Jump to content

HMS Bellerophon, 1982 - The Last Fighting Battleship *FINISHED!*


Alan P

Recommended Posts

THE LEGEND!
The Royal Navy's Admiralty watched with interest in 1968 as the US Navy reactivated the battleship New Jersey for active service in Vietnam. Mindful of the overwhelming success of this venture, Admiral Sir Roger Bong ordered an inquiry into the possibility of acquiring a refitted battleship for commissioning into the RN. The proposal was advanced after the new government under Prime Minister Ted Coke took office in 1971.

Initial approaches to the US Navy regarding its mothballed Iowa-class were flatly turned down by CNO Adm Arleigh Smackhead, so attention shifted towards France, which maintained the only other seaworthy battleship, the Richelieu, preserved in mothballs and needing funding to be retained as a museum ship. President François Nymphomane was quite receptive to the Royal Navy taking the costly ship from his budget-strapped hands, and was pleased to sell the ship to Britain in 1972 for just 20,000 Francs (about fifty quid) in return for Mary Millington's phone number.

The Richelieu was towed to HM Dockyard Devonport for refit and updating to modern naval standards. The main 15-in and secondary 6-in armament was retained, but all anti-aircraft guns and other extraneous equipment was removed to save weight. Modern radar and communications equipment was installed, and further weight savings obtained by removal of the French officers' WAGs and floozies' quarters, though this was somewhat offset by the need to install toilets and sanitation throughout the ship. Sea Cat anti-aircraft missiles were fitted for air defence, and helicopter handling facilities were added for two Sea King helicopters.

The ship was renamed HMS Bellerophon, due to its ship-of-the-line heritage, but mostly to save money because the nameplates had already been cast for the subsequently renamed Tiger-class cruiser, HMS Blake.

Bellerophon was commissioned in 1977, in time for her first public appearance at HM the Queen's Jubilee Spithead Review. She completely stole the show, particularly when a main armament salute blew the wig off the head of then-US President Jerry Lewis' wife, Anita Ekberg.

The ship spent the next three years on goodwill visits to South Africa, the Caribbean and the Far East. She was a firm favourite with the Royal Family, and carried various members on flag-waving visits around the world. An extensive refit in 1981 saw her fitted with upgraded electronics, Exocet anti-ship missiles, new Lynx HAS.2 helicopters, and anti-missile countermeasures.

When news reached Britain of an Argentine invasion of the remote Falkland Islands, Prime Minister Margaret Fatuous ordered the Defence Staff to organise a Task Force to retake the islands.

Bellerophon set sail on 5 April 1982 as the flagship of Task Force commander R-Adm Sandy Butt. Upon reaching the war zone on 1st May she immediately began to make a nuisance of herself. She used her 6-in guns to harass enemy positions throughout the entire theatre, but her finest hour came just four days after arriving. On receiving a position report from the submarine HMS Conqueror, Admiral Butt despatched his flagship with the AA destroyers Sheffield and Glamorgan at flank speed of 30kt. They disabled the Argentine cruiser Belgrano with Exocet missiles before arriving within gun range at dawn on 5 May. Bellerophon proceeded to sink the armoured cruiser with her 15-in gunfire in less than 20 mins.

The ship's luck would change just a day later. Now the prime target of Argentine air attacks, Bellerophon withdrew to the northeast of the Falklands to provide radar picket duty for the fleet. Despite her cordon of destroyers, Bellerophon was attacked by Argentine Navy Super Etendard aircraft with four Exocet missiles, two of which made full-detonation impacts amidships. Being a well-armoured battleship, the missiles had no more effect on the operational status of the ship than a couple of flashbangs. Several cups of tea were spilt, and the noise of the impacts woke some of the helicopter pilots who were asleep in their quarters as usual. The damage to Bellerophon was painted over before teatime.

Bellerophon provided effective naval gunfire support throughout the landings and land campaign, and also shelled every Argentine installation and aircraft at Stanley airport, rendering any risky, long-range aircraft missions superfluous. (The RAF performed them anyway, so as not to lose face, and still missed). The final testimony to the battleship's effectiveness came from Lieutenant Chumpy Spliffs, 45 Cdo RM, on Two Sisters ridge:

Quote

We requested fire support, and were told to pull our forward lines back 500 metres, which was unusual. They said there was a "special" coming. We heard "Shot Out" on the radio, and there were lightning flashes on the horizon. Next thing we heard what sounded like trains flying over our heads, and then the whole ridgeline exploded for about 10 minutes. We had to stuff wadding in our ears the sound was so loud, it shook our insides. 5 minutes later we got the all clear, and we just walked up and over the ridge. The Argie positions looked like someone had just come by with a big rubber and just wiped them all off the mountain. *(see note below)


Bellerophon returned to Plymouth at the head of a victorious Task Force on 21 July to a rapturous welcome after over 100 days at sea. She was last battleship to sink an enemy unit at sea.

