a complement and certainly made Dr Goebbels eat his words!! Waterhen participated in the Tobruk Run that ensured the Australian “Rats of Tobruk” survived the siege of Tobruk. Sadly, she was bombed and sunk during one of these runs. Out of the five lent to the RAN, Voyager ran aground off Timor, Vampire was sunk with HMS Hermes near (then) Ceylon and Waterhen was bombed and sunk in the Mediterranean. I had HMAS Waterhen sitting on my table at the museum one volunteer day when an elderly gentleman came up to me and told me in a very excited and happy voice “That ship saved my dad!!!” Turns out his dad was a casualty and was evacuated from Tobruk by HMAS Waterhen. A really nice story that I find gives me great pleasure to see how these models can make someone’s day.

HMAS Stuart – Scott class

Builder  RW Hawthorne, Leslie and Co Ltd, Hebburn-on-Tyne, England

Laid Down 18 October 1917

Commissioned  11 October 1933

Decommissioned 27 April 1946

Displacement    1530 tons

Length  332 feet 6-inches

Beam    31 feet 9-inches

Draught 11 feet 4-inches

Speed   36.5 knots

Armament

5 x 4.7-inch guns

1 x 3-inch gun

2 x 2-pounder guns

Torpedoes          6 x 21-inch torpedo tubes

Stuart was the Flotilla Leader for the V & W destroyers that we operated before and during WWII. She survived the war after a very long and successful career that included the Battle of Cape Matapan and the sinking of an Italian submarine. I used a very fine set of plans from the Australian Archives and photos to try and get her as close to how she looked during her time in the Mediterranean Sea as I really liked the look of her camouflage. She fought a very hard war in the Mediterranean Sea and took great delight in beefing up her meagre AA armament with anything her crew could lay their hands on.

HMAS Arunta – Tribal class

Builder  Cockatoo Docks and Engineering Co Ltd, Sydney

Laid Down 15 November 1939

Commissioned  30 March 1942

Fate      

Sold for scrap in 1968 and sank while under tow in 1969

Displacement 1787 tonnes

Length  115.06 metres

Beam    11.13 metres

Draught 2.74 metres

Speed   36 knots

Armament

4 x 120mm guns

2 x 102mm guns

6 x 40mm anti-aircraft guns

4 x 2-pounder anti-aircraft guns

Torpedoes          4 x 21-inch torpedo tubes

Other Armament             Squid triple barrelled anti-submarine depth charge mortars

I have always had a soft spot for the Tribals. They were beautiful looking ships and were never far from the thickest of the fighting. They were all named after tribes within the British Empire for example, Maori, Ashanti, and Punjabi. Arunta was built in 42 and as such had her “X” turret replaced with a 4” twin AA gun. I cheated with this one as I purchased 3D printed main guns for her A, B and Y guns. She served with distinction during and after WWII and was finally scrapped, I think, in Japan. 

HMAS Queenborough – Q class

Builder  Swan Hunter and Wigham Richardson, Ltd, Wallsend-on-Tyne, England

Laid Down 6 November 1940

Commissioned 20 October 1945

Fate      

Broken up in Hong Kong, 1975

Displacement    2020 tons

Length  358 feet 9-inches

Beam    35 feet 9-inches

Draught 9 feet 6-inches

Speed   36 knots

Armament

2 x 4-inch guns

2 x 40mm Bofors

Other Armament             Anti-submarine mortars

Queenborough was originally built as a destroyer that was converted to a fast Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) frigate. This included the removal of all her destroyer armament and replacing it with various ASW weapons including a Limbo mortar. I was still perfecting my method for hull construction and at this stage I was always ending up with a twisted hull! I well remember “untwisting” her and hearing the cracking of the wood.  Still all’s well that ends well……. That was when I worked out the method I use now, to have 3mm balsa plan and profile that I glue together to make a “T” shape, then add the sections and finally fix the whole lot together with the ribs. Then, and only then, do I skin the hull with 1mm balsa wood. Works a treat now, no more trying to “dewarpify” the hull.

HMAS Anzac (II) – Battle class

Builder Williamstown Naval Dockyard, Melbourne

Laid Down 23 September 1946

Commissioned  14 March 1951

Fate      

Sold for scrap on 24 November 1975

Displacement    2214 tonnes

Length  115.52 metres

Beam    12.50 metres

Draught 3.89 metres

Speed   31 knots

Armament    

4 x 4.5-inch guns (in two twin turrets)

12 x 40mm Bofors guns

Torpedoes          10 x 21-inch torpedo tubes

Other Armament             Squid triple barrelled anti-submarine depth charge mortar

What a difference between the two namesakes! When you compare this Battle class destroyer to the Kempenfelt class Anzac I you can see the massive progression id destroyer design and firepower! HMAS Anzac was one of two Battle class destroyers that were built in Australia. She served three tours of duty during the Korean War operating with both the British and American navy. Her AA armament is massive consisting of a number of single 40mm Bofors guns and 3 twin 40mm Bofors mounts “Hazemeyer” Mk IV. These guns were stabilized, and radar directed and would have given any attacking aircraft a lot to think about!! Of course, I had them 3D printed as I am getting grumpy and lazy in my old age!  😊 Again, I think she is a very beautiful looking ship. Both she and her sister HMAS Tobruk were eventually relegated to training and eventually scrapped.

HMAS Vendetta – Daring class

Builder  Williamstown Naval Dockyard, Melbourne

Laid Down 4 July 1949

Commissioned  26 November 1958

Fate

Decommissioned 9 October 1979

Displacement    2800 tons

Length  388 feet 6-inches

Beam    43 feet

Draught 12 feet 3-inches

Speed   30 knots

Armament

6 x 4.5-inch guns in 3 twin turrets

6 x 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun in 3 twin mounts

Torpedoes          5 x 21-inch torpedo tubes in a quintuple mount (removed by late 1960's)

Other Armament             1 triple barrelled Limbo anti-submarine mortar

I think the Darings were perhaps the most aesthetically proportioned destroyers ever built. The ill-fated HMAS Voyager was a sister to Vampire and Vendetta and was sadly lost in collision with HMAS Melbourne. Whilst the lattice mast was difficult to construct the model itself was very easy to put together as the plans were well draw (for once!). I really enjoyed building this. This is the second model of her as I also built one for a friend who had a connection to HMAS Vendetta.

HMAS Vampire – Daring class

Builder Cockatoo Island Dockyard, Sydney

Laid Down 1 July 1952

Commissioned  23 June 1959

Fate      

Preserved as a museum ship at the Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney

Displacement 2800 tons

Length  390 feet

Beam    43 feet

Draught 12 feet 9-inches

Speed   34.5 knots

Armament

Guns    

6 x 4.5-inch guns (twin turrets)

6 x 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns (later 2)

Torpedoes          5 x 21-inch torpedo tubes, pentad mount (later removed)

Other Armament             Limbo triple barrelled anti-submarine mortar

This is how the Australian Darings looked after they were modernised. I can’t decide which style I like the best. The RAN was actually going to replicate the “V & W” names and build four Daring class, but unfortunately it ran out of money and dropped Waterhen. This s the second build of this ship as I built another one for a gentleman whose relative had served on her. Vampire is now berthed in Darling Harbour in Sydney and is one of the draw cards to the National Maritime Museum there.

HMAS Perth (II) –Charles F Adams class

Builder Defoe Shipbuilding Co, Bay City, Michigan, USA

Laid Down 21 September 1962

Commissioned  17 July 1965

Fate

Decommissioned 15 October 1999 and sunk as a dive wreck in Albany harbour.

Displacement    4850 tonnes

Length  133.2 metres

Beam    14.3 metres

Speed   30 knots

Armament

Missiles

Standard surface to air missiles

Ikara anti-submarine missiles

Guns     2 x 127mm (5-inch) rapid fire gun mounts

Torpedoes          Ship launched anti-submarine torpedoes

Sadly, HMAS Perth now lies in Albany harbour as a diving wreck. Ex naval personnel from WA put up a really good fight trying to save the ex HMAS Perth and have her tied up at Victoria Quay, but the deal fell through and she is now visible to only a few people. Perth’s career included participation in the Vietnam War where she received two commendations from the United States Navy.  When I originally built this ship, it took me 19 years to build. Reason? The plans were crap and Perth kept getting modified and refitted and changed (I think just to annoy me really…). I really liked the look of the DDGs. Whilst building this I had to draught my own detailed drawings of the director and the radars aft as the original plans were sooooo badly drawn. However, with persistence I managed to finish her off. I am happy to say that this current model took me far less time but still looks as nice.

Frigates

HMAS Perth (III) Anzac class

Builder Tenix Defence Systems, Williamstown

Laid Down 24 July 2003

Launched 20 March 2004

Commissioned 26 August 2006

Displacement    3600 tonnes

Length  118 metres

Beam    14.8 metres

Draught 4.5 metres

Speed   27 knots

Armament

Missiles

Mk 41 Vertical Launch system with Evolved Sea Sparrow missiles

Harpoon anti-ship missiles

Guns    

5-inch Mk45 Mod 2 automatic rapid-fire gun

4 x 50 calibre (12.7mm) machine guns

Torpedoes          2 x Mk32 Mod 5 triple mounted torpedo tubes

Helicopters         1 x MH-60R Seahawk

This was one of my models that suffered major damage when I moved house in 2014. I put quite a few ships’ superstructures into a box that I thought was secure in the trailer. Not so! When I got to my destination, I found that the box had blown out. Late at night, I traced my steps and found the box about 40 m from where I started. Sadly a few of the superstructures had blown onto the road and been run over! ☹  Perth’s radar mount took a lot of work as I only had photos and no actual drawings to work from. I think the Anzac Frigates looked very handsome when first built. However, their later upgrades look like an “R” rated addition! I built Perth to finish my collection of RAN ships named Perth. Sadly, Perth was up on blocks at Henderson for around 3 years but eventually re-joined the fleet and continues to serve Australia, upholding the name and traditions of HMAS Perth.

 HMAS Sydney (IV) – Oliver Hazard Perry class

Builder  Todd Pacific Shipyard Corporation, Seattle

Commissioned  29 January 1983

Fate

Decommissioned 7 November 2015

Displacement    4267 tonnes

Length  138.1 metres

Beam    13.7 metres

Draught 4.5 metres

Speed   29 knots

Armament

Missiles

Harpoon Block x 2

Standard SM-2 Block IIIA

Mk 41 VLS Launcher

Guns    

1 OTO Melara 3in (76mm)/62 US Mk 75

20mm Mk 15 Vulcan Phalanx anti-missile system

6 x 12.7mm machine guns

2 x Rafael Mini-Typhoon 12.7mm remote controlled guns (for selected deployments)

Torpedoes          6 x Mk 32 (2 triple) tubes

Helicopters        

2 x Sikorsky S-70B and 2 x Seahawks or

1 x Seahawk and 1 x Squirrel.

I love how the US Navy names its smaller ships after people, but unlike the Royal Navy, they make sure all of the person’s names are included, no simple Nelson or Hood. Not one of the most attractive ships to ever fly the Australian Naval Ensign, but quite a successful class for Australia. Built as a (USN) throw-away escort, the RAN had these as a major fleet unit. I had a lot of fun building the lattice masts and radar aerials. Unfortunately, when I moved interstate the removalists drop-kicked this model, and a few others, from NSW to WA! She had major damage to her masts and radar. I also built one of these for a RAN Pilot who was a flying instructor at RAAF Base Pearce.

HMAS Yarra (III) - Type 12 (Whitby) class

Builder Williamstown Naval Dockyard, Melbourne

Laid Down 9 April 1957

Commissioned  27 July 1961

Decommissioned 22 November 1985

Displacement    2200 tons

Length  370 feet

Beam    41 feet

Draught 17 feet

Speed   30 knots

Armament

Missiles

Seacat Guided Missile System

Ikara Anti-submarine missile system

Guns    

2 x 4.5-inch guns

2 x 40mm Bofors (later removed)

Other Armament             2 x Limbo triple-barrelled anti-submarine mortars (1 later removed)

The six Destroyer Escorts (DE) – Yarra, Paramatta, Stuart, Derwent, Swan and Torrens gave sterling service to the RAN throughout their careers. The former three were modernised and were able to serve for longer than they were expected to. One of my early builds that used RAN model plans. They were very basic drawings and introduced me to the exiting game of hunt the detail and find photos to help. I think the Type 12 group of three classes were very aesthetically pleasing with their raised bow and elegant lines. The main search radar was quite a challenge as it was the first really intricate radar I had ever made.

HMAS Stuart (II)

Builder  Cockatoo Docks and Engineering Company, Sydney

Laid Down 20 March 1959

Launched 8 April 1961

Commissioned  28 June 1963

Decommissioned 26 July 1991

Displacement    2700 tons, full load

Length  275 feet 9-inches

Beam    23 feet 3-inches

Draught 16 feet

Speed   30 knots

Armament

Missiles

Seacat guided-missile system

Ikara anti-submarine system

Guns     Turret of two 4.5-inch guns controlled by an M22 Fire Control Radar

Torpedoes          Two triple barrel anti-submarine torpedo tubes

Bult this as I was asked to display RAN frigates that have been used over the years. As she originally looked very similar to HMAS Yarra, I decided to build her as she looked after her modernisation. Unfortunately, the plans I had were for the modernisation of Yarra. Gave me a lot of heartache ensuring the accuracy as there were many photos of Stuart, 99% of them being out of focus! I finally had her 90% complete and in her case when I decided to move her from one shelf to another. In doing so I knocked the case and in trying to save it, I smashed it into the carpet! She turned upside down and broke off of her stand and smashed the masts and radar etc. I did Say Oh Dear and Golly Gosh!  😊

HMAS Swan (III)

Builder  HMA Naval Dockyard, Williamstown, Victoria

Laid Down 18 August 1965

Launched 16 December 1967

Commissioned  20 January 1970

Decommissioned 13 September 1996

Displacement    2100 tons

Length  372 feet

Beam    41 feet

Draught 15 feet

Speed   30 knots

Armament

Missiles

Seacat guided missile system

Ikara anti-submarine missile System

Guns     2 x 2.5-inch guns, controlled by M22 Gun Fire Control System

Torpedoes          2 triple-barrel anti-submarine Torpedo Tubes (added in 1984)

Other Armament             1 triple-barrel anti-submarine Mortar (removed in 1984)

Known as the “fluffy duck”. I have shown her with a black swan on her main gun turret that she won in, I think, a rowing regatta, but I could be mistaken. She, and her sister HMAS Torrens, were modified Leander class frigates and served the RAN well for many years. The Dutch made radar I got 3D printed as building it from scratch has been relegated to the “Why bother” category of me faithfully scratch building everything. There is a great video of her sister HMAS Torrens being used as a target for a trial run of one of our submarines. This is the third one of these that I have built. I donated one to the Sea Scouts years ago, but it seems to have walked. The first one I built I gave to someone who I thought deserved it.

HMAS Culgoa – River class

Builder  HMA Naval Dockyard, Williamstown, Melbourne

Laid Down 15 July 1943

Commissioned  1 April 1947

Decommissioned 15 April 1954

Displacement    1537 tons

Length  301 feet

Beam    36 feet

Draught 12 feet

Speed   19.5 knots

Armament

4 x 4-inch guns

3 x 40mm Bofors

Other Armament            

4 x 20mm Oerlikons

1 x Hedgehog

4 x Depth Charge Throwers

This was an early build. The drawings of the 4” AA twin gun were out of scale and it took me a number of years before I found out that this was the case. I discovered it when I commenced building another ship that had these guns and were drawn accurately. I then checked Culgoa’s and found the problem. One of my many claims to fame is that I painted about 3square feet of her sister Diamantina when I was in the RAN Reserve.

