Military papercraft ORP Conrad

ORP Conrad

 

ORP Conrad
Historia
Położenie stępki	1 grudnia 1916
Wodowanie	26 stycznia 1918
Royal Navy
Nazwa	HMS Danae
Wejście do służby	22 czerwca 1918
Marynarka Wojenna
Nazwa	ORP Conrad
Wejście do służby	4 października 1944
Wycofanie ze służby	28 września 1946
Royal Navy
Nazwa	HMS Danae
Wycofanie ze służby	1948
Los okrętu	złomowany
Dane taktyczno-techniczne
Wyporność	standardowa: 4276 t pełna: 5603 t
Długość	146,5 m
Szerokość	14,02 m
Zanurzenie	4,41 m
Prędkość	29 węzłów
Zasięg	1.480 Mm/29 w; 6.700 Mm/10 w
Załoga	462
Napęd
turbiny parowe o mocy 40 000 KM napędzające 2 śruby
Uzbrojenie
5 dział kalibru 152 mm 1 działo kalibru 102 mm 8 dział przeciwlotniczych kalibru 40 mm pom-pom (2 x IV) 12 dział przeciwlotniczych kalibru 20 mm (2 x IV; 4 x I) wyrzutnia bomb głębinowych
Multimedia w Wikimedia Commons

Model okrętu

ORP Conrad – polski lekki krążownik otrzymany po stracie ORP Dragon, uprzednio i następnie brytyjski HMS "Danae" typu D.

 

Spis treści

• 1 Historia
  • 1.1 Dookoła świata
  • 1.2 II wojna światowa
• 2 Dzieje okrętu w Polskiej Marynarce Wojennej
  • 2.1 Dowódcy
• 3 Okręty typu D
• 4 Inne jednostki o podobnej nazwie
• 5 Bibliografia

Historia

Stępkę pod pierwszy krążownik nowego typu Danae położono 1 grudnia 1916 w stoczni Armstrong Whitworth w Walker-on-Tyne, zwodowano zaś 26 stycznia 1918 roku. Był to − w chwili zakończenia I wojny światowej − jeden z najszybszych krążowników na świecie. Napędzany przez dwie turbiny parowe Brown-Curtis o mocy 39 500 Km, mógł rozwinąć prędkość 29 w. Zbiorniki o pojemności 1060 ton oleju napędowego pozwalały na przebycie 1480 Mm z prędkością 29 w. i 6700 Mm z prędkością 10 w. Okręt był opancerzony na burtach i stanowisku dowodzenia blachami stalowymi o grubości 76 mm, na zbiornikach paliwa i komorach amunicyjnych 57 mm, a na pokładzie głównym 25 mm.
Włączony w ostatnich miesiącach wojny do stacjonującego w Harwich 5 Dywizjonu Krążowników Lekkich wziął udział w kilku patrolach na Morzu Północnym, a w roku następnym na Bałtyku, gdzie wraz z siostrzanymi krążownikami HMS Dragon i HMS Dauntless wspierał Białych walczących z bolszewikami podczas wojny domowej w Rosji, jak również strzegł polskich interesów w porcie w Gdańsku.

Dookoła świata

HMS Danae w roku 1937

W roku 1923 HMS Danae wszedł w skład Specialnego Dywizjonu Royal Navy, flotylli utworzonej dla celów propagandowych. Flotylla składała się z pancerników HMS Hood i Repulse, krążowników Delhi, Dragon, Dauntless i Dunedin oraz dziewięciu innych okrętów (w większości niszczycieli). Dywizjon opuścił 27 listopada Devonport i skierował się do Freetown w Sierra Leone. Następnie odwiedził Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, East London i Durban, dokąd przybył ostatniego dnia roku. Następnego dnia okręty wyruszyły do Zanzibaru, po czym odwiedziły Trincomalee, Singapur, Albany, Adelaide, Melbourne, Hobart i Sydney, skąd popłynęły do Wellington na Nowej Zelandii. 16 maja flotylla złożyła krótką wizytę w portach Suva i Samara na Fidżi, 6 czerwca przybyła do Honolulu, 25 czerwca do Victorii i Vancouveru, a następnie do San Francisco, gdzie okręty zatrzymały się do 11 lipca 1924 roku. Tam flotylla rozdzieliła się i krążowniki lekkie ruszyły w drogę powrotną do Anglii przez Kanał Panamski, odwiedzając kilka portów w Ameryce Środkowej i na Karaibach.
W latach 1927-1929 Danae służył w 1 Dywizjonie Krążowników na Morzu Śródziemnym, po czym wrócił do Wielkiej Brytanii na remont kapitalny i modernizację. Do służby powrócił w roku 1930 i został dołączony do 8 Dywizjonu Krążowników stacjonującego w Brytyjskich Indiach Zachodnich. W 1935 roku, po wybuchu II wojny chińsko-japońskiej, eskortował konwoje z Szanghaju do Hongkongu i został ostrzelany przez okręty floty japońskiej.

