Back to the Blog: Predreadnought Photos 15: SpanAm

Back to the 'Blogface', with hopefully a bit more regularity after a period of enforced absence; hoping to ease my way back in to things somewhat gradually, so please indulge the rather soft post, namely another foray into the Pre-Dred photo collection.

These views are all of Spanish-American War U.S. vessels, and I think are unusual in that they show the ships in their wartime grey, rather than the white peace-time scheme so often seen in photos of the time.

Just to kick things off, a quick view of the vessel that started all the ruckus, namely the USS Maine, seen above in a colourised postcard view in a tragically sorry state after being raised as a wreck in 1911-1912.

The photo is by Harris and Brothers, Havana, and is subtitled "as it appeared at 25 foot level". Sadly, the remains of 36 crewmen were found in the wreck, which was re-sunk having been posing a threat to navigation in her original position.

The always informative Spanish American War website has an excellent article here:

http://www.spanamwar.com/mainsalv.htm

First up then, a close-up from a stereographic view from 1898 by B.L. Lingley of the USS Brooklyn on her return from the war at Hampton Roads . Interpreting colour from black and white photography can be problematic, but I think the white flying bridge is a nice guide to provide the contrast showing the wartime grey; the majority of photos of these vessels seem to be from during the 'Victory tour' post the conflict, when they had been spruced up back in their white, so interesting to get a sense of how they actually went into battle:

Moving on, another stereographic close-up, this time the Battleship Indiana, Photograph by James M. Davis for B.W. Kilburn and Co.

A nice head-on view, an Underwood and Underwood stereograph published by J.F. Jarvis, titled U.S. Battleship 'Texas' in her "War Paint":

(did someone forget to paint the bow torpedo-tube cap cover - or maybe just the sun glinting off of it?)

Finally a fine view, copyrighted in 1898 by Strohymeyer and Wyman, we have "Our Grand Battleship Oregon - aft", again from Underwood and Underwood:

A huge stars and bars flying at the stern, and a lovely angle on those gun turrets too!

More photo-sessions to come during this month, including a Chemulpo special, so stay tuned!

(Just a quick note - not too happy about this new fangled Blogger interface "click on a photo and get a slideshow with small photos" guff currently in operation- don't know if it will work for you, but I find if you position the cursor not on the photo itself, but close to its border and then click on it, you get the old style fully clickable close-up that we all know and love.)

Pre-Dreadnought Photos 14: Japanese circa 1900

Another entry into the series of original Pre-Dreadnought views now, this time with a Japanese theme, after a recent lucky score on a certain internet auction site saw me acquire a number of interesting original photographic postcards.

The cards in this post are all from a series of photographic images taken I think, in the wake of the successful Japanese involvement in actions against the Boxer Rebellion, and date to perhaps 1901 or thereabouts - I think it is likely that the cards themselves were printed later, probably to cash in on the patriotic upsurge after the all-encompassing victories of the Russo-Japanese War, where anything related to the armed forces of the plucky new Colonial power became hot property both at home and abroad.

The images are interesting in that they show the vessels in their true Pre-Dreadnought colour schemes, before the boring grey tones prevalent by 1905.

Above we have a nice characterful shot of the Battleship Yashima, and below, we see her sister-ship, the Fuji, with a clear view of the forward turret:

(Remember to click the image for a Macro view)

The cards do not display either publisher of photographer's information, but all are titled in both Japanese characters and a transliteration in Roman script, so the Fuji is subtitled 'Nippon Gunkan Fuji' - perhaps therefore, these undivided back cards were aimed at a domestic market, bearing the characters 'Hagaki' or postcard on the reverse, as is common to this era.

Next up a nice stern view of the Armoured Cruiser Tokiwa - in my view, pound for pound one of the best warships afloat circa 1900, having been designed by Philip Watts for Armstrong at Elswick:

Her sister-ship, the Asahi - both were damaged at Tsushima, the latter is reputed to have fired the final salvo that sent the Russian Battleship Borodino to her doom:

Moving down the scale somewhat, a really interesting image that must depict some sort of Naval open-day - perhaps directly in the wake of the conflict of 1900? Certainly wish I was part of the crowd headed for a guided tour of the Takachiho on the left, and the Yoshino on the right:

The Takachiho was famously lost during the siege of TsingTao in 1914, having been torpedoed by the German TBD S90.

Next up, the Takasago, with a lovely clear view of the bow crest, as well as a sentry with rifle on the foredeck!

She is accompanied by the Chiyoda, the oldest of the Japanese Armoured Cruisers, and the first to be fitted with 4.7" QF guns:

Moving swiftly along, we have the Chitose - there is a good Wikipedia page on her here, which contains a short film shot by Thomas Edison of her launch!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_cruiser_Chitose

Finally we move on to the little ships, namely a couple of Torpedo boats, first the Shinonome,

of the Murakumo class, based on the Thorneycroft 'thirty knot' design:

Then the Hayabusa, the first of four boats built by Normand in France, which were then followed by a further twelve built in Japan itself:

Both of these class of vessels were particularly active in finishing off the floundering Russian Fleet after Tsushima, and effectively destroyed any hopes that the survivors of the main battle might limp away to fight another day....