As a token of thanks from a grateful nation, Bellerophon's last refit was cancelled and she was laid up and eventually scrapped in 1984. Her ship's bell is preserved in some Whitehall club, presumably to remind fat civil servants when it's time to hit the trough.
==========================================================================================================
THE FACTS!
......Well if you've lasted this long, you deserve to know that this is the Heller 1/400 Richelieu kit, with some Atlantic Models PE to go on it. Some scratchbuilding will definitely be necessary to fit aircraft hangars and so on. The ship is mythically portrayed at its peak in 1982 just before sailing for the Falklands.

*Note: This quote is based on fact. I adapted it for my "legend" from a genuine quote by a USMC lieutenant describing receiving naval gunfire support from the USS New Jersey in Vietnam, 1968.

Al

  • Like 21
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks guys, it's a bit tl;dr but thanks anyway!

tn_DSCN4675

The hull was a bit warped, but went together ok after the appropriate amount of tape.

 

tn_DSCN4676

The turrets were also a bit awkward, but the magic of Liquid Extra Thin Cement sorted them out.

 

The rest of today's effort was working on tidying up all the bits of the superstructure. Once dry-fitted, it looks pretty cool!

tn_DSCN4677

This is quite big in 1/400. It's bigger than the King George V class at 248m long vs 229m. I'm thinking although the stacked up tower looks impressive, it probably would have been reduced if entering service in the 70s.

 

I got this kit without a box off eBay with another kit for a tenner. I'm putting up some cash for the PE, but I don't want to spend much more. But I will need some Exocet and Sea Cat launchers, so I'll have a go at scratchbuilding them first.

Cheers,

Al

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Starting to do the first lot of kit modifications:

 

The WW2 Richelieu had long rows of scuttles all the way down the hull. It would make sense that they would be deleted in a 70s refit.

tn_DSCN4679

tn_DSCN4678

I'm doing it the hard way by plugging every single hole with a small bit of plastic rod. When it's dry, I'll cut them flush and sand them down.

 

Now the quarterdeck:

tn_DSCN4680

All raised detail and planking removed. This was where four quad-mounted 40mm Bofors mounts were fitted after her 1943 refit. In the 1980s version, this will be an accommodation deck for VIPs and officers. The stern anchor and windlass have been deleted. There will be a series of ventilation shafts here for the new below-deck helicopter hangar. The new flight deck will be overhead.

 

And here's the flight deck:

tn_DSCN4682

It looks suspiciously like it's been cut from a template about the same size and shape as an iPhone..... :wicked:

tn_DSCN4683

It sits nicely on the supports, which also block the holes for the 40mm mounts!

 

The last bits are the side plates which look similar to the ones used on the Type 42 destroyer, and the Tiger-class helicopter cruisers, which provide most of the inspiration for the conversion!

tn_DSCN4684

 

Last thing I managed was to remove all raised detail on the top of the aft tower superstructure:

tn_DSCN4681

This will be the site of the mack for the Type 965 double bedstead radar, as fitted to the Type 42 and County-class destroyers.

 

Starting to actually believe that this crazy idea might actually work!

Al

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love the back story and you`ve made a great start on the model too.

Was Richelieu the French battleship formed part of the British Eastern Fleet and British Pacific Fleet during 1944-45?

Cheers

Tony

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love the back story and you`ve made a great start on the model too.

Was Richelieu the French battleship formed part of the British Eastern Fleet and British Pacific Fleet during 1944-45?

Cheers

Tony

Thanks Tony, yes it is the very one. They were good ships. Fast, well armed and armoured, with good range.
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Got some good work done on this today.

tn_DSCN4685

Shortened the tower by three levels, and deleted the secondary director above the main director.

tn_DSCN4693

It's now capped off with plastic card, and will have a proper fire control radar set on top instead.

 

Didn't really like the mack I'd worked on before, so I trimmed it much smaller and made good the top ready for adding a new radar mack.

tn_DSCN4686

The 40mm tubs below will now hold the Sea Cat launchers. Speaking of which...!

tn_DSCN4689

These are made from plastic card and a few offcuts from the kit.

 

I also made some other bits:

tn_DSCN4688

Corvus chaff launchers x4

 

Sea Cat missile directors

tn_DSCN4694

These will be superimposed on the 40mm tubs behind the launchers. Very convenient!

 

These are quite small parts, so their rough and ready appearance doesn't bother me!

tn_DSCN4690

Still some PE to add for the Sea Cat launchers, I probably won't add the missiles - too fiddly!

 

I also made a platform behind the shortened tower for a proper foremast:

tn_DSCN4691

Obviously still needs some work...! I also deleted the crane on the port side, and the starboard crane will be made from a proper PE one from the HMS Tiger. The area between the towers will be for a couple of boats - just a whaler and Admiral's barge. The extended decks to the sides of the funnel were the site of the 3" HA guns - these will now be the site for the Exocet launchers. (Still need to build them!)

