Shipbucket

At the outbreak of World War Two in September 1939, the RWFAF had a fleet of 40 aircraft, including eight Tiger Moth trainers & four Supermarine Walrus. The main combat types were twenty-eight Hawker Demon fighters & Hart light bombers. Although withdrawn from RAF front-line squadrons before the start of the war, the Hart was still used by some air forces, including the RWFAF, into the early 1940s. Beginning in early 1941 & ending in 1945, the Lend-Lease policy, was a program under which the US supplied allied nations, including the UK & Commonwealth. In general, the aid was free. Although some hardware such as planes & warships were returned after the war. In return, the U.S. was given leases on bases in Allied territory during the war. It was under this programme, in late 1941, that West Florida was supplied with twenty-eight P-40 Kittyhawk fighter bombers to replace their aging Hawker Demons & Harts. They formed two Home Defence squadrons & served throughout the rest of the war, finally being replaced in 1947 with new Hawker Sea Fury aircraft from the UK.

The forerunner to West Florida’s national airline, Ibis Airways, was Florida Empire Airways (FEA). The company was formed by the signing of a treaty between the UK, West Florida & the USA, with FEA registered in Pensacola as a limited liability company in April 1940. The company's purpose was originally to transport mail, passengers & cargo between West Florida & The Bahamas during World War II. Company shares were originally held by the West Florida Government (20%), BOAC (40%), West Florida Steam Navigation Company (15%), & Pan-Am (25%). The inaugural service from Pensacola to Nassau, with a refuelling stop in Tampa, began in May 1940, & FEA’s fleet of two Short S.23 Empire flying boats maintained this weekly return service until 1945. After World War Two, ownership of the airline was shared equally between the government of West Florida, West Florida Steam Navigation Company, & BOAC.

Nice stuff - please make sure to add your name in the credits (maybe a "modified by TJW") -- that way it's made clear to viewers that this is superboy or Krakatoa's original work, with alterations made by you.

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

Thanks for the feedback Colosseum. Much appreciated. I'll fix those up over the next couple of days.

Despite the S class destroyer Tomahawk decommissioning shortly after VE Day, the RWFN retained a fleet of eight ships after the Second World War. In addition to the sloop Pensacola, two Bathurst class corvettes & three Fairmile B coastal motor launches, the RWFN had acquired & modified two ex-RN Mk.6 LCTs, giving them an amphibious capability for the first time.

HMWFS Pensacola - Post War Service:
Following VE Day, Pensacola served in home waters & around the Caribbean before commencing a refit in early 1947. During the refit, Pensacola’s sea plane was finally removed & her radar & communications improved. The forward & aft single QF 4-inch guns were upgraded to Mark XIX HA/LA twin mountings, while the gun in B position was replaced with a Mk 15 trainable hedgehog A/S mortar. Anti-aircraft defence was also updated. The three quadruple 2-pdr pom-poms were replaced by a twin 40mm Bofors mount in X position aft, & two single 40mm Bofors amidships. For close in defence against sampans & other coastal craft, two M2 Browning machine guns were carried. Following her refit, Pensacola re-joined the fleet in 1948 with the new pennant number F35, with F being the new standardised designation for frigates, destroyer escorts, sloops & corvettes. In 1950 & 1951 a tour of duty in Korea, performing escort & shore bombardment duties, earned Pensacola the battle honour Korea 1950-51. After 18 years of service, Pensacola was finally paid off in 1954.





Bathurst Class Corvettes – Post War Service:
Following her refit in 1946, Heron continued with her patrol, anti-submarine & minesweeping duties, with the new pennant number F217. Her 4-inch main gun & aft-mounted 20mm Oerlikon had been replaced with single 40mm Bofors mounts, although she retained her bridge wing 20mm Oerlikons. During Gull’s time at GCD’s Panama City dockyard, she underwent a conversion for hydrographic survey work, receiving the new pennant number A219. In addition to vital survey work along the coast of West Florida, Gull also conducted survey work in other British Caribbean colonies including Trinidad, Guyana & Jamaica.





Terrapin Class Landing Craft:
The landing craft, tank (LCT) was an amphibious assault craft, initially developed by the British Royal Navy for landing tanks on beachheads. The original version was designed at the insistence of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. They were further developed during World War II by both the RN & USN. In 1943, the Mk.6 began production & over 950 were eventually completed, with many being procured by the RN under lend-lease. In 1947 the US gifted West Florida two ex-RN lend-lease Mk.6 LCTs. After an overhaul & some minor modifications, the two vessels commissioned into the fleet in 1948, with the names Terrapin (L201) & Turtle (L202). They were armed with two 12.7mm machine guns & had a complement of twelve. To make way for the RWFN’s initial amphibious capability, the oldest of the Fairmile B coastal motor launches, Dolphin (P100), was decommissioned. Both Terrapin & Turtle had long careers in the RWFN, finally decommissioning in the early 1970s.

