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1/700 HMS Chester 1916
WEM K 714
Birkenhead Class Light Cruiser
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Click on the photo's for a closer look
The
WEM 1/700 HMS Chester is kit number 14 in our 1/700 line-up, and is another White Ensign Models success story. It was the first complete ship master pattern done for WEM by Brian Fawcett. Another point to take on board is that this was his first ever SHIP pattern! We were confident that Brian could deliver... a time-served professional model engineer, it was Brian who pioneered the WEM in-scale planking technique. At 4 planks to the mm, which scales out to 6inch wide cruiser planking, we didn't think it could be done, but he did it! After cutting his teeth on Chester, he then went on to complete the 1/350 HMS Sheffield kit masters and the 1/700 Queen Elizabeth Class battleship Warspite 1942, both of which speak for themselves.|
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For further detail pics there is a nice collection at the bottom of this page.
HISTORY
H.M.S. Chester was the second of the two ships of the Birkenhead class of light cruisers, launched on 8th December 1915 by Cammell Laird at Birkenhead, and completed in May 1916. The class was originally ordered by Greece in early 1914, but were taken over by the British Admiralty early in 1915. They were close copies of the preceding Birmingham class, but were armed with 10 x 5.5" guns of a new design made by
Coventry Ordnance Works.|
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Above and Below, the one piece hull casting
Chester joined the 3rd Light Cruiser Squadron of the Grand Fleet just in time to see action at Jutland on 31st May 1916. At 0530 that day, gunfire was heard in the distance and Chester closed to investigate. The fire was in fact coming from the German battlecruisers engaging the 5th BS. As Chester approached she spotted a German cruiser and opened fire at 6,000-7,000 yards. Two more German cruisers and one or two destroyers quickly appeared on the scene, and Chester was hit 17 times over 19 minutes. She managed to avoid total annihilation by zig-zagging at high speed before being rescued by the battlecruiser H.M.S. Invincible. At the end of the action Chester had 3 guns disabled, her after control position smashed, and holes in her side and deck armour. She had lost 32 crewmen killed, and 46 injured. Due to the damage and casualties, only the aft gun remained in operation, and it was here that the 16 year old Boy 1st Class John "Jack" Cornwell stayed at his post despite receiving fatal injuries. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.
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Chester stayed with the 3rd LCS until 1919, when she was placed in reserve at the Nore, before being sold for breaking up in 1921 following the rejection of the idea of reselling the ship to Greece. Her one battle honour was Jutland 1916.
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Model built by Ian Ruscoe
A memorial to those crew members killed at Jutland can be seen in Chester cathedral, where her roll of honour is displayed above a glass case containing a number of mementoes, including the battle ensign she flew during the battle. The aft gun at which Jack Cornwell tragically earned his VC is preserved in the Imperial War Museum in London.
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A poignant reminder. If you look closely you can see that Jack Cornwell's name (on the right) is fainter than the others, due to the number of people that have touched it
Ships particulars (as completed).
Displacement:
5,235 tons standard, 5,845 tons deep load.
Dimensions (feet):
430’ pp, 456' oa x 50' x 16'.
Machinery:
4 shaft Parsons turbines. 12 Yarrow boilers. 31,000 shp, giving 26.5 knots.
Armour
: 3/8" - 2" . Main belt 2" on 1" shell plating
Armament
: 10 x 5.5" in single mounts . 2 x 3 pdr AA. 2 x 21" submerged beam mounted torpedo tubes
Complement:
500.
Kit construction
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Jim Baumann's award-winning Chester build
This kit portrays Chester as at Jutland. For super detailing purposes we recommend the plan of the ship published by Sambrook Marine (available of course from White Ensign Models!). Further information is available in "Cruisers of the Royal and Commonwealth Navies", by Douglas Morris, published by Maritime Books.
Further Photos of the hull can be seen below
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Following on, we have a variety of small parts (not a huge number, as you can see, as much of the upperworks/funnels are cast with the hull. Note the boats. These are the correct pattern for the era from our own masters. The mast is cast in resin, although some people might wish to fabricate part of the mast from brass rod. Materials are provided for yardarms. Footropes are etch by the way.
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Below, in these two pics, even using my x10 zoom on the Mavica, it is not possible to highlight minute details!
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And below, the 5.5 inch guns and searchights
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Below, click on the thumbnail to examine the photoetched brass fret designed specially for this kit.
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This set contains the following:
Forward boat davits, Aft boat davits, Jack staff, Ensign staff, Bridge semaphores, Funnel cap cages, Boat chocks, Boat stowage rack, Stovepipes, Accommodation ladder davits, Aft gun depression rails, Binnacle, Bridge support girders, Searchlight platform support girders, Midships boat davits, Conning tower vent pipes, 3 pdr AA guns, Loading davits, Foremast lower yards, Bridge rangefinder, Anchors and baseplates, Lifebuoys, Foremast steaming lights, Funnel siren platform, Forecastle deck loading davits, Aft blast shields, Foremast searchlight platform braces, Forward blast shields and lifting booms, Forcastle sounding platforms, Anchor cable, Wide and narrow vertical ladders, Inclined ladders, Watertight doors & hatches, Accommodation ladder and rails, Mainmast yardarms, 3-bar rails
(note the uneven spacing found on WWI British cruisers and destroyers).Obviously, many of the etched brass parts can be left off if you wish to simplify construction, but using them all will produce a head turning model.
The Kit comes complete with a comprehensive and professionally designed set of instructions, totalling nine pages in all.
The Price of this kit is
40.00 Pounds Worldwide, with POST FREE air shipping included. EU customers must add 17.5% V.A.T.1 Pound equals approx. $1.55 US
(The kit is temporarily out of production, but watch the news pages for its return)
Check out the other WEM 1/700 Kits