HMAS Yarra (II)

Builder  Cockatoo Docks and Engineering Co Ltd, Sydney

Laid Down 28 May 1934

Launched 28 March 1935

Commissioned  21 January 1936

Fate      

Lost in action against overwhelming Japanese forces 4 March 1942

Displacement   

1500 tons

Length  266 feet

Beam    36 feet

Draught 10 feet

Speed   16.5 knots

Armament

3 x 4-inch guns

4 x 3-pounder guns

1 x 4 0.5-inch machine guns

I believe that the RAN have been very remise in awarding Victoria Crosses to members of the armed forces, especially when one considers the grudging awarding of the VC to Teddy Sheean! However, I believe that LTCDR Robert Rankin, Yarra’s captain well and truly deserves the VC. When a ship performs above and beyond the call of duty the ship, as a whole, is basically awarded the medal/honour through its captain, unless, of course, it is an individual’s outstanding bravery. So, I believe that Ranking should have been awarded the VC for his leadership as well as for the ships’ company’s extraordinary bravery in taking on such overwhelming odds. The action in which the Yarra was sunk reads like a “Boy’s Own" story and would take up far too much space here. Needless to say, I would recommend that you do acquaint yourself with this chapter in our nation’s story. Again, as with many of my RAN ships I obtained really rubbish plans and had to wait many years until I came across excellent plans that I could use. A really “cute” ship, I had troubles getting the camouflage pattern correct and settled for this pattern. AA guns were 3D printed but the rest of the ship was hand crafted by me. To obtain a good comparison have a look at HMAS Canberra, herself an 8 “ heavy cruiser. Yarra took on 3 Japanese heavy cruisers along with a number of destroyers.

Submarines

HMAS J1 – J class

Builder  Portsmouth Naval Dockyard, England

Launched 2 February 1916

Commissioned  25 March 1919

Decommissioned 12 July 1922

Displacement   

1820 tons (submerged)

1210 tons (surfaced)

Length  275 feet 9-inches

Beam    23 feet 3-inches

Draught 16 feet

Speed  

9.5 knots (submerged)

19.5 knots (surfaced)

Armament

Guns     1 x 4-inch gun

Torpedoes          6 x 18-inch torpedo tubes - 4 bow, 2 beam

The J boats were gifted to the RAN after WWI but due to the Depression they were very rarely used and spent most of their careers alongside the dock. I used the RAN modelling drawings but sadly for me they were very badly drawn and showed them before they were modified and presented to the RAN. Fortunately, there were lots of photos available, so I was able to build this one with the gun forward on a massive sponson. This is also one of my models that the WA Maritime Museum has on display at the Victoria Quay site. This one is in my collection.

HMAS Ovens – Oberon class

Builder  Scott's Shipbuilding, Greenock, UK

Laid Down 17 June 1967

Commissioned  18 April 1969

Decommissioned 1 December 1995

Displacement    2,070 tons

Length  89.9 metres

Speed   15 knots (submerged)

Armament

Torpedoes         

6 x MK48 torpedo tubes and encapsulated Harpoon anti-ship missiles

Perhaps the most successful diesel-powered submarine ever built. The RAN had many successful RimPac Exercises where they kept “Sinking” USN carriers during the exercises. There are two of these boats still around One in Darling Harbour, Sydney, the other here in Fremantle WA. I really like the clean lines of this class. This is the second build of this submarine; the other one was given to a very old friend of mine.

HMAS Waller – Collins class

Builder  Australian Submarine Corp, Adelaide

Laid Down 19 March 1992

Commissioned  10 July 1999

Displacement   

surfaced: 3100 tonnes

submerged 3407 tonnes

Length  77.8 metres

Beam    7.8 metres

Draught 7 metres

Speed   20 knots

Armament

Missiles McDonnell Douglas Sub Harpoon Block 1B (UGM 84C); active radar homing

Torpedoes          6 x 21 in (533 mm) tubes. Gould Mk 48 Mod 4/6/7; dual purpose; wire-guided; active/passive homing

Mines   44 in lieu of torpedoes

Physical Countermeasures           Decoys: 2 SSE

Electronic Countermeasures       ESM: Condor CS-5600; intercept and warning

Named after the heroic Captain f HMAS Perth, Hec Waller. Historically a very contentious class of submarines. Many an article was written about how bad these boats were. Having said that, they were still able to perform well in the RimPac exercises, and at one time one of them was corralled prior to one of the scenarios, but still managed to “sink” the USN carrier. A very easy build that doesn’t look very startling, but still honours one of our most famous captains.

Corvette

HMAS Broome – Bathurst class

Builder Evans Deakin & Co Ltd, Brisbane

Laid Down 3 May 1941

Commissioned  29 July 1942

Decommissioned April 1946

Displacement    650 tons

Length  186 feet 2-inches

Beam    31 feet

Draught 8 feet 6-inches

Speed   15 knots

Armament    

1 x 4-inch gun

Machine guns

1 x Bofors

3 x Oerlikons

Depth charge chutes and throwers

One of the 60 corvettes built in Australia during WWII. HMAS Broome had a very eventful career undertaking convoy escort and minesweeping activities. The HMAS Whyalla is preserved in the town of Whyalla and provides a good understanding of how small these ships were! There were numerous main gun arrangements.

Torpedo Boat

HMVS Childers

Builder Thornycroft

Decommissioned 15 September 1916

Length  118ft 2in

Beam    12.5ft

Draught 5ft 9in

Speed   19.5 knots

Armament

Guns     2 x Hotchkiss 1-pounder machine guns

Torpedoes         

2 x 14-inch torpedo tubes, one of which was fitted in the bows.

4 x sets of torpedo dropping gear

Another vessel that was purchased by the Victorian Government to provide naval protection against the ever-present Russian threat! Had a lot of fun getting the bow to the correct shape.

Gunboat

HMAS Gayundah

Builder  Sir WG Armstrong, Mitchell & Co, Newcastle-on-Tyne

Commissioned  May 1884

Fate

Decommissioned 1949

Displacement    360 tons

Length  120 feet

Beam    26 feet

Draught 9 feet 6-inches

Speed   10.5 knots

Armament

1 x 8-inch BL 12-ton gun (replaced in 1899 but 2 x 5-inch BL 2.5-ton guns)

1 x 6-inch BL 4-ton gun (replaced in 1901 by 1 x 4.7-inch QF gun)

2 x 1.5-inch Nordenfelt guns

1 x .45-inch (5 barrel) machine gun

1 x 1-inch (4 barrel) machine gun

A Queensland purchase that was also there to defend against the dread Russians. A very unusual ship that is sadly no longer with us. I am always impressed by the amount of money the fledgling State navies were willing to spend to protect themselves. I was lucky with the plans of her as I found what I needed through many sources, and that, along with some very good photos made it all possible.

Patrol Boats

HMAS Acute – Attack class

Builder  Evans Deakin and Co

Launched 26 August 1967

Commissioned 26 April 1968

Fate

Decommissioned 06 May 1983

Displacement    146 tons

Length  32.76 metres

Beam    6.2 metres

Draught 1.9 metres

Speed   24 knots

Armament

1 x 40mm Bofors

2 x .50 calibre M2 Browning machine guns

One of a large class of patrol boat that served during the 1960s through to the 1980s. HMAS Acute was stationed at HMAS Leeuwin and was famous for intercepting some illegal Indonesian fishing boats and escorting them to Fremantle. This model was presented to one of her captains who was responsible for the interception mentioned.

HMAS Fremantle – Fremantle class

Builder Brooke Marine Shipyard, Lowestoft, England

Laid Down 11 November 1978

Commissioned  17 March 1980

Fate

Decommissioned 11 August 2006

Displacement    250 tonnes

Length  42 metres

Beam    7.15 metres

Draught 1.8 metres

Speed   24 knots

Armament

40/60 Bofors general purpose gun

2 x .50 calibre machine guns

Fremantle served in RAN bases around Australia. I always thought that they were nice looking. Apparently, so the story goes, the Fremantle class were supposed to have an awe-inspiring gun, but the RAN had lots of 40mm Bofors from WWII and were loath to let them go to waste, so they put the Bofors onto the Fremantle class. I always get a kick out of adding little quirky things such as the awning over the bridge of Fremantle.

Survey Vessel

HMAS Moresby

Builder  NSW State Dockyard, Newcastle

Laid Down 1 June 1962

Commissioned  6 March 1964

Decommissioned 13 November 1997

Fate Sold and renamed MV Patricia Anne Hotung

Displacement    2540 tonnes

Length  96 metres

Beam    13 metres

Draught 4.2 metres

Speed 19 knots

Armament

Guns     2 x 40mm Bofors (removed in 1973)

A long-suffering favourite that charted enormous swathes of the Indian Ocean and Australian coastline. I recently obtained confirmation that HMAS Moresby was tasked with examining a site then believed to be that of HMAS Sydney during her oceanographic surveys of the WA coast. The first search was combined with HMAS Moresby’s visit to Geraldton on the 19th October 1981. From then on, as I understand it, she never ceased looking when in the area. I spent many years trying to find details of the deck under the flight deck and eventually ran across a gentleman who did have photos that I could use. This model suffered catastrophic damage during her construction and very nearly didn’t make it. However, I am pleased to say that she is still around.

 Survey Vessel

HMAHS Centaur

Builder  Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Greenock

Laid down 16 November 1923

Commissioned 29 August 1924

Fate

Torpedoed on 14 May 1943 by Japanese submarine I-177

Displacement 3,222 tons

Length  315 ft

Beam    48 ft

Draught 20 ft

Speed   20.5 knots

A tragic tale! Centaur was sailing up to Papua New Guinea to bring home wounded Australian soldiers, sailors, and airmen. As required of a hospital ship Centaur was lit up like a Christmas tree. Unfortunately, in defiance of the Geneva convention, the Japanese submarine I-177 torpedoed and sank her on the night of 14 May 1943 with the loss of 268 of the 332 medical staff and civilian crew on board. It may be hard to pick out on the model but she has floodlights above each red cross on the hull and a row of lights going from the bridge to right aft so the submarine commander would have had no doubt as to her purpose. I saw a copy of her plans on the internet and wrote to the museum that had them and asked for a copy. They referred me to a lovely gentleman (whose name I have forgotten) who immediately sent me the plans. I am forever in his debt. I had the cowl vents 3D printed for me as they are a real pain to make. Apart from that the only other problem to building her was that the plans I was given didn’t have her sections so I had to use Word to design her sections. It worked quite well. I think she looks quite regal.

Royal Navy

Aircraft Carriers

HMS Hermes

Builder  Armstrong Whitworth

Laid down 15 January 1918

Commissioned 18 Feb 1924

Fate

Sunk by Japanese aircraft, 9 April 1942

Displacement 11,020 tons

Length  600 ft

Beam    70 ft 3 in

Draught 23 ft 3 in

Speed   25 knots

Armament         

6 × single 5.5” guns

4 × single 4” anti-aircraft guns

Aircraft carried: 20

The very first purpose-built aircraft carrier. Built for the Royal navy, she was sadly lost in early 1942 with HMAS Vampire after leaving Trincomalee in Ceylon. She had no aircraft and was ordered to leave for the British base in Diego Garcia but was found by Japanese dive-bombers and sunk with heavy loss of life. She was a very hard build as the gun decks were very badly drawn and took a lot of work to ensure that they fitted correctly. I thought it would look good to have an aircraft (swordfish) being taken down by the elevator. The other problem was that the drawings didn’t show the front of the massive foremast and had to be researched through photos.

HMS Eagle

Builder  Armstrong Whitworth

Laid down 20 February 1913

Commissioned  20 February 1924

Fate

Sunk by U-73, 11 August 1942

Displacement    22,200 tons

Length  667 ft 6 in

Beam    115 ft

Draught 26 ft 8 in

Speed   24 knots

Armament         

9 × 6-inch guns

5 × 4-inch Mk V anti-aircraft guns

Aircraft carried: 25–30

I really love this carrier! She is massive, built onto the hull of a Chilean battleship Almirante Latorre. She was another major problem build as I was using Admiralty plans that were unfortunately very sparse and hard to interpret. There was also, initially, very little detail regarding the decks under the bow. Still, I finally finished her and I think she looks really impressive. Eagle was in the thick of the fighting and was torpedoed and sunk after three torpedoes slammed into her side whilst she was escorting the famous Pedestal Convoy that saved Malta. There are many photos on the net of her rolling over and sinking. There are also some photos that were in a camera that was immersed in sea water and eventually developed that are still very clear. The wind break was quite a challenge and was cut from card whereas the aircraft were made from an original and moulded with detail added afterwards.

Battlecruisers

HMS Queen Mary – Lion class (sort of)

Builder  Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company, Jarrow

Laid down           6 March 1911

Commissioned  4 September 1913

Fate

Sunk at the Battle of Jutland, 31 May 1916

Displacement:   27,200 tons

Length700 ft 0.6 in

Beam    89 ft 0.5 in

Draught 32 ft 4 in

Speed   28 knots

Armament         

4 × twin BL 13.5-inch Mk V guns

16 × single BL 4-inch Mk VII guns

2 × single 21” Mk II submerged torpedo tubes

A half-sister to the famous “Cats” that included HMS Lion, flagship of Admiral Beattie. I think she is a beautiful ship. She was very impressive during the actions that included Heligoland and Jutland. At Jutland, due to mismanagement by Beattie, she was targeted by two of the German battlecruisers and eventually was hit on a turret. Up until then she had been savaging the Germans as she was the best gunnery ship in the fleet. It has come to light recently that it wasn’t due to the fact that she was a battlecruiser, but to the extremely dangerous practice of stacking shells and cordite throughout the turrets!

HMS Repulse – Repulse class

Builder  John Brown & Company, Clydebank, Scotland

Laid down           25 January 1915

Commissioned  18 August 1916

Fate

Sunk on 10 December 1941 by Japanese air attack off Kuantan, South China Sea

Displacement:   27,600 tons

Length 794 ft 1.5 in

Beam    90 ft 1.75 in

Draught 27 ft

Speed   31.5 knots

Armament         

3 × twin 15-inch guns

6 × triple, 2 × single 4-inch guns

2 × single 3-inch AA guns

2 × 21-inch torpedo tubes

Known as HMS Refit due to both her and Renown being taken in hand for major refits due to information gained after the battle of Jutland. She was famous for being part of Force Z, the ill-fated battlefleet (of two) that were sunk by Japanese aircraft off the coast of Malaya. Repulse was refitted throughout her career and had decks and fittings added ad-hoc. Having said that I think she looked aggressive and ready to take on anything! She and HMS Prince of Wales (POW) dodged a large number of torpedoes and bombs and if POW hadn’t had her innards torn open by a rogue propeller shaft, they may have survived. Sadly, that was not the case and after POW was disabled, the Japanese aircraft concentrated on Repulse and eventually sent torpedoes from all sides. Building her took a lot of effort as the drawings didn’t show her amidships section where one deck overlapped another and was not drawn accurately. I love the look of the Walrus aircraft being hoisted aboard.

