That's all the pictures I have of the event. I know others have more and I hope that they will be posting them. We had great weather, 14 Captains and tons of fun. Great battling with GREAT PEOPLE! This is by far the most fun that I have had battling in at least 15 years. Can't wait for the next event! Thanks all. I'll post more comments after I get some sleep.
Well guys, the end results are in. The Axis just didn't have what it took to overcome Allied numbers and reliability this year to get it done on Sunday. We only ran one battle because everyone had to get on the road and head for home. Despite much carnage, nobody sank, thus assuring the Allies of a victory with a total of 3 class six sinks (Bismarck and Tirpitz twice), and one class 5 sunk (Markgraf) at the expense of 1 class six sunk on the Allied side (Hood). A clear Allied victory, by any accounts. We were all reluctant to head home, but at the same time we were all dead tired and our ships weary. I think it's safe to say I speak for all when I say we all had a great time, with some excellent battling. I'd like to take this opportunity to extend special thanks to our sponsors for this event who donated items to our grab bag, who helped make this the most successful treaty event to date. Battler's Connection donated $100 worth of gift certificates, Strike Models donated a beautiful USS Arizona hull, and Alan Brierly a manufacturer of guns and propellers donated some very nice sets of matching props. Finally, I'd like to thank the guys who weren't able to make it who took the time to read the thread here on RC Naval Combat.
I have to admit, that this was the most fun I have have had in this great hobby in years as well. My children were able to run the Hood, and Strasbourg (as I was not able to get the other ships ready in time for the event), and they had a great time as well. In the last battle on Sunday, they were the last two allied ships on the water (I think). Marina (Strasbourg)came off of her 5-minutes just in time to miss the big chase, which left Vance in the Hood as the last chance for the axis to sink an allied ship and win a second battle. He took the entire axis flleet for the grand tour of the Ravenna battle site, and although pumping hard the entire time, he was able to survive his 5-minutes. Many thanks to Battler's Connection, Strikemodels, and Alen Brierly for their support. Everyone was hoping to win the Arizona hull from Strikemodels. It was absolutely fantastic. Several of the Treaty regulars also contributed to the grab-bags, with hulls, plans, cannons, and such. It was great to see some new faces as well. Mike Mangus, and Ben, Jacob, and Doug Sloan. I will write up some battle reports as well, but that will have to wait a day or two, as I am still getting caught up here at home. I had a wonderful time, and look forward to the next chance to battle, and enjoy each other's company. Thanks also to Roland and his wonderful wife, for putting up with us for four days. Thanks also to our good friend Phil Agnos (who was not able to attend due to his wonderful wife's health). He was kind enough to send up his two French heavy cruisers, along with the stuff to support them, and some of the event support essentials as well. His wife is doing well, and we all wish her a speedy recovery. Till we meet again.. Mikey
Battle at Ravenna Fleet battle #1 Axis Bismarck.... Roland Tirpitz....... Bobo Allies Richileiu.... Mike M. Hood....... Mikey Salem...... Mike D Prior to battle starting, the allies decided to concentrate on Bobo's brand new DKM Tirpitz. Although it was a brand new ship, the internals pretty much came out of his Alabama. So we anticipated that his stuff would work pretty reliably. So when battle was declared, all three allies went after the Tirpitz for the most part, and engaged the Bismarck only in passing. Not too far into the first sortie, the Bismarck experienced a engineering casualty, and found a smallish cove to park in, and called 5 minutes out-of-control. Bobo brought the Tirpitz in close to the cove, in order to protect his teammate, and the allies were able to work him over while we all pretty much sat in place. It wasn't long before the Richelieu brought her dual sidem-ounts into play on Tirpitz's starboard side, while Hood also brough a pair of side-mounts (although in seperate turrets) into play as well, with Salem taking what shots she could. If the Tirpitz could have moved out to sea, he would have been better off, but right in the middle of the slugging match, the Tirpitz also experienced an engineering casualty. His ESC went dead. Bobo called 5 OOC, and the thrashing continued. The Tirpitz sank by the stern, and the Bismarck survived his 5 minutes. Hood imediately called 5 minutes as she was pumping hard, and all of the allies survived their 5 minutes. So ended the first sortie. Mikey
Fleet Battle #1 sortie 2 After the first sortie ended, I assumed that we would be patching up all of the ships so that we could move on to a new fleet battle. But that was not to be the case. I was surprised to hear that Roland was going to take on the three allied ships on his own. This took me by surprise, mainly because the Hood was pumping more than any of the other allied ships, but even if the Bisarck could sink Hood, it wouldn't be enough tunnage for an axis victory. He would have to sink at least two allied ships, but it didn't matter which two. As we were putting the boats in the water, the Hood was pumping pretty good, but also sinking lower in the water. I was pretty certain that Hood would in fact sink in this sortie, and probably pretty early on at that. And if Roland was able to sink either one of the remaining allies, then it would give the axis a victory. So I lifted the Hood out of the water till just before battle was declared, and when we called war, I called 5 minutes, and hoped to pretty much just sit and try not to sink. Bismarck came after Hood right away, and instead of running for it, I tried to throw off his aim by moving forward and backward just a little. This wasn't working as well as I had hoped it would early on, as Roland was keeping focused on Hood. But as the minutes ticked by, the Bismarck was starting to show Hood less attention, and the other allies more attention. It seemed like the Richelieu was keeping the heat on the big German, while the Salem, kept trying to give him the kind of shots that one just can't pass up on. Whatever the allies was trying to do was working. Hood was able to survive her 5 minutes, pumping continuously, and all the other ships avoided sinking as well. So fleet battle #1 was a victory for the allies. Mikey
