Military Papercraft Model Bristol BEAUFIGHTER MK VI F

Bristol BEAUFIGHTER MK VI F Paper Model

Type 156 Beaufighter

The Bristol Beaufighter papercraft model is also the name of a car produced by Bristol Cars in the 1980s.

Type 156 Beaufighter
Beaufighter, armed with rockets
Role Heavy fighter / strike aircraft
Manufacturer Bristol Aeroplane Company
First flight 17 July 1939
Introduction 27 July 1940
Retired 1960 (Australia)
Primary users Royal Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
Produced May 1940 – 1946
Number built 5,928
Developed from Bristol Beaufort



The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter, often referred to as simply the Beau, was a British long-range heavy fighter modification of the Bristol Aeroplane Company's earlier Beaufort torpedo bomber design. The name Beaufighter is a portmanteau of "Beaufort" and "fighter".

Unlike the Beaufort, the Beaufighter had a long career and served in almost all theatres of war in the Second World War, first as a night fighter, then as a fighter bomber and eventually replacing the Beaufort as a torpedo bomber. A unique variant was built in Australia by the Department of Aircraft Production (DAP) and was known in Australia as the DAP Beaufighter. paper model

Design and development papercraft model

The idea of a fighter development of the Beaufort was suggested to the Air Ministry by Bristol. The suggestion coincided with the delays in the development and production of the Westland Whirlwind cannon-armed twin-engined fighter. By converting an existing design the "Beaufort Cannon Fighter" could be expected to be developed and produced far quicker than starting a completely fresh design. Accordingly the Air Ministry produced specification F.11/37 written around Bristol's suggestion for an "interim" aircraft pending proper introduction of the Whirlwind. Bristol started building a prototype by taking a part-built Beaufort out of the production line. The prototype first flew on 17 July 1939, a little more than eight months after the design had started and possible due to the use of much of the Beaufort's design and parts. A production contract for 300 machines had already been placed two weeks before the prototype flew, as F.17/39.

In general the differences between the Beaufort and Beaufighter were minor. The wings, control surfaces, retractable landing gear and aft section of the fuselage were identical to those of the Beaufort, while the wing centre section was similar apart from certain fittings. The bomb-bay was omitted, and four forward-firing Hispano 20 mm cannons were mounted in the lower fuselage area. These were initially fed from 60-round drums, requiring the radar operator to change the ammunition drums manually — an arduous and unpopular task, especially at night and while chasing a bomber. As a result, they were soon replaced by a belt-feed system. The cannons were supplemented by six 0.303 inch (7.7 mm) Browning guns in the wings; four in the starboard wing and two to port. The areas for the rear gunner and bomb-aimer were removed, leaving only the pilot in a fighter-type cockpit. The navigator / radar operator sat to the rear under a small perspex bubble where the Beaufort's dorsal turret had been located.

The Bristol Taurus engines of the Beaufort were not powerful enough for a fighter and were replaced by the more powerful Bristol Hercules. The extra power presented problems with vibration; in the final design they were mounted on longer, more flexible struts, which stuck out from the front of the wings. This moved the centre of gravity (CoG) forward, a bad thing for an aircraft design. It was moved back by shortening the nose, as no space was needed for a bomb aimer in a fighter. This put most of the fuselage behind the wing, and moved the CoG back where it should be. With the engine cowlings and propellers now further forward than the tip of the nose, the Beaufighter had a characteristically stubby appearance.

Production of the Beaufort in Australia, and the highly successful use of British-made Beaufighters by the Royal Australian Air Force, led to Beaufighters being built by the Australian Department of Aircraft Production (DAP), from 1944 onwards. The DAP's variant was an attack/torpedo bomber, known as the Mark 21: design changes included Hercules CVII engines, dihedral to the tailplane and enhanced armament.

By the time British production lines shut down in September 1945, 5,564 Beaufighters had been built in England, by Bristol and also by Fairey Aviation Company, (498) Ministry of Aircraft Production (3336) and Rootes (260).

When Australian production ceased in 1946, 365 Mk.21s had been built.