HMS Renown – Repulse class

Builder  Fairfield, Govan, Britain

Laid down           25 January 1915

Commissioned  20 September 1916

Fate

Sold for scrap, 19 March 1948

Displacement 27,600 tons

Length 794 ft 1.5 in

Beam    90 ft 1.75 in

Draught 27 ft

Speed   32.58 knots

Armament         

3 × twin 15 in (381 mm) guns

5 × triple, 2 × single 4 in (102 mm) guns

2 × single 3 in (76 mm) AA guns

2 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes

This was the biggest model I had ever built when I finished her in 1985 and I loved the look of her! For the sake of accuracy, I drew the deck planking by hand. Unfortunately, I had used a black biro and left the ship by a window and over the years the ink faded away to nothing!  The plans were well drawn, and it took me just 5 months to do. Renown was a sister to Repulse and was almost identical for years. Then just before WWII Renown was taken in hand and completely changed. New engines, new superstructure and new AA guns. She chased and damaged the German battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau in atrocious weather, suffering more damage from the weather than from the German ships. She was also deployed to the Indian Ocean to fight the Japanese.

Battleships

HMS Victoria – Victoria class

Builder  Armstrong, Mitchell & Co. Elswick yard

Laid down 13 June 1885

Commissioned March 1890

Fate

Accidentally rammed and sunk, 22 June 1893

Displacement    11,200 tons

Length  340 ft

Beam    70 ft

Draught 26 ft 9 in

Speed 16 knots

Armament         

2 × BL 16.25-inch guns

1 × BL 10-inch gun

12 × BL 6-inch guns

12 × 6-pounder guns

6 × 14-inch torpedo tubes

 She and her sister San Pariel were very unusual ships. Victoria was rammed and sunk by HMS Camperdown off Tripoli in 1893. The admiral on board ordered a suicidal manoeuvre that was questioned by the admiral leading the other column. He was overruled and Victoria was lost. Admiral Jellicoe was a junior officer on board and was nearly drowned during the sinking. When discovered, Victoria was found standing vertically with her bow buried in the ocean floor. The plans are brilliant and didn’t give me any grief. I love the various sponsons on the sides, including ones with spotlights.

HMS Dreadnought – Namesake to all modern battleships

Builder Armstrong, HM Dockyard, Plymouth

Laid down:          2 October 1905

Commissioned 2 December 1906

Decommissioned February 1919

Fate

Sold for scrap, 9 May 1921

Displacement 18,120 long tons (18,410 t) (load)

20,730 tons

Length 527 ft

Beam 82 ft 1 in

Draught 29 ft 7.5 in

Speed 21 knots

Armament

5 × twin 12 in (305 mm) guns

27 × single 3 in (76 mm) guns

5 × 18 in torpedo tubes

At the stroke of a pen (so to speak) the launching of HMS Dreadnought (from the saying Fear God and dread naught!) every battleship in the world had become obsolete!! Including the huge number of battleships that the Royal Navy possessed. But Jackie Fisher was an amazing man that some hate and others love. But say what you will, she was an amazing feat incorporating so many new and innovative ideas such as steam turbine, all main guns with the same calibre, etc, etc. Again, why did I choose her as she was built! ‘Cause I’m stupid! Most of the drawings and info are of her towards the end of her career. As with Agincourt, the torpedo nets and associated paraphernalia was enough to drive a man to drink! The area around the bridge was also very hard to discern and in ensuring the pieces fitted together. The number and variety of ship’s boats was amazing and challenged my moulding ability. It is amazing when you compare HMS Hood with HMS Dreadnought and realize that there was such amazing progress in just 12 years. I am gobsmacked by the placement of the spotting top BEHIND the funnel. This meant that sometimes the spotting top could not be manned as the ladders inside the legs of the tripod became too hot to touch. Then there was the smoke problem. Of course, the British Admiralty came to their senses and reversed the idea…. Until they built the super dreadnoughts of the Orion class! Oh well, back to the drawing board.

 HMS Agincourt

Builder Armstrong, Newcastle upon Tyne

Laid down:          14 September 1911

Commissioned 7 August 1914

Decommissioned April 1921

Fate

Sold for scrap, 19 December 1922

Displacement 27,850 long tons (28,300 t) (load)

31,360 tons

Length 671 ft 6 in

Beam 89 ft

Draught 29 ft 10 in

Speed 22 knots

Armament

7 × twin 12 in (305 mm) guns

20 × single 6 in (152 mm) guns

10 × single 3 in (76 mm) guns

3 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes

The most heavily gunned warship ever built with a total of seven main gun turrets. I believe that instead of naming the turrets “A”, “B” etc that her turrets were named after the days of the week, though I could be wrong (sounds kind of fun though, … I say Monday, open fire at will!!) Apparently when Agincourt opened fire at Jutland everyone thought she had exploded as the whole length of the ship was engulfed in smoke and flame. Fortunately, that was not the case and she steamed out of the smoke ready to fire her next salvo. One of the reasons I really wanted to build hr was the fact that she was instrumental in turning Turkey from an ally of the British Empire into an ally of Germany. She started out as the Brazilian answer to the Arms race that commenced in South America around the turn of the 20th century. During the building of her (named the Rio De Janeiro) the Brazilian government went bankrupt and could afford her, so she was put up for sale and found a willing buyer in the Turkish government. To pay for her the government went to every village and obtained money to pay for the ship (now called Sultan Osman-I). When Churchill decided it was vital that she remain in British hands she was taken over and the Turkish crew were sent home. The Germans, not being silly, offered the Turkish government one of their battlecruisers. This inadvertently led to Gallipoli and the legend that is now ANZAC.

What can I say??? I have ALWAYS wanted to build her, but I wanted to build her with her boat deck. As usual, I seem to always make a rod for my own back. So, few drawings/photographs of her at in that configuration. Fortunately, she was taken over by the Royal Navy and spent about a week in this configuration before they removed it (as it wasn’t a smart idea to have a huge structure above her turrets!). I must acknowledge the awesome help and assistance that the Turkish Museum in Istanbul gave me in supplying me with photographs of the amazing “builder’s Model” of her as the Sultan Osman-I.

I was fortunate enough to find a photograph of the shipbuilder’s model that is on display at the Maritime Museum in Istanbul. I wrote to them and asked if I could get photographs of the model. The staff member was soooo helpful!! I was presented with amazingly detailed and well-focused photos of the model that helped me build her as she was. I tried to send the staff member some photos but sadly I couldn’t find them. However, I would, really like to thank them for their assistance!  😊 Building the torpedo nets and their associated rigging was a nightmare. It is amazing that such a huge ship had so miniscule a bridge and control position!! Anyway, I really love how amazing she looks with her 7 turrets, more than any other warship ever!

HMS Royal Oak – Revenge class

Builder: Devonport Royal Dockyard

Laid down:          15 January 1914

Commissioned: 1 May 1916

Fate       Sunk by U-47, 14 October 1939

Status:  Protected war grave

Displacement 30,450 tons

Length  620 ft 7 in

Beam    88 ft 6 in

Draught:              33 ft 7 in

Speed:  22 knots

Armament         

4 × twin 15 in (381 mm) guns

14 × single 6 in (152 mm) guns

2 × single 3 in (76 mm) AA guns

4 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes

A very impressive warship sunk with heavy loss of life at Scapa Flow including a large number of “Boy Sailors” all aged around 16. Scapa Flow was supposed to be safe and where the British kept most of their heavy units. The Revenge class were supposed to be a follow-on to the impressive Queen Elizabeth class but the Admiralty got cold feet regarding the engines being completely oil driven and was going to have a mix of coal and oil. Eventually the Admiralty reneged, and they were fully oil fuelled. However, they were never as fast as the Queen Elizabeths and were relegated to mainly escort and bombardment duties during WWII. She was the most modernised of the Revenge class battleships and saw her come out of her refit with an amazing anti-torpedo bulge and other changes. I really enjoyed building her, especially the challenge regarding her anti-torpedo bulges. They were massive and required a lot of effort to get right. I really liked the markings of her aircraft, a Fairey III. Royal Oak remains to this day in Scapa Flow and is a designated War Grave but is sadly disintegrating and is now presenting an environmental headache due to leaking fuel tanks. I really liked the markings of her aircraft, a Fairey III.

HMS Barham – Queen Elizabeth class

Builder  John Brown & Company, Clydebank

Laid down           24 February 1913

Commissioned  19 October 1915

Fate      

Sunk by U-331, 25 November 1941

Displacement    33,110 tons

Length  643 ft 9 in

Beam    90 ft 7 in

Draught 33 ft

Speed:  24 knots

Armament         

4 × twin 15-inch guns

14 × single 6-inch guns

2 × single 3-inch 20 cwt AA guns

4 × 21-inch torpedo tubes

A member of the most famous British battleships, HMS Barham fought at the battle of Jutland. She went through the mandatory refits and modifications between the wars. She was very active during WWII and was sunk by a salvo of three torpedoes. There is an horrific video on YouTube that shows her dying moments that was taken by an officer on board one of the other battleships. I think Barham looked really powerful and ready to take on anything. Originally, I was going to make her as built, but got sucked into the awesome look of the torpedo bulge that was fitted to British warships in the 1920s, hence my change. Unfortunately for me, I had a lot of trouble with the torpedo bulge trying to get the correct shape. There is a YouTube video of HMS Barham sinking.

HMS Rodney – Nelson class

Builder  Cammell Laird, Birkenhead

Laid down           28 December 1922

Commissioned  10 November 1927

Fate

Sold for scrap, 26 March 1948

Displacement 34,270 tons

Length  710 ft 2 in

Beam    106 ft

Draught 31 ft 8 in

Speed   23 knots

Armament         

3 × 3 - 16-inch Mk I guns

6 × 2 - 6-inch Mk XXII guns

6 × 1 - QF 4.7-inch Mk VIII anti-aircraft guns

8 × 1 - 2-pounder anti-aircraft guns

2 × 1 - 24.5-inch Mk I torpedo tubes

One of the two Royal Navy battleships that crushed the Bismarck. Apparently, Rodney’s captain was sure that the location of Bismarck that he had been given was incorrect and made the brave decision to go where he thought Bismarck was, this was pivotal in Rodney and King George V being able to chase down Bismarck and destroy her. I have always loved these two ships. They look so aggressive with their three turrets forward and the huge foc’sle deck. They were unique capital ships that were criticised and ridiculed throughout their careers and after. However, given that Rodney was in such need of a refit, she still was instrumental in dispatching the Bismarck. She was never as good as Nelson during the war as a result of the cancelled refit that would have fixed her engines. I had a lot of trouble with her 4” AA guns and eventually had them 3D printed. I love the fact that the camouflage went onto the decks.

HMS Vanguard

Builder  John Brown and Company, Clydebank, Scotland

Laid down           2 October 1941

Commissioned  12 May 1946

Fate      

Scrapped 1960

Displacement    45,200 tons

Length  814 ft 4 in

Beam    108 ft

Draught 36 ft

Speed   30 knots

Armament         

4 × twin BL 15-inch guns

8 × twin QF 5.25-inch dual-purpose guns

10 × sextuple, 1 × twin, 11 × single 40 mm Bofors AA guns

The most impressive battleship ever built (I think). She was the last and best battleship ever built for the Royal Navy and utilised the turrets that had been removed from Glorious and Courageous when they were converted to aircraft carriers. During exercises with the US navy in the Atlantic in the 1950s, the American battleship had to heave to, but Vanguard was still able to steam through the massive storm. I love her lines and looks. Many long hours researching the open bridge as there was a lot of detail not included in any drawings. If she had been kept, she could have been a powerful addition to the Royal Navy for many years, similar to the way the US Navy refurbished and used the USS Missouri.

Monitors

HMS Abercrombie – Abercrombie class

Builder  Vickers-Armstrongs, Newcastle upon Tyne

Laid down           26 April 1941

Launched            31 March 1942

Commissioned  5 May 1943

Fate       Scrapped at Barrow 24 December 1954

Displacement    7,850 tons

Length  373.25 ft

Beam    89.75 ft

Draught 11 ft

Speed   12.5 knots

Armament         

2 × 15-inch guns

8 × 4 in AA guns

16 × 2-pounder "pom-pom

20 × 20 mm guns

 I was always amazed by the Royal Navy monitors. They were the most ungainly and slow warships ever built! They had huge anti-torpedo bulges fitted and were designed to undertake shore bombardment and maintain their position even if mined or torpedoed. The very first ones had a speed of about 5 knots. Abercrombie was a lot faster and more heavily armed against aircraft. She participated in the Normandy landings and was engaged in other bombardment duties to assist the Allied troops fighting near the shore. She was quite easy to build and looks so impressive with her excessive beam and huge turret dominating everything.

Heavy Cruisers

HMS Exeter – Cathedral or York class

Builder  Devonport Dockyard, Plymouth

Laid down           1 August 1928

Commissioned  27 July 1931

Fate

Sunk during the Second Battle of the Java Sea, 1 March 1942

Displacement 8,520 tons

Length 575 ft 1 in

Beam    58 ft

Draught 17 ft

Speed   32 knots

Armament         

3 × twin 8 in (203 mm) guns

4 × single 4 in (102 mm) AA guns

2 × single 2-pdr (40 mm) AA guns

2 × triple 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes

Aircraft carried: 2 × seaplanes

Aviation facilities:             2 × aircraft catapults

 One of the most famous British cruisers, HMS Exeter was involved in the well-known battle of the River Plate between Admiral Harwood and Captain Langsdorf. Admiral Harwood was in command of HMS Ajax, HMS Achilles and HMS Exeter and intercepted the Graf Spee off Montevideo near the River Plate. In the ensuing battle Exeter was severely damaged and had all of her main armament put out of action. The Graf Spee was finally scuttled by her crew and Exeter limped home to a tumultuous welcome. She was refitted and eventually sent to the Far East where she became part of the ABDA Fleet. She was badly damaged during the Battle of the Java Sea and during her attempted escape to Ceylon, was ambushed by Japanese heavy cruisers and sunk with heavy loss of life. I really have enjoyed building her as she has always been one of my favourites given her history. One error with the plans was including the 20mm AA guns in the zarebas on the turrets and the aft deckhouses. She was fitted for but not with!

Light Cruisers

HMS Monmouth – County class

Builder  London & Glasgow Shipbuilding, Govan

Laid down 29 August 1899

Completed 2 December 1903

Fate

Sunk at the Battle of Coronel, 1 November 1914

Displacement    9,800 long tons

Length  463 ft 6 in

Beam 66 ft

Draught 25 ft

Speed   23 knots

Armament         

2 × twin, 10 × single BL 6-inch Mk VII guns

10 × single QF 12-pdr 12 cwt guns

3 × QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns

2 × single 18-inch torpedo tubes

 For many years I was awe-struck by the story of the Battle of Coronel when a British contingent was slaughtered by a far superior and far better trained opponent off the coast of Chile. HMS Monmouth and HMS Good Hope were sunk with all hands. HMS Monmouth was on fire and disabled with only one gun still able to fire. She was found by one of the German cruisers and was asked to surrender. In reply, Monmouth opened fire with her one remaining gun. Sadly, but inevitably, she was then fired upon and sunk. It has been one of my goals to build both Monmouth and Good Hope. I have finished Monmouth as you can see and have built the hull for Good Hope and aim to complete her in the next couple of years. I have shown Monmouth in the very striking colours of the Victorian era.

HMS Arethusa – Arethusa class

Builder  Chatham Dockyard

Laid down           28 October 1912

Commissioned  August 1914

Fate

Damaged by mine, 11 February 1916 and wrecked

Displacement    3,568 tons

Length  436 ft

Beam    39 ft

Draught:15 ft 7 in

Speed   28.5 knots

Armament         

2 × single BL 6 in (152 mm) Mk XII guns

6 × single QF 4 in (102 mm) Mk V guns

1 × single QF 3-pounder 47 mm (1.9 in) anti-aircraft gun

4 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes

 The Arethusa class were the forerunner of all British light cruisers. I think that this was the first ship I built to this scale as I had recently purchased the book by Raven and Roberts called “British Cruisers of World War Two”. An amazing book with really great plans. This was later followed by “British Battleships of World War Two”. The model was actually built with a solid hull that I think takes a lot more effort than the current method that I use. As I knew nothing of photoetching or moulding, every rung on every ladder is hand cut and fixed! (No wonder people think I am as mad as a cut snake!).  

