1:700 H.M.S. ,,Tyne" (pennant number "I99"), Royal Navy River-class light cruiser; Mediterranean Fleet/Force H; Malta, late 1942 (What-if/modified Tamiya kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:700 H.M.S. ,,Tyne" (pennant number "I99"), Royal Navy River-class light cruiser; Mediterranean Fleet/Force H; Malta, late 1942 (What-if/modified Tamiya kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

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Some background:
"Tyne" was the second of the five River-class light cruisers in the Royal Navy, which were introduced during the interwar period and played, after modifications, an active role in World War II, especially in the Mediterranean theatre of operations.

After the construction of the Danae-class cruiser, the demerits of the small cruiser concept became apparent. At the end of 1917, plans for an additional six C-class vessels, plus three new-design 7,200 ton-class scouting cruisers were shelved, in favor of an intermediate 5,500 ton-class vessel which could be used as both a long-range, high speed scout ship, and also as a command vessel for destroyer or submarine flotillas. The resulting River-class vessels were essentially enlarged versions of the Danae-class cruisers, with greater speed, range, and weaponry. With improvements in geared-turbine engine technology, the River-class vessels were capable of the high speed of 36 knots (67 km/h), and a range of 9,000 nmi (17,000 km) at 10 kn (12 mph; 19 km/h). The number of BL 6-inch (152.4 mm) L/45 Mark XII guns was increased from only three to seven in single mounts and provision was made for 48 naval mines. However, the four triple torpedo launchers on the Danae-class were reduced to just two double launchers, and the River-class remained highly deficient in anti-aircraft protection, with only two QF 3 in 20 cwt L/45 Mk. I and two QF 2-pounder L/39 Mk. II guns. A total of eight ships were ordered, but, with less pressure after the end of WWI, only five were built and finished.

The first River-class ship, H.M.S. "Trent", was laid down in December 1918 and launched in August 1919. H.M.S. "Tyne" was the second cruiser of this new class, laid down 8 July 1919, launched 24 September 1920 and completed at Chatham Royal Dockyard 2 June 1922. Completed too late to see action in the First World War, "Tyne" was initially assigned to operate in the Baltic Sea against the Bolshevik revolutionaries in Russia. She was then on detached service in the West Indies. Following this assignment, she was attached to the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron of the Atlantic Fleet for the following five years. 1923/24, "Tyne" became a member of the Cruise of the Special Service Squadron, also known as the "Empire Cruise". Following this tour, she went with the squadron to the Mediterranean for the next few years.


1:700 H.M.S. ,,Tyne" (pennant number "I99"), Royal Navy River-class light cruiser; Mediterranean Fleet/Force H; Malta, late 1942 (What-if/modified Tamiya kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:700 H.M.S. ,,Tyne" (pennant number "I99"), Royal Navy River-class light cruiser; Mediterranean Fleet/Force H; Malta, late 1942 (What-if/modified Tamiya kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:700 H.M.S. ,,Tyne" (pennant number "I99"), Royal Navy River-class light cruiser; Mediterranean Fleet/Force H; Malta, late 1942 (What-if/modified Tamiya kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


In May 1928 "Tyne" was assigned to the North America and West Indies Station, based at the Royal Naval Dockyard in Bermuda. She ran aground on 2 July 1928 on the Thrum Cap Shoal, 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) off Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and was badly damaged, suffering the breach of her engine room and of one of her boiler rooms. She was abandoned by most of her 445 crew, the officers remaining on board. Subsequently, all her guns and torpedo tubes and much of her other equipment had to be removed to lighten her. She was finally refloated on 11 July 1928 and towed off by H.M.S. "Despatch" and several tugs. She was repaired throughout 1929 and then reduced to the reserve.

In 1930, however, due to a shortage of ships at foreign theatres of operation, she was reactivated and transferred back to the America and West Indies Station. During 1931-1933 she served with the South American Division, and in 1934 she relieved the cruiser "Curlew" in the Mediterranean and was reassigned to the 3rd Cruiser Squadron. In 1935 she returned to Britain to be paid off into the reserve, but "Tyne" was kept active in British coastal waters for cadet training.