II wojna światowa

W lipcu 1939 roku Danae wszedł w skład 9 Dywizjonu Krążowników, który od października operował na południowym Atlantyku i Oceanie Indyjskim. 23 marca 1940 roku wszsedł w skład Malajskiego Zespołu Uderzeniowego biorąc udział w patrolowaniu wód okalających Holenderskie Indie Wschodnie i Półwysep Malajski. Od 20 stycznia pełnił służbę eskortową na Morzu Żółtym i pomiędzu Indiami Holenderskimi i Cejlonem. 24 lutego 1941 roku przybył do Batawii, a następnie do Colombo, skąd został skierowany do Cape Town na remont.
Do służby powrócił w lipcu 1943 roku, po spędzeniu 11 miesięcy w stoczni. W marcu roku 1944 powrócił do Wielkiej Brytanii i wszedł w skład 1 Dywizjonu Krążowników. Tuż przed lądowaniem w Normandii wraz z wieloma innymi okrętami prowadził przygotowawczy ostrzał artyleryjski plaży Sword. W lipcu dywizjon został skierowany w rejon Ouistreham, by w sierpniu powrócić do Wielkiej Brytanii. Wycofany z czynnej służby, Danae został przekształcony w hulk mieszkalny w porcie Plymouth.

 

Dzieje okrętu w Polskiej Marynarce Wojennej

Podniesienie polskiej bandery

ORP "Conrad" przekazany został Polskiej Marynarce Wojennej w miejsce utraconego 8 lipca 1944 krążownika ORP Dragon. Był okrętem tego samego typu, a obsadzony został marynarzami z „Dragona”, nowa załoga okrętu nie musiała więc odbywać przeszkolenia przed rozpoczęciem na nim służby.
Początkowo okręt planowano nazwać ORP "Wilno" bądź ORP "Lwów". Nie stało się tak jednak ze względów politycznych (brytyjskie władze obawiały się sprowokowania tą nazwą władz ZSRR). Ostatecznie zdecydowano się nadać mu pod tym względem neutralną politycznie nazwę ORP "Conrad". Nazwą tą uczczono pamięć angielskiego pisarza urodzonego w Polsce, Josepha Conrada (właściwie Józefa Konrada Korzeniowskiego), którego utwory przeważnie związane były z morzem. Imię okrętu nawiązywało w ten sposób do polsko-brytyjskiej współpracy na morzu.
Przejęcia okrętu w imieniu PMW dokonał komandor Karol Korytowski, a pierwszym dowódcą został komandor Stanisław Dzienisiewicz – ostatni dowódca ORP Dragon. Pod polską banderą okręt był używany do patrolowania północno-wschodnich obszarów Atlantyku, a przez tydzień, od 7 do 14 czerwca 1945 roku pełnił dyżur nadzorujący w bazie Kriegsmarine − Wilhelmshaven, zajętej w ostatnich dniach wojny przez 1 Dywizję Pancerną generała Stanisława Maczka.
28 września 1946 roku o godzinie 15.15 opuszczono polską banderę i przekazano okręt Royal Navy. Powrócono do dawnej nazwy HMS "Danae" i skierowano do rezerwy w Falmouth, a 27 marca 1948 roku rozpoczęto złomowanie w Barrow.

Dowódcy

• Komandor Stanisław Dzienisiewicz
• komandor porucznik Romuald Nałęcz-Tymiński

Okręty typu D

ORP "Dragon", HMS "Danae" (od 04.10.1944: ORP Conrad), HMS "Dauntless", HMS "Delhi", HMS "Despatch", HMS "Diomede", HMS "Dunedin", HMS "Durban".

Inne jednostki o podobnej nazwie

• "Joseph Conrad" – fregata

Bibliografia

• Jerzy Pertek: Wielkie dni małej floty. Poznań: Wydawnictwo Poznańskie, 1976.
• Jan Piwowoński: Flota spod biało-czerwonej. Warszawa: Nasza Księgarnia, 1989. ISBN 978-83-100-8902-1.

