Preliminaries.
The 2001 January Nationals took place over the 3 day Australia Day
weekend. The format being as follows:
- Friday - preparation of vessels.
- Saturday had two standard campaign battles.
- Sunday started with a standard campaign battle and finished
with a "Last Man Standing" battle.
The hosts, Brett and Lesley Farquharson, took a great deal of
care to make sure everyone was welcomed, accomodated and looked
after generally. They did a wonderful job.
Members came from near and far to participate, with attendees
from Yass (10 km), Canberra (60 km), Wagga Wagga (240 km), Sydney
(290 km), Newcastle (420 km), Melbourne (650 km), Armidale (700km),
Brisbane (1700 km), Cairns (2,600km) and Perth (3,700km)
A total of ten armed vessels took to the water and engaged the enemy,
though three suffered from serious problems throughout the meet
that severly limited their impact.
Allied Warships
Click on a thumbnail to see the full sized picture.
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USS Houston
Skippered by Steve Burden, Canberra Battle Squadron.
Overall Allied Commander
Photo: Simpson |
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USS South Dakota
Skippered by Anthony (Ant) Burden, Canberra Battle Squadron.
Photo: Hawkins |
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USS Alabama
Rookie skipper Richard Simpson, Newcastle Battle Squadron.
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USS Indiana
Rookie skipper Mark Raisbeck, Newcastle Battle Squadron
For the first day, Indiana lacked a pump and suffered for
it.
Photo: Simpson |
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HMS Invincible
Rookie skipper Gordon Cranfield, Fremantle (WA) Battle Squadron.
Invincible suffered from problems with her guns and control
systems throughout the weekend and was unable to fully take
part in the battles.
Photo: Simpson |
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Iowa class battleship Mick Dundee
Rookie skipper Noel Brain, Victorian Battle Squadron.
Noel suffered some initial problems and had little impact
till the "Last Man Standing" battle.
Photo: Kirwan |
Axis Warships
Click on a thumbnail to see the full sized picture.
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FNS Richelieu
Skippered by David Howard, Canberra Battle Squadron.
Photo: Simpson |
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FNS Strasbourg
Skippered by Bill Kirwan, Canberra Battle Squadron.
Photo: Simpson |
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INS Littorio
Skippered by Glendon Pryor, Newcastle Battle Squadron.
Overall Axis Commander
Photo: Simpson |
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Graf Spee
Skippered by Peter Hawkins, Wagga Wagga Battle Squadron
Graf Spee suffered from problems with her electonics throughout
the weekend and was unable to fully take part in the battles.
Photo: Kirwan |
Saturday Morning |