HMS Curacao – Ceres class

Builder  Pembroke Dockyard

Laid down           July 1916

Commissioned  18 February 1918

Fate      

Sunk in collision with RMS Queen Mary, 2 October 1942

Displacement    4,260 tons

Length  450 ft 3 in

Beam    43 ft 5 in

Draught 14 ft 8 in

Speed   29 knots

Armament         

5 × single 6 in (152 mm) guns

2 × single 3 in (76 mm) anti-aircraft guns

4 × twin 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes

 This ship was famous (if that’s the right word) for having been sunk by accident by the RMS Queen Mary. I have always found it amusing that during the idle of the most dramatic war in history, the Royal Navy and Cunard were engaged in a court battle to prove liability. Apparently, Cunard were deemed to be 1/3 at fault, and the Admiralty 2/3 at fault. Sadly, of course, this did nothing to assuage the grief of the relatives and friends of those killed in the collision. I used the magnificent plans drawn by the well renowned Norman Ough. He was a prolific draftsman and came up with some really great plans. I decided to depict her in the China Station colours of white and buff and also included an awning aft. Because of the detail and accuracy of the plans I was able to include an enormous amount of detail with very little research required.

HMS Neptune – Leander class

Builder  Portsmouth Dockyard

Laid down           24 September 1931

Commissioned  12 February 1934

Fate

Sunk 19 December 1941 by mines off Tripoli

Displacement 7,270 tons

Length  554.9 ft

Beam    56 ft

Draught:19.1 ft

Speed   32.5 knots

Armament         

8[1] × BL 6-inch Mk XXIII naval guns

4 × 4-inch (102 mm) guns

12 × 0.5 in machine guns

8 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes

Aircraft carried:

Supermarine Walrus

 The Only Leander class to be sunk, Neptune was lost as a result of the Italians not playing the game fairly and laying mines where they shouldn’t have been able to! Neptune was a member of the famous Force K that also included HMS Penelope and Aurora and the destroyer HMS Kandahar. Neptune set off a mine, then drifted onto a second mine and finally hit a third mine. However, before hitting the third mine, the Kandahar went in to rescue the Neptune, only to strike a mine herself. Whilst a number of Neptune’s crew got off the ship, the other British ships couldn’t rescue them and sadly only one survivor was ever rescued. I have Neptune facing off against HMAS Perth as they were half-sisters and shows clearly the differences between the two, with Neptune having both boiler rooms together and Perth having hers separated by an engine room.

HMS Gloucester – Town class (Batch three)

Builder  Devonport Dockyard

Laid down           22 September 1936

Commissioned  31 January 1939

Fate

Sunk by German aircraft, 22 May 1941

Displacement 9,600 tons

Length  588 ft

Beam    62 ft 4 in

Draught 20 ft 7 in

Speed   32 knots

Armament         

4 × triple 6-inch (152 mm) guns

4 × twin 4-inch (102 mm) dual-purpose guns

2 × quadruple 2-pdr (40 mm) "pom-pom" AA mounts

2 × quadruple 0.5-inch (12.7 mm) Vickers AA machine gun mounts

2 × triple 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes

Aircraft carried: 2 × Supermarine Walrus flying boats

 In my opinion, the Towns were very handsome ships. They suffered severe losses in the Mediterranean with HMS Southampton, Manchester and Gloucester being lost and HMS Edinburgh sinking in the Barents Sea. Gloucester was sunk due to a very poor decision to send her and HMS Fiji away from the Battlefleet, given that both ships were running low on AA ammunition. They were pounced on by German Stuka Ju-87 dive bombers and eventually were left firing practice shells. Once the Germans realised that they weren’t being fired upon with real ammunition, they came in closer and sank both with heavy loss of life. All of this was witnessed by the rest of the fleet that was about 10 kilometres away. I used plans for Manchester and had to do quite a bit of research to ensure that she was accurately depicted.

HMS Penelope – Arethusa class

Builder  Harland & Wolff, Belfast

Laid down 30 May 1934

Commissioned 13 November 1936

Fate

Sunk 18 February 1944 by torpedoes from U-410, while returning from Naples to the Anzio beachhead (415 lost)

Displacement    5,220 tons

Length  506 ft

Beam    51 ft

Draught 14 ft

Speed:  32 knots

Armament

August 1940 configuration:

3 × 6-inch (152 mm) dual guns

4 × 4-inch (102 mm) dual AA guns

2 × quadruple mount QF 2-pdr (40 mm) "pom-pom" AA guns

6 × 20 mm Oerlikon single AA guns

2 × 0.5-inch quadruple machine guns

2 × 21 in (533 mm) triple torpedo tubes

Aircraft carried: One aircraft (later removed).

 HMS Penelope was also known as HMS “Pepperpot” after she suffered a huge number of shrapnel damage whilst in Valetta Harbour after she received damage as part of Force K. This was a sad and avoidable loss. In the later stages of the war in the Mediterranean, US Navy cruisers were always escorted by destroyers. The Royal navy seemed to think that this was a waste of resources. HMS Penelope was en-route to Salerno when she was found by a German U-bout and torpedoed with heavy loss of life. Her plans were well drawn but showed her in her original form. It took a lot of research and effort to ensure that the model accurately depicted her when she sank.

HMS Hermione – Dido class

Builder  Alexander Stephen and Sons (Glasgow, Scotland)

Laid down 6 October 1937

Commissioned 25 March 1941

Fate

Sunk 16 June 1942 by German submarine U-205

Displacement 5,600 tons

Length 512 ft

Beam 50.5 ft

Draught 14 ft

Speed 32.25 knots

Armament         

Original configuration:

10 x 5.25 in (133 mm) dual-purpose guns (5x2),

5 x 20 mm (0.8 in) single guns,

8 x 2 pdr (37 mm/40 mm) pom-pom guns (2x4),

6 x 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes (2x3).

 One of the prolific Dido class AA cruisers built just before and during WWII. They were unusual for Royal Navy cruisers in having three turrets forward. This configuration required a very high bridge and necessitated the funnels being angled aft. They were very small cruisers, and this resulted in them being scrapped soon after the war as they couldn’t accommodate the numerous fittings that post WWII ships needed. HMS Hermione was sunk after a very short career after being torpedoed in the Mediterranean whilst escorting a convoy. Another nice set of plans drawn by Norman Ough. She was quite easy to build except for identifying where the 20mm Oerlikon guns were sighted. But apart from that she was a delight to build.

HMS Spartan – Bellona (modified Dido) class

Builder  Vickers-Armstrongs, (Barrow-in-Furness, UK)

Laid down 21 December 1939

Commissioned 12 July 1943

Fate

Sunk 29 January 1944 by a Henschel Hs 293 from a German aircraft off Anzio, western Italy.

Displacement 6050 tons

Length 512 ft

Beam 50 ft 6 in

Draught 14 ft

Speed   32.25 knots

Armament          8 × QF 5.25-inch (133 mm) dual purpose guns (4x2),

12 × 2-pounder anti-aircraft guns (3x4),

12 × 20 mm anti-aircraft cannons (6x2),

6 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes (2x3)

 Spartan was a modified Dido class and only has A and B turret before the bridge. As a result of this change, the bridge height was reduced, removing the requirement for the angled funnels. These changes resulted in a far more modern looking ship. Spartan was the only one of her class to be sunk, succumbing to one of the first German guided missiles. Due to the size and weight of the missile, it caused devastating damage to Spartan, and she sank off Salerno with many casualties. I used the plans from the British Cruisers of WWII and another publication, combined with the Norman Ough plans to build her.

HMS Charybdis – Dido class

Builder  Cammell Laird, Birkenhead

Laid down 9 November 1939

Completed 3 December 1941

Fate

Sunk in Battle of Sept-Îles on 23 October 1943

Displacement 5,600 tons

Length 512 ft

Beam 50.5 ft

Draught 14.3 ft

Speed   32.25 knots

Armament         

8 x 4.5 in DP dual guns,

10 x 20 mm (0.8 in) single guns,

6 x 20 mm (0.8 in) twin power-operated guns,

2 x 21 in (533 mm) triple Torpedo Tubes.

This was a very unique ship along with HMS Scylla. The Dido class had the same main armament as the secondary armament of the new "King George V" class battleships. Due to a shortage of these mounts Scylla and Charybdis were given 8 x 4.5-inch guns in four mounts. They were known as the “toothless terrors”. It was appropriate that they were the two as in ancient times the straits of Messina were thought to have an evil whirlpool and monster. So, people were said to be caught between Scylla and Charybdis (rock and a hard place). Charybdis was sunk due to the Commander assuming that the Germans wouldn’t cotton on to the Charybdis and her consorts following the same procedure and course every time. So, when she went on patrol for the third time, the Germans ambushed them, sinking her and the destroyer HMS Limbourne. I had major problems with the main guns as I have been unable to find proper drawings for them, and sadly, I couldn’t get any 3D printing done! (Addendum: I have been able to replace my guns with 3D printed ones!) I believe that the novel HMS Ulysses was based upon HMS Scylla.

Destroyers

HMS Hardy – “H” class

Builder  Cammell Laird and Company at Birkenhead

Laid down           30 May 1935

Commissioned  11 December 1936

Fate      

Beached, 10 April 1940. Later capsized and became a total loss.

Displacement 1,478 tons

Length  337 ft

Beam    34 ft

Draught 12 ft 9 in

Speed   36 knots

Armament         

5 × 1 - QF 4.7-inch Mk IX guns

2 × 4 - .50 cal machine guns

2 × 4 - 21-inch torpedo tubes

20 × depth charges

 HMS Hardy was the leader of the “H” class and was involved in the Fist Battle of Narvik. Captain Warburton-Lee lead four of the H class into the Narvik fiord and surprised the German destroyers, all of which were bigger and more heavily armed. In the ensuing melee HMS Hardy and HMS Hunter were sunk. Warburton-Lee earned the Victoria Cross for this action. The plans for Hardy were quite well drawn. She was one of my early creations. Recently I had to repair her and was amazed at how I had done things in my early days of modelling.

HMS Onslow – Emergency Destroyer “O” class

Builder  John Brown & Company, Clydebank

Laid down           1 July 1940

Commissioned  8 October 1941

Fate      

Scrapped, 1980

Displacement    1,570 tons

Length  345 ft

Beam    35 ft

Draught 13 ft 6 in

Speed   37 knots

Armament         

4 × single 4.7-inch (120-mm) QF Mark IX guns on mounting CP Mk.XVIII

1 × single QF 4-inch (100 mm) gun Mk.V on mounting HA Mk.III

1 × quad QF 2-pdr (40-mm) "pom-pom" mount Mk.VII

6 × single Oerlikon 20 mm guns

1 × quad 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tube for Mk.IX torpedoes

4 × throwers and 2 × racks for 70 depth charges

 Onslow was involved in the Battle of the Barents Sea whilst escorting Convoy JW 51B. This convoy was bounced by the German heavy units Admiral Hipper and Lutzow. By all odds the convoy should have been wiped out, however, whilst HMS Achates kept protecting the convoy by laying smoke until she capsized from her damage, HMS Onslow and other destroyers kept attacking the German ships until they received support from two light cruisers that then chased off the Germans for good. During the battle Onslow was hit on the bridge severely injuring captain Sherbrook who continued to fight the battle until its conclusion. For his bravery he was awarded the Victoria Cross. Whilst the plans were very comprehensive in most areas, the aft end of the bridge was unclear and required a lot of searching of the internet.

HMS Fife – County class DDG

Builder  Fairfield Shipbuilding

Laid down 1 June 1962

Commissioned 21 June 1966

Fate

Sold to Chile on 12 August 1987

Displacement 6,200 tonnes

Length  521 ft

Beam    52 ft

Draught 20 ft

Speed   30+ knots

Armament         

2 × twin turrets with 4.5-inch guns Mark N6

2 × mountings for Oerlikon 20 mm cannon

1 × Twin Seaslug GWS.2 SAM

2 × Quad Seacat GWS-22

2 × triple 12.75" torpedo tubes

Aircraft carried: 1× Wessex HAS Mk 3 helicopter

 I have always loved the look of the County class ever since I made the Airfix kit of Devonshire. The County class were centred around the then amazing new Sea Slug. It was not the earth-shattering panacea that the RN was hoping for. In the 1980s the remaining ships exchanged their B turret for Exocet missile launchers. In my opinion this spoilt their looks. With regard to building her, the Sea Slug launcher was a nightmare of dozens of very small bits of wire having to be put together. Then of course there was the Type 965 radar. This was where I tried my hand at photoetching. What a drama, it was worse than pulling teeth! I tried numerous ways of doing the photoetching and eventually, after trying four times, obtained enough parts to make the radar. Sadly, I have to somehow make another three of these rotten radar for other RN warships that I have started. Having said all of that, I really like the look of Fife.

Frigates

HMS Antelope – Type 21

Builder  Vosper Thornycroft

Laid down 23 March 1971

Commissioned 19 July 1975

Fate”

Sunk by Argentine bombs on 24 May 1982

Displacement    3,250 tons

Length  384 ft

Beam    41 ft 9 in

Draught 19 ft 6 in

Speed   32 knots

Armament         

1 × 4.5-inch gun

2 × Oerlikon 20 mm cannon

1 × quadruple Sea Cat SAMs

 One of the ill-fated Type 21 frigates, built by Vosper based on a requirement for a cheap but effective frigate, that were used during the Falklands War. Antelope suffered a hit by two bombs that didn’t detonate. Whilst one of the bombs was being defused by two Royal Engineers, it went off, killing one and seriously injuring the other, resulting in Antelope breaking her back and sinking. There are many famous photographs of her exploding and sinking. HMS Ardent was the other Type 21 that was also sunk during the Falklands War. Her funnel was unique in its shape and structure and took quite a lot of thought and effort into replicating it.

HMS Scylla – Leander class

Builder  Devonport Royal Dockyard

Laid down           17 May 1967

Commissioned  12 February 1970

Fate

Sunk as an artificial reef on 27 March 2004

Displacement:   3,251 tons

Length 372 ft

Beam41 ft

Draught 19 ft

Speed   28 knots

Armament         

1 × twin 4.5-inch guns

1 × quadruple Sea Cat anti-aircraft missile launchers

1 × Limbo anti-submarine mortar

Aircraft carried 

1 × Westland Wasp helicopter

 One of the famous British “Leander” class frigates that gave sterling service over many years. I built this in the early 1980s when I was hoping to be able to make a career from model-building, for a person who promised me that he would be able to generate a lot of orders for my ships. When I showed it to him, he said that he was going to pay me $50 but decided that it was worth at least $100. Needless to say, I never did sell it to him! The Jecobin plans I used were really detailed and well-drawn with the only major problem being the building of the Type 965 radar that took me two weeks to build! This was the last ship that I built using a solid hull construction.

