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Saturday 20 July 2013

Muckleburgh ships

I usually manage to visit the Muckleburgh Collection in Norfolk every three or four years. I have not been recently, but I understand that the collection of 1:96th-scale model ships build by Wyndham Williams is still on show.

Here are a selection of the models in that collection:

HMS Magnificent
HMS Magnificent was one of the nine Majestic-class battleships built for the Royal Navy built during the last decade of the nineteenth century.

Her specifications were:
  • Displacement: 16,060 tons
  • Length: 421 feet
  • Beam: 75 feet
  • Draught: 27 feet
  • Propulsion: 2 × 3-cylinder triple expansion steam engines powering twin screws
  • Speed: 16 knots
  • Complement: 672
  • Armament:
    • 4 x BL 12-inch 35-calibre Mk VIII guns (2 x 2)
    • 12 x QF 6-inch 40-calibre guns (12 x 1)
    • 16 x QF 12-pounder (3-inch) (16 x 1)
    • 12 x QF 3-pounder (12 x 1)
    • 5 x 18-inch torpedo tubes (four submerged, one above water)
  • Armour:
    • Belt armour: 9 inches
    • Deck: 2.5 to 4.5 inches
    • Barbettes: 14 inches
    • Conning Tower: 14 inches






HMS Hornet
HMS Hornet was one of the Acheron-class destroyers built for the Royal Navy just before the First World War.

Her specifications were:
  • Displacement: 910 tons
  • Length: 246 feet
  • Beam: 26 feet
  • Draught: 8.9 feet
  • Propulsion: 2 × steam turbine engines powering twin screws
  • Speed: 28 knots
  • Complement: 72
  • Armament:
    • 2 x BL 4-inch L/40 Mark VIII guns (2 x 1)
    • 2 x QF 12-pounder (3-inch) (2 x 1)
    • 2 x 21-inch torpedo tubes

HMS Warrior
HMS Warrior (and her sister-ship HMS Black Prince) were the first armour-plated, iron-hulled warships built anywhere in the world. She has been preserved as a museum in Portsmouth as part of the National Historic Fleet.

Her specifications were:
  • Displacement: 9,137 tons
  • Length: 420 feet
  • Beam: 58 feet 4 inches
  • Draught: 26 feet 10 inches
  • Propulsion: 1 x steam trunk engine powering a single screw
  • Speed: 14 knots
  • Complement: 706
  • Armament:
    • 26 x Smoothbore muzzle-loading 68-pounder guns
    • 10 x Rifled breechloading 110-pounder guns
    • 4 x Rifled breechloading 40-pounder guns
  • Armour:
    • Belt armour: 4.5 inches
    • Bulkheads: 4.5 inches

HMS Warspite
HMS Warspite was a Queen Elizabeth-class battleship that was built during the First World War for the Royal Navy and continued in service (after a major reconstruction) throughout the Second World War.

Her specifications were:
  • Displacement (as built): 33,410 tons
  • Length: 639 feet 5 inches
  • Beam: 90 feet 6 inches
  • Draught: 30 feet 6 inches
  • Propulsion: 4 × direct drive steam turbines powering four screws
  • Speed: 24 knots
  • Complement: 925 to 1,220
  • Armament (after reconstruction):
    • 8 x BL 15-inch L/42 guns Mk I guns (4 x 2)
    • 8 x QF 6-inch 40-calibre guns (8 x 1)
    • 8 x QF 4-inch Mk XVI anti-aircraft guns (4 x 2)
    • 32 x 2-pounder anti-aircraft guns (4 x 8)
    • 16 x 0.5-inch anti-aircraft machine guns (4 x 4)
  • Armour:
    • Belt armour: 14 inches
    • Barbettes and Turrets: 13 inches
    • Conning Tower: 12 inches

6 comments:

  1. Oh I just love ship models ! , always feel an unforfilled urge to start ship modelling myself

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mosstrooper,

    They have the same effect upon me. I just wish that I had the time to build them and the space to display them ... and use them for wargaming!

    All the best,

    Bob

    ReplyDelete
  3. Never heard of this collection before but what magnificent models they are!

    I have a loft full of ship model kits and I keep buying them but just don't have the time or the space, sadly!





    ReplyDelete
  4. Legatus Hedlius,

    The model ship collection - of which my photographs only show a part - is located within a privately-owned military museum on the North Nofolk coast not far from Sheringham. If you are ever in that area, it is well worth a few hours of your time.

    I also own quite a number of unmade ship model kits, and like you, I have yet to find the time to make them.

    All the best,

    Bob

    ReplyDelete
  5. The disgraceful part is - I pass Muckleburgh on a regular basis and it must be 5 or 6 years since I visited the place.
    And yes, it is worth the visit...

    ReplyDelete
  6. Xaltotun of Python,

    I live less than two miles from the Royal Artillery Museum in Woolwich ... and have only been there once in the last two years. We all do it ... 'I'll go in there next time I am passing ... ' ... and then we don't!

    All the best,

    Bob

    ReplyDelete

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