15: More Royal Navy

Marine Modelling – Revisited
The year 2014 sees nearly thirty years of Marine Modelling International magazine and for the author over fifty years of
waterline ship collecting. So here is a chance to re-visit some of those early and not so early articles virtually as they were –
minimal editing/updating apart from the addition of new digital illustrations and the deletion of any ‘swapmeet & model
news’. Please remember that reported model availability and any prices quoted were at the time of writing. Each re-issue
will attempt to maintain a theme and this time it is some more Royal Navy.
Re-Issue 15: More Royal Navy
June/July 2013 – RN Depot and Repair Ships .............................................................................................................................1
July/August 2010 – The RN in 1957 ...........................................................................................................................................6
October 2013 – The RN by Triang ..............................................................................................................................................9
A Brief History of the ‘Guide to Waterline Model ships’..........................................................................................................12
JUNE/JULY 2013 – RN DEPOT AND REPAIR SHIPS
Performing an invaluable function for the fleet and in miniature adding a little variety to a waterline collection, the
depot/repair ship is a type that has been around for over 140 years. The only current vessel is RFA Diligence, a forward
repair ship and the subject of a recent new 1/1250 release by Albatros (ALK303) although there is also an excellent Skytrex
version. For this article we are going back to early days, a period
not well covered in miniature although the situation does improve
for vessels which served during the period 1930-50. In a double
co-incidence RFA Diligence is a converted merchant vessel
(Stena Inspector, purchased 1983) as were HMS Diligence of
1913 and the very first Royal Navy (RN) depot ship HMS Hecla.
The vast majority of depot and repair ships were manned by the
RN although an estimated eight were at some point operated by
the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) service.
HMS Hecla, the former merchant ship British Empire, was
purchased on the stocks (i.e. during building) in 1878 and
completed for the RN in 1880; during WW1 she served as a
destroyer depot ship at Scapa Flow (1914-16) then at Belfast
until war’s end. By 1905 there were four depot ships for destroyers and three for submarines and during the period 1880 to
1925 a total of thirty ships were brought into service, some purpose built but many elderly warships converted during the
decade preceding WW1.
Depot ships generally offered
limited repair services with appropriate spares but had
facilities for staff personnel plus in the case of submarine
depot ships extra crew accomodation and a plentiful supply
of torpedoes. Major repairs tended to be the reponsibility of
dockyards or dedicated fleet repair ships, the first being
HMS Assistance ex mercantile, again purchased on the
stocks, which joined the fleet in 1900.
Returning to 1878, also acquired that year was the Mariotis
which as the RN’s 4th HMS Tyne was based at the Firth of
Forth 1914-18. and gave us a famous name in the depot ship
world. Other well known names first used in this early
period were HMS Forth (ex cruiser, completed 1886,
converted to submarine depot ship in 1904), and the purpose
built vessels HMS Woolwich (destroyers) and HMS Maidstone (submarines), both completed in 1912 and scrapped in 1926
and 1929 respectively.
-1-
This pdf download version of the article lists all thirty, the data
have been taken from British Warships 1914-19 by Dittmar and
College (published 1972). Of these early ships most had gone
by 1930, notable exceptions being HMS Vulcan (built 1889,
became the training ship HMS Defiance in 1931, sold 1955)
and HMS Ambrose (built 1903, base ship HMS Cochrane from
1938, scrapped 1948).
Ship
HMS Hecla (ex British
Empire)
HMS Tyne (ex Mariotis)
Built
1878
HMS Vulcan
HMS Forth (ex cruiser)
HMS Pandora (ex Seti)
HMS Ambrose
HMS Sandhurst (ex Manipur)
1889
1886
1902
1903
1905
HMS Diligence (ex
Tabaristan)
1907
1878
Notes
Purchased on stocks, initially a ‘torpedo depot
ship’
Purchased on stocks, for destroyers
By 1915 for subs, 1931 training ship Defiance
Converted in 1904, for subs
Purchased 1914, renamed Dolphin in 1924
1938 base ship Cochrane
Purchased 1915, repair ship in WW1, depot ship in
WW2
Purchased/converted 1913, destroyer depot ship
Fate
Sold 1926
Foundered at Sheerness
1920
Sold 1955
Sold 1921
Mined in 1939
Scrapped 1948
Scrapped 1946
Sold 1926
Examples of early warship and mercantile conversions to depot ships
The name ‘Dolphin’ looms large in this story; the first HMS Dolphin to serve as submarine depot ship was an 1882 screw
sloop - she became a sail traing ship in 1899 and was
reportedly hulked in 1907, being recalled to the colours
in 1912 (some accounts say earlier) at Fort Blockhouse,
Gosport. She was replaced circa 1923/24 by a newer
ship of the same name, this being the former HMS
Pandora (ex mercantile Seti, built 1902 for James Moss
& Co, Liverpool) purchased in November 1914 and
converted to a submarine depot ship. She was based at
Harwich 1915-18, then having been refitted at HM
Dockyard in Devonport she was re-named HMS
Dolphin on 3rd October 1924. In December 1939 whilst
under tow to Scapa Flow to be used as a blockship she
struck a mine laid by U22 sinking 1.5 miles southsoutheast of Blyth. The old ‘Dolphin’ also foundered at
HMS Alecto
sea, but was later raised and survived as an
accomodation/school ship until 1977.