Science Museum Ship Models Part 2

More views from the Science Museum Model Ship collection now, with a firm bias toward the interesting group of early Torpedo Boat Destroyers that are on display.

As I said in the previous post, these models cover a whole range of subjects, but are united in the attention to detail and quality of materials that have been used to build them. I suspect that some of them may have been made as engineering models or apprentice pieces at a time contemporary with the original vessels, so here and there, and with the best will in the world, there is the odd piece of sagging rigging, or pile of dust that has invaded the display cases. To me though this just adds to their charm, whilst the unusual subjects, particularly those pictured in this post, are really interesting.

I find especially with torpedo craft of the pre WWI era, it is sometimes difficult to get your head around exactly how and where various torpedo tubes and launchers were positioned, as well as the secondary armament of quick firing guns - this is often of importance in various rule sets - so these models are a real boon!

To whit: HMS Daring of 1893

HM Torpedo Boat No 17 of 1907:

The amazing looking HMS Lightning - just look at the rails for loading the torpedos - now that's got to be another good candidate model for a VSF scratch-build!

and even more obscure, a Rumanian Vedette Boat, built in Britain for service on the river Danube in 1906 - equipped with a movable arm spar torpedo/ explosive charge dropper at the bow, and torpedo dropping gear at the sides - would have loved to see this in action!

Next, the super-fast Russian Sokol, again built in Britain:

and finally, just for variety, the Vasco de Gama, a Portuguese Box Battery ironclad, reminiscent of the vessels used in the War of the Pacific, 1879:

Now that's enough photos - go and enjoy them yourself next time you're in the vicinity!

Hidden Gem: Model Ships at the Science Museum

EDIT: I UNDERSTAND THAT FOR SOME WHILE THESE MODELS HAVE BEEN MOVED FROM DISPLAY - SO NO LONGER AVAILABLE TO VIEW IN LONDON, I’M AFRAID - SEE:

https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/what-was-on/shipping

A recent trip down to South Kensington in London, and the triptych of V&A, Natural History and Science Museums saw me stumble upon some hidden gems amongst the latter's collections.

Tucked out of sight at the furthest far end of the second floor away from the entrance, the Science Museum has a large collection of model ships in a number of scales, principally around perhaps 1:50th or so, spanning maritime history from the ancient to modern.

I say modern, but the reality is that in stark contrast to the cutting edge high-tech parts of the main museum, this collection is charming in its old-worldliness, with most of the exhibits having been built or donated in the late nineteenth and first half of the twentieth centuries.

Away from the bright lights of the main halls, which of course have much to entertain the scientifically minded, and more importantly away from the hordes of over-excited kids, is a small haven of naval-themed tranquility, which has much to interest those who have a yen for military shipping.

There are of course, models of civil interest, but I'd thought I'd share some photos of the more interesting naval items to whet your appetite, and recommend it as a good place to duck into if you ever have to visit the museum with family in tow; leave the tiny terrors to explore the cutting edge stuff and indulge yourself in yesteryear.......

Above we can see the charismatic HMS Arrow of 1871, which was from a class of river and coastal gunboats equipped with a 10inch MLR gun that could be raised and lowered to aid stability - the weapon had to be layed by using the rudder, so rather like a maritime version of a self-propelled gun, I suppose - anyway it would make some nice inspiration for a VSF craft, I think!

From the small, we move up the scale a bit to HMS Monarch, and below her the HMS Queen Elizabeth and then the Vanguard of 1944, the last battleship built in Britain:

These are all cracking models with a lot of detail, and are accompanied by others that include everything from 17th century galleys to Napoleonic warships and beyond - there is even a nice submarine display:

Of course, I made a beeline for all things Steam and Sail and Pre-Dreadnought in nature, but I think you could find something of interest whatever is your period of choice.

Highlights for me included HMS Eclipse of 1867:

HMS Albion:

and the pre-eminent ship of her time, HMS Warrior:

I thoroughly recommend discovering this somewhat dusty and neglected corner of the museum for yourself - I know I certainly enjoyed these relics of a gentler age whilst the rest of my party was in the 'Interactive Internet Interconnectivity Zone' or wherever......

Stay tuned for some more pics from what was on show, next time with Pre-Dreadnought era torpedo boats very much to the fore.

Pre-Dreadnought Photos: Part 13

A bumper pre-Christmas treat for all you Pre-Dreadnoughters out there, in the shape of another instalment in this occasional series of views from my postcard and image collection. Nothing fancy as such, nor with any particular theme this time around, but just some interesting views from either side of 1900.

