1/700th scale HMS Habakkuk WIP (aka Project Habakkuk)

[Mossie]

Thought that's how it might be.  It's coming on well, really looking forward to seeing it finished!

[sequoiaranger]

Just a thought: Maybe rather than distributing the 5" guns individually and symmetrically around the perimeter, you could group them in batteries of twos, threes, or fours. It would seem better from a "magazine" standpoint to have clusters of similar armament rather than all strung out.

[seadude]

Just a thought: Maybe rather than distributing the 5" guns individually and symmetrically around the perimeter, you could group them in batteries of twos, threes, or fours. It would seem better from a "magazine" standpoint to have clusters of similar armament rather than all strung out.

It's a good point to share a ammo magazine, etc., but what if a enemy battleship got in a lucky shot and hit the area where two 5" were grouped together? Then you'd be out two 5" instead of just one. By having things spaced apart, you run less risk of having groups of similar guns getting damaged, etc.
Think of it this way: Which will suffer more damage if it gets hit: A group of 64 VLS as shown on the front of the Ticonderoga class cruisers, or VLS spread around the circumference/perimeter of the new Zumwalt class destroyer? If a "grouping" of VLS missiles gets hit, then you've just lost your entire surface to air and surface to surface defensive and offensive capability. If a grouping of 5" guns gets hit on the Habbakuk, then you've just lost a good chunk of defensive firing arc for that section of the ship which may or may not be able to be covered by other guns.

[seadude]

Long time, no see. Not much going on lately with my Habbakuk model. Been busy last several days with work and visiting my grandmother. Probably won't have any substantial update or pics till next week or something. Right now, I still need to finish painting the superstructure and adding details like searchlights, radars, etc. I also went to the hobby store today and bought a few more supplies, one of which was 3/8" diameter brass tubing which I am making all the 40mm gun tubs from.
Main hull probably won't get painted or detailed till September. Same with all the armament too. What little aircraft I have will get built and painted probably in October. And I'm still trying to decide how best to detail the interior cutaway portion that I built.
Anyway, I'll try to have a better update with pics before the end of the month. 

[sequoiaranger]

What kind(s) of aircraft are you looking to inhabit it? British? Combo of British and American? A 4-engined Liberator would look good on the deck, to give it a sense of size.

I have a good variety of 1/700 WWII aircraft (single-engined, twin-engined, and the Liberator) I have collected over the years. I *MIGHT* be persuaded to part with them for a good cause!

>It's a good point to share a ammo magazine, etc., but what if a enemy battleship got in a lucky shot and hit the area where two 5" were grouped together? Then you'd be out two 5" instead of just one. By having things spaced apart, you run less risk of having groups of similar guns getting damaged, etc.<

You don't build a ship based on "lucky hits"; you build a ship so it FUNCTIONS well. When you group guns, you also have the ADVANTAGE of being able to direct their fire properly. Un-directed "free" guns went out after WW I. Spread-out guns means EACH gun has to have a director, as the distance between is too great. That means more topweight, more trained personnel, more equipment. Also, if the guns are grouped, than any hit NOT in the group does NOT wreck a gun, whereas if you scatter guns around there is a greater chance that SOME gun will get hit by "stray" shots. By "grouped", I don't mean the entire contingent in one spot (though that would also have the advantage that any shot NOT in the cluster does NO damage to guns), but pairs or trios make much more sense. From an ammunition standpoint, the fewer stashes of live ammo around, the more safe the ship is from sympathetic detonations. Look at WW II carriers and you will see clustering of the heavier guns. That WORKS, that's why they do it.

PS--if you are an aircraft carrier and you are being shelled by an enemy battleship, you've done something VERY WRONG, the placement of your puny 5-inch guns will be irrelevant, and you can just kiss your a$$ goodbye anyway!!  

[seadude]

What kind(s) of aircraft are you looking to inhabit it? British? Combo of British and American? A 4-engined Liberator would look good on the deck, to give it a sense of size.

I've got a bunch of various US naval aircraft from 2 other carrier kits that I'll be using.

When you group guns, you also have the ADVANTAGE of being able to direct their fire properly. Un-directed "free" guns went out after WW I. Spread-out guns means EACH gun has to have a director, as the distance between is too great. That means more topweight, more trained personnel, more equipment.

