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Battleships were beginning to respond not only to the threat

of aeroplanes but also using them in reconnaissance duties, as

Arizona was also equipped with catapults for reconnaissance

aeroplanes. Use was made of one of the rear turrets to mount one

catapult, a common arrangement for these early battleships.

The miniature version of Arizona is supplied by Hobbyboss; the kit

does not come with any etchings but is well presented and makes

into an impressive model. It represents the battleship at the time

of Pearl Harbour; her original lattice masts being replaced by the

more conventional pole masts, the addition of aeroplanes, and the

two funnels reduced to a single funnel. I finished her in blue, which

I am not too convinced about, but does give a certain amount of

character. The super-firing turrets are well represented, which were

to become the standard arrangement on most battleships that

followed.

What period could we consider to encompass these ships?

Dreadnought was commissioned in 1906 and there were rapid

advances leading up to the Great War. The Washington Treaty

came into effect in 1922 so it would be logical to include any

battleships built between (approximately) 1913 and 1922.

USS ArizonA

Dreadnought may have been the first ‘all big gun’ ship in service

but the Americans had been designing their own version, the

Nevada class battleship. These not only had all big guns but

significantly placed them in super-firing positions. The design was

somewhat strange in that they possessed two triple and two twin

turrets. However, the ship could bring all ten x 14". guns to bear on

the broadside. The Nevada class was the first so-called standard

design for American battleships. This encompassed the same turret

layout, oil firing and armour protection.

The successor to the Nevada class was the two ship Pennsylvania

class, including Arizona. She was commissioned in 1916 and was

significantly larger at over 32,000 tons and 608 ft long. She was

faster than the Nevada class at 21 knots and the number of guns

increased to 12 x 14 inches in triple turrets.

http://www.marinemodelmagazine.com APRIL 2015

Super-Dreadnought. Three Super-Dreadnoughts together

showing the differing approaches in design; Sevastopol in

the foreground, then Kronprinz with Queen Elizabeth in the

background. The size of Queen Elizabeth, the arrangement of the

turrets, calibre of her guns and fitting of aeroplanes makes her

superior in all aspects

America was also hard at work developing her navy in response

to HMS Dreadnought. This is a model of USS Arizona with the

original lattice masts had been removed and replaced with

conventional pole and masts by the time of Pearl Harbour

Arizona’s forward guns

Centre section of Arizona

Kronprinz. ICM produce a series of Super-Dreadnoughts

including Grosser Kurfurst, Markgraf and Kronprinz

One of the first examples of super-firing turrets; the calibre still

remains 12 inches. This was the last of the line of this calibre guns

as larger guns would be fitted to subsequent battleships. The kit

was high quality although again no etched parts were included

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