Ship-to-Shore

Ships WWII
1

Hi all,

Can anyone tell me what options I might have for types of small boat used by the Royal Navy in WW2 for transferring crew/passengers from ship-to-shore, and vice versa, :thinking:?

And, more importantly, which, if any, exist as model kits in 1/72nd scale, :thinking:?

Any advice/help would be greatly appreciated, :+1: :slightly_smiling_face:.

Cheers, :beer:,

G

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Sorry for the tardy (and sketchy) response. I believe ships that had to anchor out in the roads would generally use their own boats (many of which were still rowed) for ship-to-shore commuting. The number and size of these would depend on the parent vessel. However, there was a specific class of vessel built for fleet support during the war; the Victualling Inshore Craft. These were based on the traditional “Clyde Puffer”, but while these had still been plentiful during WW1 their numbers had declined during the interwar period thus necessitating the Admiralty ordering around a hundred to be built during WW2. These were mostly the smaller type (68 feet long or smaller to be able to travel the Caledonian Canal) and while a few of the last built had diesels the great majority were still driven by reciprocating steam engines. Waterline Clyde Puffers are available as railway accessories in various scales including OO. These are usually the older type with the smokestack forward of the wheelhouse whereas some (larger?) VICs had it abaft. I’m sorry I can’t recommend a manufacturer (Langley Models?) but these vessels are very popular and available in various media so you should be able to find something to your taste.

Regards,

M

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Thank you for the detailed feedback Tom, I always learn something new whenever you have provided me with assistance/support, :+1: :slightly_smiling_face:.

I had looked, early days, at the Clyde Puffer as a possibility but, unfortunately, it would be too big, and the Langley model is expensive, plus I’m wary of Langley boat kits as their 26’ lugger I purchased as a possible solution was terrible, the resin hull was so rough that I decided it wasn’t usable
though to be fair, it might just be a bad issue, and I was unlucky, :pensive:.

Having taken onboard your comments above I have found some possibilities from a company called Quaycraft, but again they’re resin and I’m wary of spending hard cash without knowing what they’re like
the site selling them only has small images that can’t be zoomed in on
I might post a question in here to see if anyone has any experience of them.

Thanks again for your help.

G, :beer:

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What type of ship are you thinking about transferring crew to/from?
Smaller ships like armed trawlers or corvettes have smaller ships boats than battleships.

Steam launch used by HMS Renown (see correct naming in post by MoramarthT below)

image
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Way too big but shown as an example.

The Revell (ex Monogram) 1/72 Corvettes have smaller boats

Selection of 1/700 boats for the Renown:

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Varies quite a bit 


Some further reading here:

and here:
http://www.shipmodels.info/mws_forum/viewtopic.php?f=52&t=314538

Robbing a corvette kit is the only option that I know.

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Thanks for your assistance Robin, as always it’s much appreciated, :+1: :beer:. I’ll study the link you’ve provided, but I have to say that the detail of those 1/700 scale boats for Renown are amazingly well detailed, :slightly_smiling_face:.

Below is a link to one product from a UK site that has a fair few possibilities, in various scales, but I’m not sure of the quality. If anyone wants to check out the range and scales available just search for ‘Quaycraft’.

I will create a new question in ‘Model Shipwrights’ to see if anyone has experience of this range, and the quality of products.

Thanks again for your assistance, :+1: :slightly_smiling_face:.

G, :beer:

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I think I saw some “papercraft” models advertised, given your exceptional scratch building skills it might be possible to get hold of one of those and re-scale it (if necessary; I seem to recall photocopiers used to enlarge/reduce accurately only along one axis) and use that as the basis for a build in other materials. It helps that most of the plates of the hull only needed to curve in one direction and many were simply flat.

Regards,

M

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Steam Pinnace “199” (more likely 224), built c.1911 and in RN service until 1949. The closest to her original form of all the surviving vessels which started life as naval pinnaces, such as Charles Lightoller’s “Sundowner”. (Yes, THAT Lightoller!)

Cheers,

M

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I had to do a Google search since I knew absolutely zero about Mr Lightoller:

He had a very “interesting” life 


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could this be what you’re looking for. I’ve not seen it so I can’t say what it’s like

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Thanks for taking the time to post the link Stevie, much appreciated, :+1: :slightly_smiling_face:.

That is my fall back option, the only reason I haven’t bought it yet is, having looked at a few reviews, that it is definitely ‘Medieval’ in style, so would need some modifications to make it look the part, :thinking:.

Thanks again, and cheers, :beer:, and a happy New Year to one and all, :+1: :beer:.

G