-2-
The first purpose built depot ship was HMS Adamant
launched in July 1911 just a month before her sistership
HMS Alecto. Both were submarine depot ships and
HMS Alecto continued in that role at Portsmouth in
1939/40 before taking on support of boom defence
vessels. She was eventually scrapped in 1948, outliving
her slightly older sister by sixteen years. Built on
Clydebank in 1916 for the RAN was the submarine
depot ship HMAS Platypus; she remained in British
waters during WW1 but was back home (mainly
Darwin) during WW2; she was scrapped in 1957.
Several from the WW1 era continued as depot ships
through WW2 including one, HMS Lucia, which
HMS Cyclops
according to ‘The RFA – a Century of Service’ was
designated as an RFA from 1915-18; other RFA depot ships in this period were the Aro, Sobo, Sokoto (former Elder
Demster ships purchased in 1914) and Pelmont all described by E.E. Sigwort in ‘Royal Fleet Auxiliary’ as “torpedo depot
ships for the northern bases of the Grand Fleet”. HMS Reliance was built in 1910 as the mercantile Knight Commander and
bought by the Admiralty in 1913 as a repair ship; in 1916 she was transferred to RFA and circa 1920 sold to an Italian
shipping line surviving until 1956. The German liner Prins Adalbert was seized at Falmouth in 1914 and later converted to a
repair ship as RFA Princetown; after a year’s service she was sold on becoming Alesia for a French Line but was sunk in
September 1917.
Ship
HMS Cyclops (ex
Indrabarah)
HMS Lucia (ex
Spreewald)
Built
1905
HMS Alecto (& Adamant)
1911
HMS Titania
1915
HMS Greenwich
1915
HMS Vindictive* (ex
aircraft carrier, then
cruiser, then training ship)
1918
1907
Notes
Purchased on stocks,
repair ship in WW1
Captured 1914, converted
1916. Merchant Sinai in
1948
First purpose built
Purchased on stocks from
Hungarian owners
Purchased on stocks,
conversion completed
1916
Repair ship then destroyer
depot ship in 1944
Fate
Scrapped 1948
Models (* = illustrated)
AR54*, OC193
Scrapped 1951
AR111, OC195, Midway24
Scrapped 1948 (&
1932)
Scrapped 1949
AR125, AR1129, OC48
Sold 1946
becoming
mercantile
Hembury
Scrapped 1946
AR112*, OC194
AR53*, AR1053, OC192
Anker 09*
RN Depot and Repair* Ships
Argonaut HMS Cyclops
Ship
HMS Aquarius (ex Hampstead)
HMS Leander (ex cruiser)
HMS Thames (ex cruiser)
HMS Bonaventure (ex cruiser)
HMS Blake (ex cruiser)
HMS Blenheim (ex cruiser)
HMS Hebe (ex torpedo
gunboat)
HMS Onyx (ex torpedo
gunboat)
HMS St George (ex cruiser)
Argonaut HMS Titania
Built
1900
1882
1885
1892
1889
1890
1892
Notes
Purchased 1902, For destroyers
Converted in 1904, For destroyers
Converted in 1903, For subs
Converted in 1907, subs
Converted in 1907, destroyers
Converted in 1906, destroyers
Converted in 1909, Subs
Fate
Sold 1920
Sold 1920
Sold 1920
Sold 1920
Sold 1922
Sold 1926
Sold 1919
1892
Converted in 1908, subs
Sold 1924
1892
Converted in 1910, destroyers
Sold 1920
-3-
HMS Arrogant (ex cruiser)
HMS Dido (ex cruiser)
HMS Pactolus (ex cruiser)
HMS Rosario (ex sloop)
HMS Hazard (ex minesweeper)
HMS Maidstone
HMS Woolwich
1896
1896
1896
1898
1894
1912
1912
Converted in 1911, subs
Converted in 1913, destroyers
Converted in 1912, subs
Converted in 1910, subs at Hong Kong
Converted in 1901, subs at Dover
Purpose built, For subs
Purpose built, For destroyers
Sold 1923
Sold 1926
Sold 1921
Sold 1921
Sunk 1918, collision at sea
Sold 1929
Sold 1926
Other RN Depot Ships
Argonaut HMS Greenwich
Anker Vindictive
Having covered earlier construction, we now conclude with subsequent vessels plus the inevitable list of 1/1200-1250
waterline models. The story resumes in 1929 with the arrival of two newly built vessels, the submarine depot ship HMS
Medway and fleet repair ship HMS Resource. Just six more purpose built depot ships joined the fleet between 1935 and
1942 all of which are listed later. Several older vessels saw service in WW2 namely HMSs Cyclops, Lucia, Alecto, Titania,
Vindictive and Greenwich, all as detailed last month. These were supplemented by ten warship conversions and fifteen ex
merchant ships including five large vessels two of which were re-named as they shared their original names with the allied
cruisers HMNZS Achilles and FNS Montcalm.