Fleet Battle # 2 Allies Salem......... Mike D Hood......... Marina D. Axis (French) Richelieu .... Mike M Strasbourg.. Vance D. This would be a one-sortie battle with Marina, and Vance battling the ships (with an adult standing by) for the first time in a real battle. It was a fun battle to watch as the Richelieu tried to bring her sidemounts into play against the faster cruiser, while the Salem tried to work over the big Frenchie with stern guns, and avoid the sidemounts. The Hood, and Strasbourg were supposed to battle against each other, but quite often got involved in the melee with the other ships, and everyone took some damage, and gave some. At the end of the sortie, there were no sinks, and surprisingly, no ram penalties. So fleet battle # 2 was a draw. Mikey
Friday Fleet battle #3 Axis Bismarck ......... Roland Tirpitz ............ Bobo Markgraf ........ Eric "NO-BULL" Noble Allies Richelieu .......... Mike M. Salem ............. Mike D. Hood .............. Vance D. Strasbourg ....... Marina D. I am not sure what the allied strategy was for this battle, as I was helping Marina, and Vance. My intentions was to have them concentrate on the large German battleships, as they would have a better chance of obtaining hits on them, whereas the Markgraf is hard for me to hit. But as things often do go in war, both Marina, and Vance had a strategy of their own. They liked shooting at the Markgraf because they could catch it. And as it turned out, Eric appeared to enjoy having someone (anyone) that was willing to hang around and play. I found this to be the hardest battle to help out the young ones, as I was not able to keep in mind that Vance was running the Hood, and Marina was running the Strasbourg, unlike the previous day, due to Vance having won the "rock,paper,scissors" on Thursday. I wasn't able to keep track of the events elsewhere in the battle, but everyone took, and gave damage, and had a fun time. At the end of the first sortie, there were no sinks, or penalties. Mikey
Fleet battle #3 sortie 2 At the beginning of the sortie, most of the larger ships were pumping to some extent, but nothing serious. Early in the sortie, Vance got too closed to one of the marker poles forthe speed trial course, and somehow got the pole stuck between the side of the Hood's hull, and the outboard prop shaft, and was hung-up. The pole was just strong enough to make the ship list a little. It took quite a bit of going back, and then forward to finally get un-stuck. Later on in the sortie, the Bismarck was seen to be low in the water forward, and the pump, although running, just wasn't pumping much water. He ran him into some shallows, and he tried not to move any more than he had to, but it was a losing battle, and the Bismarck eventually sank by the stern. Just as the stern slipped below the surface of the water, the pump suddenly took hold, and started really putting out the water. Everyone else survived the sortie, and so the allies had achieved another victory. Mikey
Friday Fleet battle #4 sortie 1 Allies Richelieu .......... Mike M. Hood .............. Mikey Strasbourg ....... Vance D. Axis Bismarck ........... Roland Markgraf .......... Eric "NO-BULL" Noble Salem ............. Mike D. (playing the part of the Graf-Spee). The allied strategy was to once, and for all, finally sink Eric's Markgraf, which was the only founder that has not been sunk in Treaty combat. Shooting at the Bismarck, and Salem was on an as-opportunity presents itself basis, but not to the point of keeping us from obtaining the sink on Markgraf. Richelieu would go in first as the heavy hitter, with the Hood trying to then get up along the other side of the German to take away his turning ability. Strasbourg would bring up the rear, and take what shots she could. At some point in this sortie, there was a lull in the main action, and several shots were fired, and hits were taken, but it appeared that most of us didn't know who was doing the firing, and who was taking the hits. As it turns out, the Graf-Spee (Salem) had lined up on the Richelieu with his bow cannon, and was long-balling the big Frenchie from several ship lengths away. Eventually Mike M. got under way, and extricated the Richelieu from the scene of the crime, and Mike D. (Mr. sneaky-pants) busted up laughing, and took up the chase again. It was too funny. As the first sortie came to an end, all of the allied ships were pumping somewhat, but the Markgraf was pumping rather well. The allies took note of this, and had her earmarked for some extra attention in sortie #2. Mikey
Friday Fleet battle #4 sortie 2 The allies decided that this was our chance to finally sink the Markgraf. She was pumping pretty steady, and we wanted to keep her on the ropes, and try to finish her off. The other axis ships were not pumping much at all, as we hadn't tried to shoot them up much in the first sortie, which was a bad thing for the most part, as they would be able to put pressure on us, and stay in there and keep it on without much worry about them getting sunk themselves. Oh well. When war was declared, Richelieu, and Hood went after Markgraf, and the German was putting up a pretty good fight. The other axis ships tried to help out, and the Strasbourg got into the fur-ball more than I thought was comfortable. It appeared that the chances of the allies achieving a sink on the Markgraf was still in question, when someone noticed that she was listing to one side after coming out of a turn, and low and behold, the pump was not on. Shortly thereafter, the pump sprang to life, but the damage was done. She was low in the water, and unable to run, so Eric brought her over into the cove, and the allies tried to put the finishing touches on her just to make sure of the sink. Markgraf kept listing over more and more until she finallly sank beneath the surface. Hood and Strasbourg went on 5 minutes just tyo make sure we didn't allow the axis to snatch victory from defeat, and the sortie drew to a close. Another allied victory. And an important one, as we had finally sunk the only un-sunk founder. Mikey
I have recently been informed that the sink on Eric's Markgraf may have been even more of a victory than was thought. I was under the impression that Eric had already reduced his pumping capacity down from a 1.5 unit battleship pump, to a one unit battleship pump. But it seems that it may still have been pumping at the larger capacity, as he might not have gotten around to changing it before the event. Mikey
That's my understanding as well Mikey. Eric has said he was thinking about swapping in a 75 round gun, but he never did it.