 

HMS Danae (D44)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

For other ships of the same name, see HMS Danae.

HMS Danae underway, August 1943
Career (United Kingdom)
Name:	HMS Danae
Builder:	Armstrong Whitworth
Laid down:	1 December 1916
Launched:	26 January 1918
Commissioned:	22 July 1918
Decommissioned:	4 October 1944
Fate:	Transferred to Poland
Career (Poland)
Name:	ORP Conrad
Namesake:	Józef Konrad Korzeniowski
Commissioned:	4 October 1944
Decommissioned:	28 September 1946
Fate:	Returned to Royal Navy
Career (United Kingdom)
Name:	HMS Danae
Recommissioned:	28 September 1946
Decommissioned:	22 January 1948
Fate:	Scrapped 27 March 1948 at Barrow
General characteristics
Class & type:	Danae-class light cruiser
Displacement:	4,276 tons Full: 5,603 tons After 1924: 4,850
Length:	445 ft (136 m)
Beam:	46.5 ft (14.2 m)
Draught:	14.5 ft (4.4 m)
Propulsion:	Six Yarrow-type water-tube boilers Parsons geared steam turbines Two shafts 40,000 shp
Speed:	29 knots (54 km/h; 33 mph)
Range:	1,060 tons of oil 1,480 nautical miles (2,740 km; 1,700 mi) at 29 knots (54 km/h; 33 mph) 6,700 nautical miles (12,400 km; 7,700 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement:	462
Armament:	1918: six BL 6-inch (152.4 mm) L/45 Mark XII guns on single mountings CP Mark XIV two QF 3 inch (76.2 mm) Mk II AA guns two 40 mm QF 2 pdr "Pom-pom" AA guns twelve 21 in (533 mm) torpedoes (4 triple launchers) 1930: six BL 6-inch (152.4 mm) L/45 Mark XII guns three QF 4-inch (101.6 mm) Mk V AA guns two 40 mm 2 pdr Pom-pom AA guns twelve 533 mm torpedo launchers 1942: six 6-inch (152 mm) Mk XII guns two 4-inch Mk V AA guns six 40 mm 2 pdr Pom-pom AA twelve 533 mm torpedo launchers 1943: five 6-inch (152 mm) guns, one 4-inch (102 mm) gun 8 x 40 mm 2 pdr Pom-pom AA guns 3 x quadruple mounting Mark VII 2 pounder Mark VIII guns 12 x 20 mm AA guns depth charge launcher
Armour:	3 inch side (amidships) 2, 1¾, 1½ side (bow and stern) 1 inch upper decks (amidships) 1 inch deck over rudder

HMS Danae, during the latter part of World War II commissioned as ORP Conrad, was the lead ship of the Danae class cruisers (also known as the D class), serving with the Royal Navy between the world wars and with the Polish Navy during World War II.

Contents

• 1 Service
  • 1.1 World cruise
  • 1.2 Second World War
• 2 References
• 3 External links

Service

Danae was laid down on 1 December 1916 in the Armstrong Whitworth Shipyard in Walker-on-Tyne and launched on 26 January 1918. The lead ship of her class, she was one of the fastest cruisers of her times. Propelled by two Brown-Curtis steam turbines of 40,000 HP, 6 cauldrons and 2 propellors, she could travel at 29 knots (54 km/h; 33 mph). With 1,060 tons of oil in her tanks, she had a range of 1,480 nautical miles (2,740 km; 1,700 mi) at 29 knots and 6,700 nautical miles (12,400 km; 7,700 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). She was also decently-armoured, with the sides and the command deck protected with 3 inches (76 mm) of reinforced steel, the tanks and munition chambers with 57 mm, and the main deck with 2 inches (25 mm).
Attached to the Harwich-based 5th Light Cruiser Squadron, she took part in several North Sea patrols during the last months of World War I. Between October and November of the following year, she passed to the Baltic Sea, where she supported the Whites in the Russian Civil War, along with her sister ship HMS Dragon and HMS Dauntless. In February 1920 she was attached to the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron of the Atlantic Fleet.