Ship
HMS Blenheim (ex Achilles)
(Ocean Steamship Co/Blue Funnel)
HMS Philoctetes (China
Mutual/Blue Funnel)
HMS Bonaventure (Clan Line)
Built
1919
HMS Montclare (Canadian Pacific)
HMS Wolfe (ex Montcalm)
(Canadian Pacific)
1921
1920
1922
1942
Conversion
to destroyer depot ship in
1940
to destroyer depot ship in
1940
to midget sub depot ship in
1942
to sub depot ship in 1942
to sub depot ship in 1942
Fate
Mercantile Clan Davidson post
war, Scrapped 1948
Scrapped 1948
Scrapped 1958
Scrapped 1958
Scrapped 1952
Freighter and Liner conversions (unfortunately no models!)
Eleven merchant ships were turned into general repair ships,
six of which were liners – Westernland (ex Regina, built for
the Dominion Line of Liverpool but owned by Holland
America Line in 1939), P&O’s Ranpura (conversion not
completed until 1946) and four of Cunards 1921-24 A class
intermediate liners, Weyland (ex Antonia) (1942), Artifex
(ex Aurania) (1944), Ausonia (1944) & Alaunia (September
1945). Apart from the Antonia, the Cunard and P&O liners
were initially conscripted as Armed Merchant Cruisers
(AMC) as were the A class liners Ascania and Andania with
the latter sunk in 1940 and the former continuing as a
troopship then LSI(L), roles for which she was better suited.
The liner conversions, which typically took about two years
HMS Ranpura
to complete, were substantial and irreversible such that only
Ascania managed a post-war return to merchant service.
As of September 1939 the RN’s submarine depot ships were
deployed as follows: HMS Forth with the 2nd Flotilla of ten
boats was at Dundee, HMS Titania (6th Flotilla, 6 boats,
Blyth), HMS Cyclops (3rd Flotilla, 9 S class) and HMS
Alecto (5th Flotilla, 8 boats). Overseas HMS Maidstone was
in the Mediterranean with 10 boats of the 1st Flotilla and
HMS Medway was in the Far East with 13 boats of the 4th
Flotilla. With HMS Medway (1928) sunk by U372 in June
1942, the elderly ex monitor M29 (built 1915) changed her
current name of HMS Talbot to HMS Medway II in 1943
when she took on the role of a submarine depot ship.
-4-
HMS Wolfe
Ship
HMS Resource*
HMS Medway
Built
1928
1929
HMS Maidstone
HMS Forth
1938
1939
HMS Adamant
1942
HMS Artifex* (ex
Aurania)
1924
Notes
Repair ship
China station in 1939, then
Mediterranean 1940
Re-named HMS Defiance in
1972
Eastern fleet until 1944
AMC in 1940, converted to
heavy repair ship in 1942-44
Fate
Scrapped 1954
Sunk 30/6/42 by
U372
Scrapped 1978
Scrapped 1985
Scrapped 1970
Scrapped 1961
Models
Argonaut (AR)-124
AR -107, Superior (Su)
Anker 04, AR -123
AR -130, Mountford (2
versions)
MB-M001, MM-N 300P,
Oceanic (OC)-200
Hein Muck* (HM)296
* aka Degen models
Modelled RN WW2 Repair* and Submarine Depot Ships (mainly new builds)
War construction was mainly repair/maintenance vessels and
comprised the 10,000 ton Empire type, seven of which were
maintenance ships, sixteen 8,580 ton Head/Ness type, six of
which were depot ships for landing craft, including familiar
names such as Hartland Point, Girdleness and Mull of Kintyre
(a minesweeper support ship at Singapore in the 1960s) and
from mid-1944 to 1946 two ex USN ARs under lend lease,
HMSs Assistance (ex AR17) and Diligence (ex AR18); three
more were earmarked for transfer but were retained by the
USN. A full list of these may be found in British and Empire
Warships of the Second World War by HT Lenton (published
1998), an excellent book and the successor to the author’s
smaller volumes for Ian Allan.