Not only am I having all my 5" guns arranged as I originally mentioned, but I'll also be having 40mm quads between each 5" for low to medium AA fire, whereas the 5" will be used for high altitude AA fire. IIRC, the Mk.51 director used for the 40mm can ALSO be used for the 5"/38's as well as backup.

Suffice to say, there's no true plan or arrangement of armament for the Habbakuk. Everything is conjectural and speculative since a real ship was never built. I'll build my Habbakuk my way, and others will build their Habbakuk their way. There's no right or wrong. That's the thing I like about WHIF's: Creative freedom.

PS--if you are an aircraft carrier and you are being shelled by an enemy battleship, you've done something VERY WRONG, the placement of your puny 5-inch guns will be irrelevant, and you can just kiss your a$$ goodbye anyway!!

If you're a battleship, then your attack on my Habbakuk is irrelevant as I have 40 foot thick pykrete hull, and I have 100-200 fighters/bombers waiting to sink your "bathtub toy boat".  
Take a look at this pic and see the comparative sizes of a Habbakuk and an IOWA class BB. I doubt the 16" guns on an IOWA would do much damage.

[Taiidantomcat]

I mean... Yeah, but is it big enough  Amazing! 

[sequoiaranger]

>I'll build my Habbakuk my way, and others will build their Habbakuk their way. There's no right or wrong. That's the thing I like about WHIF's: Creative freedom.<

Amen to THAT!

Since you can't be "wrong" I will stop offering intruding realism.

Maybe you could put some huge davits on the Habbakuk and have troopships as "lifeboats"!  Or maybe even the Iowa itself! 

Anyway, I love the project.

[cthulhu77]

Very nice project, and you are completely correct, the whole design went through quite a lot of changes...so whatever you come up with is going to be just perfect.

[Mossie]

>I'll build my Habbakuk my way, and others will build their Habbakuk their way. There's no right or wrong. That's the thing I like about WHIF's: Creative freedom.<

Amen to THAT!

Since you can't be "wrong" I will stop offering intruding realism.

Maybe you could put some huge davits on the Habbakuk and have troopships as "lifeboats"!  Or maybe even the Iowa itself! 

Anyway, I love the project.

To be fair, most of the diagrams showing the AA appear to show them spaced evenly around the deck.  Wether any of these are real plans or artists impressions is not easy to determine.

[sequoiaranger]

I have several books by J. Thornton that have pen-and-ink drawings of warships in them, and have found him to be very "accurate" in his drawings---they are simple, not made to be "photos". I had his permission to use them in my "Furashita's Fleet" for some of "my" illustrations of what-if ships, including the Habbakuk. For whatever it's worth, I post it here:

[cthulhu77]

Well, it seemed to have gone through at least three different designs, each one slightly smaller than the other...I just think it is going to look cool as get-out when the model is done!

[seadude]

Been awhile since I made any updates. Progress has been a bit slow as well as being frustrating.   I wish to hell I wasn't working in 1/700 scale. It's too hard on my eyes with all the small parts. But 1/350 is too big, so I might as well stick with what I've got. Anyway.........the superstructure is about 90% done. Here's some sample pics of how it looks. You can pretty much figure out the 40mm positions, 20mm, searchlights, and where everything else is. I'm thinking of changing the color of the oval life rafts to a lighter shade of gray, but I'm not sure what yet?



And here's more 5" turrets that I'll be adding around the circumference of the ship.



And here's the other side of the superstructure. The "alcove" in the middle is where I'm going to put some davits and a motorboat. But I'll also be putting some other boats in other locations around the ship too.

[Sauragnmon]

I think she's coming along well, man - the persistence is paying off, and the island looks good.  As to the rafts, maybe something like Light Ghost Grey?  The general plan is pretty good.

[nev]

if you are an aircraft carrier and you are being shelled by an enemy battleship, you've done something VERY WRONG, the placement of your puny 5-inch guns will be irrelevant, and you can just kiss your a$$ goodbye anyway!! 

What was it the US Admiral at Leyte Gulf said after launching his aircraft?  "Nelson* be damned, lets get the hell out of here!"



* "One should always seek to close with and engage the enemy"