Invincible Class Battlecruisers

[jabba]

Great work al!

To me it's unbelievable just how quickly a new artist can just pick this up and be so good, it took me some time 'honing' my skills before attempting Dreadnought.

[al1194]

HMS Indomitable, 1912

HMS Indomitable as she appeared in 1912.

Indomitable’s fore funnel was heightened in an attempt to clear the bridge of smoke. Other changes include the remounting of the 24in searchlight and the fitting of an extra yard on the foremast. The range indicators were removed, and the forward control top was rebuilt with a narrow face. Blast screens were added around the 4in guns on A and Y (fore and aft) turrets to increase the protection afforded to those mounts.

[KimWerner]

Fine thread

[al1194]

HMS Invincible, 1912

HMS Invincible as she appeared in 1912.

Invincible’s range indicator was removed, her 24in searchlight was remounted abaft of the fore funnel, and an extra yard on the foremast was fitted. Blast screens were added around the 4in guns on A and Y (fore and aft) turrets to increase the protection afforded to those mounts. An additional pair of 36in searchlights was fitted on an extended platform abeam the fore funnel.

[jabba]

Lovely job!

[eswube]

Excellent!

[Charybdis]

Exsquisite!

[al1194]

I've been away for a couple weeks with real world business, but here is the next update to this series!

HMS Invincible, 1914

HMS Invincible as she appeared during the Battle of the Falkland Islands on December 8, 1914.

By 1914, Invincible’s torpedo nets had been removed, and her foretop was rebuilt as on her sisters. Director control was fitted for the main armament, placed on the platform below the foretop. Her topgallants were removed, and her secondary armament was redistributed—the 4 in guns previously mounted on A and Y turrets were removed and remounted in the forward superstructure, one pair above the fore pair of 4 in guns and the second pair below the boat deck. All 4 in guns in the forward superstructure were plated in, and the open gallery of the superstructure was largely enclosed. At the outbreak of war, the funnel recognition bands were painted out. Prior to the Falklands action, anti-rangefinder spirals were fitted on Invincible’s masts. She flies the flag of Vice-Admiral Doveton Sturdee, commanding the battlecruiser squadron during the Falkland Islands engagement.

In late 1913, Invincible was attached to the newly organized 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron, and in 1914 she was made flagship of the 2nd BCS, consisting of Invincible herself and the battlecruiser New Zealand. On August 28, 1914, Invincible led the 2nd BCS into the Battle of Heligoland Bight, supporting the withdrawal of the Harwich Light Forces. Invincible engaged and sunk the German cruiser Koln during this action. In September, Invincible was transferred to the 1st BCS Grand Fleet, and participated in frequent patrols of the North Sea. In October she was transferred back to the 2nd BCS, and patrolled off the Shetland Islands during the Atlantic crossing of the First Canadian Contingent.

On November 4, immediately following the news of the disastrous defeat at the Coronel Islands by the German Overseas Squadron, Invincible and Inflexible were detached as a special squadron for operations against Count Von Spee’s force. Invincible was relieved as flagship of the 2nd BCS by New Zealand, and the two battlecruisers made ready in Devonport. On November 11, the two battlecruisers, under the command of Vice-Admiral Doveton Sturdee aboard Invincible, weighed anchor for the South Atlantic. Invincible and Inflexible rendezvoused with the cruisers Cornwall, Kent, Carnarvon, Bristol, and Glasgow, and reached Port William in the Falkland Islands on December 7.

Early in the morning, while Invincible and Inflexible were coaling, the German squadron was spotted approaching the harbor. Von Spee, realizing immediately that British heavy units were now in the area, retreated with his squadron. The battlecruisers made steam, and at 10:20 general chase was ordered. Invincible opened fire on the German cruiser Leipzig at 12:58, and soon afterwards the German light cruisers broke away to the southwest. The British cruisers gave chase, while the two battlecruisers focused on the heavier German cruisers—Gneisenau and flagship Scharnhorst. Invincible and Inflexible generally stayed out of range of the German cruisers, unloading heavy 12 in shells into the two German ships. The Scharnhorst sank first, capsizing at 16:10, followed by Gneisenau at 18:02. Throughout the action, Invincible had drawn most of the enemy fire and was hit 22 times, but suffered no casualties and no serious damage. The action off the Falklands demonstrated the lethal effectiveness of the battlecruiser when employed in the mission it was intended for—cruiser hunting.

[acelanceloet]

may I suggest taking a look at other hull shading styles? what you are doing is not that wrong, but it gives so little information other then 'this side is the bottom and the skeg is underneath that'

[bezobrazov]

As for the Falklands flagged rendition, see Jabba's earlier version. That's the correctly flagged one. What you show is the Invincible post-battle

Also, it should be noted that, while Invincible was lucky in this engagement, the battle was not nearly as lop-sided as your brief description make it look as. Many of the shell hits on the Invincible were, in fact, serious enough to raise very many concerned eyebrows, though, of course, the immediate victory euphoria among the British public effectively quenched any attempts to even consider rectifying the exposed weaknesses, with fatal consequences for the 'Ur'-battlecruiser herself some 18 months' later.