Corvettes

HMS Bryony – Flower class

Builder  Harland and Wolff, Belfast, Northern Ireland

Laid down           8 April 1940

Completed         16 June 1942[1]

Commissioned 15 March 1941

Fate

Struck   1979

Displacement    940 tons

Length  205 ft

Beam    33 ft

Draught 11.5 ft

Speed   16 knots

Armament         

1 × BL 4-inch (101.6 mm) Mk IX gun,

2 × .50-inch (12.7 mm) twin machine guns,

2 × .303-inch (7.7-mm) Lewis machine guns

2 × stern depth charge racks with 40 depth charges

 One of the legendary “Flower” class corvettes. I often wonder as to who came up with the idea of giving warships names of flowers such as HMS Convolvulus and HMS Rhododendron, I mean, REALLY??? Can you imagine the fear that the Germans must have felt when they heard they were being chased by HMS Buttercup! Anyway, these little ships were based upon a Whale Cather design and served the Royal Navy well during the Battle of the Atlantic. They were a little slower than a surfaced German U-boat but packed a punch with the larger than normal suite of depth charge throwers and rails. These amazing ships served in the Free French, Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Navy and were actually reverse lend leased to the US Navy during the Second Happy Time just after the US entered the war against Germany. I can’t think of anything worse that to be bobbing about the Atlantic during a full gale in one of these little boats! I have the strongest admiration for the sailors that did man these ships.

HMS Hedingham Castle – Castle class

Builder  John Crown & Sons Ltd

Laid down 2 November 1943

Fate

Scrapped April 1958

Displacement    1,077 tons

Length  252 ft

Beam    37 ft

Draught 10 ft

Speed   16.5 knots

 Armament         

1 × 4-inch (102-mm) Quick Firing Mk.XIX High Angle/Low Angle combined air/surface gun

1 × Squid anti-submarine mortar

1 × depth charge rail, 15 Depth charges

2 × 20 mm twin anti-aircraft cannon

6 × 20 mm single anti-aircraft cannon

 When the Royal Navy needed to upgrade the Flower class, they chose the Castle class corvettes. These were bigger, faster and with a more impressive armament (and can I say set of names) than the Flower class. They provided sterling service during the latter half of the Battle of the Atlantic and paved the way for the River and Bay class frigates to come.  I think they look very dashing with their very curvy lines and powerful main armament of the gun and the squid anti-submarine launcher forward.

Gunboats

HMS Cockchafer – Insect class

Builder Barclay Curle

Laid down 1915

Fate

Broken up 1949 at Singapore

Displacement    625 tons

Length 237 ft 6 in

Beam 36 ft 1 in

Draft 3 ft 11 in

Speed   14.0 knots

Armament         

2 × BL 6-inch Mk VII

1 × 3-inch (76 mm) AA gun

1 × QF 2 pdr. naval gun

8 × .303 British Lewis guns

 Again, I have to say it! Naming a class of ships after insects??? Bee, Ant, Cockchafer, Ladybird……

Having said that, these ships were excellent value for money, given the wide range of service that these ships performed and the hellish battles that they fought in throughout WWII. They commenced their careers as river gunboats to be used on the Danube. Cockchafer was involved in the Wan Hsien Incident, an international incident between a Chinese warlord and the Royal Navy. Cockchafer was involved in heavy fighting throughout WWII and was the last surviving Insect when she was scrapped in 1949. I really loved her extremely shallow draught and propellers that were situated in tunnels under the ship that enabled her to steam up very shallow waterways. I think the “China Station” colours are quite appealing.

HMS Grey Shark – Grey class

Builder  Hawthorn Leslie & Co. (Hebburn-on-Tyne, U.K.): Metropolitan Vickers

Laid down 28 Mar 1941

Commissioned  30 Apr 1942

Fate

Sold on 13 October 1947

Displacement    175 tons

Length 145 ft 8 in

Beam    20 ft

Draught 5.5ft

Speed   35 knots

Armament         

1 × 3-in (76.2 mm) gun

2 × single 6-pdr guns

2 × twin 20-mm Oerlikon cannon

2 × 21-inch torpedo tubes

Submarines

HMS Holland 1 – Holland class

Builder Vickers Maxim shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness

Laid down 1900

Commissioned 1901

Fate

Lost while under tow, subsequently raised and on display at Royal Navy Submarine Museum, Gosport

Displacement    107 tons

Length  63 ft 10 in

Beam    11 ft 9 in

Speed   7 knots

Armament         

1 × 18-inch (450-mm) torpedo tube

up to 3 torpedoes

One of the very first Royal Navy submarines. Apparently, when a crusty old admiral first saw the submarine, he stated that the crew were pirates and the submarine very un-English, or words to that effect. Holland I was lost in the Thames and was salvaged in the 1981 and is now on display at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum at Gosport. I had never built anything so small before, and it was a real challenge to get the hull the correct shape.

HMS A1 – “A” class

Builder Vickers, Barrow-in-Furness

Laid down 19 February 1902

Launched 9 July 1902

Fate

Lost, 1911. Wreck rediscovered 1989.

Displacement 190 l tons

Length  103.25 ft

Beam    11.9 ft

Speed 11.5 knots (surfaced)

7 knots (submerged)

Armament         

2 × 18 in (450 mm) torpedo tubes (bow, four torpedoes)

 The lead on class from the Holland class, these were the first real submarines put into Royal Navy service.  They must have been horrific to serve in with their petrol engines, poor ventilation, cramped quarters and ever-present risk of death. Quite an easy build I put both of them onto the same base rather than have a minute case for such a small ship.

HMS E19 – “E” class

Laid down 27 November 1914

Commissioned 12 July 1915

Fate

Scuttled 8 April 1918 at Helsinki to avoid capture

Displacement:  

662 tons (surfaced)

807 tons (submerged)

Length  54.86 m

Beam 6.86 m

Draught 3.81 m

Speed: 

15.25 knots (surfaced)

9.75 knots (submerged)

Armament         

2 × 18-inch (450 mm) bow tube

2 × 18" beam tubes

1 × 18" stern tube

(10 torpedoes)

1 × 2 pdr deck gun

A very famous class of ship. The E-11 made her way through the Dardanelles into the Sea of Marmora and sank a number of Turkish warships and merchant ships. The Royal Australian Navy purchased two of the original E class, AE1 and AE2. AE1 was mysteriously lost with all hands in 1914 and has only recently been found off the coast of the Duke of York Islands in Papua New Guinea., whilst AE2 was made famous when she got through the Dardanelles and sank a number of Turkish vessels before being herself sunk. The WA Maritime Museum has a replica of the AE2 conning tower with the starboard side depicting it during her war service and the port side as she is on the sea floor. This is the second model of the “E” class; the original is on display at the WA Maritime Museum.

HMS K4 – “K” class

Builder  Vickers, Barrow-in-Furness

Laid down 28 June 1915

Commissioned 1 January 1917

Fate

Sunk, 31 January 1918

Displacement 2,010 tons surfaced

2,607 tons submerged

Length  339 ft

Beam    26 ft 6 in

Draught 20 ft 11 in

Speed: 

24 knots surfaced

8 knots submerged

Armament         

8 × 18 in (460 mm) torpedo tubes, (4 beam, 4 bow)

8 × spare torpedoes

2 × 18 in torpedo tubes fitted on deck (later removed)

2 × BL 4 in (100 mm) Mk.XI guns

1 × 3 in (76 mm) gun

 A most amazing and impressive class of submarine. Steam driven, the longest submarine in the Royal Navy for decades and the one that nearly killed a future British monarch! The “K” class were an attempt to design a submarine capable of sailing with the battlefleet and then being able to submerge and torpedo the enemy battleships during a fleet action. Unfortunately, due to their size and annoying minor defects the K class were involved in some horrific incidents. A number of them were sunk during a night exercise that was later dubbed “The Battle of May Island” where the lead submarine’s steering gear failed, turning her broadside on to the next in line, that one swerved, etc etc. In the end the escorting cruiser HMS Fearless rammed and sank on of the surviving submarines, whilst a battle squadron, unaware of anything happening, sailed through a bunch of survivors and killed them.  The tragedies didn’t end there with K4 sinking with all hands due to an unknown cause. Apparently, a K boat could “crash dive” in 5 minutes. They were given the big bulbous swan bow to try to alleviate their tendency to dive when a large wave would crash onto the bows! An impressive looking submarine especially for her time.

HMS Swordfish

Builder  Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Greenock

Laid down           28 February 1914

Commissioned  28 April 1916

Fate      

Sold for scrapping in July 1922

Displacement 947 tons

Length  231 ft 3.5 in

Beam    22 ft 11 in

Draught 14 ft 11 in

Speed 18 knots surfaced

10 knots submerged

Armament         

2 × 3-inch (76 mm) guns

2 × 21-inch (530 mm) torpedo tubes (bow)

4 × 18-inch (460 mm) torpedo tubes (beam)

An experimental submarine used to decide on the suitability of steam power in a submarine. After the “K” class debacle Swordfish was converted into a patrol boat. Nothing to see here, move on! She was quite a challenge to build and is shown here prior to her conversion with her very unusual bow configuration with two torpedo tubes one above the other.

HMS R4 – “R” class

Builders Chatham Dockyard, Kent

Built       1917–1918

In commission   1918–1934

Fate

Sold for scrap 1934

Displacement   

427 tons

Length  163 ft

Beam    16 ft

Draught 11 ft 6 in

Speed

9.5 knots surfaced

14 knots submerged

Armament         

6 × 18 in (457 mm) torpedo tubes (forward)

12 × 18-inch torpedoes

 The very first Hunter/Killer submarine ever built. They were completed too late to prove their worth. They were streamlined with all of their torpedo tubes in the bow and a large number of hydrophones that were used to pick up the noises made by another submarine This hull shape and design were only copied when the first nuclear powered submarines were built. One can only imagine what submarines would have been like if these had been able to show their worth prior to the end of WWI. 

HMS L52 – “L” class

Builder: Armstrong Whitworth, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne

Laid down 16 May 1917

Launched 18 December 1918

Fate      

Sold for scrap, September 1935

Displacement

980 tons surfaced

1,170 tons submerged

Length  235 ft

Beam    23 ft 6 in

Draught 13 ft 2 in

Speed 17 knots surfaced

10.5 knots submerged

Armament         

6 × bow 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes

2 × 4-inch deck guns

HMS M1 – “M” class

Builder Armstrong Whitworth, Vickers

Launched            9 July 1917

Fate      

Sunk in collision, 12 November 1925

Displacement   

1,620 tons surfaced

1,977 tons submerged

Length  295 ft 9 in

Beam    24 ft 8 in

Speed 15 knots surfaced

8–9 knots submerged

Armament         

1 × 12-inch (305mm)/40 cal Mark IX gun with 50 rounds

1 × 3 in (76 mm) Mk II HA anti-aircraft gun

4 × 18-inch (450 mm) bow torpedo tubes with 4 reload torpedoes

I built the M1, M2 and M3 many years ago and gave them to my nephews and nieces as Christmas presents. They are an amazing looking class of submarine and I just had to build them again. One of the most unusual submarine classes built for the Royal Navy. They started out as “K” class submarines, but after the disastrous careers of the K boats, these were converted into conventionally powered submarines but were given a 12-inch gun from a scrapped battleship. After the war, M2 was converted to an aircraft carrying submarine and M3 was converted into a minelayer. Sadly, M1 was rammed and sunk accidentally by a merchant ship and M2 sank when her crew opened the hangar door too quickly, sending her backwards to the ocean floor. This is the second model I have of M1. I have also previously built M2 and M3 but have given these three to some of my relatives.

HMS M2 – “M” class

Builder Vickers

Laid Down 1916

Launched 1919

Commissioned

Fate

Sank during exercise, 26 January 1932

Displacement   

1,620 tons surfaced

1,977 tons submerged

Length  295 ft 9 in

Beam    24 ft 8 in

Speed 15 knots surfaced

8–9 knots submerged

Armament         

1 × 12-inch (305mm)/40 cal Mark IX gun with 50 rounds

1 × 3 in (76 mm) Mk II HA anti-aircraft gun

4 × 18-inch (450 mm) bow torpedo tubes with 4 reload torpedoes

As above, however, she was converted into a mini aircraft carrier, having a Parnell Peto (a very small aircraft) housed in a hangar built into the vacated gun mounting position. The crew used to try and beat their record for surfacing and launching the aircraft. Sadly, on her final cruise the crew opened the hangar door to soon and she sank backwards with the loss of all of her crew. I had a lot of trouble with the shape of the hangar and the launch machinery, but all’s well that ends well!  😊

HMS M3 – “M” class

Builder Armstrong Whitworth, Newcastle Upon Tyne

Laid Down 1916

Launched 1919

Commissioned 16 March 1920

Fate

Sold for scrap, 16 February 1932

Displacement:  

1,620 tons surfaced

1,977 tons submerged

Length  295 ft 9 in

Beam    24 ft 8 in

Speed 15 knots surfaced

8–9 knots submerged

Armament         

4 × 21-inch (533mm) bow torpedo tubes with 4 reload torpedoes

100 Type B mines

This was the only one of the trio to survive. She was converted into a minelayer and although she was not a success herself, the minelaying machinery and apparatus was a success and was used in other minelaying submarine later on. Building her was a lot of fun, especially getting all of the air vents the right shape and number! They were very small and numerous. The rest of the build was quite straight forward.

HMS X1

Builder: HM Dockyard Chatham

Laid down 2 November 1921

Launched 16 November 1923

Commissioned December 1925

Fate

Scrapped, 12 December 1936

Displacement:  

2,820 tons surfaced

3,700 tons submerged

Length 363 ft 6 in

Beam     29 ft 9 in

Draught   15 ft

Speed  

19.5 knots surfaced

9 knots submerged

Armament         

6 × 21-inch (533 mm) bow torpedo tubes

2 × twin 5.25 in (133 mm) guns

When I first saw this submarine, I just knew I had to build her. That was many years ago and it took me a long time until I had the finances to be able to afford to purchase a set of her plans from the Greenwich Museum in the UK. However, the plans were very hard to interpret and she took a long time to build. I think it amazing that a submarine was built that was almost a mini cruiser with turrets!! I think she looked really great! I enjoyed drawing the numerous vents and then printing them onto decal sheets and finally onto the submarine.

HMS Olympus – Odin class

Builder Vickers Armstrong Ltd, Barrow-in-Furness, England

Launched 30 June 1926

Commissioned  1 April 1927

Fate      

Lost in action on 10 September 1939

Displacement   

1,835 tons (submerged)

1,420 tons (surfaced)

Length  275 feet

Beam    27 feet 7-inches

Draught 14 feet 9-inches

Speed  

9 knots (submerged)

15.5 knots (surfaced)

Armament

Guns     1 x 4-inch gun

Torpedoes          8 x 21-inch torpedo tubes (6 bow tubes, 2 stern tubes)

The “O” boats had a tumultuous career where they were mostly engaged in the Mediterranean Sea. However, the very first Royal Navy submarine lost during WWII was Oxley, sunk by mistake by HMS Triton, another Royal Navy submarine. Olympus herself was mined near Malta in 1942. The “O” boats served with distinction during WWII, suffering a number of losses due to enemy activity. I had a lot of trouble making the dividing plate between the port and starboard forward torpedo tubes. This is the second model of this submarine that I have built, the original one is displayed at the WA Maritime Museum.

HMS Upholder – “U” class

Builder  Vickers Armstrong, Barrow-in-Furness

Laid down           30 October 1939

Commissioned  31 October 1940

Fate

Sunk 14 April 1942

Displacement – 540

Length  191 ft

Beam    16 ft 1 in

Draught 15 ft 2 in

Speed 11 1⁄4 knots surfaced

10 knots submerged

Armament         

4 × bow internal 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes, 2 external

10 torpedoes

1 × QF 3-inch 20 cwt gun

 This is the famous submarine commanded by LTCDR Wanklyn who was awarded the Victoria Cross for the submarine’s exploits in the Mediterranean where she sank over 90,000 tons of shipping. I used Lambert plans for this model, and I like the colour of the hull which was supposed to make her as almost invisible to aircraft.

