"French WWII Naval Models" Topic

Do you own any painted French WWII ships?

* yes
* no, haven't painted mine yet
* no, but am interested in WWII naval
* not interested in WWII naval

yes – mostly French Med fleet plus the squadron based
at Dakar. All in 1/2400.

I have just most of the French WWII fleet in 1:6000 scale, all painted.

My inventory tells me that's 107 ships: 13 battleships/battlecruisers, 5 carriers/seaplane tenders, 19 cruisers, and 70 destroyers.

I do not yet have the French sloops that were in action against the Thai navy in WWII, which are now available from Shapeways.

No, but am interested in WWII naval.

Since the French Navy was generally inactive during the war, what about gaming them in another theater, namely the Far East? The Franco-Thai War of 1940-41 would be an opportunity:

link

And specifically, this naval battle:

link

Interesting possibilities!

Hmmmm, I may have a few, but they aren't painted.

Yes I do. In 1/4800. Robert

Yes, 1/2400. They fight Italians in the Med

Mais oui! I have Richelieu and Dunkerque painted. Unfortunately, at that point, I ran out of steam, and never bought the rest of the fleet.
Grelber

Yes

Decent size force of 1/2400 centered on the US vs French actions around Casablanca, unpainted.

4 LeHardi class DDs painted.

Some painted and most not yet painted.

Some CLs and DDs. The Strasbourg and Dunkerque are on the ways. 1/2400 of course.

Nope, but they're my next 1/6000 fleet to do. So far I've done the RN, KM & RM, with a smattering of USN & IJN for Solomons night battles.

Hoser

Saginaw,

I've done Koh Chang using 1/3000 Navwar ships (they make everything you need). It's a very tough scenario to design; you'd think that you can easily balance the Thais' larger guns and heavier armor against the French element of surprise but somehow I've never been able to get it quite right. So far, it's French:5, Thais:2, and 1 Thai, er, tie.

LT

Yes. All the BBs and BCs, most of the CAs, a few of the CLs, a mess of DLs and DD, and of course the submarine with the 8" guns! I even scratch-built the Commandant Teste for my alternative Mers-el-Kebir scenario. All in 1/2400 BTW.

Yes – the ships at Mers-el-kebir in 1/1200.

Mine are painted but it is just a light grey spray. No washes or detailing. I have 6 ships purchased randomly in 1/1200 because I liked their looks.

I do, in 1/2400. A fair portion of the entire French fleet, but in an as yet unpainted state.

Yes, also in the old school 1:1200.

Rick

R Mark Davies that's just mean

And you've worked so hard on your French fleet

Yeah I have some painted (Richelieu, the two Dunkerque class and a couple of cruisers) and I have many more to paint :S in 1/3000, all by Navwar. I'm taking a break though to work on a WW1 Austrian Fleet

have richelieu in 1/1200….getting more!

All the BB-CL's and enough DD's of every class to do battle in both 1/2400 and 1/6000. I began collecting my fleets more than 25 yrs ago so have a number from manufacturers that are no longer in business today.

I have the mighty Bearn in 1/2400 scale. I plan to send it, along with some other assorted Allied rust buckets, to the Far East to take on the Japanese in hypothetical scenarios.

@R Mark Davies -- LOL! Beat me to the punch! Face folks, given what France did to its navy in WW2, what's the point except you like "what if" stories??

"The Editor"
Yes
MH

"SBminisguy"
Perhaps you need to buy some history books? French warships were involved in quite a few historical operations, including battles against the Axis in the north Atlantic, Norway, and in the Med, as well as battles against their former allies during the Vichy period, one in Indochina against Siam, and joint participation in Allied task forces after the invasion of French North Africa. Furthermore, the whole point of wargaming, as practiced by most people, is "what ifs".
MH

Yes: Whole fleet for destroyer size and above in 1/6000 scale.

The big question is why?

The big question is why?

One reason: hypothetical or "what if" or "alt-hist" scenarios.

As far as I'm concerned, hypothetical scenarios are what naval wargaming is all about.

I do a lot of historical scenarios but even then I throw in some "what if" conditions to make the situations more interesting and game-able.

I agree other wise I wouldn't get to use my little Thai fleet :(

Of course, how could one not?
1/4800

Nope, but shot up a friend's French fleet several times playing Seapower.

No, but don't mind getting them since I play 1/6000.

"The big question is why?"

You could say the same for the Kreigsmarine,if you were so inclined.

And yes, I do have a modest French task force in 1:2400 scale.

I'm going to be getting more this month since new releases are out in 3-D :). Robert

My 1/4800 scale Naval Yahoo WarGaming Group
link

Definitely. I've a few French ships due from GHQ, in order to provide an Opfor for the Regia Marina fleet I've already painted in Naval Thunder games.

Yes, about 16 1/3000 ships, if I remember correctly, most of them painted.

