Dream (Nightmare)in Orange play teat

 Arofan, Frank and Mark joined me for a play test of a scenario I hope to run at conventions last year.  It's a battleline engagement after a less effective Pearl Harbor. 

I didn't get a picture of the set up but the Japanese formed battleline to their left.

While the US Navy split into two task groups going left and right.

Ise took an early hit including a fire critical. As did Pennsylvania and Maryland.

Soon after the Japanese Nagato class ships hit Maryland knocking out her engines. 

Huyga at the front of the Japanese line was hammered hit five times in one salvo from Pennsylvania doing 100 points of damage. She staggers under the damage. She and her sister hit Pennsylvania in turn 

Huyga dead in the water is battered by the US Battleships and slips below the waves 

It's Maylands turn the two Nagatos with one shot from Yamato put her down. Battered Pennsylvania had to withdraw.

As Nagatos sucummed to damage and Ise slipped beneath the waves Nevada is nearing her break point. Despite terrible dice (Yamato got only a single main battery hit all battle) the Japanese sank one US Battleship and badly damaged two more for the lost of three a clear US victory though hardly an overwhelming one.  Had Yamato had even average dice it might have been a very different game.

Walrus Flying Boats and Minekaze Class Japanese Destroyers

My friend Frank game me these to pass on to Arofan and I decided the best way to deliver them was assembled and painted.  

The Walrus was a common spotter and reconnaissance aircraft used by the Royal Navy.

Frank also gave me these three Minekaze class destroyers. They are an older class from Just after the Great War. Lightly armed and becoming obsolete in the World War II period. Still they served I secondary theaters or as convoy escorts and fast transports.

As the war progressed some were designated patrol boat x to free up their names for more modern ships.

These are more lightly armed than later destroyers with four 4.7inch (120mm) guns in single mounts, they also carried a respectable torpedo armament with three twin torpedo mounts.  

More Like Foxes Than Lyons Battle of Grimsburg

 From Arofan's Back group packet 

I was in the Role of Turenne the French Commander using his superior quality troops to drive back the Imperial Army.

The main French line it has multiple streams to cross to attack the Imperialists who are in a very strong position. 

The open area on the right was my best hope for a break through where my elite cavalry was located. 

French troops advance across the river and begin exchanging fire with the Imperial troops I was hoping to maybe get lucky and disorder someone with a good volley or artillery barrage but that didn't happen. 

The fighting on the left was heavy but inconlcusive still large portions of the Imperial force were tied down. 

On the right my cavalry won an initial clash against Imperial Cuirassiers then advance steadily with dragoons on one flank and infantry on the other. Then it was time. 

A charge sent first one and then another Infantry battalion falling back. 

In the center Turenne sword in hand lead the German regiment in an assault on the town taking the battery and holding off the Imperial counter attack. 

The Imperials have to with draw under the pressure of troops in the town and French cavalry on the right pressing their men back.  Its a near thing but the Germans must abandon the town and  fall back from the City of Trier the objective of the campaign. 

 

Force de Raid Le Fantasque-class contre-torpilleurs

 When is a Destroyer not a Destroyer?  When its a Contre-Torpilleur? The French did not really use the term Destroyer dividing their smaller warships into Torpileurs (Torpedo Craft) and larger Contre-Torpilleurs (anti-Torpedo Craft) harkening back to the days of Torpedo Boats and Torpedo Boat Destroyers (Pre-World War One)

Still the French Contre-Torpilleur of  Le Fantasque class are something of a special case.  They are big over 400 feet long with a beam of 39 feet.  They have 5 5.5 inch guns, two triple torpedo launcher, depth charges and mines.   Their AA as built is  bit light with two 37mm AA guns and pair of AA Machineguns. 

Speed is a key factor with a top speed 37 knots. Tactically there role was to race ahead and intercept opponents armed with torpedoes and put them down fast and hard.  Thus the focus on speed and a relatively heavy guns.  

The United States Navy thought of these ships are Light cruisers you'll also see the term "super destroyer" thrown around.   Comparing Le Fantasque to the Atlanta class you can see the point. The Atlanta is 530 feet long compared to the 434 feet length of the Fantastique.  Also the Fantastique were built to counter a class of Italian light cruiser (the Condottieri) I would argue they are just on the Destroyer side of the line (though only just). 

If any Contre-Torpilleur crosses over to being a light cruiser I'd argue its the Mogador class with its three twin turrets (for a total of 6 5.5inch guns).  You can see how it on the right here next to a Fantastque. 

Tree House up date

 This project was started Labor day weekend and as of this past Thanksgiving weekend I am declaring the tree house open. (not finished but good for the kids to use. 

I added some support where two of the plywood floor pieces meet. 

We have have added another wall.   this will go higher when I have time to get out toe it. 

