While We Were Away

In the excitement of getting ready for RE-Play yesterday, we omitted to pull the trigger on this week’s new release ! The last line of this post even mentioned that we’d have some at the show (which we did, to no avail since no-one knew about them…). So, a day or two late, we give you the Westfalen…

For the past couple of years our eyes (at least as far as Imperial Skies is concerned) have very much been focussed on the arms race in South America, and the state of the fleets in that New World. But while we’ve been away the other great fleets of the world haven’t been idle, and development of new vessels has continued apace.

The German Imperial Air Service recently accepted the first of the new Westfalen class battleships into service with a launching ceremony at Löwental Luftschiffhafen. At 374 feet overall, the new vessel is around 40′ longer than the Markgraf class. It carries a substantial main and secondary armament, although analysis from foreign correspondents who witnessed the unveiling indicate a possible lack of quick-firing small calibre guns for defence against fast-moving aircraft. Nothing is known of its propulsion or internal systems beyond the obvious three funnels sandwiched between a pair of main masts.

The Westfalen is expected to become the first vessel in the newly formed 9th Division of the 5th Air Squadron, presumably to be followed by at least seven further vessels of the same class.

VAN-329 – Westfalen class Heavy Battleship – £8.50