All I just got home a little while ago from the Ravenna battle. If you have been having trouble getting ahold of me on my cell, it is because K lost her cell phone, and has been carying mine around all weekend. I will have it back this evening, and will try to catch up with everyone then. We had wonderful weather again this weekend. Saturday was around 81 and lots of sun. Sunday was around 86 or so, and sunny as well. We did have some trouble with surface moss for some reason. Unusual for that site. But now that I think about it.. We have been having unusually high levels of moss all year. Interesting.. First battle Saturday. The Germans. Bismarck (Roland), and Prinz Eugen (Mikey), took on the Allies. Roanoke (Mark), Strasbourg (Marina), and Hood (Vance). The Allies did a pretty good job of working over both of the German ships. Early on in the second sortie, the Bismarck sank after Roland forgot to turn his pump on. Prinz Eugen called 5 and tried not to sink as well, as it appeared that my battery was dropping off early. After pulling the boat out of the water, it was found to be mossed with some rather fine stringy looking moss, that was caught between the prop hub, and the stern tube. So the Allies control of the waters was rather obvious. Fleet battle #2 K and the kids went to the motel to check out the pool. And the Bismarck was experiencing some system issues. So Roland took out one of the extra boats. I decided to take the Hood out against Mark's Roanoke, and the Strasbourg (Roland). In the first sortie Hood got shot up pretty good, but was not pumping very hard. Roanoke did really well. But the Strasbourg developed some problems with her side-mounts. For the second sortie, we decided to have Roland run the Hood (as she was working very well), and I drove the Strasbourg. There were no sinks, but we all had a great time shooting each other up. We packed up after that battle, and went to hit the showers, so that we could have dinner together. It was really nice being able to all sit around eating and chatting up the boats. I will post on the Sunday stuff a little later. Mikey
Sunday morning. Fleet battle #3 K and the kids were hanging out at the motel for a while. So the first battle would be Mark, Roland, and myself. I decided to take the old Hood out against the Bismarck and Roanoke. In the first sortie, Roland was having some issues with his rudders, and so the two capitalships mixed it up quite a bit, with the Roanoke trying to devide my attentions. So all three ships ended the sortie with some damage, and pumping somewhat. In the second sortie, the Bismarck and Hood closed in early on, and engaged in a pounding match, and the Roanoke was right in the middle of it as well. But then the pesky cruiser started pumping really hard, and headed off. Hood took up the chase, with Bismarck bringing up the rear. All three ships survived the sortie, and it was discovered that the Roanoke had a nasty ram below the waterline. But as none of us had seen any contact that had caused the damage, there was no penalty. Mikey
Sunday afternoon. Fleet battle #4 K and the kids arrived at the pond. And the kids decided to battle again. Marina decided to run the Strasbourg again. And Vance would run the Hood. So it was the Germans, Bismarck (Roland), and Prinz Eugen (Mikey), against the Allies Roanoke (Mark), Hood (Vance), and Strasbourg (Marina), again. The Germans were hoping for a little revenge from the loss on Saturday, at the hands of the same three allies. But as it turned out, the allies appeared to be hoping to extend their winning streak. The allied capitalships seemed to concentrate on the Bismarck for the most part, while the Roanoke seemd content engaging in cruiser warfare with the P.E. On occasion, we would all pass through the other skirmish taking place, and take shots of opportunity. On one occasion, the Roanoke passed behind the Strasbourg, and it must have been to much for Marina to pass up, as she sent several rounds into her smaller running mate, which brought a quick verbal response from Mark about friendly fire. The sortie ended with all ships damaged to some extent, and pumping. But no sinks. The second sortie was a little different, in that it seemed that the allies concentrated on the P.E. more, and the Bismarck less. So I got rid of my ammo in short order, and tried to leave the scene. So the battle kinda followed me around as things wound down, with the allies exchanging salvos with the Bismarck, while keeping me on the run. The sortie ended with no sinks, and no penalties. So the battle was a draw. But it sure was a lot of fun for everyone. Mikey