World cruise

HMS Danae in 1937

In 1923 she was attached to the Special Service Squadron, a naval fleet created for propaganda purpose. The flotilla consisted of HMS Hood, Repulse and the cruisers HMS Delhi, Dragon, Dauntless and Dunedin, as well as 9 other ships (mostly destroyers), and was bound on a journey around the world. The Squadron left Devonport on 27 November and headed for Freetown in Sierra Leone. Then the task force visited Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, East London and Durban, to where she arrived the last day of the year. The following day the Squadron left for Zanzibar, then visited Trincomalee, Singapore, Albany, Adelaide, Melbourne, Hobart and Sydney, from where she left for Wellington in New Zealand. She left the port in May and on 16 May paid a short visit to Suva and Samara on Fiji, then to Honolulu (6 June), Victoria (25 June), Vancouver and then San Francisco (until 11 July. There the Squadron was split and the light cruisers headed for Great Britain through the Panama Canal and various ports in South America, including British Guyana, Antilles and Jamaica.
Transferred to the Mediterranean, between 1927 and 1929 Danae served as an escort of the 1st Cruiser Squadron, after which she was withdrawn to Great Britain for refurbishment and modernisation. In 1930 she returned to active service and was attached to the 8th Cruiser Squadron stationed in the British West Indies. In 1935, at the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, she escorted various evacuation convoys from Shanghai to Hong Kong and was fired at by the Japanese Navy.

 

Second World War

After that in November she was again moved to Great Britain and preserved in reserve. Again mobilized in July 1939, she was attached to the 9th Cruiser Squadron, initially operating in Southern Atlantic and then Indian Ocean from October. On 23 March 1940 she was attached to the Malaya Force and took part in various patrols in the area of the Dutch East Indies and Singapore. On 20 January she was attached to the China Force and started to escort convoys in the Yellow Sea and between the Dutch Indies and Ceylon, together with HMS Durban, Dauntless, HMAS Canberra and HMS Cornwall. On 24 February she arrived in Batavia and then went on to Colombo, from where she was withdrawn to Cape Town for refurbishment.
She returned to active service in July 1943, after 11 months in the shipyard. In March 1944 she returned to Great Britain and was attached to the 1st Cruiser Squadron. Prior to the Invasion of Normandy she left for the Sword Beach area, where she carried over ground support missions, together with HMS Ramillies, Warspite, Mauritius, Frobisher, Arethusa and ORP Dragon, as well as 10 S class, V class and Hunt class destroyers. In July the squadron moved to the area of Port en Bessin and Ouistreham only to return to Great Britain in August. Withdrawn from active service, she was used as a hulk in the port of Plymouth.

Polish sailors raise the Polish flag on Danae's transfer to the Polish Navy

After the loss of ORP Dragon, on 4 October she was leased to the Polish Navy. A sister ship of ORP Dragon, she was manned mostly by the surviving part of her crew. Commanded by Cmdr. Stanisław Dzienisiewicz, she was being refurbished in Southampton and then Chatham until 23 January 1945. Initially the ship was to be renamed to either "ORP Wilno" or "ORP Lwów", after the cities of Wilno (Vilnius) and Lwów (Lviv). This was seen as controversial because the cities — although they were part of Poland until after the war — were at that time claimed by the Soviet Union. The British authorities did not wish to offend the Soviets. It was decided to use the politically neutral name of ORP Conrad, after Józef Konrad Korzeniowski, better known under his English pen name of Joseph Conrad. In February, the ship moved to Scapa Flow, on 2 April she was attached to the 10th Cruiser Squadron (HMS Birmingham, Bellona, Diadem and Dido), but was again withdrawn for repair of damaged turbine a week later. She left the shipyard only on 30 May, three weeks after war in Europe ended. Attached to the 29th Destroyer Flotilla (HMS Zodiac, Zephyr and Zest), she was briefly stationed in the port of Wilhelmshaven, the main base of the Kriegsmarine recently captured by the Polish 1st Armoured Division.
Until the end of 1945 she served as a transport ship, transporting Polish Red Cross help to Norway and Denmark. In January of the following year she returned to Rosyth for good, from where she carried over training tasks with the remaining ships of the Polish Navy: ORP Błyskawica, ORP Piorun and ORP Garland. On 8 March 1946 the ships were decommissioned from the Home Fleet and the Polish crews started preparations to hand them over to the British. By August the ship's crew was reduced to 50% and on 28 September she was returned to the Royal Navy. Renamed back to HMS Danae she was taken over by the Care & Maintenance Party and moved to Falmouth. On 22 January 1948 she was sold to T.W. Ward company and scrapped following 27 March 1948 in the Vickers Armstrong shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness.

 

References

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (July 2009)

• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8. OCLC 67375475.
• Jane's Fighting Ships of World War One (1919), Jane's Publishing Company
• U-boat.net

 

Model kits 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.

 

Model kits 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.