Something interesting for the Italians!

[chaos0xomega]

http://www.steelnavy.com/RFaaDiBrunoPF.htm

I've never heard of it before, but apparently it really existed. Might be worth looking into rules for it :wink:

 

[DM]

Might be, trouble is people might then want to field fleets of lots of them in the open ocean

 

[chaos0xomega]

Well, as a monitor(and a funky one at that) I would imagine that it wouldn't be moving very fast, so if they want to, go for it, but without proper support theyre pretty much just sitting ducks for enemy guns.

 

[DM]

LOL, if I remember rightly (which is by no means certain) this vessel and its ilk were designed for coastal operations in the Adriatic. One of my NWS chums scratch-built a load in 1/1200 a few years back and I made some of the less adventurous looking monitors and gun barges for him.

Monitors can be fun in some open(ish) water scenarios, as long as they are used in moderation There were certainly opportunities for them to be enagged in the Channel during the 1940s, and I've played afew coastal forces scenarios in which they took part.

 

[chaos0xomega]

I haven't really been able to find much info on these online. How big is that gun(inch-wise)

 

[DomSkelton]

Pair of 15" guns. Note that the turret is open, as well; there's a big gap between the turret sides and the "roof" (which is more of an umbrella, really....) She drew 3000 tons, and had 465 horsepower of propulsion, so speed 1 in flat seas, 0 otherwise.... She also had a sister, the Alfredo Cappellini.

Note that the Cappellini was sunk in 1917, while Faa Di Bruno was reclassified, becoming floating battery GM194 - Faa Di Bruno in WW2 was a submarine sunk off Ireland in 1940.

Dom.

PS - DM - you're on the money, I think; Venetian lagoons and the Adriatic on a calm day were about it all it was designed for.