HMS Albemarle
As the height of evolution in my cruiser-building to date, Albemarle uses a lot of novel construction features I'd sought to try out before moving on to the bigger ships I'll be doing this winter (and which ideally I'll photograph in process).  Albemarle was conceived as a headquarters ship, one of a later generation than preceding vessels like Majestic and Indomitable (although only 16 studs wide instead of 32/34).  If Majestic can be characterised as "1902" and Indomitable as "1910", Albemarle would be a "1930" vessel.  She exhibits a greater degree of chromatic uniformity than the earlier ships, and I have tried to photograph stages in her evolution across a service career.  Unfortunately, I don't have many pictures of my two favourite stages, the generic and the Polar Expedition (with an enhanced "icebreaker" bow and a large brown logwall shed built across the latter third of the vessel to house scientists, supplies, and instruments).

HMS Albemarle:  Service Configuration, ~1930-1948

This is the one good shot of the Albemarle's original configuration I've been able to find, and wouldn't you know, it's only partial.  Still, this gives a somewhat clear view of the 3.1" twin mounts on the ship's sides, the use of triple turrets (8 x 7
offset) instead of twin, the twin TT just fore of the lifeboat, and most importantly the takeoff pad for the special navalised
autogyro.  The autogyro itself is interesting, and I've taken more pictures with a better camera this month.  Once those are
developed, they'll be here--it really is one of the neatest little planes I've built.  It even folds up, and was originally in a
"shed" where the open arched midships area is now.


HMS Albemarle: Scientific Mission HQ Vessel, ~1948-1956
Unfortunately, I have not been able to find any photos of this configuration.  If you look at the pictures in the
next section below, however, you'll see a long shed on the dock that's 14 studs wide and about 1/3 the length
of the ship...hmmm.  I wonder where that could have come from?


HMS Albemarle: Training Configuration, ~1956-1966
Albemarle seemed like a good candidate for conversion to a training and headquarters vessel after the end of
its regular service life.  So, I decided to implement this change, if only to see what it would look like before I
took the ship apart.  As it turns out, I got the most photos of this configuration--

The second quarter of Albemarle, showing HG turret A demilitarised and a high-speed twin 3.7" mount ahead
of it.  The construction of the bridge and the turret show well here.  Those darn destroyers are in the way, as
usual!
 

Even without a full range of HG, Albemarle's midships was pretty much unchanged.  Some superstructure
alterations were made, and the autogyro was removed--replaced by a motor launch and a repositioned
crane.  Note also that amidships, facing forward , there is a second 3.7" shielded QFG mount.  The torpedo
tubes were removed to make room for this AA trainer, but their motor housings are still visible.  Of course,
the destroyer twins are still hanging around.
 

Late in Albemarle's training career, the ship was further converted to handle rescue and amphibious landing
exercises.  The crane and dinghies far aft are the most obvious sign of this new role, and the presence of large
amounts of ammunition on deck indicate that the ship is fitting out for a voyage.  The conversion is still underway
at this stage, as evidenced by the existence of Albemarle's original (albeit demilitarised) Y turret atop of the
shipyard's work shed.
 

Oh, how ugly is progress:  The shipyard is very grey and dingy, but this is still a good view of the largely
disarmed Albemarle.  The cruiser's exceptionally clean lines still show through despite the tangle of cranes
and building material around it.  This photo was taken at about the same time as the one above it.
 


HMS Albemarle:  Dismantling, ~1966-?

My favourite part!  I actually took the ship apart in a systematic manner, and it looked so "scrappy"
at one point that I set it up as a ship at the breakers'.

This gives an idea of how simple the basic construction of these big ships is.  They're really big boxes with
all sorts of doodads and fairings on them--a testament to the versatility of the common brick.  One of those
ubiquitous destroyers is off to the ship's starboard...they're everywhere!
 

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