HMS Stratagem – “S” class batch 3

Builder  Cammell Laird, Birkenhead

Laid down           15 April 1942

Commissioned  9 October 1943

Fate

Sunk, 22 November 1944

Displacement 879 tons

Length  217 ft

Beam    23 ft 9 in

Draught 14 ft 8 in

Speed 15 knots surfaced

10 knots submerged

Armament         

7 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes (6 × bow, 1 × stern)

1 × 3 in (76 mm) deck gun

1 × 20 mm (0.8 in) AA gun

 The “S” class were a development of the successful “U” class submarines with more than 50 being constructed during WWII. There were three batches that increased the AA armament and also increased the length of the vessel. Strategem was lost in the Malacca Straits during WWII after she attacked a Japanese merchant ship.  A very nice functional submarine. The plans for he were quite good and ensured that there was no bad language associated with building her!  😊

HMS Trenchant – “T” class batch 3

Laid down 9 May 1942

Launched 24 March 1943

Commissioned 26 February 1944

Fate      

Sold to be broken up for scrap on 1 July 1963. Scrapped at Faslane

Displacement

1,290 tons surfaced

1,560 tons submerged

Length  276 ft 6 in

Beam    25 ft 6 in

Draught 12 ft 9 in

Speed  

15.5 knots surfaced

9 knots submerged

Armament         

6 internal forward-facing 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes

2 external forward-facing torpedo tubes

2 external amidships rear-facing torpedo tubes

1 external rear-facing torpedo tubes

6 reload torpedoes

QF 4-inch (100 mm) deck gun

3 anti-aircraft machine guns

One of the numerous “T” class of submarines built for the Royal Navy. She achieved fame when she sank the Japanese heavy cruiser Ashigara in June 1945. She was also successful in sinking a German U-boat in 1944. Quite an amazing fete. I had a lot of trouble building her due to the tight turns incorporated into her hull! Normally I would have built one of the class that is still on patrol (sunk), but given Trenchant’s affiliation with Fremantle, I decided to build her. The camouflage is my best interpretation from the few photos of her in and around Fremantle.

HMS Affray – Amphion class

Builder Cammell Laird Birkenhead

Laid down 16 January 1944

Launched 12 April 1944

Commissioned 25 November 1945

Fate

Foundered 16 April 1951

Displacement   

1,385 tons surfaced

1,620 tons submerged

Length  281 ft 9 in

Beam    22 ft 6 in

Draught 17 ft

Speed  

18.5 knots surfaced

8 knots submerged

Armament         

one 4-inch (100 mm) gun

one Oerlikon 20 mm cannon

three .303-calibre machine guns

ten 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes (four bow, two bow external, two stern, two stern external), 20 torpedoes

The last Royal Navy (hopefully for ever) submarine to be lost. Tragically, she was sailing down the Thames when she inexplicably sank with the loss of her entire crew. When the wreck was discovered her Snorkel mast that is used to allow the diesel engines to run whilst the submarine is at periscope depth, had broken off. At the time it was assumed that this had caused her loss, although there is speculation as to when it broke off. Whilst building Affray I had the pleasure of visiting HM submarine Alliance at Gosport and the photos I took allowed me to accurately replicate the unusual shape of her hull.

HMS Trenchant – Trafalgar class

Builder: Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering, Barrow-in-Furness

Laid down 8 May 1980

Commissioned 28 April 1984

Decommissioned 14 July 2012

Displacement

4,500 to 4,800 tons Surfaced

5,200 to 5,300 tons Submerged

Length 280 ft

Beam 32 ft

Draught 31 ft

Speed   Over 30 knots

Armament         

5 × 21-inch torpedo tubes with stowage for up to 30 weapons:

Tomahawk Block IV cruise missiles

Spearfish heavyweight torpedoes

 One of the Royal Navy’s nuclear-powered attack submarines. I built her about 15 years ago when I found the plans in an old modelling magazine. She was a very easy build due to her dearth of external fittings etc as well as her very nicely shaped hull.

HMS Repulse – Resolution class

Builder Vickers Shipbuilding Ltd, Barrow-in-Furness

Laid down 12 March 1965

Commissioned 28 September 1968

Decommissioned 28 August 1996

Displacement:   surfaced 7,500 tons; submerged 8,400 tons.

Length  425 ft

Beam    33 ft

Draught 30 ft 1 in (9.17 m)

Speed:  surface - 20 knots; submerged - 25 knots

Armament         

16 x Polaris nuclear missiles

 One of the Royal Navy’s ballistic missile submarines that was used as a deterrent during the Cold War and beyond. When I commenced volunteer work with the WA Maritime Museum, I agreed to replace some of the submarines that they had in their collection. This led me to commence a huge submarine build that I still have not completed. Repulse was one of these. I find modern submarines to be a bit boring to look at, but they still require all of the work on their hull shape.

HMS Vanguard – Vanguard class

Builder Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd, Barrow-in-Furness

Laid down 3 September 1986

Launched 4 March 1992

Commissioned 14 August 1993

Displacement

15,900 tonnes, submerged

Length 491 ft 10 in

Beam 42 ft 0 in

Draught 39 ft 4 in

Speed   In excess of 25 knots submerged

Armament         

4 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes for:

Spearfish heavyweight torpedoes

16 ballistic missile tubes for:

16 × Lockheed Trident II D5 SLBMs (carrying up to 48 nuclear warheads)

An amazing submarine! Huge and, compared to other submarines I have built, quite easy, although she took quite  a while as I used to work on her during my stint at the WA Maritime Museum where I used to show people how I build my ships. I thought it would be useful to actually have a model of one of her missiles as, apart from these, she looks quite toothless!

Royal Yacht

HMY Britannia

Builder  John Brown & Company

Laid down 16 June 1952

Commissioned 11 January 1954

Decommissioned 11 December 1997

Status:  Museum ship open to the public

Displacement    5,769 GT

Length  412 ft

Beam 55 ft

Draught 15 ft

Speed   21.5 knots

This is the second rendition of HMY Britannia. I built the first one around the time that Prince Charles and Lady Diana were married and presented it to the then Governor of Western Australia, Sir Richard Troubridge.  As a result of this I was given a guided tour of the Britannia when she berthed in Fremantle. It was an amazing experience!! Just before I completed the model, HRH and the Duke stayed in Government House. Sir Richard asked if I could drop off the model to show the Queen. Of course, I jumped at the idea. When I picked it up a few days later, it was slightly damaged. Sir Richard mentioned that the Duke had apologised. I was quite chuffed (proud) that my model had been reviewed by such an illustrious couple. I really enjoyed making her. Having said that, the photo is of the second build of her that I have retained in my collection. 

Landing Ship Dock

HMS Intrepid – Fearless class

Builder  John Brown & Company

Laid down 19 December 1962

Launched 25 June 1964

Commissioned 11 March 1967

Decommissioned 31 August 1999

Fate

Towed to Liverpool for scrapping September 2008

Displacement 11,240 tons

Length 520 ft

Beam 80 ft

Draught 20 ft 6 in

Speed   21 knots

Boats & landing craft carried:     

4× LCM (9) landing craft in dock

4× LCVP landing craft on davits

Capacity:             

Normal capacity 380–400 troops, up to 700 troops for short periods

15 tanks

27 vehicles

Armament         

2× Sea Cat AA missile launchers

4× Oerlikon KCB 30 mm cannon (2 twin mounts)

2× Oerlikon GAM-B01 20 mm cannon

Aircraft carried: Up to 5 Westland Wessex helicopters.

 One of the two ubiquitous LPD vessels that the Royal Navy had from the 1960s through to the 1990s. Intrepid was to be sold to Argentina in the early 1980s but with the outbreak of the Falklands War she was recalled to service and was instrumental in the British landings. She was finally scrapped in the 1990s despite a failed attempt to have her preserved as a memorial to the Falklands War. The plans were from Jecobin and were very easy to follow. I added the Sea King and Chinook just for the fun of it.

Landing Craft

LCT1062 – Landing Craft Tank Mk IV

Builder Tees-Side Bridge (Middlesbrough, U.K.)

Laid down 1941-42          

Launched 11 Oct 1943

Fate

Scapped

Displacement    595 tons

Length  187 ft 3 in

Beam    38 ft 9 in

Draught 3 ft 8 in

Speed   8 knots

Armament

2 × single Oerlikon 20 mm cannon or 2 × single Bofors 40 mm guns

One of the many amazing and vital “little ships” that ensured allied victory in the D-Day landings in 1944. This was a really fun model to construct! If you look closely, you can see a Sherman Firefly tank is aboard her. These plans were from the Model Boats Magazine. The LCT were essential in delivering the armour required to assist the troops on the ground during the landings. They were developed by the Royal Navy and then went through three developmental stages culminating in the Mk IV. A number of these were also modified to carry heavy AA gun armament whilst others were given destroyer sized guns to enable them to undertake close in shore bombardment during the landings. I am hoping to include these variants into my collection in the not-too-distant future. I have toyed with the idea of putting more tanks etc on board. Maybe someday.

Minelayers

HMS Abdiel – Abdiel class

Builder  J. Samuel White, Cowes

Laid down 29 March 1939

Commissioned 15 April 1941

Fate

Mined and sunk, 10 September 1943

Displacement 2,650 tons

Length 418 ft

Beam 40 ft

Draught11 ft

Speed   40 knots

Armament         

6 × QF 4-inch guns

4 × QF 2-pounder AA guns

8 × 0.5-inch Vickers machine guns

156 mines

 One of the famous minelayers that brought much needed supplies to Malta during the siege of that island. Abdiel’s demise is ally tragic. She entered the harbour of Taranto with a large number of Commandos who had been picked up after a raid. The USS Helena was supposed to berth there but was given another birth and so Abdiel took her place. Unbeknownst to her Captain she had birthed right over a magnetic mine. By that stage of the war, every ship had a de-gausing coil that ensured the ship wouldn’t set off any magnetic mines. Feeling sorry for the exhausted troops, the captain ordered the generator powering the de-gausing coil to be turned off. Immediately this was done, the mine exploded, killing a large number of the troops and the crew. I think she looks great with her three funnels and compact design and spectacular camouflage.

Fleet Oiler

HMS Blue Rover – Rover class

Builders                Swan Hunter

Built       1968–1974

In commission:  1970–2017 (RFA)

Displacement 16,160 tonnes

Length  461 ft

Beam    63 ft

Draught 24 ft

Speed   19 knots

Armament         

2 × Oerlikon 20 mm guns

2 × 7.62 mm machine guns

Aircraft carried: Helicopter deck but no hangar

 A very important member of any fleet train the Rover class have served the Royal Fleet Auxiliary well making a great contribution to the Falkland Islands war in the 1980s. I had a lot of trouble getting all of the detail under the main deck whilst ensuring that the ship’s side didn’t get damaged during the building of the hull. I also made a tactical error putting the hose boom slightly extended. Due to the fragility of the guide wires the extended boom has been damaged a number of times during transport across the country.

Naval Sail

Roman Bireme

Length 80ft

Beam 10 ft

I was looking through my plans one day when I came across the plans for this bireme. I mean, really, you can’t go past this, now can you? A really fun ship to build. Not at all like everything else in my collection. Of course, I got impatient with all of the oars, but it looked really cool in the end. These ships were the backbone of the Roman Army during Julius Caesar’s day. They were basically used as a floating fort that could be defended or attacked in the same manner as on land. I depicted it as a unit of the 9th Legion that was lost mysteriously whilst operating in Scotland. It is amazing to look at this model and compare her to the battleship HMS Vanguard. Both were the ultimate naval weapon in their day!!! We certainly have come a long way.

Revenge – Race built Galleon

Builder  Mathew Baker at Deptford Royal Dockyard

Launched            1577

Fate      

Captured 1 September 1591

Ran aground in the Azores soon afterward

Displacement 440 tons

Length  140 ft

Armament         

Forty-six guns:

20 heavy guns on the gundeck

26 other pieces

 A Race built English Galleon; the Revenge was one of the ships that had been developed to defeat the Spanish Galleons. The idea of the Race Galleons was that they were faster and nimbler and could outsail and outmanoeuvre the larger and slower Spanish Galleons. The story of Revenge is that Grenville and other English warships were off the Azores when the Spanish fleet was sighted. Grenville waited for his crew to get back to the ship, as she was being repaired, and by the time he did sail, he found himself surrounded by a large number of Spanish Galleons. The fight lasted most of the day and eventually Revenge surrendered to the Spanish. Grenville was taken on board the Spanish flagship (I think) but died of his wounds. Revenge was taken in tow but sank that night when a gale blew up. I really enjoyed building this little ship and used a Word document to design and print the sides of the ship. I then glued them on, and – Hey Presto -, the sides were completed.

Merchant Ships

Cheops Royal Barge

Displacement

Length 143ft

Beam 19.5 ft

Fate

Preserved in the Giza Solar boat museum

This is the oldest ship that I have made a model of, I think she is over 3000 years old. I believe that this is the world’s first Ikea flatpack! (Just kidding). An “All things Egyptian” enthusiast told me of this ship and lent me a book that had actual plans of her. I couldn’t resist!! During excavation of the pyramids a chamber was discovered that had a stack of timber piled up in one corner. It took the museum staff quite a long while to finally understand what she was and how she had been constructed. This cute, famous little ship is one of the oldest, largest, and best-preserved vessels from antiquity and is now displayed at the Grand Egyptian Museum.

 Sir Richard Beauchamp’s ship - Cog

Built 15th Century

General dimensions

Displacement 30 – 200 tons

Length 49 - 82 ft

Fate

Unknown

This is the vessel that the 13th Earl of Warwick, Sir Richard Beauchamp, sailed in when he went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1408. I am always amazed by the bluff round bows of ships of this era. Turns out that they didn’t need a sharp bow as they were too short to have to cut through the water, rather they sort of bobbed up and down between crests and troughs. When I saw the plans of this in a modelling magazine in the 1980s, I just had to had her to my collection. I loved the intricate sail and the fact that she is clinker built. This is the second rendition as I gave the original away in 2012. This was an interesting challenge and makes for a very colourful and unique model.

Glasgow Topsail Schooner

Built 1826

Displacement 100 tons

Length 85 ft

Fate

Unknown

One of the many worker bees that were found all around the British Isles in the 19th and early 20th Century. I was unsure as to putting sails on her or not but decided against them in the end. I think it helps to view the deck and overall looks of this ship. An aesthetically pleasing little ship.

Loch Ard iron clipper ship

Builder Charles Connell & Company Scotstoun

Launched 1873

Displacement 1,693 tons

Length 263ft

Beam 38ft 3 in

Fate

Wrecked 1 March 1878.

I have, for many years wanted to build a clipper ship and have plans for the Cutty Sark and Thermopylae (two of the most famous clipper ships) but really wanted to build something different. I eventually found plans of this famous wreck from the Victorian coast. I had a lot of fun going cross-eyed doing the rigging! Very handsome looking ship with a very sad history. Only two survivors were found the day after she sank having come too close to the coast during a very foggy and dangerous storm.

SS Kinabalu

Builder Ardrossan Dry Dock & Shipbuilding Co Ltd, Ardrossan

Launched 1914

Commissioned  27/10/1914         

Fate

Whilst on a voyage from Jesselton to Sandakan with livestock and general cargo, wrecked 29/09 1940 on Batu Mandi Rocks, north of Jesselton British North Borneo. 