HMS Resource
Ship
HMS Woolwich
HMS Tyne
HMS Hecla (sistership to
above)
Built
1935
1941
1941
Fate
Scrapped 1962
Scrapped 1973
Sunk by U515 on 12/11/42
Models
AR-106, OC-199
Neptun-1193, Su
Su (generic model)
Modelled RN WW2 Destroyer Depot Ships (new builds)
With an impressive length of service, HMS Forth was the most long-lived of all these vessels and for the modeller provides
the option of several different appearances and two names. She was completed in May 1939 and could be distinguished from
her slightly older sistership HMS Maidstone by a second
high angle gun director on the aft superstructure. In 19391941 she served with the 2nd Submarine Flotilla based at
Dundee, Rosyth and then Holy Loch. In Feb 1941 she
deployed to Halifax, Nova Scotia supporting five submarines
(four RN T class and the French Surcouf being used on
convoy protection duties) then briefly escort vessels. The 2nd
and 3rd Submarine Flotillas combined in December 1941 and
HMS Forth returned to Holy Loch remaining there until 1945
moving on to Rothesay in 1947. In 1948 she sailed to Malta
usually being moored in Msida Creek. HMS Forth spent 12
years in the Mediterranean including providing relief for
Greek earthquake victims in 1953 and in 1956 being the
HMS Forth in 1960, prior to refit
Headquarters ship at Port Said for the Naval Officer-inCharge during the Suez Crisis. Sometime during or prior to the Malta period the ship’s appearance was changed in that a
large transverse structure was fitted forard of the funnel (see picture) and the huge life raft each side of the bridge was
replaced by two smaller ones. Janes FS of 1961 also confirms that by 1960 the forward HA DCT had been removed.
Returning home in October 1960 she was refitted at Chatham 1962-1966 to support nuclear submarines giving us a third
appearance – main guns removed, aft superstructure deck level raised, large black water tanks installed forard of the funnel,
lattice mast fitted. HMS Maidstone had been similarly modernised in 1959-62. HMS Forth’s next deployment was to
Singapore from 1966-1971, with the 7th Submarine Squadron, after which she returned to Devonport. Also at Singapore in
1966, and the subject of a Skytrex 1/1250 model, was the heavy repair ship HMS Triumph, a former aircraft carrier
converted to her new role between 1958 and 1965. At Devonport and supporting the 2nd Submarine Squadron, in February
1972 HMS Forth was re-named HMS Defiance and pictured then the black water tanks have gone. During this period only
the first six SSNs would have been alongside so only HMS Dreadnought or the Valiant class. She was finally placed on the
disposal list in April 1978 and in July 1985 HMS Forth/Defiance arrived at the Medway to be scrapped after 47 years of
valuable service.
-5-
Argonaut HMS Forth
Currently available is Neptun’s HMS Tyne
Argonaut HMS Medway
Argonaut HMS Woolwich
Original HM model of HMS Artifex, now available
from AH models as HM296W
Argonaut HMS Resource
Mountford HMS Forth in the 1950s
and 1960s
JULY/AUGUST 2010 – THE RN IN 1957
Back in 1957 and living in Malta there was little more impressive than the rows of RN warships in Sliema Creek and Grand
Harbour, not to mention my father’s ship HMS Forth, a submarine depot ship berthed in M’sida Creek with her mainly WW2
era submarines. I can remember how excited we all were when the first with a new streamlined conning tower – HMS
Totem - arrived. Janes Fighting Ships (JFS) of 1957/58, then in its 60th year of issue, describes a Royal Navy in the midst of
significant change with the prospect of its first nuclear powered submarine HMS Dreadnought and missile armed destroyers
of the County class. Returning to Gosport in 1958, the
battleship HMS Vanguard was still in Portsmouth harbour
as was the incomplete aircraft carrier HMS Leviathan
whose engines eventually ended up in the Argentinian ‘25
de Mayo’. Meanwhile father’s next ship was to be HMS
Tiger, lead ship of the RN’s final cruiser class. So for this
issue the intention is to perform a mini fleet review circa
1957 both in full size and miniature, concentrating on ships
under construction at that time.