Operational service
Bristol Beaufighter Mk 1 in No. 252 Squadron, North Africa

By fighter standards, the Beaufighter Mk.I was rather heavy and slow. It had an all-up weight of 16,000 lb (7,000 kg) and a maximum speed of only 335 mph (540 km/h) at 16,800 ft (5,000 m). Nevertheless this was all that was available at the time, as the otherwise excellent Westland Whirlwind had already been cancelled due to production problems with its Rolls-Royce Peregrine engines.

The Beaufighter found itself coming off the production line at almost exactly the same time as the first British Airborne Intercept (AI) radar sets. With the four 20 mm cannons mounted in the lower fuselage, the nose could accommodate the radar antennas, and the general roominess of the fuselage enabled the AI equipment to be fitted easily. Even loaded to 20,000 lb (9 t) the plane was fast enough to catch German bombers. By early 1941 it was an effective counter to Luftwaffe night raids. The various early models of the Beaufighter soon commenced service overseas, where its ruggedness and reliability soon made the aircraft popular with crews.

A night-fighter Mk VIF was supplied to squadrons in March 1942, equipped with AI Mark VIII radar. As the faster de Havilland Mosquito took over in the night fighter role in mid to late 1942, the heavier Beaufighters made valuable contributions in other areas such as anti-shipping, ground attack and long-range interdiction in every major theatre of operations.

In the Mediterranean, the USAAF's 414th, 415th, 416th and 417th Night Fighter Squadrons received 100 Beaufighters in the summer of 1943, achieving their first victory in July 1943. Through the summer the squadrons conducted both daytime convoy escort and ground-attack operations, but primarily flew defensive interception missions at night. Although the Northrop P-61 Black Widow fighter began to arrive in December 1944, USAAF Beaufighters continued to fly night operations in Italy and France until late in the war.

By the autumn of 1943 the Mosquito was available in enough numbers to replace the Beaufighter as the primary night fighter of the RAF. By the end of the war some 70 pilots serving with RAF units had become aces while flying Beaufighters.

Coastal Command

1941 saw the development of the Beaufighter Mk.IC long-range heavy fighter. This new variant entered service in May 1941 with a detachment from No. 252 Squadron operating from Malta. The aircraft proved so effective in the Mediterranean against shipping, aircraft and ground targets that Coastal Command became the major user of the Beaufighter, replacing the now obsolete Beaufort and Blenheim.

Coastal Command began to take delivery of the up-rated Mk.VIC in mid 1942. By the end of 1942 Mk VICs were being equipped with torpedo-carrying gear, enabling them to carry the British 18-inch or the US 22.5-inch torpedo externally. The first successful torpedo attacks by Beaufighters came in April 1943, with No. 254 Squadron sinking two merchant ships off Norway.

The Hercules Mk XVII, developing 1,735 hp at 500 feet, was installed in the Mk VIC airframe to produce the TF Mk.X (Torpedo Fighter), commonly known as the "Torbeau." The Mk X became the main production mark of the Beaufighter. The strike variant of the "Torbeau" was designated the Mk.XIC. Beaufighter TF Xs would make precision attacks on shipping at wave-top height with torpedoes or RP-3 rockets. Early models of the Mk Xs carried metric-wavelength ASV (air-to-surface vessel) radar with "herringbone" antennae carried on the nose and outer wings, but this was replaced in late 1943 by the centimetric AI Mark VIII radar housed in a "thimble-nose" radome, enabling all-weather and night attacks.

The North Coates Strike Wing (Coastal Command), based at RAF North Coates on the Lincolnshire coast, developed attack tactics combining large formations of Beaufighters on anti-flak suppression with cannon and rockets while the Torbeaus attacked on low level. These tactics were put into practice in mid 1943 and in a 10-month period 27,000 tonnes of shipping were sunk. Tactics were further adapted when shipping was moved from port during the night. North Coates Strike Wing operated as the largest anti-shipping force of the Second World War, and accounted for over 150,000 tons of shipping and 117 vessels for a loss of 120 Beaufighters and 241 aircrew killed or missing. This was half the total tonnage sunk by all strike wings between 1942-45.

