There were to have been four ships of the Richelieu-class, with the first two laid down in 1935 and the second pair following in 1935. Gascogne was cancelled and Clemenceau never completed. The last ship followed a modified design which placed one of the turrets aft of the superstructure – the original design had both main armament turrets forward, much...
The German capital ship Scharnhorst was the lead of her two ship class, launching in October 1936. She was armed with a main battery of nine 28cm C/34 guns in three triple turrets. Though plans were drawn up to 38cm guns, these plans were never enacted. Through the early war, Scharnhorst, operated in tandem with her sister ship, Gneisenau, in raiding...
The four vessels of the Suffren-class were based on the Duquesne-class, though each was built to slightly different standards as lessons were learned from the preceding ship. Their hull form was sleek and graceful, taking a classic cruiser form. While the Duquesne-class lineage was apparent, the Suffren-class had a much more modern look about them. Armour...
When launched, the Surcouf was the largest submarine in the world, only surpassed in the Second World War by the Japanese I-400-class submarine. Her intended role was that of commerce raider and her design was intended to maximise this mission. She had a range of 10,000 miles, could sail for 90 days and was equipped with a Besson MN-411 floatplane in a...
Sister ship to the Bismarck, the Tirpitz was 2,000 tons heavier and thus the heaviest warship to have ever been produced by a European navy. She served in Norway and the Baltic Fleet acting as a potent deterrent. The Tirpitz became an obsession for the British. After the sinking of the Bismarck, the Tirpitz, as Germany’s most powerful warship, was destined...
The Type 1936 was a large and very powerful design mounting 5.9-inch guns, based on the general layout of the Type 1934. The intended twin turrets were not available in time, so planned armament was reduced to single mounts in some positions. As with the preceding class, an enlarged version, designated Type 1936A, was developed from the original. The Type...
The Alaska-class fell midway between a heavy cruiser and a battleship, and the United States Navy considered these vessels large cruisers rather than battlecruisers. They were designed as cruiser-killers, tasked with destroying post-Washington Treaty heavy cruisers. As a result, they were given 12-inch guns, significant armour protection, and could travel...
USS Hornet was a Yorktown class-carrier serving in the Pacific Theatre during World War Two. She launched the Doolittle Raid (the first air operation to strike the Japanese Archipelago) on 18 April 1942. She later participated in the crucial Battle of Midway as well as the Buin-Faisi-Tonolai Raid. As part of the Solomon Islands campaign, USS Hornet was...
One of the largest battleships ever built. Based superficially on the South Dakota-class, the USS Iowa had heavier armour and was 200 ft. longer. It was also incredibly fast, due to increased output from the engines, and its greater size allowed it to mount more anti-aircraft guns, making it a formidable prospect for attacking planes. Invariably used as...
The Littorio class was the first new Italian battleship class for nearly a decade when design work began in 1930. Initially designed to remain within the 35,000-ton Washington Treaty limit, the final displacement was just over 40,000 tons. As well as being good-looking ships, the Littorio-class included a number of new features including high-velocity...
"Card game for 2 players. Theme: WWII Eastern Front Battle of Stalingrad. One player is the Soviets. The other player is the Germans." Each player uses a unique deck of cards. There are five suits marked 1 through 10 in each deck. The German suits are Firepower, Objectives, Morale, Tactics, and Forces. The Soviet suits are Defense, Locations, Morale...
A Victory Awaits: Operation Barbarossa 1941, uses a lightly modified version of the Series: Fierce Fight! game system. The game covers Operation Barbarossa from June 22 to mid-September. Game play features the same chit-pull mechanics used in AVL, with 10 ten day turns. Players can play either the full campaign game, or the Army Group North, Army Group...