 

I also decided to reshape the flight deck to make it a bit more aesthetic - not something the real designers would have bothered with, if the Tiger and Blake are anything to go by!

tn_DSCN4692

I've scribed a hangar deck lift at the forward end of the flight deck - the spacious battleship would have had ample space to house a hangar for two helicopters below decks. This saves me having to make a disfiguring external hangar. (See Blake and Tiger, mentioned above!)

 

Cheers,

Al

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...

I bet you thought I'd given up right? :lol: Decided to do some more modernising - I know this is a whif, but trying to make it as realistic as possible:

tn_DSCN4862

Making an enclosed bridge, as modern officers aren't as salty as their WW2 counterparts!

tn_DSCN4865

 

Using Peter Hall's Atlantic Models RN yardarm and radar set to great effect. New foremast on its dedicated platform - needs to be set back to allow full travel of the director arms in front of it. (See, I think of everything!)

tn_DSCN4860

Also built a radar mack for the main mast/Type 965 radar mount:

tn_DSCN4861

 

As I relocated the foremast to a new platform, I deleted the one I made earlier.

tn_DSCN4863

Looks a bit neater now. I also added a bunch of watertight doors from the Atlantic Models set for the HMS Tiger/Blake (have I mentioned enough times that they are the prototypes for this build?!)
 

The PE Type 965 is a beauty, Peter Hall at his best:

tn_DSCN4864


I'll be going all out to get this finished by the GB deadline.

Cheers,
Al

  • Like 7
Link to comment
Share on other sites

WOOOOOOOOoooooooo HOOOOooooooooooo :yahoo::thumbsup::analintruder: , I thought you stopped this, glad you didn't!

chomp chomp

-raptor

Great to see this one moving forward again :thumbsup:

Thanks very much you guys :thumbsup2:

It will be finished!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Ah well, missed the deadline for the GB, but she's going to be finished before Christmas, I promise!

 

Most of the parts primed in Halfords' finest

tn_DSCN4908

 

80s elf'n'safety means the ladder has protected rungs at the highest point!

tn_DSCN4909

 

Lots of painting done over the last few days - happy to report the "new" Colourcoats are just as fabulous as the WEM originals :thumbsup2:

Dry-fitted main components:

tn_DSCN4916 tn_DSCN4915 tn_DSCN4911 tn_DSCN4910

You wouldn't mess with this, would you? The new masts and yards have come out nicely.

 

Love that 1970s/early80s Royal Navy "look" - it's a period that's criminally under-represented in model kits.

 

Thanks a lot,

Al

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks guys!

Latest progress follows....

 

Painted up some details on the focsle

tn_DSCN4918

tn_DSCN4919

Flight deck attached and painted!

 

Hull is now waterlined and painted:

tn_DSCN4921

And then cling filmed ready for attaching to the sea base....

tn_DSCN4922

Speaking of which.....

tn_DSCN4917

A nice wood base from EMA Heritage, with my standard base of polystyrene. I used the cutoff piece of hull as a template to cut round. And it works :)

 

Next step is to make some swells:

tn_DSCN4926

And then make a seascape using this stuff.

tn_DSCN4927

I start off using a wood spatula just to get the stuff on:

tn_DSCN4928

Then get the small waveforms in using an old toothbrush.

tn_DSCN4929

I'll leave that to dry now.... more tomorrow I hope.

EDIT: Pictures fixed.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sigh. It's Google Photos, they've moved to a new format and I'm having untold trouble with it. I'll fix em tomorrow.

EDIT: It was quicker than I thought. Pics now fixed i hope?

EDIT: oh poo now all the older ones have gone. Back to Photobucket, curses! Isn't it wonderful when large corporations change things to make your customer experience even more convenient?

Al

Edited by Alan P
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

OK I finally managed to restore all the missing picture links through Flickr. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank PeeBucket for relaunching their "service". Well done guys!!! <_< (slow handclap)

Anyway....

Finished painting the sea base:

tn_DSCN4930

 

Tried something a little different to the usual - acrylic blues for the sea colour, but then applied the PVA glue-soaked loo roll before using white water-soluble oil paint for all the foam and wave detail.

 

tn_DSCN4932

After it's dried I'll slather the whole lot in gloss heavy gel and see what that comes out like!

 

Once I've broken the back of this base, the rest of the build should be "plain sailing"....? :clown: Loving this weather by the way, I've been able to use my outdoor shed for modelling right through to mid-December. Usually I'm forced to the limited modelling options indoors by mid-October. :cold:

Al

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

What a cool story and lots of great modelling here !

Beautiful build, i am looking for the coming progress. Its indeed sad that the RN trashed a lot of useful but expensive ships before the need of them was back.

Building Hellers 1/400 kits is fun ! There is a started Gneisenau in my stash and i am thinking about to convert her into the upgraded version with more heavy guns and a longer forecastle.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...