1/1200 DKM Bülow 1942 (JK’s Model Shop)
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by Michael Harrison |
1/1200 DKM Bülow 1942 (JK’s Model Shop)
The name Bülow was selected for two reasons. Bernhard Heinrich Karl Martin von Bülow was a key player in establishing the German Navy League supporting Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz' efforts to expand the Imperial German Navy. In a change of perspective, when Great Britain launched HMS Dreadnought, driving Germany to expand its Navy, Chancellor Bülow was opposed to further naval expansion. I found it ironic to name this ship after him given that this ship, had it come to fruition, was a major expansion of the Kriegsmarine surface fleet.Class: The H40 was never historically considered. H39 and H41-44 were all laid down or documented for developmental consideration. All followed the same arrangement of armament as the Bismarck class with armament configuration, only the caliber of the main armament changed. As H40 never existed, some leeway is available in developing this non-historical theoretical ship.
Main Armament: H39 was set to be equipped with 16 inch main guns. As H40 would have been a quick follow-on, the 16 inch guns would be retained, however the adoption of a triple gun, triple turret configuration would allow for 1 more gun than the preceding H39.
Secondary Armament: The 15 cm SK C/28 was the standard Kriegsmarine secondary armament throughout WWII. The formal H-Plan battleships called for the same 2x6 configuration for each class. As designs evolved I believe they would have changed this configuration (Consider H44 at 131,000 tons and 345 m long with just 12 15 cm guns). As such the H40 presented here is being built with 8 twin 15 cm turrets.
Color Scheme: I am considering that this H40 ship entered into service in late 1941. As such, I sought to find a scheme that was distinctly German and fit what other ships were sporting in 1942. As such, the bow and stern were painted with a dark grey while the remainder of the ship was painted a lighter grey. The turret tops were painted light blue, implying involvement with Operation Cerberus, supporting Gneisenau and Scharnhorst. While Gneisenau and Scharnhorst had complicated superstructure camo in addition to the blue turret tops, German Naval Camouflage: Volume 2 indicated this pattern was left over from prior sorties, thus my justification for omitting it from KMS Bülow.
In addition to the ship, the Type VII U-Boats in the diorama are from Harristotle’s Miniatures. The ship is completed with the railing from Tom’s Models, secondary guns from Harristotle’s Miniatures, and Peddinghaus decals for the flags. The water utilizes Chris Flodberg’s technique, and the ice utilizes a technique from Joseph Lavender.
