All Guns Blazing — October 2016

1 All Guns Blazing! Newsletter of the Naval Wargames Society No. 263 – OCTOBER 2016 EDITORIAL After several years of organising the annual Naval Wargames Weekend at Explosion Museum, David Manley is stepping down. We need someone to step into the vacancy. If you can take on this not too onerous a task, please let me know. I’m sure David has info/notes/contacts to pass on and would be available to advise from the background if required. Norman Bell Additional Thoughts on the CSS Georgia By Walter G. Green III Understanding the service of the CSS Georgia (see September’s issue of All Guns Blazing) presents a number of interesting problems. CSS Georgia suffered from a common limitation of most of the Confederate ironclads, an inefficient power plant. The Confederacy had only very limited capability to produce ship’s engines of any size, and as result the Navy was forced to rely on engines repurposed from commercial vessels, river boats, etc. More often than not, Confederate ironclads were underpowered, with an alarming tendency for the power plant to fail when subjected to stress. CSS Georgia is one of many. The term ironclad ram is generally used as a type designation for all Confederate States Navy coastal defense ironclads, and originates with the CSS Virginia’s attack on the United States Navy squadron in Hampton Roads. In CSS Georgia’s case, she was unable to perform her function as a ram and was employed as a floating battery. That does not negate her type classification as an ironclad ram. After the successful sinking of USS Cumberland by CSS Virginia, the Confederate ironclad rams had little success in employ ramming in battle. However frustrating CSS Georgia’s immobility was to her crew and to the citizens of Savannah who raised money for her construction, she was not a failure. In the integrated defense of the Savannah River, in combination with obstructions she protected and the guns of Fort James Jackson, she presented a naval force in being that deterred attempts to come upriver, much as the squadrons at Richmond and Charleston protected those cities. Just being there, and being an ironclad, meant that she denied United States Navy forces freedom of action on the river. All Guns Blazing poses the question as to why the ship was scuttled with her main battery aboard at a time when the Confederate States needed every available piece of ordnance. Absent discovery of correspondence or memoirs on the subject, the answer has to be conjecture. However, several factors point to a reasonable explanation: access, manpower, time and transportation. To remove a gun from the gun deck of an ironclad was not a simple project. CSS Georgia’s armament is still only partly understood but the ammunition aboard suggests both the 6.4 inch Brooke Rifle and the IX inch Dahlgren shell gun. A 6.4 inch Brooke Rifle weighed

2 between approximately 9,100 and 10,600 pounds (depending on whether single or double banded), and an IX inch Dahlgren weighed approximately 9,200 pounds. It could not be taken out through a gun port – ports were sized to allow the muzzle to train in a very limited arc to protect the crew from projectiles entering through the port. There were no large roll- on roll-off hatches. Once the gun is lowered into the vessel it is there for the duration, absent opening up the topside deck and winching it out with a gin pole. Descriptions of the Confederate’s salvage of the USS Keokuk’s main battery from the sunken ironclad off Charleston give an idea of the process involved. This apparently did happen with the CSS Georgia’s armament as several sources mention that her armament varied from time to time as weapons were traded for use in fortifications ashore. However, this was a time consuming process and labor and manpower intensive, and not something practical under the pressure of an evacuation of the Confederate forces from the city. Once you get that gun ashore, what do you do with it? A gun tube alone is worthless; it has to be transported, if as cargo requiring at the least a very sturdy wagon with a team. To be employable in battle on land it has to be mounted on a carriage, in the case of a naval gun in a size uncommon in the field artillery, a purpose built carriage. The standard Marsilly pattern gun carriage for shipboard use is essentially immobile on land (outside of use in fortifications). With it you have to bring ammunition, again with shot or shell in a non- standard (for the Army in the field) caliber. Theoretically, guns from the CSS Georgia could have been moved by rail for use in remaining Confederate ironclads. However, prior to the deep penetration of union forces into the Confederacy, movement of any Confederate States Navy supplies, including iron for armor, engines, propeller shafts, and guns by rail, was difficult, could consume months, and was always subject to pre-emption by Army transportation priorities. With a Union army deep into Georgia, the rail net simply collapsed. The complications of moving a ship’s gun ashore and using it on land is undoubtedly why, to the best of my knowledge, every Confederate States Navy ironclad ram that was blown up, set on fire, or scuttled to prevent imminent capture went down with her main battery guns aboard (if the ship was armed). The one exception was the destruction of CSS Virginia in 1862 when she was unable to withdraw from Norfolk up the James River. As an aside note, the article references the CSS Tennessee as serving after her capture with the United States Navy. The CSS Tennessee captured in Mobile Bay was the second Confederate ironclad to bear that name. The first was a partly completed sister ship of the CSS Arkansas, and was burned on the stocks to prevent her capture after the fall of New Orleans. After the capture of Mobile the second Tennessee served throughout the remainder of the war as the USS Tennessee on the Mississippi River. However, she was not the only captured ironclad repurposed as a United States Ship. The CSS Atlanta, another Savannah Squadron ironclad, went aground and was captured in the Wilmington River during an attempted sortie by two United States Navy Monitors, USS Weehawken and USS Nahant, on 17 June 1863. As USS Atlanta she served in the James River for the remainder of the war. Sold to the navy of President Sylvan Salnave in the midst of the Haitian civil war, she departed for Haiti on 11 December 1869 as the Haitian ironclad Triumfo. She is known to have put into port in the Delaware Bay for repairs and then departed to be lost at sea with all hands, possibly off the Delaware Capes or off Cape Hatteras.

