Gallery – Page 5 – On The Slipway

My next build will be HMS Prince of Wales in her disruptive camouflage scheme. For a while I was planning to build her alongside the Dido-class cruiser HMS Euryalus; they were part of the same group for a while and share a wide range of equipment, among others boats and launches, pompoms, and 5.25″ turrets, and, HMS Euryalus had an equally interesting disruptive camouflage scheme similar to HMS Prince of Wales’. I briefly collected images images of Dido’s and of HMS Euryalus, Cleopatra and Charybdis sharing the early-war camouflage pattern. This camouflage pattern is particular interest as fate would have it, from the roughly 15 images I found all images of Euryalus and Cleopatra are from the starboard side and all images of Charybdis are from the port side. I have been searching deliberately for images of the battle of the Sirte as I expected that would give the best chance of a shot of HMS Cleopatra during the battle; one image I first found in Haynes’ book is a dud as it is reversed, but eventual I found one. The pattern was completed and shown below, doodled into a drawing by Alan Raven, with some liberties taken here and there. A nice aerial show allowed for the deck pattern. As with HMS Prince of Wales, the colours used remain a point of discussion but at the moment(!) I’d guess MS1/B5/MS3/MS4/MS4a.

I needed an excuse to get both ships in the same frame, either exchanging mail or fuel, so I collected images on those subject as well, but meanwhile dropped the idea of building HMS Euryalus altogether and will am now planning to pair HMS Prince of Wales with USS McDougal, an exchange that at least actually happened. Pictures of Dido’s aren’t really scarce with many of them showing a cruiser entering or exiting the harbor of Valletta, Malta. I found one album of HMS Euryalus which was kinda nice, but not really. Some pictures you no doubt have seen earlier; I added a few other decent random shots of ships in her class.

HMS Sirius (1946)

HMS Euryalus (1947)

HMS Dido (1947)

HMS Euryalus (1948/49)

HMS Euryalus (1948/49) next to the Aviso Grille

HMS Euryalus (1948)

HMS Euryalus (1948/49)

HMS Euryalus (not dated)

HMS Euryalus (1951)

HSM Royalist (not dated)

A note on the images

Now, I host this tiny website myself at very low cost, so I decided to post relative small images (typically about 1200 by 900 pixels) but in good quality. I realize that anything uploaded to the net is up for grabs, so I simply added a small watermark in the corner.

The first batch is a few shots of HMS Duke of York and HMS Anson prior and during breaking-up. It’s such a sad sight to see these vessels being reduce to scrap and one wonders what it would have been like to walk their decks as a museum visitor. But then again, not being able to adds to my fascination of these historical warships and what life on these vessels was like; living memory for some but to me a distant past.

2020: I added a few more images of HMS Howe and HMS KGV.

HMS Anson lying at anchor at Gareloch on the Clyde waiting for the breakers, watched from HMS Duke of York by her commander, Lieut. Neil Pascoe, with another large ship in the far background (possibly HMS King George V) , 1957.

The remainder of the images are postcards from the breakers yard at Faslane, dated 1958.

A very clear shot of the bridge superstructure of HMS Anson.

The rear of the bridge superstructure of HMS Anson, showing her Mk VI high-angle control directors with a type 275 radar, the only ship of the class thus fitted.

HMS Anson

Once you start building funnels you simply cannot resist collecting any photograph that shows you the interior, especially not one as clear as this one. I think this particular shot made me buy the entire batch.

HMS Howe at Inverkeithing (1958); nice close up of her rear funnel.

HMS Howe at Inverkeithing (1958)

HMS King George V in Dalmuir, (1958), showing what remains of X-turret.

Category: Gallery

Gallery: Euryalus

Gallery: KGV class at the breakers