Pacific war
Beaufighter of No. 30 Squadron RAAF over the Owen Stanley Range, New Guinea, 1942.(AWM OG0001)

The Beaufighter arrived at squadrons in Asia and the Pacific in mid-1942. It has often been said — although it was most probably a propaganda invention — that Japanese soldiers referred to the Beaufighter as "whispering death", supposedly because attacking aircraft often were not heard (or seen) until too late. (The Beaufighter's Hercules engines featured sleeve valves which lacked the noisy valve gear common to poppet valve engines. This was most apparent in a reduced noise level at the front of the engine.)

South east Asia

In the South-East Asian Theatre the Beaufighter Mk VIF operated from India on night missions against Japanese lines of communication in Burma and Thailand. The high-speed, low-level attacks were highly effective, despite often atrocious weather conditions, and makeshift repair and maintenance facilities.

South west Pacific

Before DAP Beaufighters arrived at Royal Australian Air Force units in the South West Pacific theatre, the Bristol Beaufighter Mk IC was employed in anti-shipping missions.

The most famous of these was the Battle of the Bismarck Sea in which they co-operated with USAAF A-20 Bostons and B-25 Mitchells. No. 30 Squadron RAAF Beaufighters flew in at mast height to provide heavy suppressive fire for the waves of attacking bombers. The Japanese convoy, under the impression that they were under torpedo attack, made the fatal tactical error of turning their ships towards the Beaufighters, leaving them exposed to skip bombing attacks by the US medium bombers. The Beaufighters inflicted maximum damage on the ships' anti-aircraft guns, bridges and crews during strafing runs with their four 20 mm (0.787 in) nose cannons and six wing-mounted .303 in (7.7 mm) machine guns. Eight transports and four destroyers were sunk for the loss of five aircraft, including one Beaufighter.

Postwar

From late 1944, RAF Beaufighter units were engaged in the Greek Civil War, finally withdrawing in 1946.

The Beaufighter was also used by the air forces of Portugal, Turkey and the Dominican Republic. It was used briefly by the Israeli Air Force.

Variants

Beaufighter Mk IF
Two-seat night fighter variant.

Beaufighter Mk IC
The "C" stood for Coastal Command variant; many were modified to carry bombs.

Beaufighter Mk II
However well the Beaufighter performed, the Short Stirling bomber program by late 1941 had a higher priority for the Hercules engine and the Rolls Royce Merlin XX-powered Mk II was the result.

Beaufighter Mk IIF
Production night fighter variant.
Beaufighter Mk III/IV
The Mark III and Mark IV were to be Hercules and Merlin powered Beaufighters with a new slimmer fuselage carrying an armament of 6 cannon and 6 machine guns which would give performance improvements. The necessary costs of making the changes to the production line led to the curtailing of the Marks. [1]

Beaufighter Mk V
The Vs had a Boulton Paul turret with four 0.303 machine guns mounted aft of the cockpit supplanting one pair of cannons and the wing-mounted machine guns. Only two Mk Vs were built.

Beaufighter Mk VI
The Hercules returned with the next major version in 1942, the Mk VI, which was eventually built to over 1,000 examples.

Beaufighter Mk VIC
Torpedo-carrying variant dubbed the "Torbeau".

Beaufighter Mk VIF
This variant was equipped with AI Mark VIII radar.

Beaufighter Mk VI (ITF)
Interim torpedo fighter version.

Beaufighter TF Mk X
Two-seat torpedo fighter aircraft. The last major version (2,231 built) was the Mk X, among the finest torpedo and strike aircraft of its day.

Beaufighter Mk XIC
Built without torpedo gear for Coastal Command use.

Beaufighter Mk 21
The Australian-made DAP Beaufighter. Changes included Hercules CVII engines, a dihedral tailplane, four 20 mm in the nose, four Browning .50 in the wings and the capacity to carry eight five-inch High-Velocity Aircraft Rockets (HVAR), two 250 lb bombs, two 500 lb bombs and one Mk13 torpedo.

Beaufighter TT Mk 10
After the war, many RAF Beaufighters were converted into target tug aircraft.

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Ki-46-III KAI DINAH

Mitsubishi Ki-46

 

Ki-46
A Mitsubishi Ki-46 "Dinah" in flight.
Role	Twin-engine reconnaissance aircraft
Manufacturer	Mitsubishi
First flight	September, 1939
Introduction	July, 1941
Retired	1945
Primary user	Imperial Japanese Army Air Force
Number built	1,742

The Mitsubishi Ki-46 was a twin-engine reconnaissance aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II. Its Army Shiki designation was Type 100 Command Reconnaissance Aircraft (一〇〇式司令部偵察機); the Allied nickname was "Dinah".

