Commander: Gordon Cranfield, Desert Edge (Western Australia) Battle Squadron.
Photo: Simpson
HMS Invincible
The prototype Battlecruiser, built in 1909 to Lord Fisher's
requirements, she emphasised speed over armour and 7 years later paid the price,
when at 6:34pm on the 31st of May 1916 she blew up with the loss of Rear Admiral
Hood and 1,020 other men. Her wreck today is a British war grave in 30 fathoms
of water off the Jutland coast (Latitude 57d 02' 40" North and Longitude 6d 07'
15" East).
Our HMS Invincible was built by Gordon Cranfield using a Swampworks hull. HMS Invincible was commissioned at the Australian Battle Group's January 2001 National Meet. The Invincible class is a hard one to get working in the "Big Gun" format and in June 2001 she was rather over gunned (which lead to the stability problems and list seen in the photo above) while having poor endurance. Gordon has taken her in hand again after the June meet and she will likley re-emerge as a well balanced and effective vessel.
HMS Invincible is still owned by Gordon Cranfield of the Desert Edge (WA) Battle Squadron.
National Battle Honours
| January 2001 AusBG National Meet, Bowning NSW | |
| June 2001 AusBG National Meet, Newcastle NSW |
Stats
| Armour: | 1/16th inch balsa | |
| Armourment: | 4 turrets, each a CMS 'Indiana' style cannon with 2 7/32" barrels, on 3" magazines All turrets are fixed, none rotate and none depress |
|
| Pump: | 2 litres per 53 seconds | |
| Speed: | 43.3 seconds per 100 feet (25.5 knots) | |
| Combat Factor: | 33 |