Shipbucket

nice cruiser you have there.

Nice camo job B.B. I have tried and failed to do a decent camo job on numerous occasions, yours looks just right.

Very nice work.

Very nice cruisers! At a quick glance though I thought the Amaranth was an armed transport ship, perhaps due to the camo and the handling cranes.

Extremely conjectural still but I think it's getting there... Seagull, Albatross, Pelican and Gannet. 9,999t seaplane tenders to skirt around the WNT limits for aircraft carriers.
Designed as floating airbases and Intended for use as large colonial sloops and presence ships east of Suez they were still partially coal fired due to ease of obtaining solid fuel over fuel oil.
Armament is limited to 130mm DP guns and a slew of AA guns to keep weight within limits. Design speed is around 29 knots on 60k SHP, optimum cruise range is around 11-12,000 nautical miles.
Their original air complement as built would be a pack of Arado Ar-95s after the outbreak of hostilities they'd receive their N-3PBs (complete with folding wings - somehow). Service would be mainly in the Indian and Pacific Oceans with the large seaplane tenders Aspinall, Hardwicke, Holden and McIntosh along with a variety of escorts. Whilst not true aircraft carriers they gave good service against merchant shipping and submarines.

Gannet and Pelican would be sunk during the fall of Singapore and battle of the Java Sea leaving Albatross and Seagull to carry on their work.
Albatross would end her war returning PoWs from the Far East after a distinguished career there whilst Seagull would return to the Atlantic and Western Approaches in time for D-Day and the invasion of Norway spending the remainder of the war keeping U-Boats away from invasion shipping.

Both the Arado Ar-95 and N-3PBs would remain in service the entire war with the N-3PB receiving some alterations including a more powerful engine and ASV radar as well as upgrading their 20mm cannon to 23mm and the ability to fire rocket projectiles.
Other aircraft would see service on them from time to time including the odd He-115 (Ex-Norwegian and Swedish examples) for rearming and refuelling.

~Mark.

A very interesting design. Curious to see it in its finished form.

Click Me

I've updated some stuff on the first page, namely shipping running from the early independence era up until the end of the second world war. Take a gander!

~Mark.

Amazing Blackbuck. Your is possibly the AU with the best and largest background work we have here at the moment.

The current drawing on the drawing board. The treaty-skirting Model 1925s. Built nominally to 9,999t they were outpaced by the speed of aircraft development limiting their usefulness. They did however find work as convoy escorts during the next war.

Fair way still to go with the drawing before I sign it off, so keep that in mind. I will also be doing a wartime depiction of them sans the 5.1/5.5s with better AAA and radar.

~Mark.

Its a good start B.B.

My main concern would be the lack of freeboard, the boats and stern look like they could do with a bit more height above water.