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We're starting the year off with a pair of battleships for Imperial Skies. While we've been off playing in South America, the rest of the world hasn't stood still. Other nations have continued to develop bigger and better warships to try and wrest mastery of the skies from their neighbors, and we'll be releasing a number of these over the coming months.
Today sees the arrival of the Spanish battleship Pelayo and the Italian Da Vinci-class dreadnought. These Mediterranean states have some of the more powerful fleets in Europe after the dominant triumvirate of Britain, Germany and France, and a number of their larger vessels can match those of the Great Powers.
The Pelayo, named for a Visigoth nobleman of the 7th Century, follows the standard Spanish armament doctrine of large numbers of heavy guns but with no significant secondary battery apart from a few anti-fighter guns. The five triple turrets are arrayed to allow at least three to fire in any direction in its forward 270° arc, although there is little to protect it from the rear. The vessel has very clean lines, with the three square funnels giving it a distinctive and recognizable profile.
The Da Vinci class is the largest vessel to join the Royal Italian Air Navy, and the first capital ship to be equipped with secondary armament in turrets. The two primary turrets at A and Y positions are fitted with a single huge cannon, certainly the largest currently in service with the Italians, while the Q turret has a pair of slightly smaller cannon, although its field of fire forward is somewhat obstructed either side by the upper secondary turrets.
VAN-1712 – Pelayo class Battleship – £8.00 GBP
VAN-1813 – Da Vinci class Dreadnought – £8.50 GBP