Finally there is way up.  it needs some additional work but Evie can clime up and down (and so can her old man) 

and today having survived its first snowstorm

Force de Raid La Galissonnière-class cruisers

 The La Galissonniere class of light cruisers are the next part of Force de Raid. 

Four of Six members of this class were assigned to Force de Raid providing the Battle ships with a cruiser escort.  These are solid light cruisers of the 1930s period.  They have good armor only slightly lighter than the Alegre one of the best Prewar Heavy Cruisers.  They have a design speed of 31 Knots though they could reach 35 to 36 knots! if you pulled out all the stops (and were willing to risk engine damage) 

They have nine 6-inch guns for a main armament capable of a rate of fire between 3 and 5  round per minutes.  That's a good if not impressive rate of fire (the US Brooklyn's could manage 10 rounds a minute in short bursts) . They also had a pair of twin torpedo launchers one on each side.  The Galissonnieres are fleet light cruisers focusing on taking out enemy destroyers and cruisers so the battle ships can focus on the other fellows big boys. 

There other function is providing arial scouts each vessel had two sea planes for spotting and scouting.  The rear of the sip included a hanger and seaplane launch catapult on the 3 turret.  The open area be hind the gun is for an ingenious recovery system a wood and canvas mat dragged behind the ship that the seaplane could drive up on to and then be pull up on a crane.  This allowed aircraft to be recovered at spreads up to 15 knots 

Force de Raid Battleships

 Those Italian ships need some opponents so I have been painting up some French ships the intended opponent. I'm basing my French fleet on a formation called the "Force de Raid" 

The Dunkerque class battle ships were built by France as response to the German building the Deutschland class they were intended to hunt down and kill such ships.  

These ships were fast 29.5 knots, reasonably well armored  though somewhat lightly armed with 13" guns. Some folks think of these as Battle Cruisers and it's a reasonable argument though Fast Battle ship fits better.

The all forward main gun armament allows a shorter armored citadel and as a ship that is intended to run down raiders it makes sense. That said I have never liked all forward armament as it limits tactical flexibility and then there is the edge case of Mers-el-Kabir where these ships had to anchor with their bows pointing towards the shore when the British opened fire from the sea. 

Italian Destroyers Navigators (Navigatori) and Soldiers (Soldati)

 Rounding out the Italian fleet (for now) eight Destroyers.

The Navigatori Class of Destroyer were built in the late 20s and earl 30s and were bigger than existing Italian Destroyers in a response to some of the large Contre-torpilleures the French were building.  For a while they Italians classed them as "Scouts" rather then destroyers i the early 30s though by World War II they were considered destroyers

They have three Twin Turrets with 4.7 Inch guns (120mm). They have 6 Torpedo tubes making them good surface combatants.  Their AA component is a little weak, only two single barrel 40 MM guns and 4 twin Machine guns.  I haven't found any information on their ASW abilities. 

A More modern design form the late 30s they have only have 5 4.7 inch guns (2 in twin mounts and 1 in a single mount as dedicated star shell gun, latter converted to a regular gun or an AA gun) but retaining the six torpedo tubes.   There AA is better with 8 20mm, and they have a par of depth charge Throwers 

These ships were somewhat faster with a top speed of 35 knots (compared to 32 for the Navigatori class).  These are good all rounder type Destroyers. 

About a decade separates these two and you can see the escalation of Destroyer seize in the 1930s as the "exceptionally" big Navigatori of the late 1928 is only a little bigger than the "normal" size Soldati class.  It also illustrates how powerplants improved as the Soldati is faster despite being shorter and only having three boilers to the Navigatori's four. 

Italian Heavy Cruisers

 Italy had two (or three) classed of Heavy Cruisers they built during the Inter-War Period. The Italian Heavy Cruiser was designed to support and supplement the battleline in addition to the more traditional cruiser roles in part because of the Battleship holiday or the treaty era. 

This made six ships in total, powerful units with 8" guns. 

The Trento Class were fast ships with a spread in trials of 35 knots.  Their armor was relatively light as they tried to stick close to the Washington Naval Treaty.   Still these ships had Protection broadly similar to near US contemporaries (Pensacola and Northampton) and might have been a little bette. 

The Bolazno is sometimes counted as part of this class and some times thought of a unique class with a newer and slightly faster powerplant and an improved 8" gun.  Still the hull form was broadly similar externally.  These three ships did serve together as the 3rd Cruiser Division of the Regia Marina (3a Divisione Incrociatori). 

The Zara's took a cut in speed (32 knots) but a considerable upgrade to armor making them among the best protected Heavy Cruisers of the period.  They retaining the 8" guns though they dropped the torpedos the Trento class carried. 

These three served together and sank more or less together as the 1st Cruiser Squadron (1a Divisione Incrociatori) at the Battle of cap Matapan. 

The Zara's were very effective ships often forcing British Cruisers to fall back on their battle line rather than mixing up cruiser vs cruiser as they were willing to do with Germans ships of the same type.