3 SEA QUIZ 56 questions repeated to save you digging out last month’s AGB. 1. Who was known as ‘The Ocean Swell.’?....and why? 2. Which Admiral was known as ‘Old Close the Range!’? 3. What were known as number 7i’s? 4. What were ‘The Muckle Flugga Hussars’? 5. Last but not least….’The Holy of Holies’? Sea Quiz 57. Back to your knowledge of RN warships this month, come on you can do it! Be careful with number 1, you’ll probably know them as something completely different! I couldn’t make a guess at Number 5, (if I hadn’t seen the answer!). 1. Which class of warships were also known as ‘The Behemoths’? 2. Who aboard a warship was ‘The Damager’? 3. Who nicknamed themselves ‘The Dogger Bank Dragoons’? 4. Where was ‘Scabby Liz’? 5. What in 1916, were the ‘Challenge Ships’? Best of luck. Rob Morgan Sea Quiz 56….answers. I think the questions have been fairly easy recently, as these answers will show.…… 1. He was Admiral Ramsey, renowned for his immaculate turn out. 2. Lord Cunningham in the Med…his policy for sea fighting. I think he pinched it from Collingwood. 3. This, as you all knew is or was tropical rig, blue and white. There was a nickname for ratings thus clad….’Magpies.’ 4. I’d never have got this in a hundred years…it was the 10th AMC Squadron of the Northern Patrol 1914-18. 5. The Holy of Holies is naturally, The Admiralty.

4 The Australian Navy’s first Flag Ship was the Indefatigable Class Cruiser, HMAS AUSTRALIA. Commissioned 21 June 1913, Crew 820, length 590ft, beam 79ft. Her Parsons direct drive steam turbines, produced 80,000hp, 25 kts and a range of 7,700 miles at 10kts. Battle Honours: Rabaul 1914 and North Sea 1915-18. She was scuttled under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty. HMAS CERBERUS, Crib Point, Victoria is having an Open Day 23rd October 10a.m. to 4p.m. Perhaps one of our members will be going and can write a few words for AGB?

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6 The 2016 NWS Holiday – Vis A short report by David Manley 2016 saw the 150th anniversary of the battle of Lissa. Fought on July 20th 1866, the battle was the biggest ironclad naval action and the only ironclad fleet action fought in the open sea. To celebrate the anniversary Stuart Barnes Watson organised a holiday to the island of Lissa, now known as Vis. The island sits off the coat of Croatia near the port of Split. Until the 1990s the island was a closed military site which is now opening up to tourism and becoming one of the most popular spots in the Adriatic. But I digress…. Monday July 18th saw myself, Stuart, Slavi, Wayne and Nathan assemble at Gatwick Airport for the 2 hour flight south. A short bus ride, lunch by the harbour and then a 1 hour sprint by fast ferry over the water brought us to the island, and a 20 minute walk along the Vis waterfront to the adjoining town of Kut brought us to the holiday home that was to be our base. The waterfront near our house Tuesday was spent acclimatising, with pleasant walks through the towns, lunch and refreshments at some of the nice and very reasonably priced cafes and restaurants in Kut and marvelling at some of the fantastic (and no doubt extremely expensive) yachts that came I and out of the marinas (we also marvelled at the almost total lack of boat handling skills of some of the owners – major damage was only narrowly avoided several times from what we saw!). I was also pleasantly surprised at the number of very friendly cats that inhabited the town – each restaurant seemed to have at least one moggie in residence 