On the outbreak of the Second World War, "Tyne" was recommissioned and thoroughly modernized, since the original armament and other equipment had become obsolete by 1939. All five River-class ships were re-designed as light trade protection cruisers and were outfitted with new, state-of-the-art equipment and armament, including six new and very compact turrets. Pairs were placed at the bow and at the stern each, with another two placed singly at port and starboard amidships. Each was armed with twin 5.25-inch (133 mm) guns in high angle mountings. These new, quick-firing weapons were primarily surface weapons, but it was intended to fire the heaviest shell suitable for anti-aircraft defense, so that the ships could be used for convoy protection from aerial attacks.
The ballistic performance of the QF 5.25 was very good, with a maximum range of 24,070 yd (22,010 m) at 45 degrees with an 80 lb (36.3 kg) HE shell. In comparison, the contemporary French 138 mm (5.4 in) Mle 1934 guns as used on the Mogador-class destroyers had a maximum range of 21,872 yards (20,000 m) at 30 degrees with an 88 lb (39.9 kg) SAP shell, and the Italian 135/45 mm gun as used on the Capitani Romani-class cruisers had a maximum range of 21,435 yards (19,600 m) at 45 degrees with a 72.1 lb (32.7 kg) AP shell.
The new turrets were far more modern in design than previous light cruiser turrets and offered efficient loading up to 70 degrees to provide the intended dual-purpose capability. Furthermore, "Tyne" was, like its revamped sister ships, outfitted with four twin QF 2-pounder (40 mm) "pom-poms" and a pair of triple 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tube launchers, mounted under the main deck. The latter carried a steam catapult for a reconnaissance waterplane, initially a Fairey Swordfish on floats but later replaced by a Supermarine Walrus amphibious flying boat. The depth charge racks were augmented by two new launchers.


1:700 H.M.S. ,,Tyne" (pennant number "I99"), Royal Navy River-class light cruiser; Mediterranean Fleet/Force H; Malta, late 1942 (What-if/modified Tamiya kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:700 H.M.S. ,,Tyne" (pennant number "I99"), Royal Navy River-class light cruiser; Mediterranean Fleet/Force H; Malta, late 1942 (What-if/modified Tamiya kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


After her modifications at Portsmouth Royal Dockyard, field tests in the Channel and receiving a light disruptive Admiralty paint scheme, "Tyne" joined the 2nd Cruiser Squadron, escorting convoys to Scandinavia and engaged in the hunt for the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. After the Norwegian Campaign she participated in the operations hunting the German battleship Bismarck and, together with the cruiser "Kenya", intercepted one of the German supply ships, "Belchen", on 3 June 1941.

Between July and August 1941, as part of Force K with the Home Fleet, she was involved in "Operation Gauntlet", with operations to Spitzbergen and Bear Island. After one of these sorties, in company with the cruiser "Nigeria", she intercepted a German troop convoy off Northern Norway, and the German ship "Bremse" was sunk. Later that year she was transferred to the Mediterranean and arrived in Alexandria on 21 October 1941 to join a new Force K, where the ship received a new high-contrast paint scheme, typical for this theatre of operations.

On 9 November 1941, Force K, consisting of "Tyne","Aurora", "Penelope", "Lance" and "Lively", she was involved in the destruction of the Beta Convoy. In the resulting battle the Italian destroyer "Fulmine" was sunk, as well as the German transports "Duisburg" and "San Marco", the Italian transports "Maria", "Sagitta" and "Rina Corrado", and the Italian "Conte di Misurata" and "Minatitlan". The Italian destroyers "Grecale" and "Euro" were damaged.

On 24 November Force K, intercepted an Axis convoy about 100 nautical miles west of Crete. The Axis convoy was bound from the Aegean to Benghazi. The two German transports in the convoy, "Maritza" and "Procida", were both sunk by H.M.S. "Penelope" and H.M.S. "Lively" despite the presence of the Italian torpedo boats "Lupo" and "Cassiopea". On 1 December 1941 Force K, with "Tyne", "Penelope" and "Lively", attacked the Mantovani Convoy. The Italian destroyer "Alvise Da Mosto" and the sole cargo ship "Mantovani" were sunk. H.M.S. "Tyne" next participated in the First Battle of Sirte on 17 December 1941. On 19 December, while steaming off Tripoli, she was heavily damaged in a mine field and was forced to retire to Malta for hull repairs.



