All Guns Blazing — October 2019

1 All Guns Blazing! Newsletter of the Naval Wargames Society No. 300 – OCTOBER 2019 EDITORIAL It’s here! AGB Issue 300. Another milestone for NWS passed. Please remember to inform Membership Secretary Simon Stokes and me if you change your email address if you want to continue receiving AGB. I have had to delete a few email addresses from the distribution list as they have been bounced back as “undeliverable” or “unknown” for several consecutive months. This means that breaking through the 200 barrier for distribution still has not happened. Surely it is just a matter of time though. Somewhere in the World, the sun is over the yardarm. Norman Bell. Naval Wargames Weekend, October 5th/6th 2019 The Naval Wargames Society is holding the ninth annual weekend of naval wargaming. As last year the event will be at the Fleet Air Arm Museum at Yeovilton, so expect some games featuring the FAA and the RNAS! The emphasis of the event is on games and getting together, and we have had a lovely selection in recent years. Although it is primarily a gaming event there may well be some trade stands attending too and traders are welcome to attend (be aware it is a small event). We are on the lookout for volunteers to run games at the event. If you'd like to put on a game on either or both days, please don't hesitate to get in touch. Plenty of space and tables are available and there should be room for upwards of ten tables available of varying sizes. There will be a small charge for participation – last year this was £5 for one day, £7.50 for both days. The aim of the event is to provide a forum where naval (and other) gamers can come together to run and/or play in each others' games. Games can be as long or as short as you like, and the intention is to include a few participation games so that members of the public can join in too. For more details, or to book a table for a game for all or part of the weekend please contact Dave Sharp. Contact details for the Fleet Air Arm Museum are at the link: http://www.fleetairarm.com/find-fleet- air-arm-museum.aspx dave_sharp@talktalk.net dave(underscore)sharp@talktalk.net

2 Leeds Wargame Club are having a games day in Leeds Armoury, October 27th. https://www.facebook.com/LeedsWargamesClub/?eid=ARCkKvMRJ5yjz06O41wTg72jN- Wwf6sonXPlT2hwlrcT44W_3vsBCuTIG2uAcLxC4W7nHn9KA_vgkGa4 www.leedswargamesclub.webs.com The wargames show, “Fiasco”, will have displays and games from groups across the North of England and a wide selection of traders who will be more than happy to exchange their goods for coin. Doors open 10:00am. Nevada supporting the landings on Utah Beach, 6 June 1944 The last of four new tankers has been accepted into the RFA. The tankers will refuel at sea ships of the RN, NATO and allied warships. Tideforce joins her sister ships Tidespring, Tiderace and Tidesurge. RFA Tideforce has joined HMS Queen Elizabeth for the Westlant 19 deployment off the Eastern Seaboard of the USA. Within a year of Pearl Harbor, USS Nevada was salvaged, modernized and reconstructed. In 1943 she took part in the recovery of the Aleutian Islands providing fire support. After completing some convoy runs, in 1944, she provided fire support for the Normandy invasion. Nevada was later praised for her "incredibly accurate" fire in support of beleaguered troops, as some of the targets she hit were just 550 metres from the front line. She was the only battleship present at both Pearl Harbor and the Normandy landings. The U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, fly over Chicago during the 2019 Chicago Air and Water show. The Blue Angels are scheduled to conduct 61 flight demonstrations at 32 locations across the USA to showcase the pride and professionalism of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps to the American public in 2019.

3 In the Great War, Japan was on the correct side and sent a dozen destroyers to help with the escorting of convoys in the Mediterranean. They spent 72% of their time at sea compared to 60% for RN destroyers and about 45% for the French and Italians. So conscientious were the destroyer captains, that some committed hari- kari when the enemy sank a ship in their convoy. The Ship Spotter’s Guide dates from 2014 but as far as I know it has not been superseded by anything better. From ancient Egyptian War Galleys from c1175 BC, up to the nuclear USN Nimitz and Ronald Reagan, this reasonably priced book from Osprey contains excellent artwork from 8 artists and Angus Konstam is the compiler. ISBN 978-1-4728-069-1 The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) approaches the fleet replenishment oiler USNS Tippecanoe (T-AO 199) and the dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS Cesar Chavez (T-AKE 14) prior to a replenishment-at-sea. The Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations. Based on extensive historical research, “The Cold Wastes” provides the naval wargamer with everything they need to fight the early war battles of Dogger Bank, Heligoland Bight and the Scarborough raid. Written by Stuart Machin and available as a PDF at a reasonable price from Wargame Vault (Long Face Games). https://www.wargamevault.com/product/287427/The-Cold- Wastes?manufacturers_id=6867 https://www.wargamevault.com/product/243379/Clash-of-Giants?src=newest

