It's a Small World - the modelling thread.

[Foxbat]

I think as time goes by, the look of war ships will go far more in the style of Type 45 destroyers, with (eventually) them looking like a floating piece of armour with concealed railguns and missile/torpedo/mine/depth charge launchers.

I agree. It’s all about the lack of vertical superstructure. The angled surfaces may make it look like a modern version of the CSS Virginia but, instead of being able to deflect cannon balls, it’s all about deflecting radar.

When it comes to British ships, I always liked the look of the Leander class light cruisers.

 

[Pyan]

Interesting that the Zumwalt's bows could have come straight from a 1878 ironclad, Redoubtable...

 

[Foxbat]

It reminds me of an ancient galley.

 

[paranoid marvin]

It reminds me of an ancient galley.

Just lacking the battering ram on the prow.

 

[Pyan]

Just lacking the battering ram on the prow.

And the oars…

 

[Foxbat]

Looks to me like you could poke a few oars through those gun ports

 

[paranoid marvin]

Slightly off topic, but the new £3.2b Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales suffered flooding that damaged her electrics. It took eight months to repair. Then suffered a damaged propeller shaft just a few miles out of port. This time it took nine months to fix it. I'm betting that an older, less technical, ship would have had the work done in a fraction of that time.

 

[HareBrain]

Just lacking the battering ram on the prow.

That bow is for ramming, it's why it's shaped like that.

 

[Pyan]

That bow is for ramming, it's why it's shaped like that.

There was about 40 years after 1866 where the ram was perceived as a vital weapon, based on the spectacular loss of the Italian flagship Re D’ Italia, rammed by its Austrian opposite number Erzherzog Ferdinand Max in the Seven-Weeks war of that year.

After the Fisher revolution in the Royal Navy, when major warships increased speed from about 12-14 knots to up to 28 knots, the big gun took over, and the ram bow as a primary weapon practically disappeared.

The Ram: A 19th-Century Naval Warfare Dead End | Center for International Maritime Security

 

[Foxbat]

Slightly off topic, but the new £3.2b Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales suffered flooding that damaged her electrics. It took eight months to repair. Then suffered a damaged propeller shaft just a few miles out of port. This time it took nine months to fix it. I'm betting that an older, less technical, ship would have had the work done in a fraction of that time.

The damaged shaft was caused by the failure of an external seal on the starboard prop. shaft. Because it was an external seal, the ship had to be dry docked for repairs - hence the long repair time. There also have been capability upgrades carried out in parallel with these repairs. They had been planned for a later date but were brought forward to fill the enforced downtime. This should give POW a good, long run at sea, which is just as well because QE is due for a planned refit soon.

Latest news

Navy Lookout

Independent online coverage of the Royal Navy

www.navylookout.com

As for big guns and steam, it wasn’t until the steam turbine replaced the Vertical Triple Engine that big guns became more lethal. This was simply bacause the VTE caused large amounts of vibration, which affected aiming. The turbine gave a much smoother, faster ride and therefore more accurate gun platform. Although the turbine had first been used in a warship in 1899 (Destroyer HMS Viper…or properly called at the time Torpedo Boat Destroyer) it wasn’t until Dreadnought that it really changed the nature of naval warfare.

 

[paranoid marvin]

There was about 40 years after 1866 where the ram was perceived as a vital weapon, based on the spectacular loss of the Italian flagship Re D’ Italia, rammed by its Austrian opposite number Erzherzog Ferdinand Max in the Seven-Weeks war of that year.

View attachment 107236​

After the Fisher revolution in the Royal Navy, when major warships increased speed from about 12-14 knots to up to 28 knots, the big gun took over, and the ram bow as a primary weapon practically disappeared.

The Ram: A 19th-Century Naval Warfare Dead End | Center for International Maritime Security

Interesting. It seems to have continued to be uses against submarines though?

 

[CupofJoe]

Out of curiosity, I googled Dynavector kits - they seem to run up to nearly £100...

1 48 Dynavector FOR SALE!

I didn't know when I bought it but now I'm feeling a little guilty... £10. They had a Buccaneer kit as well.