Contents

• 1 Development and design
• 2 Operational history
• 3 Survivors
• 4 Variants
• 5 Operators
• 6 Specifications (Ki-46-II)
• 7 See also
• 8 References
• 9 External links

Development and design

On 12 December 1937, the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force issued a specification to Mitsubishi for a long-range strategic reconnaissance aircraft to replace the Mitsubishi Ki-15. The specification demanded an endurance of six hours and sufficient speed to evade interception by any fighter in existence or development, but otherwise did not constrain the design.^[1]
The resulting design was a twin-engined, low-winged monoplane with a retractable tailwheel undercarriage. It had a small diameter oval fuselage which accommodated a crew of two, with pilot and observer situated in individual cockpits separated by a large fuel tank. Further fuel tanks were situated in the thin wings both inboard and outboard of the engines, giving a total fuel capacity of 1,490 L (328 imperial gallons). The engines, two Mitsubishi Ha-26, were housed in close fitting cowlings developed by the Aeronautical Research Institute of the Tokyo Imperial University to reduce drag and improve pilot view.^[1][2]

Mitsubishi Ki-46-III white painted with a green cross on the rear fuselage as a sign of surrender, captured by KNIL forces on October 3, 1945. Menado, Celebes.

The first prototype aircraft, with the designation Ki-46, flew in November 1939 from the Mitsubishi factory at Kakamigahara, Gifu, north of Nagoya.^[3] Tests showed that the Ki-46 was underpowered, and slower than required, only reaching 540 km/h (336 mph) rather than the specified 600 km/h (373 mph). Otherwise, the aircraft tests were successful. As the type was still faster than the Army's latest fighter, the Nakajima Ki-43, as well as the Navy's new A6M2, an initial production batch was ordered as the Army Type 100 Command Reconnaissance Plane Model 1 (Ki-41-I).^[2]
To solve the performance problems, Mitsubishi fitted Ha-102 engines, which were Ha-26s fitted with a two stage supercharger, while increasing fuel capacity and reducing empty weight to give the Ki-46-II, flying in March 1941. This met the speed requirements of the original specification, and was ordered into full-scale production, with deliveries starting in July.^[4][5]
Although at first the Ki-46 proved almost immune from interception, the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force realised that improved Allied fighters such as the Supermarine Spitfire and P-38 Lightning could challenge this superiority, and in July 1942, it instructed Mitsubishi to produce a further improved version, the Ki-46-III.^[6] This had more powerful, fuel-injected Mitsubishi Ha-112 engines, and a redesigned nose, with a fuel tank ahead of the pilot and a new canopy, smoothly faired from the extreme nose of the aircraft, eliminating the "step" of the earlier versions. The single defensive machine gun of the earlier aircraft was also omitted. The new version first flew in December 1942, demonstrating significantly higher speed (630 km/h (391 mph) at 6,000 m (19,700 ft).^[7] The performance of the Ki-46-III, proved superior to that of the aircraft intended to replace it (the Tachikawa Ki-70), which as a result did not enter production.^[8]
In an attempt to yet further improve the altitude performance of the Ki-46, two prototypes were fitted with exhaust driven turbosupercharged Ha-112-II-Ru engines, flying in February 1944, but only two prototypes of this version were built^[9]
Mitsubishi factories made a total of 1,742 examples of all versions (34 units Ki-46-I, 1093 units Ki-46-II, 613 units Ki-46-III, 4 units Ki-46-IV）during 1941-44.^[10]

 