I originally bought those necessary to represent the French task force in the 1940 Norvegian campaign when we refought that back in 1980ish. Since then I added a few more to enable different combinations of forces but they have all languished unused for several years now.

Yes (9 ships 1/4800 FWIW… do primed models counted?)

Trumpeter has Richelieu out at 1/700, and I'm planning on designing a (cardstock paper) cruiser and destroyer to accompany her.

Trumpeter is also coming out with the Queen Elizabeth class battleships, starting with QE/Valiant. I'll definitely have to get Warspite when it comes out: I've got a plan done for the Maasz class German and British H class (old short and new long bridge) destroyers: Narvik I & II!

You can build 1/1200s from the plans … with tweezers. :-)

I'm also looking to get into WW2 Naval, no ships yet but I'm thinking 1/3000.

The French will definitely be on my list – hypothetical battles vs. the Italians in the Med and hypothetical Third Reich seizes the fleet scenarios just appeal to me.

By the way, I've got what plans/drawings there are from ONI 203 French Naval Vessels (1943) up on my coatneyhistory.com webpage.

Indeedily do. Consulting my records I have 38 French ships in my fleet, including 23 painted. The list includes Bearn, Richelieu, Strasbourg, Loraine, a half dozen cruisers, 9 destroyers, 8 colonial sloops, 4 ASW sloops, 3 subs, two merchies, and Normandie. I figure I could game most actions in which the Marine National could conceivably have become entangled so long as one can tolerate a substitution here and there. I'll probably pick up more eventually, but getting what I have painted is the more important goal.

Got the Whole French Fleet from 1939 in 1:1200. Prize of the collection are the eight Cruisers I have which were scratchbuilt from balsa, basswood, tube, and wire by a dear friend, who passed away in 2005. He was a real artist and crafted these so beautifully it looked better than the best models you could get commercially. All of it hand carved and fitted.

He never painted the four "Foch" class cruisers and I left them blank to show the intricate details of balsa, bass, card, wire, tubing and dowel, each carved and turned. They are on display in a case.

His name was Terry Manton and he made all his own ships. He had almost a thousand at the time of his untimely death at 55 and a great gamer, and a good friend. I also have his Japanese Akagi, and his Ise Class BB as a hybrid carrier.

Sorely missed.

No – no French, but I do have at the back of my mind to do a coastal waters game sometime. But still with no French.

Not only collect them but make them:

1/1200: Chassuer, Auxiliary patrol ship "Cerons", Subs Surcouf, Junon plus two French WW1 subs. I will be releasing a 1500 ton DD (1940 and 1943 versions)and another Aux gunboat, the Pomerol, this weekend

1/600: MTBS!!- VTB 2, VTB 7 (looks the same as VTB4-6)VTB 8, VTB 11, VTB 23 ( British built BPB), 40K MTB and two "What if VTB 15 and MGB version of the same. Also a Chasseur

I love 'em

Dave G
The PT Dockyard
ptdockyard.com

Here are some of the VTBs
link

Yes, I am building a French fleet in 1/2400. An interesting what-if is for a German take-over of the French fleet and its combination with the Italian fleet to argue the British control of the Med. French revenge and rebuild after the attack at Mers-el-Kebir. Put in a little repositioning of the rest of the French at that time plus a minefield and steam up and the Italian French combined fleet becomes very credible.

Of course it was all the fault of the Americans.
cf:
link

Admittedly a puny effort, but one of my 1/2400 Flower corvettes will represent one of the FNLF convoy escort crews.

None for WWII, but I do have a variety of 1/3000 French ships c. 1906, and a few moderns in 1/2400.

Ooh, thread-o-mancy! But since I'm here anyway, I've got a decent mix of 1:6000 WWII French; the Bretagne-class BBs (one converted with an aircraft hangar) and a smattering of cruisers and destroyers. I'm particularly impressed with the big Mogador-class DDs.

Have plenty of British too, and am working on the Italians to fight them in the Middle Sea.

Here is a picture of some of mine, breaking out of Mers el Kebir at Enfilade 2018:

The Dunkerque and Starsbourg were painted by someone else, and came with a flea market purchase of many major units (CLs, CAs, BCs and a CV) of the WWII French fleet. Many of the models are Panzerschiffe and remain unused, and some unpainted. I added all the DDs and the older BBs and painted them myself.

I still have plenty of "what if" scenarios in mind for the French, including a couple grudge matches against Germans they were meant to take on and Italians everyone expected them to fight. I'd also someday like to do the "ugly duckling fight", Richelieu & Jean Bart vs. Rodney & Nelson. Stupid fun.

Quite by accident, I also have an extra Richelieu class battleship, so I'll probably set it up as the Jean Bart in Casablanca, missing a 15" main turret. The 1942 attack on Casablanca wouldn't be much of a naval game, but it might actually be a really interesting set of linked wargames. I already have a lot of the planes to do the dogfights overhead.

- Ix