Author Topic: A Slightly Different Battle of Savo Island  (Read 3825 times)

Offline Cliffy B

  • Ship Whiffer Extraordinaire...master of Beyond Visual Range Modelling
  • Its ZOTT!!!
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A Slightly Different Battle of Savo Island
« on: October 21, 2013, 05:32:04 AM »
Gentlemen, inspiration has struck once again and after some thought I've cleared the bench and will focus 100% on this build until its done.

Here's where I am so far...


What you see is my modified version of the RAN's proposed Cockatoo Island Cruiser alongside a USN CA-32 class CA.  Notice the resemblance?  ;)  Disregard the shorter piece of wood....my ruler betrayed me and I didn't realize until I cut it...I'll remedy that later.

I've was doodling around with the RAN CA and what you see above is my final design circa 1943 after a US rebuild/refit.  By chance I was looking at US cruiser stats and noticed that the CA-32 class is SPOT on in size and displacement.  Combine that with my vested interest in the night battles off Guadalcanal, the CA-32 class, and my need to whiff everything I see, the following has resulted!

After reading up on how the three CA-32s succumbed in the opening night battle for that island I settled on the USS Vincennes (CA-44) and interjected the HMAS Queensland into the battle.  She'll be sailing in column with CA-34, 39, and 44 when they meet the IJN CRU-DES group that fateful night.  I chose CA-44 because it appears that she would have survived until morning just, like CA-34 did had it not been for 1-2 (no one knows for sure) Long Lances taking out her entire engineering plant leaving her dead in the water and a stationary punching bag to which she eventually succumbed. 

My alternate battle will have the Queensland trailing CA-44 and when she makes her fateful turn (that would result in her eating the fish in real life) Queensland will turn opposite to avoid a collision and thus placing herself in between the Long Lances and CA-44.  Queensland will take the fatal blow instead of CA-44 but in her bow and not her engineering plant.  She'll loose her bow back to Turret 1 but both ships will survive until morning.  They'll limp into a forward area for emergency repairs and then both make the long journey back to Mare Island Navy Yard in CA for a complete rebuild/refit during which time the Queensland will get some US equipment to augment her damaged/destroyed British equipment.  The drawing above depicts her post Mare Isle.

HMAS Queensland herself will be part of a 4 ship class of CAs designed and built in Australia in the 1930's with British and US assistance (design, construction, and financial) as part of the UK's desire to shore up the defenses of the Commonwealth as per Jellicoe's suggestions.  The design is based on the RN's Hawkins Class CLs but heavily modified with influence from the RN Counties and USN New Orleans'.  She'll be depicted in a two or three toned camo similar to the RAN modified Leanders.

Vincennes will look similar to the rest of the CA-32s that survived Guadalcanal and were rebuilt in 1943 and will be wearing either Ms. 21 or 22.

Suggestions on paint schemes as well as other possible names for the RAN CA are more than welcomed.

More to come later!

Any and all thoughts, comments, ideas, suggestions, etc... are appreciated as always,
-Mike
« Last Edit: October 21, 2013, 06:20:09 AM by Cliffy B »
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Offline Volkodav

  • Counts rivits with his abacus...
  • Much older now...but procrastinating about it
Re: A Slightly Different Battle of Savo Island
« Reply #1 on: April 21, 2014, 04:24:11 PM »
How's this one going?  Something thank never crossed my mind before but why didn't the US supply the RAN with ships during the war?  RAN had the experienced manpower and they were for the most part integrated with the USN so why weren't they supplied with Fletchers, Clevelands and Baltimores, not the mention submarines and DEs to replace war losses and increase numbers.