Operational history

This aircraft was first used by the Japanese Army in Manchukuo and China, where seven units were equipped with it, and also at times by the Japanese Imperial Navy in certain reconnaissance missions over the northern coasts of Australia and New Guinea.
The Japanese Army used this aircraft for the same type of missions (which were not authorized) over present-day Malaysia during the months before the Pacific War. Later, it was used over Burma, Indochina and Thailand, and in operations over the Indian Ocean.
In 1944-45, during the last days of the war, it was modified as a high-altitude interceptor, with two 20 mm cannons in the nose and one 37 mm (1.46 in) cannon in an "upwards-and-forwards" position - almost like the Luftwaffe's Schräge Musik night fighter cannon emplacements - for fighting USAAF B-29 Superfortresses over the metropolitan Japanese islands. It lacked stability for sustained shooting of the 37 mm (1.46 in) weapon, had only a thin layer of armour plating, lacked self-sealing fuel tanks, and was slow to climb.
The Ki-46 was also assigned to two whole Sentai (wings/groups), as well as individual Chutaicho (junior operational commanders) in the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service, during the Pacific War.
The Allies captured some examples during the conflict which were then repaired and flown for evaluation purposes.

Survivors

Mitsubishi Ki-46-III (Army Type 100 Command Reconnaissance Plane) at RAF Cosford.

The only known survivor is a Ki-46-III Army Type 100 example, currently on display at Royal Air Force Museum Cosford.

Another picture from the Mitsubishi Ki-46 at RAF Cosford.

Variants

(note:- The Shiki designations must be used in full, as written below, because the Type number only refers to the year of the designs inception.)

Army Type 100 Command Reconnaissance Plane

The Shiki designation for the Ki-46 Command Reconnaissance Plane

Army Type 100 Air Defence Fighter

The Shiki designation for the Ki-46 Interceptor Fighter

Army Type 100 Assault Plane

The Shiki designation for the Ki-46 Assault Plane

Ki-46

Prototype.

Ki-46 I

Reconnaissance version of the Ki-46.

Ki-46 II

The first operational model of the series.

Ki-46 II KAI

Three-seat training version of the Ki-46. Used for radio and navigation training, with a redesigned cabin, dorsal echeloned extension. Conversions of the Ki-46 II.

Ki-46 III

Ki-46 III-KAI

Defense interceptor/night fighter version of the Ki-46. Equipped with two 20 mm cannons in the nose and one 37 mm (1.46 in) cannon in the "Schräge Musik"-style dorsal frontal position.

Ki-46 III

Land strike version of the Ki-46, without 37 mm (1.46 in) cannon armament.

Ki-46 IIIb

Ground-attack version.

Ki-46 IIIc

Unbuilt design project.

Ki-46 IV

Prototype, equipped with two turbocharged 1,119 kW (1,500 hp) Mitsubishi Ha-112-IIru engines, and more gasoline store capacity.

Ki-46 IVa/b

Series models of reconnaissance/fighter aircraft, unbuilt design projects

 

Operators

 France

• French Air Force - Captured aircraft.

 Japan

• Imperial Japanese Army Air Force
• Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service

 People's Republic of China

• Chinese Communist Air Force Two captured Ki-46s in communist Chinese hands served as a ground-attack aircraft and a trainer respectively, and the last Ki-46 retired in early 1950s.

Specifications (Ki-46-II)

Data from Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War^[11]

General characteristics

• Crew: 2 (pilot and observer)
• Length: 11.00 m (36 ft 1 in)
• Wingspan: 14.70 m (48 ft 2¾ in)
• Height: 3.88 m (12 ft 8¾ in)
• Wing area: 32.0 m² (344 ft²)
• Empty weight: 3,263 kg (7,194 lb)
• Loaded weight: 5,050 kg (11,133 lb)
• Max. takeoff weight: 5,800 kg (12,787 lb)
• Powerplant: 2 × Mitsubishi Ha-102 Army Type 1 14-cylinder radial engines, 807 kW (1,080 hp) (take-off) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 604 km/h (326 knots, 375 mph) at 5,800 m (19,000 ft)
• Cruise speed: 400 km/h (217 knots, 249 mph)
• Range: 2,474 km (1,337 nmi, 1,537 mi)
• Service ceiling: 10,720 m (35,200 ft)
• Wing loading: 157.8 kg/m² (32.3 lb/ft²)
• Climb to 8,000 m (26,250 ft): 17 min 58 sec

Armament

• Guns: 1× rearward-firing 7.7 mm (.303 in) Type 89 machine gun

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

• Nakajima J1N

Related lists

• List of aircraft of World War II

 

References

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Air International November 1980, p. 227.
2. ^ ^{a b} Francillon 1979, pp. 169–170.
3. ^ Francillon 1979, p. 170.
4. ^ Air International November 1980, p. 230.
5. ^ Francillon 1979, pp. 170–171.
6. ^ Francillon 1979, p. 172.
7. ^ Air International November 1980, pp. 231–232.
8. ^ Francillon 1970, p. 257.
9. ^ Air International November 1980, p. 232.
10. ^ Francillon 1979, p. 176.
11. ^ Francillon 1979, pp. 176–177.