1:700 H.M.S. ,,Tyne" (pennant number "I99"), Royal Navy River-class light cruiser; Mediterranean Fleet/Force H; Malta, late 1942 (What-if/modified Tamiya kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:700 H.M.S. ,,Tyne" (pennant number "I99"), Royal Navy River-class light cruiser; Mediterranean Fleet/Force H; Malta, late 1942 (What-if/modified Tamiya kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


After repairs, which lasted several months into summer 1942, she returned to service in the MTO and joined Force H. In November she became part of the Centre Task Force for the Landings in North Africa, Operation Torch. Off Oran, she engaged the Vichy French destroyers "Tramontane" and "Tornad"e on 8 November 1942, damaging the former so badly that it had to be beached. The following day she badly damaged the destroyer "Épervier" and drove it ashore. By early December 1942 she was operating as part of Force Q at Bône against the Axis evacuation and supply convoys between Trapani and Tunis.

However, "Tyne" was hit on 20 December 1942 off Trapani (Sicily) by an air-dropped torpedo. She caught fire, had two of her turrets out of action and was badly flooded. Later that day she was attacked once more by German dive-bombers, and a fatal bomb hit at the ship's stern eventually led to her loss the following day. 115 men were killed through the attacks, the rest, more than two-thirds of the crew, was rescued.

All River-class ships had a very active war career and proved to be satisfactory in service, even though they were hardly a match for full-fledged battleships and worked best in conjunction with other ships. Especially in the Mediterranean they were very effective in protecting crucial convoys to Malta and even managed to see off some ships of the Italian Royal Navy. However, their outdated WWI machinery became their Achilles heel and limited their potential, and the relatively light main guns lacked range and firepower to take on major enemy ships their own.
From 1940 on the ships were to be replaced by the much more modern and better-equipped new Dido-class cruisers, but a shortage of guns for them, due to difficulties in manufacturing them, delayed their introduction so that the River-class cruisers had to soldier on. Two ships, "Tyne" and "Thames", were lost, and the three post-war survivors "Trent", "Severn" and "Mersey", were immediately put into reserve after the end of hostilities in Europe and quickly broken up.

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General characteristics:
    Displacement: 5,100 long tons (5,200 t) (standard)
    Length: 500 ft (152.4 m)
    Beam: 47 ft (14.2 m)
    Draft: 16 ft (4.8 m)
    Draught: 12 ft 6 in (3.8 m) (deep)
    Armor: Belt: 64 mm (3 in), Deck: 29 mm (1 in)
    Complement: 450

Propulsion:
    12× Admiralty boilers with 4× geared steam turbines, developing 90,000 shp (67,000 kW) and driving four shafts

Performance:
    Top speed: 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph)
    Range: 5,000 nmi (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at 14 kn (26 km/h; 16 mph)

Armament (after conversion):
    12× 5.25 in guns (133 mm) 50 caliber guns in six twin turrets
    4× twin QF 2-pounder (40 mm) "pom-pom" AA guns in powered mounts
    2× triple 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes
    2× throwers and 2× racks astern with 48 depth charges

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The kit and its assembly:
The Royal Navy's River-class light cruisers never existed. These fictional interwar ships were based on the Dido-class cruisers' concept, just placed in an earlier generation and realized on the basis of an old/outdated ship. Inspiration came with an aftermarket set of six 1:700 white metal turrets that I came across recently, and I wanted to use it to build something like the American Atlanta-class light cruisers with a specialized AA armament.