7 At the pizza restaurant, waiting for takeout Several million pounds worth of boats Wednesday was the “big day”. We got up early and headed over to Vis town to see the parade and the memorial service. Re-enactors from Austria had turned out in some numbers in a variety of authentic naval and civilian outfits of the time, a brass band led the procession and the chief of naval operations of the Croatian Navy headed the VIPs from Croatia, Austria and Italy, whilst naval auxiliaries from the Croatian Navy anchored in the harbour. The head of the parade

8 After the service we returned to the house and retired to the basement for our re-enactment (a good move since the basement had a blue-grey floor and it was significantly cooler than outside, where air temperatures hit 35 degrees). Stuart and Slavi brought all the ships required, a selection of lovely 1/1200 models from Hai. Slavi spent several long hours packaging the models for their trip and did a great job, not a single mast bent. The original plan had been to use my "Iron and Fire" rules (we used them for a previous NWS Lissa refight some years ago) but in the end we went for my "Broadside and Ram" rules that form part of my recent Lissa publication. This was a good move as we fought through 25 turns in the afternoon and fought the game to a practical conclusion before we had to close up for the evening. The collection Stuart and Wayne played the Austrians, Nathan and I the Italians. The battle itself proved to be a reversal of history, and a black day for the Austrians. The Austrian ironclad division (Wayne’s force) accounted for itself well and fought a slugfest with its Italian counterpart (my command). Many ships on both sides were damaged but none conclusively apart from the Austrian Don Juan de Austria which caught fire and after some time blew up and sank. Nathan’s ironclads face Stuart’s oncoming wooden fleet

9 But to the North Persano's leading ironclads (Nathan) faced an oncoming tide of heavy Austrian wooden ships (Stuart) and faced them off with deadly fire (Nathan's gunnery rolls were generally excellent). Soon the flagship Kaiser and the other Austrian heavies were burning and shattered and, as losses mounted, Tegetthoff decided the day was lost and the Austrian fleet moved to withdraw. Nathan’s line is cut The rules worked well, we fought the game to a conclusion in 5 hours (which were punctuated by a number of breaks for water and fresh air, so more like 3-4 hours of playing time) and the overall feel was just right. The day ended with a celebratory barbecue, cooked to perfection by Stuart. Thursday was our tourist day, but alas was also the day when illness in the form of a nasty stomach bug hit some members of the team. So it was a reduced band that embarked on a 4x4 tour of some of the military establishments on the North West side of the island. First top was the picturesque Fort George, built by the British and sitting in a commanding location at the entrance to Vis harbour. Recently restored, the fort is also now a trendy bar and nightclub, but it still retains a lovely period feel. The approach to Fort George Then on to more modern features; the nearby submarine pen and coastal battery where we saw a number of extremely well concealed gun emplacements overlooking the seaway between the

10 mainland and the island. Back to the truck and a bumpy but very picturesque drive across the island to one of the nuclear bunkers and command centres – essentially a 400 metre long tunnel with barracks, magazines and life support machinery carved through a hillside. The finale was a visit to Tito’s cave towards the middle of the island before heading home. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and chatty, and our knowledge of the military history of Vis and Croatia in WW2 and the Yugoslavian Civil Wars was greatly enhanced. The submarine pen One of the concealed gun emplacements