Displacement 429 tons

Length 150.4 ft

Beam 26.0 ft

Draft 10.65 ft

Speed

12.5 Knots

A very unusual and appealing little ship that tickled my fancy when I saw the plans in the magazine “Model Boats”. Given her size and of no historic consequence, I was amazed that there was information regarding her history and her demise. I really enjoyed building her.

SS Great Eastern

Builder J. Scott Russell & Co., Millwall

Laid down 1 May 1854

Launched 31 January 1858

Completed 1859

Fate

Scrapped 1889–90

Displacement 32,160 tons

Length 692 ft 

Beam 82 ft 

Speed 14 knots 

Capacity 4,000 passengers

Crew 418

What an amazing ship! What an amazing engineer!! Isambard Kingdom Brunel almost single-handedly designed and built the English railway system, constructing bridges, tunnels etc etc. not to be outdone by rail he also designed and built 2 steel hulled ships, the Great Western and the Great Britain. Great Britain was left to rot in the Falkland Islands but was eventually salvaged and is now on display in Bristol. Now to the Great Eastern. Commissioned in 1860 she was the largest man-made moveable object until the building of the Titanic in 1912. Just to be on the safe side, Brunel provided her with a Screw, paddlewheels and just to be certain, a set of sails. One wonders exactly how fast she would have moved through the water using sail alone. Unfortunately, Brunel was years ahead of the world and the Great Eastern was not a financial success. In fact, the only thing accomplished by the Great Eastern was the successful laying of the trans-Atlantic telephone cable. After many failures this magnificent ship became the world’s largest billboard. A really sad end to an amazing engineering fete! Many years ago I came across a very small set of plans for her that was, unfortunately lacking the sectional drawings. It was many years later that I came across some of these drawings. Imagine my annoyance when I found out they were too short. I had to undertake some MS Word magic to rectify the problem. The paddlewheels and the guardrails around the paddle boxes were an absolute nightmare!!

RMS Queen Mary

Builder: John Brown and Company Clydebank

Laid down           1 December 1930

Launched            26 September 1934

Fate

Museum ship 9 December 1967 (retired)

Displacement    81,961 tons

Length 1,019.4 ft

Beam    118 ft

Draught 39 ft

Speed 28.5 knots)

Capacity 2,139 passengers: 776 first (cabin) class, 784 cabin class, 579 tourist class

Crew:    1101

The Queen Mary was built in the 1930s with a subsidy from the British Government as a lot of the shipbuilding industry was being sent to the wall and the fear of another war was already starting to worry people. To have had the Queen Mary cancelled would have led to thousands of workers being stood down so that was the reason for her being subsidised. I think she is a magnificent looking ship but is a real nuisance to transport the model due to her size! Some very interesting things about the Queen Mary: I think she was the last ship to have a dummy funnel to make her look faster. This trend was, I think, started by the Titanic. She really only had three operational funnels, but the public thought that the more funnels you had, the faster the ship was, so Queen Mary’s third funnel was included to accommodate this belief. Also, during one of her trips transporting American GIs to the UK she was sailing through a huge gale when she was hit by what is now termed a rogue wave that pushed her to within a couple of degrees of completely rolling over. This would have drowned more than 15 thousand GIs and would have had a huge negative impact on the build up to Normandy and D-Day. Years later someone heard about this and this resulted in the original “Poseidon Adventure” with Ernest Borgnine. Most of the on-board filming was actually filmed on board the Queen Mary as she is now a floating hotel/reception centre in Florida. I used the detailed “Anatomy of the Ship” book to build this model.

SS Ohio, Texaco oil tanker

Builder Sun Shipbuilding

Laid down 7 September 1939

Launched 20 April 1940

Commissioned in the British Merchant Navy on 10 July 1942

Fate

Sunk by naval gunfire practice on 19 September 1946

Displacement    9,264 tons

Length  515 ft

Speed 16 knots

Armament  (When sailing with the Pedestal Convoy)       

1 × 5-inch low-angle gun (aft)

1 × 3-inch AA-gun (bows)

1 × 40 mm army Bofors abaft the funnel

6 × 20mm naval Oerlikons

This ship (and the other survivors of Operation Pedestal) saved Malta from surrendering in 1942. This was one of my first ships that I started in 1985 but couldn’t complete until 1992. The original plans that I obtained did not have the layout of the many transfer pipes that festoon the deck. It was only when the Malta Maritme Museum in Malta kindly sent me photographs of their model that I was able to complete the model. I have always been impressed by the story of how Ohio was able to survive such massive punishment and still manage to limp into Valetta Harbour to ensure Malta’s continuing stand against the Axis forces pounding the island on a daily basis. It’s quite sad that she was used as a post war target, rather than be saved as a memorial or museum ship.

HMS Emerald – “E” class light cruiser

Builder  Armstrong Whitworth, Newcastle-on-Tyne

Laid down 23 September 1918

Commissioned 14 January 1926

Fate

Scrapped in July 5 1948

Displacement 9,435 tons

Length 570 ft

Beam 54.5 ft

Draught 16.5 ft

Speed   33 knots

Armament  (prior to 1939)        

7 × 6 in (152 mm) single guns,

2 × quadruple 0.5 in MG guns,

4 × 3 pdr (47 mm) pom-pom single guns,

4 × 21 inch (533 mm) quadruples torpedo tubes.

A really visually pleasing look. She was one of 3 “E” class light cruisers designed to meet the threat of a German class of light cruisers with a massive top speed (that turned out to be the Germans duping the Royal Navy). She was not completed until after WWI and her sister Euphrates was cancelled. She served for a while in the East Indies and performed many diverse duties during WWII. She was the final iteration that had started with the “C” class and then “D” classes of light cruiser and was so much longer so as to fit in the massive engines/boiler rooms required to get her top speed. All the guns were 3D printed, boats were resin cast and ladders etc photo-etched.

HMS Tiger – Tiger class cruiser

Builder  John Brown Shipyard

Laid down 1 October 1941

Commissioned 18 March 1959

Fate

Scrapped 1986

Displacement 11,700 tons

Length 555.5 ft

Beam 64 ft

Draught 21 ft

Speed   31.5 knots

Armament         

4 × QF 6-inch Mark N5 guns (2 × 2)

6 × QF 3-inch Mark N1 guns (3 × 2)

The Tiger class were spectacular with their 2 twin turrets and 3 AA batteries. Tiger was eventually converted to a hybrid cruiser/helicopter carrier and so she went from a sleek business-like warship into a very plain, ordinary looking ship. Her hull had quite a few problems as I originally built her from a company’s set of plans. However, I required further info and so I obtained (cheap at twice the price!!) plans from the Greenwich Museum that showed that her hull was actually narrower. This entailed gutting her of her internal bracing and thinning her down etc, etc. There was a time when I actually contemplated starting over, but I persisted, and I think she was worth it. Her armament was 3D printed and thy do justice to these complex gun mountings.

HMS York – Cathedral class heavy cruiser

Builder  Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company, Jarrow

Laid down 16 May 1927

Commissioned 1 May 1930

Fate

CTL 22 May 1941

Displacement 10,620 tons

Length 575 ft

Beam 57 ft

Draught 20 ft 3 in

Speed   32.25 knots

Armament         

3 × twin 8 in (203 mm) guns

4 × single 4 in (102 mm) AA guns

2 × single 2-pdr (40 mm (1.6 in)) AA guns

2 × triple 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes

HMS York was a sister ship to HMS Exeter, but two ships couldn’t be more different. York was commenced first and both ships were to have a catapult mounted on top of “B” turret, just in front of the bridge that necessitated making the bridge very high to allow the executive officers a view directly ahead that wasn’t masked by the aircraft. However, when Exeter was commenced the design was changed due to the trials of a new, less “busy” and extremely wet/windy environment that would ensure the bridge team were able to concentrate more on their duties. So, Exeter emerged looking very modern whilst poor old York looked like an old out of date anacronym. She was critically damaged by one of the Italian Navy’s small boat men who performed incredibly heroic operations against the Royal Navy. Due to the damage the captain ordered her to be beached where she could be used as an anti-aircraft platform but mainly as he was hoping to be able to repair her. Unfortunately, the situation in Crete deteriorated rapidly and so York was wrecked, with her guns all spiked and any useful equipment destroyed. I think she looked really cool in her angled splinter like pattern that was very difficult to do to ensure the very sharp angles. I have them sitting one on top of the other and it really drives home the differences between the two sisters.

HMS Bristol – Type 82 Destroyer

Builder  Swan Hunter, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom

Laid down 15 November 1967

Commissioned 31 March 1973

Fate

Scrapped 2020

Displacement 7,100 tons

Length 507 ft

Beam 55 ft

Draught 24 ft 7 in

Speed   28 knots

Armament         

4.5-inch (113mm) Mk 8 gun

GWS 30 Sea Dart SAM launcher (38 rounds + 10 additional warheads)

Ikara A/S launcher (at least 24 rounds)(until 1984)

Mark 10 'Limbo' A/S mortar (until 1979)

2 × twin Oerlikon/BMARC GCM-A03 30 mm guns (from 1983)

2 × Oerlikon/BMARC GAM-B01 20 mm guns (from 1983)

2 × Oerlikon 20 mm guns (from 1979)

A sad orphan of the UK Labour Party’s infamous white paper that saw the demise of so many amazing projects such as the TSR2, supersonic Harriers etc, etc. The Type 82 was designed specifically as the escort for the proposed CV-1 aircraft carriers that were to be built. I think she was quite handsome, but I never understood why she wasn’t reconstructed with a helicopter hanger and a set of helicopters. I am not sure why she had landing craft as part of her boats’ suite. Her photo-etched “Bedstead” radar was really trying but a lot easier than the one I did for HMS Scylla that I scratch-built. Having said all that, she was a very impressive ship with a large array of weapons.

HMS Cornwall – Batch 3 Type 22 frigate

Builder  Yarrow Shipbuilders

Laid down 14 December 1983

Commissioned 23 April 1988

Fate

Scrapped 2013

Displacement 5,300 tons

Length 485 ft 11 in

Beam 48 ft 7 in

Draught 21 ft

Speed   30 knots

Armament         

2 × Sea Wolf anti-air system (Total of 72 Sea Wolf missiles)[3]

2 × Quad Harpoon missile launchers (total of 8 Harpoons)[3]

2 × triple magazine launched anti-submarine torpedo tubes (total of 36 torpedoes)[3]

1 × 4.5 in (114 mm) Mk.8 gun[3]

2 × 20 mm GAM-BO1 guns[3]

1 × Goalkeeper CIWS[3]

NATO Seagnat Decoy Launchers

2 x Lynx Mk.8 helicopters

I think this class of ships, the last in the line of Type 22 ships packs the greatest number of guns/missiles of any ship their size. Her lines are very sleek, and she seems to sit close to the water ready to pounce producing what I believe is a very menacing warship. Her mainmast presented a lot of work with all the handholds and radar etc. Nearly all her weaponry was 3D printed which helped a lot in reducing the build time. Once upon a time I would have taken pride in scratch building everything, but I’m now just trying to complete as many of the ships I want to do. I did have a lot of trouble interpreting the helo landing deck aft and it took me quite a few attempts before I got it right!

HMS C34 – “C” class submarine

Builder  HM Dockyard Chatham

Laid down 29 March 1909

Commissioned 17 September 1910

Fate

Sunk 17 July 1917

Displacement 290 long tons (290 t) surfaced

320 long tons (330 t) submerged

Length 142 ft 3 in

Beam 13 ft 7 in

Draught 11 ft 6 in

Speed   13 knots surfaced

8 knots submerged

Armament         

2 × 18 in (450 mm) bow torpedo tubes

One of 38 of the early “C” class of Royal Navy submarines, C34 was lost in 1917 when torpedoed by a German submarine and lost with all hands. Few people understand how dangerous the first classes of submarines were. I mean, apart from the inherent dangers associated with sinking your vessel underwater, there was also the teenee weenee problem of having a petrol engine. Fumes, explosions, you name it, you had it. Again, it is impressive to see the progress in the design and development of submarines in such a short time.

H L Hunley – First operational submarine

Builder  James McClintock

Laid down 1863

Commissioned 1863

Fate

Sunk after sinking the USS Housatonic

Displacement 7.5 tons

Length 39.5 ft

Beam 3.8 ft

Speed   4 knots

Armament         

1 x spar torpedo

This miniscule Confederate vessel lays claim to being the first operational submersible to sink an enemy ship. She did so during the American Civil War when she sank the Union ship the USS Housatonic. Before this achievement she lost 3 crews due to accidents and a lack of understanding of working underwater. Sadly, she disappeared without trace until her discovery by the world-famous author Clive Cussler. When found her crew were all sitting at their stations and appeared to be asleep. She has been restored and is now on display in the US. I think she is the smallest model I have built. Didn’t take long and I have put her together with the Union’s response: the Sea Explorer.

Sea Explorer - Union response to the Hunley

Builder  Julius H. Kroehl and Ariel Patterson

Laid down 18639

Commissioned 1866

Fate

Abandoned

Displacement 80 tons

Length 39.4 ft

Beam 11 ft

Speed   4 knots

After seeing the success of the H L Hunley, the Union came up with their answer. The Sea Explorer was the first proper submarine and had all of the systems/innovations that future submarines would have as standard. She missed out on participating in the US Civil War and was purchased and used to go deep sea pearl diving off the coast of Panama, however, nothing was known at that time about divers getting the bends (or caissons disease as it was sometime called). After losing a large number of its divers due to the bends it became increasingly harder to find crew for her and so she was eventually beached off the coast of Panama and is still there to this day, although she is deteriorating at an alarming rate.

L52 – “L” class submarine

Builder  Armstrong Whitworth, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne

Laid down 16 May 1917

Commissioned 1918

Fate

Scrapped 1935

Displacement 960 long tons (980 t) surfaced

1,150 long tons (1,170 t) submerged

Length 235 ft

Beam 23.5 ft

Draught 13 ft 2 in

Speed  17 knots surfaced

10.5 knots submerged

Armament         

6 × bow 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes

2 × 4-inch deck guns

One of the prolific number of submarines built to many continually improving classes of submarines. She was quite unique in having 2 main armament guns but apart from that was a stock standard WWI submarine. As with all of the submarine models it is quite a challenge to skin them due to their sharp curves going both ways. It requires a lot of smaller pieces of balsa wood instead of the ships that may only have 2 or 3 pieces going the whole length of the ship. The plans were drawn by Norman Ough who was one of the most prolific draughtsman making drawings of a huge number of ships. His plans were easy to follow and packed a lot of detail into each set of plans. Some of his models are unbelievable in their detail and accuracy.

HMS X1 – Experimental cruiser submarine

Builder  HM Dockyard, Chatham

Laid down 2 November 1921

Commissioned December 1925

Fate

Scrapped Decembver 1936

Displacement 2,780 long tons (2,820 t) (surfaced)

3,600 long tons (3,700 t) (submerged)

Length 363.5 ft

Beam 29.75 ft

Draught 15 ft

Speed   19.5 knots surfaced

9 knots submerged

Armament         

6 × 21 inch (533 mm) bow torpedo tubes

2 × twin 5.2 in (13.2 cm) guns

When I first saw this submarine, I just knew I had to build her. That was many years ago and it took me a long time until I had the finances to be able to afford to purchase a set of her plans from the Greenwich Museum in the UK. However, the plans were very hard to interpret, and she took a long time to build. I think it amazing that a submarine was built that was almost a mini cruiser with turrets!! I think she looked really great! I enjoyed (Nearly pulled my hair out, more like!) drawing the numerous vents and then printing them onto decal sheets and finally onto the submarine.