However, this armament called for a suitable and bigger hull than my former destroyer builds, and I was eventually able to hunt down a cheap Tamiya kit of a Japanese Kuma-class light cruiser as starting point. It was perfect in size (almost exactly as big as a Dido-class cruiser!), shape and time frame, even though I I basically only used the kit's single-piece hull as starting point. I had to modify the superstructures thoroughly to adapt the Japanese ship to the new role and also to a more Western layout and silhouette.
For instance, the typically Japanese tall "pagoda" bridge/command section of that era had to disappear, and I changed the superstructures almost completely, because the new twin turrets needed much more space than the small single guns of the Kuma cruiser. I also wanted to place them at different levels, and this called for suitable staggered platforms, too.


1:700 H.M.S. ,,Tyne" (pennant number "I99"), Royal Navy River-class light cruiser; Mediterranean Fleet/Force H; Malta, late 1942 (What-if/modified Tamiya kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:700 H.M.S. ,,Tyne" (pennant number "I99"), Royal Navy River-class light cruiser; Mediterranean Fleet/Force H; Malta, late 1942 (What-if/modified Tamiya kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:700 H.M.S. ,,Tyne" (pennant number "I99"), Royal Navy River-class light cruiser; Mediterranean Fleet/Force H; Malta, late 1942 (What-if/modified Tamiya kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Initially there was the plan to mount the six turrets in groups of three at both bow and stern, but it was soon clear that this would not work – this arrangement would have been too long and too high, too, so that I went with two staggered pairs. I also wanted to give the ship – unlike the American Atlanta-class ships – a catapult for an on-board aircraft, and this required some free space on deck.
With this framework I scratched new/additional superstructures, using leftover pieces from the two recently built Matchbox K-class destroyers and from a Revell H.M.S. Ark Royal carrier. Everything evolved through trial-and error, in an attempt to find a plausible layout for all the deck equipment. The lowered hull section for the Kuma-class' front torpedo tubes was filled with a cabin and re-purposed for lifeboats. Then the initially continuous superstructure was split to make room for the steam catapult amidships at deck level. The rear turrets eventually found their final places on a separate superstructure that would also carry the secondary mast and the crane for the floatplane, and I mounted the last two turrets in lateral positions (again somewhat inspired by the Atlanta-class arrangement with similar positions), above the Kuma-class' openings for the rear torpedo launch tubes. These did not make sense at this position anymore, so that the OOB openings were closed/filled and moved further forward, under the new "flight deck". Some PSR had to be done, too, in order to blend some disparate donor parts and fill the worst gaps. Therefore, the finish is certainly not as crisp as an OOB model – but I think that these flaws remained on an acceptable level.


1:700 H.M.S. ,,Tyne" (pennant number "I99"), Royal Navy River-class light cruiser; Mediterranean Fleet/Force H; Malta, late 1942 (What-if/modified Tamiya kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:700 H.M.S. ,,Tyne" (pennant number "I99"), Royal Navy River-class light cruiser; Mediterranean Fleet/Force H; Malta, late 1942 (What-if/modified Tamiya kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Once the general deck layout had been settled, detail work began. This included a re-arrangement of bridge, masts and funnels, and the main deck had to offer enough space for the re-located catapult, together with the turrets in the side positions, lifeboats and AA stations, which found their place at deck level and in two twin alcoves in higher positions. Fiddly stuff, and I must admit that "creating" such a battleship is conceptually not easy.
The aircraft on board is actually the OOB Kawanishi E7K floatplane from the Kuma-class cruiser kit – but it looks similar enough to a Swordfish that this illusion could be easily supported with a suitable paint scheme.


Painting and markings:
I used the opportunity to apply another typical Royal Navy paint scheme, a so-called "Alexandria-style" pattern. This was a high-contrast scheme, sometimes described as consisting of black and white, but it was typically made up from 507a (Dark Grey) and 507c (Light Grey). It had been christened after the dockyard where it had been initially applied, and it was actually not a defined pattern (like the Admiralty schemes, which had been designed at offices by people who frequently had no practical naval experience!), but rather a common but individual application of standard paints that had been in ample supply at most dockyards! The ships had to be painted with what was at hand, and so the disruptive scheme caught on and was applied, like Mountbatten Pink, to a considerable number of British ships operating in the MTO. This two-tone scheme was not intended to conceal the ships, but rather to confuse the observer concerning speed, direction and what the ship actually was.