JFS 1957/58 records an RN of about 400 vessels manned
by 12,500 personnel; also mentioned is a UK warship
building capability of thirteen major shipyards and a Lloyds
Register listing of 5,508 British ships. The warship total
HMS Tiger, one of the RN’s last three conventional cruisers
featured many of WW2 construction and included sixteen
aircraft carriers, five battleships (none in service), twenty three cruisers, fifty plus submarines and over 180 destroyers &
frigates.
-6-
CONSTRUCTION 1947 - 1957
Ordered as far back as 1942, HMS Eagle was eventually completed in 1951, entering service the following year. As built she
had much the layout of a wartime carrier - axial flight deck and near centreline lifts plus a heavy AA armament of sixteen
4.5” guns in eight turrets and over fifty 40mm Bofors. She was given an interim 51/2 degree angled flight deck and mirror
landing aid during a refit in 1954/55 and from 1959 to 1964 reconstructed.
HMS Ark Royal was laid down in 1943 (about seven months after the Eagle) but not completed until 1955. Time was taken
to accommodate the latest developments in carrier aviation in the form of a side lift, slightly angled flight deck (just 5 1/2
degrees) and steam catapults (the RN’s first). Space was still found for a full gun armament (as per HMS Eagle) although in
1956 the forward 4.5” turrets were removed to provide a clearer flying area. In 1959 the side lift, which sat across the flight
deck, was dispensed with as were most of the remaining guns (this state has not been modelled). Between 1966 and 1970
she was modernised.
Ordered towards the end of the war, the
three ships of the Centaur class - HMSs
Albion, Bulwark & Centaur - were
completed in 1953/54 as conventional
fixed wing carriers, with thirty two
40mm Bofors. HMS Centaur entered
service in 1953 with a nominal angled
flight deck - a 5 1/2 degree angle
painted on the deck - although the other
HMS Ark Royal depicted in 1955 by ‘Westfalia’ (model in resin),
two were built with an interim angled
deck of 5 3/4 degrees by means of extra deck plating at the expense of three twin Bofors mounts. In the late 1950s HMS
Centaur was refitted with steam catapults and she served as a carrier until 1966. Between 1959 and 1962 Albion and
Bulwark were converted to commando carriers with
fixed wing paraphernalia such as catapults and
arrestor wires removed. The Triang/Hornby models,
all essentially identical, represent Albion and
Bulwark as completed.
The most modern and indeed last conventional RN
destroyers were those of the Daring class completed
in 1949 – 1951. The new decade saw a number of
‘Wiking’ models of HMSs Daring and Leopard
frigate programmes with the ships concerned being
specialist types: Air Defence (AD), Anti-Aircraft
(AA) or Anti-Submarine (AS); of the latter the Blackwoods (Type 14) were less well armed and designated 2nd rate. The
Explorer class were experimental high speed submarines powered by hydrogen peroxide and quoted as ‘at more than 25
knots probably the fastest in the world’. This speed was two knots more than the figure given for USS Nautilus, the first
USN nuclear submarine, completed in 1955 and seven knots faster than USS Seawolf (March 1957). Preparing the way for
the Seaslug missile was the trials ship HMS Girdleness with her unique triple missile launcher.
NOTES ON THE MODELS
All five carriers are available from Skytrex but in later guises/post modernisation. In production and available at the time of
writing are the models by MBM, Mountford (Mt) and Albatros (ALK). Websites such as www.waterline-ships.co.uk and
www.shipmodels.co.uk are worth checking plus of course a swapmeet visit can bring both new and second-hand
discontinued items
Ship/Class
HMS Eagle
HMS Ark Royal
HMS Centaur
HMS Albion
HMS Bulwark
Weapon class (of 4)
Daring Class (8)
Salisbury class (4) (Type 61)
Leopard class (4) (Type 41)
Whitby class (6) (Type 12)
Blackwood class (12) (Type 14)
Explorer class (2)
Type
Aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
destroyer
destroyer
AD frigate
AA frigate
AS frigate
AS frigate
submarine
Completed
1951
1955
1953
1954
1954
1947-48
1949-51
1953-55
1954-57
1954-57
1953-57
1954-56
Table 1 Construction 1947 - 1957
-7-
Model (s)
Westfalia 1
Westfalia 2
Triang
Triang
Triang
Trident Alpha 21, MBM
Triang, WM, ALK302
Skytrex, MBM
WM, Skytrex
Triang, Hansa S64, Mt
Star R122, Skytrex
MBM
A rare ‘Oceanic’ 1/1200 model of HMS Girdleness
Tribal and Whitby class frigates by ‘Delphin’ and
‘Hansa’ respectively
THE NEXT GENERATION
HMS Hermes was laid down in 1944 as the fourth of the Centaur class but due to the significant modifications applied during
her construction has always been considered separately. Five particular features were added to the original design namely a
6 1/2 degree angled flight deck, side lift, Type 984 ‘Searchlight’ radar atop an enlarged island, steam catapults and mirror
landing aid. She was completed in 1959. HMS Victorious was completed in 1941 but is included here by virtue of her reconstruction, virtually a re-build, from 1950 to 1958 at Portsmouth Dockyard which gave her all the latest features such as a
8 3/4 degree angled flight deck (the first in a
British carrier), steam catapults and the
ubiquitous Type 984 radar.
