1/350 HMS Eskimo Tribal Class Destroyer W/Aust Decals

This is a kit of a Tribal Class Destroyer. This class was built by both the British and Australian Navy. The kit includes decals for either a British or Australian version of this ship.

The Tribal Class Destroyers built in Australia were based on their British counterparts design, save that X Turret was a Twin 4 Inch in lieu of the 4.7 Inch Turret mounted in the Royal Navy Ships. Original plans were for a total of 8 Tribal Class to be constructed at Australian Naval Dockyards. Only three of these were to be completed, HMA Ships
Arunta, Bataan and Warramunga. Cockatoo Island Dockyard was the birthplace of these three 'super' destroyers.

These ships were quite powerful for their size, able to reach speeds of up to 36 knots, shipping 6x4.7 Inch and 2x4 Inch Gun Turrets, they were to provide substantial anti ship, air and submarine capabilities. They were seen as a good substitute for Cruisers on convoy escort work.

Towards the end of the war in 1945 both Arunta and Warramunga exchanged their 6x20mm Oerlikons for 6x40mm Bofors (all single mountings), plus four 2 pounder Pom Poms.

Arunta and Warramunga carried out many varied duties in WW2 including escort and naval guinfire support roles. In 1945 Bataan was one of nine RAN Ships that attended the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay. (USS Missouri).

HMA Ships Bataan and Warramunga also saw active service during the Korean War in the 1950's. During this period Arunta and Warramunga were converted to Anti-Submarine Destroyers (in a limited fashion) from 1950 until November 1952. These changes included new masts and radar. Reomal of Y Turret, replaced by 3 barrelled Squid Anti Submarine Mortar. The old Pom Pom Amidships was replaced with a Twin 40/60 Mounting.

HMS Eskimo (L-75/F-75/G-75) was laid down by the High Walker Yard of Vickers Armstrong at Newcastle-on-Tyne on 5 August 1936. It was launched on 3 September 1937 and commissioned on 30 December 1938.

Eskimo participated in the Second Battle of Narvik in April 1940, supported the Allied landings in North Africa in November 1942 and served with the 10th Destroyer Flotilla at Plymouth. It attacked and sank the enemy German submarine U-971 while in company with the Canadian destroyer HMCS Haida and a Liberator aircraft of the Czech air force in the English Channel north of Brest on 24 June 1944. During the final days of the war, it operated in the Far East. For most of the spring of 1945, she was employed in operations south of RamreeIsland (Burma) where odd parties of Japanese were holding out. ESKIMO and other Tribals later joined up with Force 61 to intercept and destroy what was left of the Japanese surface fleet.

HMS Eskimo was reduced to an accommodation and headquarters ship for minesweepers, wreck-disposal vessels, and salvage craft clearing the Thames and Medway estuaries in 1946. It was used as a target ship in the Gareloch, sold for scrap on 27 June 1949 and finally broken up at Troon.