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. 

Italian Battleships Andrea Doria and Dullio

 These are two older Italian battleships (dreadnoughts if you prefer) built in the Great War erra and then extensively rebuilt and modernized in the interwar period. 

When they where built these were good frontline Dreadnoughts with 13 12 inch guns in 5 turrets.  

The ships were modernized in two phases the first in 1925-26 and then again in 1937.  By the time it was all done they had lost one 3 gun turret, gained almost 36 feet in length, and 92 feet in beam.  Upgrading the her guns (form 12 to 12.6 inches) 

They also got their engine rooms completely rebuilt uping their speed form 21 to 26 knots. These are sollid ships, they don't have great hitting power but they have reasonable speed and protection.  When get down to it an old Battleship is better than no battleship and the US and France all have similarly old ships in their inventory. 

Italian Battle ships Littorio and Vittorio Veneto

 I have bunch more ships printed for me by Arofan form Ghekek's filles. 

First up we have the Littoro and Vittorio Veneto the first two ships of the Littorio Class Built after the London and Washington treaties though they didn't exactly conform coming in a good bit over the 35,000 ton limts (more like 40,000 or 45,000 tons).  These are less well known than Bismark Class but might well be better ships (Dreachinfel did a great comparison video) maybe its the lack of a climactic battle to the death.

The Italians did this interesting red and white barber pole areal recognition painting.  I think the Italians feared the Germans and their own air force more then British fleet air arm. 

The rear of the ship had a wide open area for air operations I wonder if the space couldn't have been better used for another main turret or maybe a few additional AA guns. 

The Italians had two sets of secondaries a pair of three gun 6" turrets and then a number of 90 mm High angle AA guns (with limited anti ship capability) 

I feel the Italian Navy is the forgotten fleet of the Second World War and I am looking forward to highlighting then in games. 

Fubuki class Destoyer

 I found this unpainted minature while claning up and decided it was time to get it painted up. 

The Fubuki class was somehting of a revolutionary ship built to be the toughest combatant it could be for its size and more than a match for any existing destroyer.  They are oftern looked as the first "modern" Destroyer and other nations quickly started designing new destroyers in reaction

These tough ships had a top speed of 35 knots, 6 5inch guns in three twin turrets and a tottle of 9 torpedeo tubesl (in three tube lonchers) 

Japan built 24 of these and 22 of them were lost in the 2nd world war.  At the time of the Second world war these ships were getting old but were still considered front line combatants

Fort Devens Museum Game Day 2025

I didn't have to run any games to run so I got to play. First I too command of Bismarck and Prince Eugene. 

I got some good hits early but also got hit hard...

Bismarck was forced to scuttle after only three turns (the English had my engines dialed in for targeting).

Prince Eugene didn't last much longer both Royal Navy ships where hit hard, but at the loss of two German ones. 

Next I joined Bill Greenwalds trench fight 

Despite German machine guns and art we advanced across the no man's land 

Shell holes provide good cover for those who can make it (about half the platoon)

At last we reached the enemy trench and engaged with the flamethrower. 

Then the table come up in support and the first trench line falls to our onslaught.

Pete ran his retreat from Concord game.

Gabe ran his Victorian Science Fiction game 

My German opponent Louis in full kit.

Frank ran multiple sessions of Denmark Straight 

Bismarck sank multiple times. 

World War One Posters at the Fort Devens Museam

We have a new exhibit at the Fort Devens Museum.  These are form a private collection of over 200 posters.  Apparently Sailors like Blonds... 

and Marines like brunets.... 

Also the Agricultural department was big into the poster game, Go fishing its for the war effort honest!  

We have our annual Game Day tomorrow come visit both.

Annual Miniature Game Day

Saturday November 15, 2025, 10:00 AM

Fort Devens Museum, 94 Jackson Road, Devens, MA

Join in various miniature war games held throughout the day. No experience needed and all ages welcome! Join in one (or all!) of the games:

1: Victorian Science Fiction Game: Venture into a world where brass and steam meet tooth and claw. You are a bold adventurer exploring a lost world teeming with prehistoric life. Piloting a steam walker, will you hunt for glory, or simply try to survive? The primeval jungle awaits in this 28mm Victorian Science Fiction game. Game Master: Gabriel Landowski

2: American War of Independence Game: Retreat from Concord using Saratoga soldiers; fast play; kid friendly rules. Will the British make it back to Boston? It’s still the 250th anniversary of Lexington and Concord and you can help reenact that event with 25mm toy soldiers. Game Master: Peter Lowitt

3: High Heavens Game: Join this hex based, two player, tactical strategy game. Norse, Greek or Egyptian gods battle it out in the high heavens. The game is won when either all 12 gods in an entire pantheon is wiped out, or when Asgard, Mt. Olympus, or Khmunu is destroyed.

4: Battle of the Denmark Strait: Can you change history and sink the Bismark early or will the Mighty Hood fall to the Kreigmarien once again?

5: WWI Trench Battle: Take your chances in the trenches in the 15mm game.

Three US "Standard" Type Battleships

 

I've been working on some more of the US standard Battleships. 

USS Nevada the only US Battleship to get underway on December 7th, when ended up around but saw much service after she was refloated and repaired.

USS Pennsylvania sister ship of Arizona caught in drydock on December 7th. 

USS Idaho one of the New Mexico modernized in the mid 30s and serving in the Atlantic until December 7th. She and her sisters then rushed to the Pacific to protect the west coast.