Armament
comprised six twin US Mk 33 3” guns and a
single Mk 6 40mm Bofors.
Laid down in 1941/42 but with work suspended
for many years pending re-design, the three
ships of the Tiger class, HMSs Tiger, Lion and
HMS Hermes as a fixed wing carrier (retro-conversion from
Blake were completed in March 1959, July
Skytrex model with ski-jump)
1960 and March 1961 respectively. Originally
intended to have nine 6” and ten 4”, they ended
up with four 6” and six 3” with astonishingly high rates of fire of 20 rpm and 120 rpm; during a families day off Portsmouth
in 1960 these were demonstrated albeit in short bursts.
Having built four new classes of specialist frigates it was decided
that a more flexible option would be a General Purpose (GP) type.
This led to the Tribal class the first of which was ordered in 1956.
The type incorporated a number of new features: the ability to
carry & operate an ASW helicopter (the Wasp), guided missiles
(two quad Seacat) and combined steam & gas (COSAG) turbines
for main propulsion. The latter needed a second funnel for
exhaust gases giving the RN their only two funneled frigate. Gun
armament was two single 4.5” guns and eventually a pair of
20mm; all but one (HMS Zulu) were temporarily fitted with 40mm
guns in place of the delayed Seacat. ASW armament was the
Limbo mortar.
Designed during the mid 1950s, the County class destroyers were
the first RN ships with a missile main armament (Seaslug). The
1956 design envisaged two twin 4.5” guns, a twin Seaslug launcher, 40mm guns, ASW torpedo tubes and a Limbo. The two
ASW weapons were abandoned in favour of an ASW helicopter (Wessex) and hangar. The 40mm were replaced by quad
Seacats. Propulsion was COSAG. The first ship, HMS Devonshire was laid down in 1959 and completed in 1962. HMSs
Hampshire, Kent and London were completed in 1963. The last four were fitted with Seaslug Mk 2 with HMSs Glamorgan
and Fife completed in 1964 and HMSs Antrim and Norfolk completed in 1970.
Tribal class frigate HMS Gurkha
Ship/Class
HMS Hermes
HMS Victorious
Tiger class (of 3)
Type
carrier
carrier
cruiser
Status in 1957
due for completion 1958
conversion due end 1957
due for completion 1959
County class (8)
destroyer
first under construction
Tribal class (7) (Type 81)
HMS Dreadnought
Porpoise class (8)
Brave Borderer class
GP frigate
submarine
submarine
patrol boat
under construction
ordered
first just completed
under construction
Model(s) (* = illustrated)
convert from Skytrex*
Anker 25, Skytrex, Mountford*
Hansa S75*, Skytrex, ALK301/b, Mountford,
NN-CAD – HMS Blake
Hansa S102, Skytrex, ALK85a*, Triang,
Mountford
Skytrex, Delphin D15*
Fleetline FS11*, (Star R3*)
(Star R4)
Hansa S225
Table 2 The Next Generation
-8-
NOTES ON THE MODELS
Fleetline FS11 is spot on for HMS Dreadnought but Star R3 at
280’ is the right length for the Valiant class which came next.
Similarly R4 although listed as Oberon class is best used for the
Porpoise class. Unfortunately the two submarine models will be
hard to find but yet may be added to the MBM range
(www.waterline-ships.co.uk) which does include some later
Two Dreadnought models with the ‘Fleetline’
classes such as Trafalgar and Astute. HMS Hermes has been
version nearer
produced by both Albatros (ALK 98) and Skytrex but in both cases
as in 1982 with Sea Harrier ski-jump. As can be seen from the illustration it is possible (using the Skytrex kit version
please!) to saw off the ski-jump, fill in the flight deck and create a ‘fixed wing carrier’ version. Anker 25 of HMS
Victorious is rare but also under-scale – one to avoid, which will not be difficult.