Bibliography

• Francillon, Ph.D., Réne J. Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1970. ISBN 0-370-00033-1. 2nd edition 1979. ISBN 0-370-30251-6.
• Green, William. Warplanes of the Second World War, Volume Three: Fighters. London: Macdonald & Co. (Publishers) Ltd., 1961. ISBN 0-356-01447-9.
• Gunston, Bill. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Combat Aircraft of World War II. London: Salamander Books Ltd., 1978. ISBN 0-89673-000-X
• "Mitsubishi Ki. 46...the Aesthetic Asiatic". Air International, November 1980, Vol 19, No 6. Bromley, UK: Fine Scroll. ISSN 0306-5634. pp. 227–233.

 

HMS Rodney

HMS Rodney (29)

Rodney in May 1942
Career (UK)
Name:	HMS Rodney
Namesake:	Admiral Lord Rodney
Ordered:	1922
Builder:	Cammell Laird, Birkenhead
Cost:	£7,617,799
Laid down:	28 December 1922
Launched:	17 December 1925
Sponsored by:	Princess Mary
Completed:	August 1927
Commissioned:	10 November 1927
Decommissioned:	1946
Struck:	1947
Identification:	Pennant number: 29
Motto:	Non Generant Aquilae Columbas (Latin) "Eagles do not breed doves"
Nickname:	Rodnol
Fate:	Sold for scrap, 26 March 1948
General characteristics (as completed)
Class & type:	Nelson-class battleship
Displacement:	33,730 long tons (34,270 t) standard 37,430 long tons (38,030 t) standard (full load)
Length:	710 ft 2 in (216.5 m) overall
Beam:	106 ft (32.3 m)
Draught:	31 ft (9.44880000 m)
Installed power:	45,000 shp (34,000 kW) 8 Admiralty 3-drum oil-fired boilers
Propulsion:	2 shafts 2 Brown-Curtis geared turbine sets
Speed:	23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph)
Range:	14,500 nmi (26,900 km; 16,700 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement:	1,314 (1,361 as flagship)
Armament:	3 × 3 - 16-inch Mk I guns 6 × 2 - 6-inch Mk XXII guns 6 × 1 - QF 4.7-inch Mk VIII anti-aircraft guns 8 × 1 - 2-pounder anti-aircraft guns 2 × 1 - 24.5-inch (620 mm) torpedo tubes
Armour:	Belt: 13–14 in (330–356 mm) Deck: 4.375–6.375 in (111–162 mm) Barbettes: 12–15 in (305–381 mm) Gun turrets: 9–16 in (229–406 mm) Conning tower: 10–14 in (254–356 mm) Bulkheads: 4–12 in (102–305 mm)

HMS Rodney (pennant number 29) was one of two Nelson-class battleships built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1920s. She was named after Admiral Lord Rodney. The Nelsons were unique in British battleship construction, being the only ships to carry a main armament of 16 inch (406 mm) guns, and the only ones to carry all the main armament forward of the superstructure (as her superstructure was located aft of midships like RN fleet oilers, whose names carried the '-ol' suffix, she was unofficially referred to as "Rodnol"). Commissioned in 1927, Rodney served extensively in the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean during World War II.
She played a major role in the sinking of the German battleship Bismarck in May 1941. During and after the Torch and the Normandy landings, Rodney participated in several coastal bombardments. In poor condition from heavy use and lack of refits, she was scrapped in 1948.