At the end of World War Two, the RWFAF had a fleet of 40 aircraft, including eight Tiger Moth trainers, 4 Supermarine Walrus maritime patrol aircraft, & twenty-eight P-40 Kittyhawk fighter-bombers. This did not include the aircraft of the article XV squadron serving in the UK, which were returned to the RAF. By the end of the decade, the RWFAF had maintained its fleet of 40 aircraft & added some new capabilities.

No.1 Squadron:
In 1947, No.1 Squadron updated their training aircraft, retiring their obsolete, pre-World War Two Tiger Moths & replacing them with eight new Canadian built de Havilland DHC-1 Chipmunks. Its superb flying characteristics & fully aerobatic capabilities meant that the Chipmunk was not finally retired until 1973.

No.2 Squadron:
The Kittyhawks of No.2 Squadron were finally retired in 1947 & replaced with 20 new Sea Fury fighter-bombers purchased from Hawker Aircraft in the UK. They were fitted with the powerful Bristol Centaurus engine & armed with four wing-mounted Hispano V cannons. Australian & British Sea Furies acquitted themselves well during action in Korea, even against MiG-15 jet fighters. Most Sea Furies were retired in the late 1950s, in favour of jet aircraft. However, West Florida’s Sea Furies remained in service until 1962, when they were finally replaced by the RWFAF’s first jet fighter, the Canadair Sabre.

No.3 Squadron:
1946 saw No.3 Squadron retire its Kittyhawks & became the RWFAF’s first dedicated transport Squadron, flying eight ex-RAF C-47 Dakotas. Developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner, the Dakota was used extensively by the Allies during World War Two & had been vital to the success of many campaigns. It remained in front-line service with many military operators for several years after the war. The C-47 differed from the civilian DC-3 in a number of ways, including being fitted with a cargo door, hoist attachment, & strengthened floor, along with a shortened tail cone for glider-towing shackles, & an astrodome in the cabin roof.

No.4 Squadron:
Following the end of the war, No.4 Squadron received four surplus Short Sunderland flying boats, offering a significant improvement in range & endurance compared to the Supermarine Walruses they were replacing. Also, RWFAF crews had experience with the Sunderland while flying with No.471 Squadron in the UK. In Europe, the type was removed from service relatively quickly after the war. However, in areas like West Florida, where well developed runways were less common & large land based maritime patrol aircraft could not be used so easily, flying boats were still useful. The Sunderland remained in service with RAF squadrons in Singapore until 1959, & with the RNZAF & RWFAF into the 1960s.

The RWFN maintained a fleet of eight ships throughout the 1950s, including both Bathurst class corvettes, two Fairmile B coastal patrol motor launches, & both Terrapin class LCTs. The Fairmile B coastal motor launch Stingray (P102) was decommissioned in 1953, & after 17 years as the fleet’s flagship, including Atlantic convoy duties during World War Two & service in Korea, HMWFS Pensacola (F35) paid off in 1954. Following her retirement, she was preserved as a museum ship & remains a major tourist attraction in her namesake port.


Queen Elizabeth Class Frigates:
In 1952, the British Admiralty presented two surplus War Emergency Programme destroyers to the RWFN as gifts. While the two T class vessels were relatively new, rapid advances in technology had meant they were poorly equipped for modern fleet purposes, particularly their anti-aircraft armament & fire control. Prior to commissioning into the RWFN, both ships were modernised & reclassified as frigates, similar to the Type 16 conversion of other RN T-Class destroyers. The majority of the work was done in the UK by Thornycroft, with final fit-out completed by GCD in West Florida. The Type 16 conversion for the two West Florida ships removed the existing gun armament, substituting two twin 3-inch guns. One was mounted in B position, immediately forward of the bridge, with the second in Y position aft. Anti-aircraft armament consisted of six Bofors 40 mm guns, with a twin mount in X position, two single mounts amidships & two single mounts near the bridge wings. For submarine targets, a Mk15 Hedgehog mortar was mounted in A position on the bow, while a quadruple set of 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes provided a limited anti-surface ship armament. As both ships had been gifted to West Florida by the RN, & to celebrate the recent coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, it was decided to name the two ships after the new monarch & her husband. HMWFS Queen Elizabeth (F01) was commissioned in late 1953, with HMWFS Duke of Edinburgh (F02) joining the fleet in 1954 following the decommissioning of HMWFS Pensacola (F35). The ships quickly became known to their crews as “The Queen” & “The Duke”. After Pensacola’s decommissioning, Queen Elizabeth became the RWFN’s new flagship.

