Yesterday May 5th, 2007...a date which will live in history, at 10 o'clock AM the American battleship, USS Alabama opened fire on the French Battlecruiser Strasbourg, and Washington Treaty Combat officially kicked off. The first battle was the USS Alabama vs the FS Strasbourg and the HMS Invincible. Alabama opened the action followed quickly by the Strasbourg. The first sortie lasted 35 minutes, with great action. There was much more maneuvering going on as everyone tried to get a feel for their ships in combat with the new speeds. Everyone found they had more time to try and aim shots instead of the "spray and pray" found in typical "fast gun" events. The second sortie was a bit quicker. Alabama and Strasbourg went straight at each other, while Invincible tried to help contain the Alabama. It quickly became apparent that Alabama was hurting. As the Alabama headed for the shallows and Strasbourg swooped in for the kill, and Alabama made the Frenchie pay. A furious hail of gunfire erupted from the doomed battleship, and Strasbourg, being used to a much higher pump discharge rate, stood her ground and tried to finish the stricken American. Alabama was not to be denied though, and punched several holes in the French BC, which rapidly sank by the head. Alabama, which had fired the first shots of Treaty combat had also claimed the first kill. Invincible however was still quite alive, and administered the coup de grace against the Alabama with several quick salvos as the American battleship sank on an even keel with her ensign still flying. Thus the European fleet eeked out victory sinking a 6 unit battleship at the cost of a 4.5 unit battlecruiser, and for a VERY short time Invincible ruled the pond. The second battle added to the 3 ships from the early morning battle. Now we had battleships DKM Bismarck, SMS Markgraf, FS Dunkerque, and IJN Yamato as well, bringing the totals up to 7 ships on the water. IJN Yamato is remarkable in that she was set up for fast gun when the day began, and after watching the action in the first battle, Yamato's skipper reduced her speed, reduced her pump capacity and de-tuned her guns to be legal for Treaty combat, in about 30 minutes time. It was that easy. He didn't miss a sortie the rest of the weekend. The heavy cruiser FS Suffren got into the action on day two, as well. All in all, it was probably the best weekend of RC warship combat I have ever had the privilege of attending. Everyone was friendly, and the style of combat was FAR superior to what I had experienced as a fast gun captain. There was not a single "dog" on the water, even though we had a large variety of ships from 3 unit cruisers to 8 unit battleships and 21 knot dreadnoughts to 31 knot battlecruisers. I have to admit, after watching the action unfold, and seeing how the tactics slowly began to evolve, I am excited about the possibilities that my "dog" HMS Courageous at 32 knots has open to her. All the captains were able to find a "niche" and fight against someone else. I think I speak for all when I say we had a great time all the way around. Special thanks goes out to Roland, Captain of the DKM Bismarck for finding us a great pond, and to his wife for cooking up a WONDERFUL lunch. Guys, I'm telling you, it simply doesn't get any better then we had it for Washington Treaty Combat this weekend. Mike D
Mike, Great post. I must say that the event we had this past weekend in Ravenna was the best event that I have attended in many, many years. The format works great! We picked up 3 battlers and we had FUN! We could have had 3 battles Saturday because of the new format. Sinks, less damage, longer sorties and the ability to have 3 battles in one day....OUTSTANDING!! I am ordering more batteries so that I have the abillity to take part in 3 battles. R/C Combat is FUN AGAIN!! Bob The second person to sink in WASHINGTON TREATY COMBAT!! Hey, 4 seconds is 4 seconds
Oh, almost forgot. Buddy, where were you? We were hoping to see you and your boat. Sorry you could not make it. Bob Floundering Father The second percon to sink in Treaty Combat.
I agree with you on that Bob. I only had two batteries with me for the Invincible. I need to get another battery for the Invincible, and 3 batteries for the Courageous. Three batteries I think may be a good idea given the longer sorties, and the lack of time spent patching. It just leaves a lot more time in the day for battling. I'm going to try and get her battle ready so we have a loaner boat for the next event. I'd have dearly loved to have a spare boat that Alan could have run while he was out there. Next time hopefully we'll have a few spare boats for guys who want to see what we are all about. Good Mike
Bob If you want the truth to be known, then perhaps you had better bring along a lap-top of your own. You know how the News gets posted from the event if it has a French twist. Mikey
Here are several in the "pics from Ravenna" thread farther down. There is also a video showing Mikey's FNS Strasburg, Bob's USS Alabama and my HMS Invincible. Mike D