Koombana – Coastal Freighter

Builder  J. Samuel White, Cowes

Laid down 29 March 1939

Commissioned 15 April 1941

Fate

Mined and sunk, 10 September 1943

Displacement 2,650 tons

Length 418 ft

Beam 40 ft

Draught11 ft

Speed   40 knots

I built a small-scale model of the Koombana for the Disney+ docuseries “Shipwreck Hunters” along with a number of other vessels and aircraft. I had never heard of the Koombana. She has been called the Titanic of the WA coast as she was given opulent fittings to entice the many station owners to travel on her and I suppose because of her tragic loss, being sunk with the loss of all souls. She was lost without trace during the Balla Balla cyclone that ravaged the WA coast in 1912. She was very easy to build except for my having to draw up my own sections using MS Word and the really fiddly 5 string guard rails that she had all over the ship! Usually ships have 2 or 3, but ohhh no, not Koombana! I love the seats that she had positioned in places that would have been quite pleasant to sit on and enjoy the view and weather.

Savannah – First Operational Nuclear-powered ship

Builder  J. Samuel White, Cowes

Laid down 29 March 1939

Commissioned 15 April 1941

Fate

Mined and sunk, 10 September 1943

Displacement 2,650 tons

Length 418 ft

Beam 40 ft

Draught11 ft

Speed   40 knots

The very first (and last) nuclear powered merchant ship, NS Savannah was designed to show the world how effective and ground-breaking nuclear power could be. Just think how much pollution could have been reduced if every merchant ship had been nuclear powered? One small reactor being replaced every 25 (ish) years! However, due to her hybrid design, neither merchant nor passenger, meant that she was not cost effective and combined with the low cost of oil was eventually withdrawn from service. However, shortly after she was taken out of service oil had quadrupled in price and she would have been very cost effective. The other problem she had to contend with was the world being scared to death of anything nuclear. She was quite difficult to build as I started off with plans that I thought were accurate, only to find that they were way off. Fortunately, in the interim I had been given a really good set of plans from a guy who actually worked on her for many years and looks after her in her retirement!

Leeuwin (II) – Sail training ship

Builder  J. Samuel White, Cowes

Laid down 29 March 1939

Commissioned 15 April 1941

Fate

Mined and sunk, 10 September 1943

Displacement 2,650 tons

Length 418 ft

Beam 40 ft

Draught11 ft

Speed   40 knots

My main reason for building Leeuwin (apart from the fact that she is Western Australian born and bred!!) is to provide the public with an easy visual aid to compare and contrast her with any of the other ships in my collection. As has been stated elsewhere, all of my models are to the same scale, so it makes sense to have a ship that everyone has had an opportunity to see “in the flesh”, so to speak, and so here she is. A very elegant ship. A very good friend of mine makes most of the replacement yardarms when they come to the end of their life span. I had a lot of trouble with the decals as the hull is to glossy/dark for the filigree to stand out. So to fix this I printed the filigree out and them overpainted it to ensure that it stands out. Fortunately, she tied up on a number of occasions at Fremantle, so I have been able to get some really good details to apply to the model.

Sadly this lovely little ship was severely damaged in a collision, losing all of her masts and is currently (2025) being refitted.

Dutch Navy

Light Cruisers

HNLMS De Ruyter

Builder  Wilton-Fijenoord, Schiedam

Laid down 16 September 1933

Commissioned  3 October 1936

Fate

Sunk by torpedo in the Java Sea 28 February 1942, from Haguro

Displacement:   6,545 long tons

Length  560 ft 8 in

Beam    51 ft 6 in

Draft      16 ft 9 in

Speed:  32 knots

Armament         

7 × 150 mm (5.9 in) guns (3x2; 1x1)

10 × 40 mm (1.57 in) Bofors anti-aircraft guns (5x2)

8 × 12.7 mm (0.5 in) Browning machine guns

Aircraft carried: 2 × Fokker C-11W floatplanes

 De Ruyter was the most modern fleet unit in the Dutch navy. She took quite a while to build and was supposed to have four twin turrets but due to cost she had to be reduced in size which meant that she had to have one of the guns suppressed. Her funnel was a very unusual feature of her design, originally having what looked like an umbrella over her funnel. De Ruyter had a very powerful bank of AA guns, having 5 twin 40mm Bofors guns amidships. It is interesting to speculate on how many Royal Navy ships could have been saved if they had been fitted with the Dutch 40mm Bofors. De Ruyter was the flagship of Admiral Doorman when he took command of the ill-fated ABDA (American, British, Dutch, and Australian) fleet. This fleet tried unsuccessfully to stem the Japanese tide that was threatening the islands of Java and Sumatra. During the battle De Ruyter and Java were hit almost simultaneously by Japanese “Long Lance” torpedoes. These torpedoes had a far greater range than the Allies believed possible. De Ruyter sank with heavy loss of life that included the Admiral.

HNLMS Java – Java class

Builders Koninklijke Maatschappij de Schelde,

Built       1916-1926

Commissioned  1925

Displacement:  

6670 tons

Length  509 ft 6 in

Beam    52 ft 6 in

Draught 20 ft 5 in

Speed   31 knots

Armament         

10 × Bofors 150 mm guns

8 Java x Bofors 40 mm anti-aircraft guns

8 × Browning .50 machine guns

Aircraft carried  2 Fokker C.XI-W floatplane

A very WWI looking cruiser with her single 6-inch gun mounts. Java’s sister Sumatra was sunk as a block ship during the Normandy D-Day landings. Java was obsolete when WWII was declared but served faithfully in the Dutch East Indies until sunk during the Battle of the Java Sea. Java was hit by a Japanese “Long Lance” torpedo and sank with heavy loss of life. It is sad to note that these two Dutch warships have been salvaged without the permission of the Dutch Government that views them as War Graves and there is nothing left today but the indentation on the ocean floor. I had major problems constructing the many vents around the two funnels.

HNLMS Tromp – Tromp class

Builders Nederlandsche Scheepsbouw Mij.

Built       1936–1940

Commissioned  1938

Displacement    3,350 long tons

Length 432 ft 11 in

Beam 40 ft 9 in

Draught 14 ft 2 in

Speed   32.5 knots

Armament         

Tromp:

6 × 150 mm (5.9 in) guns (3×2)

4 × 75 mm

8 × 40 mm (4×2)

2 × 20 mm

6 × 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes (2×3)

Aircraft carried 1 × Fokker C.XIW floatplane (Tromp)

This was the first Dutch warship that I built. The plans were OK I suppose, but still required a fair amount of work to ensure accuracy. This was my first foray into the intricate world of Dutch AA guns. Tromp had a sister ship, the Jacob Van Heemskerck that fled to Great Britain when the Netherlands was overrun. She didn’t have her main armament and so was given British 4” AA guns. Tromp was damaged in the Battle of Badung Straits and was sent to Australia for repairs. For the remainder of the war she undertook mainly escort duties in the Indian Ocean.

Submarine

HNLMS O22 – O21 class

Builder  Koninklijke Maatschappij De Schelde, Vlissingen

Laid down           20 November 1937

Commissioned  10 May 1940

Fate

Sunk North Sea 1940

Displacement 990 tons

Length  254 ft 11 in

Beam 22 ft 4 in

Draught 3.95 m (13 ft 0 in

Speed 19.5 knots surfaced

9 knots submerged

Armament         

4 × 21 in (533 mm) bow torpedo tubes

2 × 21 in stern torpedo tubes

2 × 21 in (1×2) external-traversing TT amidships

One of a large number of submarines that the Dutch possessed before and during WWII.  The O22 was deployed to the North Sea after escaping to the UK after the surrender of the Netherlands. It is assumed that she hit a mine. This is the second build of her, the original, is in the WA Maritime Museum.

United States Navy

Heavy Cruiser

USS Houston – Northampton class

Builder  Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia

Laid down           1 May 1928

Commissioned  17 June 1930

Fate      

Sunk in the Battle of Sunda Strait, 1 March 1942

Displacement    9,200 tons

Length  600 ft 3 in

Beam 66 ft 1 in

Draft 16 ft 4 in

Speed   32.7 knots

Armament         

9 × 8 in (203 mm)/55 calibre guns (3x3)

4 × 5 in (127 mm)/25 calibre anti-aircraft guns

16 x 1.1-inch (28 mm)/75 calibre anti-aircraft guns

2 × 3-pounder 47 mm (1.9 in) saluting guns

6 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes

Known as the “Galloping Ghost of the Java Sea”

Aircraft carried: 4 × SOC Seagull scout-observation floatplanes

Known as the “Galloping Ghost of the Java Sea”

I have always wanted to build the Sunda Straits ships. For many years I have had HMAS Perth. When the WA Maritime Museum informed me that they were going to have a display of the Sunda Straits Battle, including information regarding HMAS Perth and USS Houston, I offered my model of the USS Houston. Being a US Navy ship, the subtle differences in the deck fittings amazed me as I had always built British/Australian ships and they were all of the same style. Took me a while to identify where things went. Her huge gun turrets are awesome, but apparently are not armoured turrets as with British and Australian ships but is more of a gun house. Another difference is that whereas British and Australian ships can elevate their gun barrels individually, Houston’s guns are fixed together in each turret. I must confess that the blue colour is not the correct shade! It is very close to the colours provided by the plans that I purchased, but after completing the model I found the actual colour, a case of too little too late, so to speak ☹! I walked past the model for about three years mumbling under my breath. Eventually I couldn’t take it anymore so I stripped her back and reapinted it in the more accurate colour!!

German Navy

Light Cruiser

SMS Emden – Konigsberg class

Builder  Kaiserliche Werft, Danzig

Laid down           1 November 1906

Commissioned  10 July 1909

Fate      

Disabled by HMAS Sydney I and grounded off the Cocos Islands, 9 November 1914

Displacement    4,201 tons

Length  118.3 m

Beam    13.5 m

Draft      5.53 m

Speed   23.5 knots

Armament         

10 × 10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK L/40 guns

8 × 5.2 cm (2.0 in) SK L/55 SK L/55 guns

2 × 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes

The famous German raider that created havoc in and around the Indian Ocean in the early part of WWI. Successes included the sinking of the Russian cruiser Zhemchug during the Battle of Penang and the shelling of the Madras oil fuel tanks. A very interesting ship to build with the large number of rings around the three funnels and because I am used to British/Australian fittings and ideas that are different to other navies. This ship was displayed at the Princess Royal Fortress Military Museum in 2018.

Archaeological Model Building

Sydney, and Kormoran

As mentioned earlier, I have always been drawn to the loss of HMAS Sydney II and the engagement with HSK Kormoran that resulted in that loss. When I built the Kormoran I wanted to demonstrate to the public just how and why Captain Burnett and the Executives could have been fooled. Ever since the loss of Sydney II, the ship and her crew have, in my opinion, been relegated to the naughty corner for being conned. However, Detmers was, I believe, the most cunning of all the Armed Merchant Captains. His was the only ship that had the underwater torpedo tube angled aft. Thus, (and these are only my thoughts when Sydney II parked herself on Kormoran’s aft starboard side, she was in the position dictated by the Admiralty. My model, therefore, was built with the starboard side as she would have appeared to the Sydney II, and the port side as she was immediately prior to the commencement of the battle. During the construction of the Kormoran I was lucky enough to discuss the battle with the gunnery officer of one of our Destroyer Escorts (sadly, I can’t remember which one) who stated that the view of the Kormoran from the Sydney II, even at such close quarters could have made it extremely difficult to identify any minor anomalies. In building the Kormoran, I substituted the sectional drawings of another similar merchant ship, as Kormoran’s had been destroyed during a bombing raid.

Regarding the model of the wreck of Sydney, I was provided with footage of the 2015 survey of the wreck. This I was overwhelmed by the evidence of the massive amount of damage that she sustained! I think they counted over 40 hits each side. The carnage that would have resulted can never be fully understood. Having said that, the surviving crew of Sydney did not give up, but continued to try to save her and return to Fremantle. One can only imagine the reception she would have received had she reached port. A lot of the damage that is evident was received during her descent to the ocean floor. For example, the aft (I think) funnel draped over “Y” turret. The gaping hole where the forward funnel had been and the collapsed forward structure that would have resulted in her slamming into the ocean floor. It was discovered that when Sydney did hit the bottom, she “bounced”, pivoting on her stern, and swung to starboard. During talks with the Museum staff, it was suggested that it would be important to demonstrate this and thus, the enormous size of the model! By creating the model, future writers, researchers can look at how the ship was, even when the wreck has deteriorated (which will happen over time) and possibly work out the sequence of events leading to her coming to rest on the ocean floor. It can also be used to demonstrate that Sydney was not an obsolete warship, as some have speculated, but a very brave, well fought RAN ship that deserves a better rap than she currently labours under.

Submarine Explorer

The Union’s Response to the Confederate’s Submarine CSS Hunley

Many people know the story of how the United States Confederate Navy developed and used the CSS Hunley to sink a Union ship. In recent years, the Hunley has been found and raised. What very few people know is that the Union Navy replied with the very first “proper” submarine, the Submarine Explorer. This craft was built too late to see service and was utilised in the pearl diving industry around the Panama coastline. Unfortunately for the crew, they suffered from the “Bends” as they were diving at such extreme depths (for those days) that they developed what was then called “Caissons Disease”. Named after the many workers who suffered the Bends whilst working in the deep caissons used to build bridges in England. I was recently asked to build a model of the Submarine Explorer to capture the amazing features of the very first workable submarine. To be honest, she looks like an ugly slug! However, I am making her so that her Port side will be as is, whilst the starboard side will show all of the internal workings of her. This will include the conning tower, propeller rank and compressed air pipes and controls.

Fremantle Diorama

For many years I have wanted to build a diorama of Fremantle as a submarine base. I finally got around to it. However, I also wanted to include the SS Ondina and so the diorama is of Fremantle harbour in 1944, rather than any particular date within that year. Call it Artistic Licence if you must!  😊

Anyway, the ships in the diorama are the following:

SS Ondina

HMAS Bonthorpe

USS YMS

HMAS Heros

HMS Maidstone

USS Anthedon

HMS Storm (RN “S” class)

HNLMS Zwaardvisch (RN “T” class)

HMS Telemachus (RN “T” class)

HMS Tantivy (RN “T” class)

USS Sandlance (USN Balao class)

USS Hardhead (USN Balao class)

USS Hawkbill (USN Balao class)

USS Pampanito (USN Balao class)

The submarines are just a sample of the submarines that undertook a patrol form Fremantle in 1944.

Maidstone and Anthedon represent the Royal Navy and US Navy in their roles as submarine tender/depot ships that were used to repair and supply the submarines based in Fremantle.

HMAS Bonthorpe was an auxiliary minesweeper based in Fremantle during the war.

HMAS Heros was one of the ships sent out to look for survivors of HMAS Sydney after her loss in November 1941

USS YMS was one of a large class of minesweepers that were based all over the world including Fremantle.

SS Ondina is a famous Dutch Shell oil tanker that was attacked by two Japanese Armed Merchant Cruisers whilst being escorted by the HMIS Bengal. During the battle, the Ondina was severely damaged by torpedo and gunfire but survived and managed to sink one of the Japanese ships. After abandoning ship, the crew was fired upon and eventually chose to return and board her. However, during the fight the secret code books had been destroyed so the crew could not signal anyone and so no-one knew what had happened until the Ondina turned up near the WA coast.