Contents

• 1 Design
• 2 Construction and commissioning
• 3 Service
  • 3.1 The Bismarck
  • 3.2 Force H
• 4 Notes
• 5 References
• 6 External links

Design

Known as 'Queen Anne's Mansions' on account of the bridge structure bearing some resemblance to the well-known London block of flats, or 'Cherry Tree Class' because they were designed as larger ships but 'cut down' by the Washington Treaty of 1922, the design was limited to 35,000 tons and showed certain compromises. To accommodate 16-inch main guns in three turrets, all of the turrets were placed forward and the vessel's speed was reduced and maximum armour was limited to vital areas. Even with the design limitations forced on the designers by the treaty, the Rodney and Nelson were regarded as the most powerful battleships afloat until the new generation of all big gun ships was launched in 1936.

Construction and commissioning

Rodney was laid down on 28 December 1922, the same date as her sister ship Nelson. She was built at Birkenhead by Cammell-Laird shipyard. Launched in December 1925, she was commissioned in November 1927, three months behind her sister. Her construction cost £7,617,000. Her captain in 1929 was Lieutenant Commander (later Admiral) George Campell Ross, son of Sir Archibald Ross, a marine engineer and pioneer of shipbuilding.^{[citation needed]}

Service

From commissioning until World War II broke out in September 1939, Rodney spent her entire time with the British Atlantic Fleet or Home Fleet. In 1931, her crew joined the crews of other ships in taking part in the Invergordon Mutiny. In late December 1939, she was under refit and repair because she was having steering gear problems.
She was damaged by German aircraft at Karmøy, near Stavanger on 9 April 1940 when hit by a 500 kg (1,103 lb) bomb that pierced the armoured deck, but did not explode.^[1] On 13 September 1940, she was transferred from Scapa Flow to Rosyth with orders to operate in the English Channel when the German invasion of Britain was expected. In November and December, she did convoy escort duties between Britain and Halifax, Nova Scotia. In January 1941, she participated in the hunt for the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, with no success. On 16 March, however, while escorting a convoy in the North Atlantic, she made contact with the German battleships, but no battle followed, as the German ships turned away when they realized that they were facing superior firepower.

The Bismarck

Main article: Last battle of the battleship Bismarck

In May 1941, while commanded by (then) Commodore Frederick Dalrymple-Hamilton, Rodney and four destroyers were escorting the troop ship RMS Britannic to Canada; the Britannic was taking civilians over to Canada, and would be bringing Canadian troops back to Britain. It was during this run on 24 May that she was called by the Admiralty to join in the pursuit of the German battleship Bismarck leaving the destroyer HMS Eskimo to escort the Britannic and taking HMS Somali, HMS Mashona, HMS Tartar (F43) with her in the search. Despite Admiral Sir John Tovey in King George V heading northwest due to a misinterpreted signal from the Admiralty, Dalrymple-Hamilton and his own 'Operations Committee' consisting of Captain Coppinger, his Navigator Lt.Cmdr. Galfrey George Gatacre RAN, USN Naval Attache' Lt.Cmdr. Gus Wellings and Executive Officer, Cmdr. John Grindle, decided it was most likely that Bismarck was headed to Brest and so set course to the East to head Bismarck off, 'at some stages exceeding her designed speed by two knots' despite her engines being in need of an overhaul.^[2] On 26 May, she joined up with King George V, as Admiral John Tovey had realised the mistake and doubled back. Tovey then sent the 3 remaining destroyers home because they were low on fuel, and had Rodney fall in behind King George V for the battle against the Bismarck the next day. On the early morning of 27 May 1941, along with the battleship King George V and the cruisers Norfolk, and Dorsetshire, she engaged the Bismarck, which had had its rudder machinery damaged by a torpedo launched by Ark Royal's Swordfish bombers the day before. Unable to manoeuver and listing to port, Bismarck scored no hits before her forward guns were knocked out, after which Rodney closed with Bismarck until she was firing essentially a flat trajectory, and spotters could actually follow the shells to the target. One 16 in (406.4mm) shell was tracked from the gun to where it hit the face of Bismarck's #2 turret Bruno and exploded, blowing out the back of the turret with the splinters killing most of the crew on the bridge. Rodney fired 340 16" shells, some in 9-gun broadsides and 716 6" shells during the battle, scoring many hits from a range of under 3000 yards, inflicting most of the damage suffered by Bismarck whose stern was blown off. During the battle Rodney also fired twelve 24.5" torpedoes at her whilst zig-zagging across Bismarck's bows, mostly with no hits but later, one hit Bismarck amidships on the starboard side, thus being the only battleship in history to have successfully torpedoed another battleship.^[3] Rodney and King George V finally broke off the action and then Dorsetshire was ordered to finish Bismarck off with torpedoes. Rodney and King George V were ordered home short of fuel and were unsuccessfully attacked by Luftwaffe bombers who sank Mashona but missed Tartar with whom the battleships had rejoined.