The pattern I applied to the model was loosely based on what the cruiser H.M.S. Devonshire carried in 1941, a kind of zebra pattern with wide, well-defined block stripes. As a visual gimmick these stripes were kind of "mirrored" along a line on the hull, as if reflected by the water and therefore making assessing size or distance even more difficult.
The paints are Humbrol 147 (Light Grey, FS 36495) and 27 (Sea Grey). The deck was painted as if the wooden areas had not been overpainted yet and allowed to weather, so that the once-holystoned, yellow-ish light wood had become dull and rather grey-ish. I used Humbrol 168 (RAF Hemp) and Revell 87 (Beige) as basis, and some light shading with thinned sepia ink was done to enhance the wooden look – and it's nice contrast to the rather cold, grey camouflage. Metal decks, turret tops and the bow area were painted with Revell 47, simulating 507b (Medium Grey). Areas around the bridge were painted with Humbrol 62 (Leather) to simulate Corticene coating. 


1:700 H.M.S. ,,Tyne" (pennant number "I99"), Royal Navy River-class light cruiser; Mediterranean Fleet/Force H; Malta, late 1942 (What-if/modified Tamiya kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:700 H.M.S. ,,Tyne" (pennant number "I99"), Royal Navy River-class light cruiser; Mediterranean Fleet/Force H; Malta, late 1942 (What-if/modified Tamiya kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:700 H.M.S. ,,Tyne" (pennant number "I99"), Royal Navy River-class light cruiser; Mediterranean Fleet/Force H; Malta, late 1942 (What-if/modified Tamiya kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


I originally wanted to paint the model in separate elements before final assembly, but this was not possible due to the many adjustments. The model was slightly weathered with a highly thinned black ink wash. Some Sienna Brown water paint was used for rust stains here and there. Portholes along the hull and on the superstructures were created with a thin black felt tip pen. The same tool was used to paint the muzzles of the guns. The crisp black boot topping was easy to create through the kit's separate waterline bottom – OOB it comes in red, and it just had to be re-painted.
The kit's segments were sealed with a coat of acrylic matt varnish before final assembly. Finally, rigging with heated and extended dark grey sprue material was done and paper flags were added.

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1:700 H.M.S. ,,Tyne" (pennant number "I99"), Royal Navy River-class light cruiser; Mediterranean Fleet/Force H; Malta, late 1942 (What-if/modified Tamiya kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:700 H.M.S. ,,Tyne" (pennant number "I99"), Royal Navy River-class light cruiser; Mediterranean Fleet/Force H; Malta, late 1942 (What-if/modified Tamiya kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:700 H.M.S. ,,Tyne" (pennant number "I99"), Royal Navy River-class light cruiser; Mediterranean Fleet/Force H; Malta, late 1942 (What-if/modified Tamiya kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:700 H.M.S. ,,Tyne" (pennant number "I99"), Royal Navy River-class light cruiser; Mediterranean Fleet/Force H; Malta, late 1942 (What-if/modified Tamiya kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


It is not obvious, but the fictional H.M.S. "Tyne" took more scratchwork and mods than one would expect – it was/is almost a scratch build on the basis of a stock cruiser hull. More or less, the whole superstructure was re-arranged and the whole armament is new, but I think that the outcome looks quite plausible. The camouflage – even though only consisting of two shades of grey - looks interesting, too, and I think that the confusing effect becomes obvious in some of the beauty pics.

Awesome. But you're making me lose focus. Now I want to start on my own cruisers..

Thank you, glad you like it!

BTW, here's a profile view of the "original" Tama cruiser. Not much left after my conversion... 

a believable backstory, modelled to your usual high standard

Terrific build Dizzy, certainly a nice looking ship and the backstory is fantastic 

Thanks a lot, everyone, and also for the Whiffies nomination of this one. 

I like that - good work, and a really impressive backstory.

Thank you, too. The background was puzzled together from various real-world ships, with some gaps filled in to create a conclusive story.

What a great looking boat ! Love the shape and the colours. Great pics as usual....really brings her story to life !

Again, many thanks - glad you like it!