Above, to kick things off, a nice posed shot of a Royal Marine crew practising with a 6" gun - no clue as to the vessel, I'm afraid....

Next a lovely shot of the French Battleship Charles Martel, with nifty, almost Art-Deco style font for her nameplate on this post-card view:

A slightly smaller vessel now, in this Gale and Polden postcard image entitled 'A piquet boat armed with Whitehead torpedoes' - I love the Heath Robinson nature of this - I don't know if this image actually shows such a practical deployment of weapons like these, or is merely a view of a test firing; certainly the jack tars belaying the torpedo with ropes don't really make for an efficient launcher!

Belching smoke and with a bonkers level of bow wave, (I've heard of 'running awash', but this is ridiculous...), a German postcard shows just why such attacks were often hit-and-miss affairs - "Target, what target - all I can see is spray, Herr Kapitan!"

Talking of belching smoke, a cracking colourised image from a French postcard by A. Bougault, showing the firing of a 27cm gun; don't know on what ship, but likely a fairly early contender:

Following up, another, more posed view of the loading of a piece on the Redoubtable by Edition Giletta of Nice - some notes on this Central Battery ship can be found here, alongside a slightly different angle photo of this same gun:

http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/redoubtable.htm

Continuing with the French, a nicely detailed image of the Jaureguiberry:

followed by the Admiral Aube:

Next, ploughing (literally) her way into the Adriatic no doubt, the Italian Re Umberto class Battleship the Sicilia:

Turning to the East, a nice early image of the HIJMS Mikasa, with a good view of the characteristic identification stripes on the funnels:

She is accompanied by the Chitose; a clear depiction of the Japanese doctrine of lots of Quick-Firing guns, ranged along her broadside:

and finally, that veteran of the China station, flying the flag for the Royal Navy, HMS Barfleur:

Pre-Dreadnought Photos: Part 12

An American flavour, now, to the latest instalment of Pre-dred pics, in this case colourised Postcard views of various U.S. Navy vessels from around the turn of the century.

The colourisation means that you shouldn't take the colour schemes as Gospel, but nevertheless, I think some clear and interesting images.

(Remember, they are all clickable for a zoomed, Macro view.)

Above we have a stern view of the Armoured Cruiser Brooklyn, tied up at New York, and showing lines that are very reminiscent of the Varyag, built in the U.S. for the RJW-era Russian Navy.

A veteran of both Santiago Bay and the Boxer Rebellion deployment, she was re-commissioned during the First World War in order to add to the American naval presence in the North Atlantic.

Next up, we have a view of the Armoured Cruiser USS Pennsylvania, launched in 1903 from the Cramp's yard, she was renamed the Pittsburgh in 1912, and soldiered on until 1931:

Moving on, we have the Armoured Cruiser the Colorado, of the same class, which was also renamed during her career, this time as the Pueblo; there's a good summary of her life at the battleships-cruisers website:

http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/uss_colorado.htm

Another view of the Brooklyn here, this time from the bows, with another Cruiser in the background; these cards are from The Illustrated Postal Card Company of New York, circa 1910:

Moving up a class, we have the Battleship USS Kearsage next, which having been launched in 1898, apparently survived all the way until 1955, albeit in the guise of a Floating Crane ship!

Nice view of the turret-upon-turret design here - can't imaging what it was like for the gun crew in the primary when those secondaries gave fire just above....

Moving on, we have a view of the Armoured Cruiser USS Washington, launched 1905, part of the Tennessee class of improved vessels:

Now a representation of the Battleship Vermont of 1905; there's a nice web page concerning her weapons complement that can be seen here:

http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_7-45_mk2.htm

Next up, we have another veteran of the Span-Am War, and at least at the time of writing, the last surviving of her type - the Cruiser USS Olympia - hopefully she can be retained as a floating Museum, rather than be scuttled after all these years......what a waste!

The authoritative record of why she deserves her reputation can be found here at the Span-Am War website:

http://www.spanamwar.com/olympia.htm

Next we have the Bainbridge Class Destroyer, the USS Decatur; there's a good Wiki page with all her info here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Decatur_(DD-5)

Surprisingly, for a small vessel that had cruised extensively in the Far East and Philippines, she was transferred to the rough waters of the Atlantic for convoy duty at the tail end of 1918:

Finally, we have a nice colourised depiction of that strangest of weapon-platform craft, namely the Dynamite gun armed USS Vesuvius (aptly named....):

There is an explanatory entry at the excellent Span-Am War site as below:

http://www.spanamwar.com/vesuvius.htm

The 15" weapons fired an explosive charge through an 'explosion' of compressed air; propelling the mixture of nitrocellulose and nitroglycerine out to a range of one and a half miles!

At least that was the theory......

Certainly a unique vessel - it's a shame, but I don't think any 1/3000th manufacturer makes a model of one. :-)