Force H

HMS Rodney adds her weight of shells to the Navy's pounding of enemy positions along the Caen coast, 7 June 1944

After this, she went to the South Boston Navy Yard in Boston, Massachusetts, for repairs to her engines and the fitting of more quad "Pom-Pom" AA guns which she had been carrying in crates on the deck throughout the battle . This is significant because the United States would not formally enter the war for several months and the stateside docking of the Rodney illustrated the US government's true sympathies in the growing global conflict. Since the repairs would take several weeks to complete, the Rodney's crew was furloughed to local Civilian Conservation Corps camps. In the interim, some members of the crew struck up lasting relationships with American civilians.^[4][5]
In September 1941 Rodney was stationed with Force H in Gibraltar, escorting convoys to Malta. In November, she returned home, and was stationed in Iceland for a month. Then she underwent refit and repair until May 1942. After the refit, she returned to Force H, where she again escorted Malta convoys and took part in Operation Torch, the invasion of Northwest Africa. She was subsequently involved with the landings in Sicily and Salerno. From October 1943, she was in the Home Fleet, and took part in the Normandy invasion in June 1944, where she was controlled from the headquarters ship HMS Largs off Sword Beach, her tasks included a 30 hour operation firing an occasional shell 22 miles inland to prevent a Panzer division from crossing a bridge.^[6]
She also destroyed targets at Caen and Alderney. On June 7, 1944 a collision between the Rodney and LCT 427 resulted in the loss of 13 Royal navy seamen.^[7] In September 1944, she performed escort duties with a Murmansk convoy.
During the entire war Rodney steamed over 156,000 nautical miles (289,000 km) with no engine overhaul after 1942. Because of her frequent machinery problems and the fact that she had not been upgraded to the extent that her sister Nelson had, starting in December 1944, she became the flagship of Home Fleet in Scapa Flow and rarely left her mooring. She was finally scrapped starting 26 March 1948 at Inverkeithing.^[8]

Notes

1. ^ "Reports of Proceedings 1921-1964", G.G.O. Gatacre
2. ^ "HMS Rodney", Iain Ballantyne, Pen & Sword Books, ISBN 978 1 84415 406 7
3. ^ "Reports of Proceedings 1921-1964", G.G.O. Gatacre, Nautical Press & Publications,ISBN 0 949756 02 4
4. ^ "N.H. Connection to the Sinking of the Bismarck". May 2007. Wright Museum. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
5. ^ "Reports of Proceedings 1921-1964", G.G.O. Gatacre
6. ^ "obituaries:Commander Dan Duff". Daily Telegraph. 8 November 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
7. ^ BBC online
8. ^ Siegfried Breyer: "Schlachtschiffe und Schlachtkreuzer 1905-1970", Karl Müller 1993, p. 196

References

• Ballantyne, Iain (2008). H.M.S. Rodney. Ships of the Royal Navy. Barnsley, UK: Pen and Sword. ISBN 978-1-84415-406-7.
• Brown, David K. (2003). The Grand Fleet: Warship Design and Development 1906–1922 (reprint of the 1999 ed.). London: Caxton Editions. ISBN 1-84067-531-4.
• Brown, David K. (2006). Nelson to Vanguard: Warship Design and Development 1923-1945. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 1-59114-602-X.
• Burt, R. A. (1993). British Battleships, 1919-1939. London: Arms and Armour Press. ISBN 1-85409-068-2.
• Parkes, Oscar (1990). British Battleships (reprint of the 1957 ed.). Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-075-4.
• Raven, Alan; Roberts, John (1976). British Battleships of World War Two: The Development and Technical History of the Royal Navy's Battleship and Battlecruisers from 1911 to 1946. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-817-4.
• Gatacre, Galfrey George Ormond (1982). Reports of Proceedings 1921-1964. Manly, NSW, Aust.: Nautical Press & Publications. ISBN 0-949756-02-4.