[CaptainGyro]

You know how sometimes you go searching for something on the web and it leads you to something you didn't expect?

This afternoon I was reading some history on (among other things) the Spanish Armada. That got me thinking about Trafalgar. I fired up Google Maps to see exactly where Trafalgar is (just up the coast of Spain from Gibraltar, to the west, on the Atlantic side). As I zoomed in, I noticed in the ocean the markers for the final resting places of four U-boats, just outside the strait. As I clicked on each one, I noticed that each of the sinkings was initiated by a US Navy PBY squadron, VP-63. A little more Googling led me to a history of this great squadron, whose accomplishments included the first use of Magnetic Anomaly Detection (MAD) gear, the first use of rocket-retarded depth charges, and the shooting down of one of the few JU-88's that had been converted for air-to-air action against patrol planes. Most amazing, a U-boat actually surrendered to one of the squadron aircraft, which had to circle it's prize until surface vessels arrived to take control of it.

If you have time check out the story of VP-63. Scroll down to page 485:

http://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/research/histories/naval-aviation/dictionary-of-american-naval-aviation-squadrons-volume-2/pdfs/chap4-4.pdf

 

[Diamondback]

Mike, you ought to love this... one of the project goals for a client's miniatures line is to offer enough ships to fully reenact the Battle of Trafalgar without the trouble of having to paint or assemble your own models or study an encyclopedia-size rulebook.

They've had a few side-orders along the road to that goal, like one of my pet projects--we've got Bonhomme Richard penciled in for a late-2016/early-2017 release.

 

[CaptainGyro]

That sounds amazing. Trafalgar demonstrated what a monstrous presence on the high seas the Royal Navy had become. A few years later they were sailing up the Potomac and sacking Washington during the War of 1812.

At the Maritime Museum in Greenwich they have a whole floor devoted to Nelson and Trafalgar. They have the uniform coat he was wearing when he took a fatal shot from a sniper on an enemy mast...the bullet hole is clearly visible.

In order to get Nelson's body back to London, his crew immersed it in a cask of rum. Upon arrival in London, to demonstrate their devotion, the crew drank the rum.

 

[Diamondback]

Yep... if travel, and particularly Old Blighty, ever become tolerable experiences again (hell, I'm having nightmares about just Toronto to visit my gal!) Greenwich is on my To-Do list--they've already been most helpful letting me data-mine their Draughts Collection. If that's your bag, check out Ares Games' "Sails of Glory" line--they also have a couple WWI and WWII lines, and since some folks are trying to lean on them for a PBY I'll have to mention VP-63 as a candidate alongside a PTO "Black Cat" and RAF Coastal Command. (Big birds, they only like to do two versions per sculpt. I'm actually writing an article about accurizing their "A Bit O' Lace" B-17G and reworking it into other 447th BG aircraft...)

Ironically, Nelson picked the worst possible ship to personally tangle with that day, as Capitaine Lucas of Redoutable, knowing that there was no way in Heaven, Earth or Hell that he was going to make even mediocre gunners of his crew, focused their drilling on musketry and boarding actions.

 

[Tim Burke]

Upon arrival in London, to demonstrate their devotion, the crew drank the rum.

Their dedication to rum?