 

[Foxbat]

Things I learned today...
The standard advice is, when airbrushing, always keep the lid on the fluid cup. I found leaving the lid off made no difference so never bothered following this advice. Today, doing a little airbrushing, the hose became caught so I gave it a little tug. End result: paint everwhere...my hand, all over the airbrush and work surface and none on the model. Had to clean up and start all over. It took so long to do that the remaining paint had dried and blocked the nozzle - complete pain in the arse to put right....I find a 0.009 guitar string is perfect for reaming out a blocked nozzle.

From now on, I will always put the lid back on the cup.

In other news.
Good: Chitose is on its way from Japan and should arrive on Monday.
Bad: I have to sign for it but will be away for most of that day (got to take my mum to get her disabled badge renewed).

I thought it rather odd that I have to sign for something that cost less than a tenner (with the shipping being almost £19).

Good: Got an email from DHL saying if I didn't want to sign for it, then fill in the form and tell them where to leave it.
Well done DHL! Normally I don't have many good things to say about a carrier but, in this case, I'll make an exception. I think it's a great idea to give the customer this choice (of course, I did have to tick a box absolving them of any blame should the parcel go missing).

And finally, if, like me, you are a very sad person then you might find these pages of interest.

I've been looking up info on Chitose and here is her operational history (before she was converted to a light aircraft carrier in 1944)

Japanese Seaplane Carriers

Here's another page of some of the discovered wrecks of the Imperial Japanese Navy (including Kaga and Akagi, sunk at Midway)

IMPERIAL JAPANESE NAVY MYSTERIES

 

[Pyan]

Good: Got an email from DHL saying if I didn't want to sign for it, then fill in the form and tell them where to leave it.
Well done DHL! Normally I don't have many good things to say about a carrier but, in this case, I'll make an exception. I think it's a great idea to give the customer this choice (of course, I did have to tick a box absolving them of any blame should the parcel go missing).

Be careful though - DHL left a parcel for a friend of mine inside the recycling bin...

 

[Pyan]

@Foxbat: Pretty sure Chitose/Chitoda is a transliteration thing.

 

[Pyan]

Interesting. It seems to have continued to be uses against submarines though?

Yes, but it tended to put the ramming vessel out of use for a while, especially if it was a destroyer.
Note the wardroom carpet pressed into use to cut down the leakage!

 

[Pyan]

Interesting trivia: HMS Dreadnought (1906), the very first of the type, rammed and sank the German submarine U-29 in the Pentland Firth on 18 March 1915. This was the only significant action she ever took - she was refitting at Portsmouth in May/June 1916, and missed Jutland.

 

[Foxbat]

Pretty sure Chitose/Chitoda is a transliteration thing.

I knew Chitose was named after a city in Hokkaido so did some checking. Chitoda/Chiyoda is an area of Hokkaido.

According to this, it looks like they were different ships (but of the same class).

CHITOSE seaplane tenders / light aircraft carriers (1938 / 1943 - 1944)

And more interesting trivia: HMS Venturer (despite what Hollywood might make you think) is the only submarine in history to sink another submarine (U-864) with a torpedo while both boats were submerged. Venturer will once again take to the seas in the form of one of the RNs new Inspiration Class Type 31 Frigates sometime in the next few years.

HMS Venturer (P68) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Foxbat]

Chitose arrived today. That’s 5 days from Japan to my house (three days ahead of schedule).

Additionally, I received a thank you note and two small additional gifts inside the box. I think they are some kind of cutie character eraser and a pack of tissues. It’s what I like about the Japanese - so polite and respectful. It also has the added bonus that it makes me think that I will be happy to deal with them again should the need arise.

On the model itself - an awful lot of parts but it all looks good quality with no signs of any flash. Going to have to psyche myself up before tackling this one. Don’t want to make a mess of it.

Meanwhile, I notice the scale model shop has the battleship Yamashiro in stock. I wonder how long I can resist

 

[Foxbat]

Because of Chitose, I've developed an interest in seaplane tenders and been doing a bit of research. The first ever tender was the French ship Foudre in 1911. It was a converted torpedo boat tender.

Of interest to us Brits, the first ever ship designed and built purely as a seaplane tender was HMS Ark Royal in 1914. It was still in commission until 1944 but, in the 1930s, it was renamed HMS Pegasus in order to release the name Ark Royal to be used on an aircraft carrier.

HMS Ark Royal (1914) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org