Why don't you use WhyMe's FD-Scale version?

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My deviantart account
http://cascadiasb.deviantart.com/?rnrd=191663

Cascadia, I'm still really new to this stuff, so I'm not sure what the different scales are & what they're used for.

Researching & coming up with the AU story, I can do, but the drawings, not so much.

By the end of 1962, both Bathurst class corvettes & the final two Fairmile B patrol vessels had finally been retired, all replaced by ex-RN Ton class vessels. Both Type 16 Frigates were progressively upgraded throughout the decade, firstly with a refit in 1961-62, followed by a more comprehensive modernisation starting in 1966.

Ton Class Minesweeper:
The Ton class were coastal minesweepers built in the 1950s for the RN, intended to meet the threat of seabed mines laid in shallow coastal waters, rivers, ports & harbours. The first ship was ordered by the RN in September 1950, with the class eventually numbering 119 vessels. The Ton class were diesel powered & had a displacement of 440 tons. Largely constructed from aluminium & other non-ferromagnetic materials, they had a hull composed of a double layer of mahogany planking. Primary armament was one Bofors 40mm gun. Sweeping equipment was provided for moored & magnetic mines. The Royal West Florida Navy purchased two ex-RN Ton class minesweepers in 1961. They were renamed Cormorant (M11) & Osprey (A12), replacing the two Bathurst class corvettes built during World War Two. Cormorant replaced Heron in the minesweeping role, while Osprey replaced Gull as the RWFN’s survey vessel, requiring a brief refit, which included the removal of her minesweeping gear. With Cormorant & Osprey already in the fleet, when the RWFN were looking to replace their aging Fairmile B coastal motor launches, they chose to acquire two additional Ton class vessels. Their patrol boat conversion included the removal of their minesweeping gear & the fitting of a second 40mm Bofors mount aft of the funnel. The two new vessels were commissioned in 1962 & named Hawk (P105) & Kestrel (P106). All four of the RWFN's Ton class served well into the 1980s before being paid off.





Cuban Missile Crisis:
The Cuban Revolution which propelled Fidel Castro to power in January 1959, initially attracted little attention in Moscow. However, Washington's increasing economic embargo led Cuba to hurriedly seek assistance from the Soviets & following the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion of 1961, Fidel Castro announced publicly that Cuba was to become a socialist republic. Whilst Khrushchev publicly congratulated Castro for repelling the invasion, he privately believed the Americans would soon bring the weight of their regular army to bear, & the defence of Cuba became a matter of prestige for the Soviet Union. Khrushchev agreed on a deployment plan in May 1962 primarily in response to Castro's fears over yet another American invasion, & by late July over sixty Soviet ships were en-route to Cuba. These increased tensions in the region meant that West Florida’s military was placed on high alert. After U.S. reconnaissance flights on the morning of 14th October photographed a series of SAM sites being constructed, President John F. Kennedy announced the discovery of the installations & proclaimed that any nuclear missile attack from Cuba would be regarded as an attack by the Soviet Union & would be responded to accordingly. On 26th October, the Soviets offered to withdraw the missiles in return for a U.S. guarantee not to support or participate in any invasion of Cuba & to remove all missiles set in southern Italy & in Turkey. This deal was accepted, & the crisis abated. However, Cuba's proximity to the U.S. meant that Castro & his regime would remain an important Cold War ally for the Soviets.


Type 16 Queen Elizabeth Class Frigates:
During her refit in 1961, “The Queen” had her quad 21-inch torpedo tubes removed & replaced with two sets of Mark 32 triple torpedo tubes, firing new Mark 44 lightweight torpedoes. A similar upgrade was completed during the Duke of Edinburgh’s refit the following year.





Royal West Florida Navy White Ensign:
The West Florida Naval Forces were established in 1910, but only as a division of the Royal Navy. Its ships therefore wore the usual Royal Navy White Ensign. Although West Florida vessels were granted permission to wear the national flag as a jack, these are not worn at sea, meaning ships in battle could not be readily identified as belonging to West Florida. From the creation of the RWFN in October 1927, West Florida warships continued to use the British White Ensign. However, this often led to situations where West Florida vessels were mistaken for British ships. For many years West Florida politicians & the public had wanted their ships to fly a unique ensign, & in 1962 official proposals were made for a unique West Florida ensign. Royal Assent was granted to the new flag by Queen Elizabeth II in November 1964, with the official changeover occurring on the RWFN’s 38th anniversary in October 1965. All ships & establishments hoisted the new flag on that day, & the adoption of a unique white ensign was an important step in the development of the RWFN. The White Ensign is identical in design to the West Florida National Flag, but with the red background & the white star reversed.