Shipbucket

Thanks for the comments guys. I picked up a 1950s book on sail ships at a yard sale a few years ago and it's been pretty helpful at making sense of some of the rigging.

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Republic of Lisenia AU - In progress
Republic of Lisenia in FD Scale - In progress

Part 3: Growing pains, civil war and industrialization (1850-1875)

By the end of the 1850s, the constant conflict with the northern indigenous tribes in the northern islands was teetering closely towards a full insurrection. A loose alliance of warlords led by the local strongman Manuel Portillo refused to submit to federal authority in the resource rich province of Aires, and backed his words with thousands of tough native warriors and mercenaries. Turning to smugglers for arms, he received help from British merchants, to the annoyance of the federal government. The war between the rebels and the capital lasts well into the 1860s, eating away at the treasury with the expenses of supplying the fighting men and the ships which prowled the coast seeking to interdict arms shipments. In May 1862, the corvette Santo Domingo seizes and boards the first of several British-flagged vessels carrying stores and arms for the rebels. Despite British pressure to release the ship, the navy refuses, and takes the ship into service as its own as a transport for the war. Two months later, the Constitución comes upon another British ship refusing to allow itself to be boarded, and in a short but uneven battle, the Lisenian navy's flagship riddles her with cannon fire and boards it. The ship is taken with great loss of life, and her captain is imprisoned ashore.


The bombardment of Las Perlas by the Royal Navy.

The British government is incensed, and demands the crew's release and indemnities to be paid. Lisenia's hardline government refuses, and as a result, a British squadron is sent to the Perlas islands to force the release of their ships and men. When the Lisenians refuse yet again, the British bombard the islands in August, obliterating the pathetically ancient shore batteries and finding the Constitución moored alone and defenseless, reduce the navy's flagship to burning timbers. Without any serious possibility of response against the superior British squadron, the Lisenians are forced to comply and enter negotiations with the British to stop the outbreak of violence. Under threat of embargo and bombardment of the national capital, the Congress orders the ships and crews released, and humiliatingly concedes to a 99-year lease of the Perlas islands, with their sheltered natural harbor and coaling station, and to payment of indemnities.



With the loss of the islands and the embarrassing destruction of the navy's pride and flagship, the navy receives funds to purchase new vessels. Turning to France again, the navy orders two new corvettes in 1864, which it receives at a reduced price thanks to the Lisenian government's support for French expansion in Indochina. The new Peña Blanca steam corvettes were faster than their predecessors, were fitted with improved artillery, and had more reliable steam machinery. Naval funding would be limited after the ships arrived however, when the hysteria over the narrowly-avoided British bombardment drove Congress to divert funding away from ships towards improving coastal defenses. Despite this, a new type of vessel was ordered in 1871, the ironclad monitors of the Tinu class, the last of which was contracted to a local shipyard, being the first iron-hulled vessel to be built in the country. Armed with 70-pdr Whitworth guns, these monitors were soon put to good use prowling the rivers of the northern provinces, shelling rebel towns and enforcing the blockade of their ports.



By 1874, the northern insurrection was close to defeat, having lost much of their territory and with their backs to the sea, Portillo and his remaining forces retreated into the city of San Nicolas which was protected by an old Spanish coastal fort. Here, federal troops laid siege for several months until disease and exhaustion within the city was such that Portillo was forced to surrender. Tried and imprisoned for treason, his army was disbanded and the rebelling provinces were re-incorporated into the republic. With these resource-rich provinces back in the fold, Congress set about reconstructing the national economy, and focusing energies and the treasury towards industrializing the nation, enlisting to that end, French and American engineers to help modernize the country as textiles, fruit, rice and whaling became profitable. At great expense, work began on the first stretch of an eventual nationwide railroad system, which in future years would be an important engine for growth in the young republic.

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Republic of Lisenia AU - In progress
Republic of Lisenia in FD Scale - In progress

Great job! this au is really shaping up extremely well

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Projects:
Zealandia AU
John Company AU
References and feedback is always welcome!

As the Lisenian navy continued to expand in this early period, local shipyards began to receive more contracts for supplying the smaller vessels which fulfilled the unsung but vital work of supporting the fighting ships. Typical of the ships constructed during this period, the Castañuela class aviso was tasked with hydrographic studies around the nation's waters, while sister ships of its class did double duty as dispatch boats and lightly-armed patrol craft. Simple and inexpensive, these handy boats were the most visible of the pre-expansion Armada's ships, as one or more of the ubiquitous avisos could be usually be found making their way in or out of port around the country. Despite their reliability and ruggedness, they were too lightly armed and slow to be of any real value in combat, and once more suitable replacements could be found, they were relegated to other less pressing duties.



The next update will cover more history up until 1900, the transition to new ships and an expanded navy. Edited the first post as well to include links for convenience in the future.

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Republic of Lisenia AU - In progress
Republic of Lisenia in FD Scale - In progress

Fantastic!

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USN components, camouflage colors, & reference links (World War II only)

In 1869, Arsenal Naval de Solís, the country's largest navy-owned yard, delivered what would be the last wood-hulled warship to be commissioned into the ANL. The Meteoro steam sloops were at the time the largest and most complex warships to be designed and built locally. Despite having American guns and machinery, the sloops were a source of pride and marked an important milestone for the Lisenian navy.



Of course, by this time naval technology was advancing by leaps and bounds, and the Meteoro and her sister Fugaz were rapidly becoming obsolescent in the face of improved artillery and iron hulls. Nonetheless, they provided sterling service to the navy, enforcing the blockade of rebel ports until the end of the war in 1874, and were also heavily involved in fighting the occasional Chinese pirates which preyed on local shipping. True to tradition, the sloops were sturdily built and after being replaced by newer vessels, they survived well into the late 1890s, Fugaz becoming a gunnery training ship and the namesake of the class seeing out her days as a transport.

Thanks for the kind comments guys.

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Republic of Lisenia AU - In progress
Republic of Lisenia in FD Scale - In progress

Certainly like the look of the sloop there. Been debating drawing something similar myself but I have no idea where to start.

What kind of guns would they be carrying? I'm guessing from the time period rifled cannon with exploding shot.

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"The first rule is not to lose; The second rule is not to forget the first rule"

Since the ANL is still experimenting with foreign suppliers and I've already had French and British ordnance, I went with 9-inch Dahlgren guns from the US. In the near future the navy ministry is going to learn the hard way what a logistical nightmare it is to supply so many different types, and it will provide a good incentive to push for increased local production and standardization.

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Republic of Lisenia AU - In progress
Republic of Lisenia in FD Scale - In progress

Makes sense. One of those lessons many navies had to learn at the time with the issues of so many different types of gun and shell, often on the same ship.

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"The first rule is not to lose; The second rule is not to forget the first rule"

Long and lean. She even looks fast.

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Redhorse

Current Projects:
Republic of Texas Navy
FD Scale F-14s