Dan-ton! Dan-ton!

[ed*b]

Just sent off my order and very much looking forward to receiving the first of the Great War French ships, the Danton class predreadnoughts.

If Danton today, can Radetsky be far behind?

[Donald M. Scheef]

With three classes of French WWII battleships (and one class of destroyers) scheduled for this year, I hope for a corresponding set of Austro-Hungarian ships next year. Radetzky matches up to Danton, Tegetthoff to Courbet, and the incomplete ersatz-Monarch to Bretagne. To match the Boucher class destroyers, GHQ might consider the Austrian Tatra or Huszar classes.

I would also like to see the French releases continue with some of their armored cruisers and a start of Italian WWI ships.

Don S.

[TAMMY]

As a collector I agree on the Austro-Hungarian and Italian dreadnoughts, but from the historical point of view it would be better to have cruisers and destroyers.

All the actions of the war were conducted by light ships with very few exceptions.

In any case the Austro-Hungarian fleet never left the Adriatic sea and the capital ships remained most of the time in harbour. The only main mission of the dredanoghts (an attack to the barrage at Otranto) was done on 10 June 1918 and was stopped by the sinking of the SMS Szent Istvan by an Italian MTB.

As you surely know also the SMS Viribus Unitis was sunk by a special torpedo - called "Mignatta: a sort of human torpedo -.while in harbour at Pola on November 1st, 1918.

[Mikee]

I've been taking a look at a reprint of JANES WWI book, to see what additional French ships might be worth while. The French had several classes of armored cruiser, most of them one=offs, it looks like. A good selection might be the earliest class in the book (5 ships, I think) and the last (2 ships - six funnels each). Most of their destroyers seem to have been unique; there was one class of 12, as i remember, but each builder seems to have had its own design. In summary, there doesn't seem to much for GHQ to add to a core French WWI fleet. Maybe that means that the Italians and/or Austrians will be coming "soon."

What do you think?

It's funny to already be thinking ot the '12 - '13 list, when I've just received my Dantons and Lions.

Incidentally,does anyone have good port and/or starboard pictures or drawings of USS Milwaukee in her MS12m camouflage? The only picture I've seen is a really poor port side, as i remember, & this is the only pre-war U.S. cruiser I haven't painted. I may have to do it in pre-war MS1.

[Donald M. Scheef]

The last class of French armored cruisers was the Edgar Quinet class. As described, this was a class of two ships and they had the impressive total of six funnels.

The French class of five armored cruisers was the Glore class.

For GHQ producing these classes, one significant positive point is that I don't think that anyone else produces them (not even PanzerSchiffe resin).

With respect to the fact that individual ships in French destroyer classes had different appearances; this was not unusual at the time. The same is true of many of the British destroyer classes, up to and inclucing the Vs & Ws. The major problem with modeling French destroyer classes is that many of them were very small classes. I would suggest considering these classes for production:
- Arabe class: Good thing is that this is a uniform class of 12 ships. Bad things are that they were late-war (not completed until 1917 or 1918), bult in Japan (but this allows collecting the Japanese Kaba class), and relatively small (considered "second-class" destroyers by the Japanese)
- Chasseur class: four ships, some difference between individual ships, but definitely different from Bouclier class.
- Spahi class: seven ships, some difference between individual ships, but definitely different from Bouclier and Chasseur

Other French ships of the era that I would recommend (based mostly on their presence at the Dardinelles) are:
- Charles Martel class battleships (actually five separate ships of similar but not identical design)
- Charlemaign class battleships
- battleship Henri IV
- battleship Suffren
- armored cruiser Jeanne d'Arc
- Amiral Charner class armored cruisers

Don S.

[dragon6]

The last class of French armored cruisers was the Edgar Quinet class. As described, this was a class of two ships and they had the impressive total of six funnels.

The French class of five armored cruisers was the Glore class.

For GHQ producing these classes, one significant positive point is that I don't think that anyone else produces them (not even PanzerSchiffe resin).

Panzerschiffe does the Edgar Quinet class. Not even Molniya do the Gloire.

Funnels were a French cruiser thing

[Donald M. Scheef]

Although for a real profusion of funnels, you could look at the original design for the Lexington class battlecruisers.

Don S.