Mountford HMS Victorious
Hansa’s depiction of HMS Tiger
ALK85a is the Albatros model of HMS Kent as completed
Delphin 1/1250 model of a Tribal class frigate
OCTOBER 2013 – THE RN BY TRIANG
With production starting in 1958, the original 1/1200 Triang range provided useful coverage of the then current Royal Navy
(RN) including some vessels otherwise hard to find in small scale. Here we will concentrate on the types covered and for a
more general description of the Triang range (both ancient and modern) including the merchant ships please see the Guide to
Waterline Ships published by Traplet or look at www.triangminicships.com .
Capital Ships
Leading off with the last RN battleship, HMS Vanguard was laid in October1941, launched in November 1944 but not
completed until August 1946. The four 15”
turrets came from the battlecruisers Glorious and
Courageous which had been converted to aircraft
carriers in the 1920s. The 15” Mk 1 guns may
have been old but they were known to be reliable
and by modifying the turrets to increase
elevation a range of about 36,000 yards could be
achieved.
Secondary armament comprised
sixteen 5.25” DP guns plus over seventy 40mm
A Triang HMS Vanguard which has suffered some
Bofors.
A handsome vessel, the author
paint loss over the years
witnessed HMS Vanguard being towed from
Portsmouth in August 1960 when she made a
determined attempt to have a last drink at the Still and West. There have been other models by Albatros, Delphin & Atlas (in
1/1250) but somehow the Triang version
best captures the ship’s imposing
appearance.
Ordered towards the end of the war, the
three ships of the Centaur class - HMSs
Albion, Bulwark & Centaur - were
completed in 1953/54 as conventional fixed
wing carriers. HMS Centaur entered service
in 1953 with a nominal angled flight deck -
Centaur; the blue colour suggests pre-1960 manufacture
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a 5 1/2 degree angle painted on the deck - although the other two were built with an interim angled deck of 5 3/4 degrees by
means of extra deck plating. In the late 1950s HMS Centaur was refitted with steam catapults and she served as a carrier
until 1966. Between 1959 and 1962 Albion and Bulwark were converted to commando carriers. The three Triang models
represent Albion/Bulwark as completed although we also have the rare commando carrier version of HMS Albion with a
printed paper helicopter deck glued on the flight deck. Not issued commercially, these were especially commissioned when
the ship was converted and were intended as gifts to each member of the ship's crew.
M741
M751
M752
M753
HMS Vanguard
HMS Bulwark
HMS Centaur
HMS Albion
-M761
M762
HMS Albion, commando carrier
HMS Swiftsure
HMS Superb
Arguably the last RN cruisers, the eight vessels of the Minotaur class were authorised in 1941 with just three completed
before the war ended, namely HMSs Swiftsure, Superb & Minotaur with the latter transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy as
HMCS Ontario on completion in 1944 (scrapped in 1960). Of the remainder, three were subsequently completed to an
entirely different design as the Tiger class and two were broken up incomplete circa 1946. Triang give us the first two RN
ships with the real equivalents scrapped 1960-62, just as the Tigers were entering service.
If collecting originals don’t be fooled by the 1970s Hornby Minic re-issues which included Vanguard and Bulwark. These
were made in Hong Kong and featured a red plastic waterline complete with ‘glidewheels’. Always check underneath,
because even if the waterline section has been
removed, the casting will still bear a ‘Made in
Hong Kong’ mark. Having said that, they are
perfectly good models in their own right.
Destroyers
Next we have four models of the Battle class
destroyer of which the ‘1942 Group’ of 16 were
Often the fate of a Triang, HMS Hampshire has been ‘upgraded’
completed between September 1944 and
with new masts, turrets and Seaslug launcher
December 1946. The ‘1943 Group’ of eight
which includes the two named RN Triangs was
completed in 1947/48. Finally two were built for the Royal Australian Navy completing in 1950/51. These were followed
by the Daring class of eight completed 1952 – 54 for which there are four models, distinguished by different names engraved
underneath. Three Darings were built in Australia for the RAN in 1958/59. The County class (of eight) were our first guided
missile destroyers with the huge Seaslug surface to air missile fitted aft (plus eventually Seacats amidships), the former’s
finale being when the Mk2 version was launched against land targets in the Falklands War of 1982.