11 Approaching Toto’s cave Friday was a quiet day after the exertions of the tour, with visits to the Vis museum, located in the Madonna Battery which played an important part in the battle of Lissa. The museum tells the story of the settlement of the island by the Greeks (who gave it its name of Issa) and subsequently the Romans as well as the battle, and is packed with many fine exhibits. One hall is devoted to the battle and is packed with information on the defences on the island, much of it invaluable to war gamers  Amphorae in the museum As well as the 1866 battle of Lissa I also refought the 1811 action whilst on the island of Vis last week. The plan had been to run this as a regular game but alas the various stomach bugs and ailments which had struck the valiant travellers seriously impacted the last 2 days of the trip and the game didn’t happen. I awoke with a fever early (3am) on the Saturday morning before we were due to fly home and decided that I wasn't going to have carted all those models to the island and back without using them, so I ran the game solo on the bedroom floor.

12 The game was a hard fought, spirited action. The British line tacked early, heading downwind and avoiding the head of the windward allied line which turned late and found itself out of position for a good while (apart from the Venetian Bellona which turned and joined the leeward column). However, this was not before some superlative long range shooting crippled Active, a blow from which she never recovered. Their early tack allowed the British to concentrate on the leeward ships and allowed Active to attempt to escape, at least for a while. The opening stages. A brown towel represents the northern coast of Lissa The three British ships still in fighting order eventually forced the leeward ships to strike, but whilst doing so Favorite and Flore had caught Active and forced her surrender in a boarding action. But this left Favorite vulnerable to a counterattack and she was boarded quickly by Hoste's flagship, Active. The battle of the commodores ended in a swift British victory; Hoste would be joined by his foe for dinner in the harbour at Lissa that evening. Seeing the game was most definitely up, Flore broke off the action and headed to Hvar and safety. Towards the end of the action. The field of battle is strewn with struck allied ships.

13 The rules in use were "Form Line of Battle" and I fought the game out using Ares 1/1000 models (they come in rather nice boxes which make them ideal for carriage by air - I suspect my 1/1200 white metal models would have suffered in transit, even if well packed) Reveille was at 8am and at 10 we left the house for the short walk back through Kut and Vis to the port and a slower ride back to Split on the car ferry. The author heads home and away from the lovely island of Vis The bus trip back to the airport was made more interesting (for those who were awake) by the sight of ex-Canadian seaplane water bombers scooping water from the bay and heading up into the mountains behind Split where a forest fire was raging! Our Lissa week was at an end, we were all sporting decent tans (even Nathan) and our appreciation of the battle of Lissa and the island itself was far greater. Thanks to Stuart for organising the holiday and to Slavi for putting up with (and looking after) four grumpy war gamers, and for the thankless task of perfectly packing and repacking the models  The team

14 WEAPONS SYSTEM FOR TYPE 26 The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has signed a £183 million contract for a new weapons system which will sit on board the Royal Navy’s next generation Type 26 Global Combat Ship. The Maritime Indirect Fire System (MIFS) will be integrated onto the Type 26 Global Combat Ships, currently being designed by BAE Systems. MIFS includes the five-inch, 62-calibre Mark 45 Naval Gun System, which is already in service with other NATO nations, including the US and Spanish navies. WEAPONS SYSTEM FOR TYPE 26 The new contract will sustain 43 skilled UK jobs. Minister for Defence Procurement Harriett Baldwin said: “This is a proven system, already operated by some of our NATO allies, and will give the UK a cutting-edge weapon for the Royal Navy’s next generation frigates at the best possible value for the UK taxpayer.” Deliveries of the gun to the UK are expected to begin in 2020. F-35B Lightning II This summer the crowds at the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) and Farnborough International Air Show were treated to a display by the F-35B Lighting II. The end of June was the first time the supersonic stealth had been seen in British skies after making its way over from the US. But while ‘plane enthusiasts may have got a peek of the aircraft prior to the air shows, it was only the crowds who gathered in Fairford and Farnborough who got to see what it could really do. At Fairford, the world’s biggest military air show which hosted a sell-out crowd of 153,000 people, pilots demonstrated the awesome capabilities of the world’s most advanced fast jet, including its ability to statically hover and land vertically. It also participated in a flypast with the Red Arrows and two RAF Typhoons. At Farnborough, the F35 paid a visit and did some high speed fly pasts and demonstrated its ability to hover before disappearing into the distance. The fifth generation F-35B, which are the most advanced aircraft ever built for the UK, are due to enter service with the Royal Navy and RAF from 2018. The F35 and an illustrious WWII predecessor showing just how big today’s single seat aircraft have become.