4 NWS Members may wish to check out the following books: “The Last Days of the High Seas Fleet; from Mutiny to Scapa Flow” by Nicholas Jellicoe, Seaforth, ISBN 978 15267 5458 5. “Scapa 1919; The Archaeology of a Scuttled Fleet” Osprey, ISBN 978 1 4728 2890 3. oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo Sailors from Britain’s biggest warship have payed tribute to the ‘Forgotten Few’ – 79 years after the most important battle Britons had fought in centuries reached its climax in the skies of southern England. The crew of HMS Queen Elizabeth joined a service of thanksgiving for the deeds and sacrifices of the small band of aviators who helped stave off Nazi invasion in the summer of 1940. While the bravery of the RAF British, Commonwealth, volunteer and foreign fliers – notably the Poles and Czechs – has been immortalised in books and on film, the role of 56 naval airmen (both Fleet Air Arm and Royal Marines) is largely ignored; seven were killed and two wounded between July 10 and October 31 1940, when the battle officially ended. oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo SIGNAL PAD! In this coming December, descendants of the men of Achilles, Ajax, Exeter and Graf Spee will travel to Chile, Uruguay and Argentina. The 80th anniversary of the Battle of the River Plate will be commemorated at Concepcion, Chile; The Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity, Montevideo; the Allied War Cemetery and the German Cemetery in Buenos Aires where Kapitan zur see Hans Langsdorff is buried. Hurricane Dorian cut a swath across the Bahamas before landfall in the Carolinas. As many as 13,000 homes were destroyed or severely damaged by winds up to 185mph and gusts up to 220mph for several days in early September. The USN and RN gave help to the Islanders, delivering shelter kits, ration packs and water across the islands, airlifting relief to outlying, cut off communities in liaison with the Royal Bahamian Defence Force.

5 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F- wb3Akqqz4&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR0VMI1ta3YVEO0Hside0lrxO9XWyQphdykWrMX2yb 57coK438fQoqQUG0o Little Wars TV refight the Battle of Trafalgar. 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 Hot on the heels of Cruel Seas comes Black Seas from Warlord Games. “Master & Commander” is the name given to the starter set. A skilled model maker (not me that’s for sure) such as Jamie W using Citadel “Contrast” paints can produce the model from sprue, to below in an hour. In the UK, October’s edition of Wargames Illustrated includes a free Black Seas model.

6 NWS Events and Regional Contacts, 2019 NWS Northern Fleet – Falkirk East Central Scotland Kenny Thomson, 12 Craigs Way, Rumford Grange, Rumford, Stirlingshire, FK2 0EU Tel: 01324 714248 e-mail: kenny.thomson@hotmail.com - Website: http://falkirkwargamesclub.org.uk/ Falkirk Wargames Club meets each Monday night at 7pm with a variety of games running each evening. Naval games are popular with 2 or 3 run each month. Campaign games sometimes feature in our monthly weekend sessions. Games tend to be organised week to week making a 3- month forecast here a waste of time. Please get in touch if you’d like to come along.  Popular periods – Modern (Shipwreck), WW1 and 2 (GQ), WW2 Coastal (Action Stations), and Pre-dreadnought (P Dunn’s rules) Devon and the West Country Naval Wargames afternoon/evening/all day on a regular basis. Contact Stuart Barnes Watson to arrange the details. stuart_barnes_watson@hotmail.com 3 Clovelly Apartments, Oxford Park, Ilfracombe, DEVON, EX34 9JS Tel: 01271 866637 Uruguay, SCOW: Southern Cone Orientales Wargamers • Games erupt, inquire to set one off: Bill Owen US telephone is 217-619-0202, Uruguay 099 834 544 WmOwen@aol.com • If Spanish speaking, email & I will get someone who speaks it better. • Soca, Canelones or in Montevideo we can arrange a "Graf Spee 3 Gun Salvo": see her 5.9” gun, anchor & rangefinder salvaged from the ship resting in the harbor, a Real English Tour conducted by British expat staff who were associated with the British Ambassador who won the post-battle diplomacy and subterfuge plus, of course, a GQ3 refight of the battle (fees for features like museum & tour). • Most of the Salvo can even be done during a cruise ship stop in MVD from a Round Cape Horn itinerary between Santiago<->Buenos Aires. • wargamecampaign.wordpress.com THE NAVAL WARGAMES SOCIETY http://www.navalwargamessociety.org (Victorian Division “Cerberus”) Email: nws.victoria.au@gmail.com Membership by e-Subscription to NWS BATTLEFLEET magazine.