M779
M780
M781
M782
HMS Alamein
HMS Jutland
HMAS Anzac
HMAS Tobruk
M771
M772
M773
M774
HMS Daring
HMS Diana
HMS Dainty
HMS Decoy
M783
M784
M785
M786
HMS Hampshire
HMS Kent
HMS Devonshire
HMS London
The RN’s last conventional destroyer designs represented by HMSs Daring and Jutland
Frigates
Working chronologically the earliest vessels represented are wartime destroyers of the V class as converted to fast antisubmarine frigates in 1951 – 54. Two types are covered namely those with open bridges (o/b) and later versions with closed
bridges (c/b). A total of 23 ships were so converted and designated Type 15 including HMS Undaunted which gave the
author a taste of life at sea in 1964; probably why he later joined the RAF! The Whitby class of six Type 12 anti-submarine
frigates were completed 1954 – 57 and were the design predecessors of a modified version designated the Rothesay class (9
vessels) and the subsequent general purpose Leanders (Type 12M – 26 vessels).
M787
M788
M789
M790
HMS Vigilant (o/b)
HMS Venus (o/b)
HMS Virago (c/b)
HMS Volage (c/b)
M791
M792
M793
M794
HMS Whitby
HMS Torquay
HMS Blackpool
HMS Tenby
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Destroyers coverted to frigates – HMSs Vigilant and Volage
Triang HMS Blackpool; the real ship was completed in
1958 and scrapped in 1978
Submarines
The ‘A’s were the last of the WW2 submarines classes with none seeing active service and 16 completed post war. HMS
Affray was lost in 1951. Originally fitted with a deck gun, between 1955-60 they were modernised with an enlarged conning
tower and the gun removed. One, HMS Alliance, survives at the Submarine Museum in Gosport and is currently undergoing
a much needed refit. Triang had a model of each version.
M817
M818
HM submarine A class
HM submarine A class reconstructed
Minor Warships
The numerically huge Ton class were the RN’s main minesweeper force with the ships also used as patrol vessels for
example during the confrontation between Malaysia and Indonesia in the early 1960s. Some were modernised with an
enclosed bridge although the Triang model, of which there were eight named ships are the open bridge version.
M799
M800
M801
M802
HMS Repton
HMS Dufton
HMS Ashton
HMS Calton
M803
M804
M805
M806
HMS Picton
HMS Sefton
HMS Upton
HMS Wiston
Auxiliaries
In this category we have the large RMAS tug Turmoil, the Royal Yacht Britannia (in traditional blue and as a hospital ship)
plus for completeness a large floating drydock which dimensionally could be used to represent any of Admiralty Floating
Drydocks (AFD) 9/23/35. The model also has a passing resemblance to AFD 11 which was at Portsmouth from 1940 to
1959 where she was the only dock capable of taking HMS Vanguard.
M810
M885
M721
M721H
HM tug Turmoil
Floating Dock
HM Yacht Britannia
HM Yacht Britannia hospital ship
Triang floating drydock
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End of an era as HMS Vanguard departs Pompey for the last time
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ‘GUIDE TO WATERLINE MODEL SHIPS’
The first issue of the guide was compiled in 1990 and was based on a series of eight articles published in Marine Modelling
magazine during 1989. In producing a booklet it was possible to include much additional detail and to provide listings for
certain manufacturers whose ranges were out of production and whose models would therefore not be listed in dealers’
catalogues. Issue 1 then contained listings for Eagle*, Ensign, Hornby Minic/Rovex*, Airfix*, Casadio*, Triang*, Delphin,
Hansa, Star and Wiking. Issue 2 (which appeared in 1996) repeated those
asterisked and added full lists for Len Jordan Models, Pedestal, Fleetline and
Nelson. With UK collectors in mind, all British models produced by a
further eighteen manufacturers were listed in tables.
Issue 3 appeared in 1999, followed five years later by Issue 4 which was
available on CD only but added a digital photo library. Issue 5 in 2008/09
heralded the pdf download version with many new images. With all issues
most entries are reviewed and of course new manufacturers added.
Courtesy of Marine Modelling International (see www.traplet.com, then
'Online shop', then 'Marine Modelling', then 'Books') Issue 6 (2010) is the
first for many years to find its way into print. With new models constantly
appearing (and going out of production) it can only be a snapshot at the time
of writing so please refer to the monthly MMI-Waterlines column for all the
latest news and that extra level of detail re ships and models. Issue 6 was last
amended in January 2010.
The author continues to maintain the Guide with updated issues always in hand.
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