15 NAVAL COMMAND. Wargame Rules for 1950 to the near future. These days the pressures of modern life mean that few have the weekend free or even a whole day for the pleasure of a wargame. So just like Twenty/20 Cricket is rising in popularity while the 5 day Test Match format is in decline, recently produced rule sets – land, sea and air all seem to make a point of saying that playing time is 2 to 3 hours. Naval Command is no different in this respect, the preamble says that, “it is a warGAME. It is not a highly accurate military simulation-”. The Rules have been produced by new NWS Member Rory Crabb and in my opinion, I think he has done a cracking job. Available as a PDF download from Wargame Vault for, at the time of writing, US$8 and £6.17; for your money you get logically set out rules for movement, detection, attacking and damage for ships, aircraft and submarines. Shore installations, amphibious operations are there also. Scenarios and Fleet Lists for “Modern” and “ Cold War” ships are in the Basic Rules – but get this – available as free downloads are extended ship class details for UK, USA, RUSSIA. Also free, aircraft for the above Nations plus Argentina. Also free – yes free – Falkland Island War Fleet Lists and scenarios and in a more light hearted vein, The Hunt for Red October. Promised, as coming soon, are extended Fleet Lists for China, Italy, France and Germany. Also coming soon, Third World War Campaign and Modern and Future Conflicts Campaign. I hope these will be of the same quality as those already available as they have obviously been produced with a lot of hard work and thought by Rory. Apart from the minor error of two pages numbered 32 and it is obvious that one of them is 31 and a miss-spelling of “merchant” and “drifting” (how did they get past spell checker?) the rules are a pleasure to view and read with the inclusion of several ship photographs. These rules would be a good addition to any gamer’s library. Norman Bell. https://www.wargamevault.com/product/190866/Naval-Command-Modern-Naval- Wargame-Rules https://rorycrabb.wordpress.com/naval-command/ https://rorycrabb.wordpress.com/club/ The month of October marks 75 years since the first Arctic Convoy set sail from Britain and arrived in Arkhangelsk, Russia. The Ministry of Defence, together with Liverpool City Council and The Royal British Legion, have organised a special day of events for veterans in Liverpool to mark their 75th

16 anniversary on Monday 31 October. The Arctic Star was approved by Her Majesty The Queen in December 2012 and first issued in March 2013. It is granted for operational service of any length north of the Arctic Circle (66 degrees, 32’N) from the 3 September 1939, to the 8th May 1945. The Arctic Star is intended to commemorate the Arctic Convoys and is designed primarily for the crews of the merchant ships of the convoys and their escorts. Roger Ellison, age 89, a Merchant Navy Arctic Convoy veteran and retired Liverpool marine pilot plans to attend the commemorations in October. He said: “I’m really happy to be joining other veterans from the Royal Navy and Merchant Navy on 31 October in Liverpool. I set sail on 31 October 1944 sailed to Murmansk, Russia, from Pier Head Liverpool on RMS Scythia, an armed troop ship but a Cunard White Star vessel so this anniversary in October is very important to me. During the voyage we encountered some of the very worst weather imaginable, but the real heroes were those who undertook several passages on Convoy, and those who did not return.” SIGNAL PAD! Naval Gaming Convention NAVCON is exclusively dedicated to NAVAL wargaming encompassing miniatures, board games, card games, and more of all Eras - from Ancients, to Modern. Friday, October 21 Saturday, October 22 Sunday, October 23 12pm - 11pm 8am - 11pm 8am - 2 pm WHAT-KHAN CONVENTION Wedgebury Indoor Sports Center 8800 East Riverside Blvd. Rockford, Illinois

17 “Warfare 2016”, 19th and 20th November at Reading, Rivermead Sports Complex, Richfield Avenue, Reading, RG1 8EQ. JOINING THE NAVAL WARGAMES SOCIETY If you have been lent this newsletter and would like to join the Naval Wargames Society, please follow this link to join our Society: www.navalwargamessociety.org. Membership secretary: simonjohnstokes@aol.com