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County Class Cruisers WW2

Cruisers Countys

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#1 glenn_simpson

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Posted 02 August 2016 - 12:15 AM

Why are the British WW2 County Class Cruisers Norfolk and Dorsetshire rated in GQ3 as CL (for main armour) when all the rest of the Counties - the Kent and London classes - are rated as CA? AFAIK they all had the same 4" belt armour over machinery and magazines, and 1-2" decks (after reconstruction), so all should be rate the same - as CA (IMHO).

#2 Cpt M

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Posted 02 August 2016 - 12:21 AM

As built, the protection scheme for all three batches of 'County' cruisers were basically the same and generally rather weak (a trait shared by most of the early Treaty cruisers). Between 1935 and 1939, the first batch (with the exception of Canberra) was rebuilt with additional armor (raising, in game terms, their rating from CL to CA). The next batch was scheduled for an even more extensive rebuild, but only London was completed due to the outbreak of WWII. (The rebuild of London was considered unsuccessful due to her hull being overstressed by the additional weight added. The situation required two additional refits and wasn't rectified until 1943). The remaining ships remained unmodified.



#3 glenn_simpson

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Posted 03 August 2016 - 06:31 AM

Thanks - I hadn't realised that, but a _very_ close reading of Raven & Roberts 'British Cruisers of WW2' , Arms &U Armour Press London 1980, p.412, confirms it. Never noticed it before - the text is a little confusing. Whitley's Cruisers of WW2 is clearer.

Note that the HMAS Australia, as well as HMAS Canberra, also missed out on the up armouring of the other Kent class cruisers. The same authors'. "Man O'War No 1 - County Class Cruisers" NY, RSV Publishing, 1978, details the addition of a 4.5" armour belt armour over machinery and magazines to the RN units of Kent class (but not the RAN's Australia or Canberra - probably the Australian Tresasury blocked the extra costs) and HMS London, on reconstruction in the mid 1930's. Shropshire, Sussex and Devonshire also missed out, and Dorsetshire and Norfolk were built with 4" armour to magazines and shell rooms only and a 1" belt over machinery like the original Kent scheme.

My interest was piqued because I am building up a 1/1200 collection of all the Counties, mainly through conversion of the Airfix Suffolk kit, but including some old Eaglewall models of Norfolk and Dorsetshire, and an Alnavco London. Handsome ships.

#4 simanton

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Posted 25 August 2016 - 08:41 PM

It you have the coin Neptun (available at Alnavco) makes some gorgeous 1/1250 Counties.




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