I have recently expanded my interest in the SCW to cover the naval side of the conflict. I began by purchasing several models from the Navwar range to 'do' a very small side show, and have ended up by researching and collecting both Republican and Nationalist fleets! As information is scarce I have written this article to provide enough information for the beginner to collect and paint the ships of the two opposing fleets. In addition, I shall look at suitable rule sets and both actual and hypothetical wargaming scenarios. The basics

First the models themselves. Almost all the warships involved in the conflict are available in 1/3000th scale from Navwar. There are a few exceptions, but the most important ships are covered. In addition Navwar produce a wide range of merchant vessels, as well as ranges to cover Italian, German,and British fleets. Allowing a wide range of scenarios from convoys to the actual or hypothetical involvement of the foreign powers.

The principal warships used by both sides are listed below, together with the Navwar model code number and description.

Class	Nationalist Warship	Model Code	Republican Warship	Model Code
BATTLESHIPS	ESPANA	N8401 ESPANA	JAIME I	N8401 ESPANA
HEAVY CRUISERS	CANARIAS	N8431 BALAREAS	-	-
	BALAREAS	N8431 BALAREAS	-	-
LIGHT CRUISERS	CERVERRA	N8435 CERVANTES	LIBERTAD	N8435 CERVANTES
	*NAVARRA	N8437A NAVARRA	CERVANTES	AS ABOVE
	MENDEZ NUNEZ	N8436 BLAS DE LEZO	-	-
DESTROYERS	VELASCO	N8455 ALCEDO(X3)	CHURRUCA	N8454 CHURRUCA
	**CEUTA	N4522 AQUILLA (X2)	SANCHEZ BARCAIZTEGUI	N8454 CHURRUCA
	**MELILLA	AS ABOVE	JOSE LUIZ DIEZ	N8454 CHURRUCA
	***HUESCA	-	ALMIRANTE FERRANDIZ	N8454 CHURRUCA
	***TERUEL	-	LEPANTO	N8454 CHURRUCA
	-	-	ALCALA GALIANO	N8454 CHURRUCA
	-	-	ALMIRANTE VALDES	N8454 CHURRUCA
	-	-	ALMIRANTE ANTEQUERA	N8454 CHURRUCA
	-	-	ALMIRANTE MIRANDA	N8454 CHURRUCA
	-	-	GRAVINA	N8454 CHURRUCA
	-	-	ESCANO	N8454 CHURRUCA
	-	-	ULLOA	N8454 CHURRUCA
	-	-	JORGE JUAN	N8454 CHURRUCA
	-	-	CISCAR	N8454 CHURRUCA
	-	-	ALSEDO	ALCEDO N8455
	-	-	LAZAGA	AS ABOVE
* Ex- 'Republica', ex 'Reina Victoria Eugenia'. Out of service 1936. Refitted by the Nationalists & renamed 'Navarra'. Available in original format as n8437 'Reina Victoria Eugeni' for what if scenarios pre 1937.
** Purchased from Italy in 1937 'Ceuta' ( ex 'Falco'), 'Melilla' ( ex 'Aquilla' ) were at first named 'Velasco Ceuta' & 'Velasco Melilla', and modified with a 4th mock funnel, in order to resemble 'Velasco'. The models come as the Italian version, so will need converting.
*** The 'Huesca' was originally the Italian' Pepe', and the 'Teruel' originally the Italian 'Poerio'.

You will only need to buy a maximum of 1 pack of n8455 Alcedo and 7 packs of n8454 Churruca as these come in multiples of 3 and respectively.

The pre-war Spanish fleet also contained several smaller craft, including 11-12 torpedo boats ( with in addition, possibly 3 laid up and a further 8 having been scrapped before 1936). Navwar list n8456 Bustamente (x3 ) which with some artistic license will stand in for the no 1 class torpedo boat. The Nationalist used boats 3 - 5 and the republicans 7-8 ( ed's note- Juan Garcia Duran in the 'Illustrated History of the SCW' quotes the Nationalists using boats number 7 & 19, the Republicans 14,20 & 21 ). The fore funnel needs shortening to the same height as the rear funnel.

There were also some 12 Holland class submarines modified in 2 versions 'b' & 'c' - 6 in each ( all were used by the Republicans). For this I used N1614 British 'H' class submarine ( x4) again not completely accurate, but in 1/3000th the models are that small that minor differences are hard to spot. The submarines were in 2 groups numbered B-1 to B -6 and C -1 to C -6.

The Nationalist's had 2 submarines these were ex italian the Mola ( ex - Archimede) and the Sanjurjo ( ex-Torricelli) .

I am still researching some of the smaller craft. Often it is a case of trial and error by buying several models of a similar range of ships, and then matching them up with photos of the actual vessels. Navwar continue to release models and some of the Spanish ships in their range are comparatively new. You could of course ignore the smaller craft completely, as with a few exceptions they played a minor role. the exceptions were mostly on the Nationalist side, as short of ships, they made use of whatever they had.

The models themselves are cast in metal. The detail is minimal, but of an adequate standard for wargaming. they come with a fair amount of flash which needs to be carefully removed. Take your time over this, as in this scale a slip of the knife can leave your ship without vital parts or looking rather like it has just taken a direct hit from a large calibre shell ! Be especially careful with the smaller models. You may wish to do conversions, such as the Italian destroyers mentioned above. It helps if you have a decent reference source to hand. For the Italian ships all they need is the addition of a fourth funnel. In this scale 30 amp fuse wire (or similar) will provide the raw material.

One embellishment you may wish to add is that of masts, as these are not cast on the models. In this scale you may wish to ignore the masts, but they do improve the look of the models, especially with the larger ships. For this I use piano wire of the smallest gauge I can find, with 15 amp fuse wire for cross bars. Superglue is used to secure small parts. Once you embark on this be warned that you will then have to do every ship you have. The hard bit is to know when to stop, on some ships, you may have to add platforms to some of the masts, this is best done with Miliput or similar.

Painting

After any modelling is complete, you are ready to paint. The first step is to undercoat or prime your model, in order to give the paint a suitable ' key' ( and prevent the metal alloy from oxidising). If you have done any conversion, you will find this step both strengthens as well as improves the look of your model. You can use white, black or grey to prime your model (try car spray paint - as this is by far the value for money option).

For a really quick paint job try Grey primer as this gives you the basic colour. You could leave it like this, but the model would be improved by a wash of black or dark grey to bring out the detail. Then give a final drybrush with a lighter grey or off white when dry.

A white undercoat is best used if you prefer painting with washes. A basic colour first followed by a darker shading wash, possibly with a final drybrush as before, to bring out the highlights. While similar to the greycoat, the colours tend to be lighter.

The final method is the black undercoat. Layers of colour are built up, darkest first leaving small areas of black paint in the shadows. This can be done by drybrushing or more deliberate painting. Finish as before with a light highlighting shade. Colours will tend to be darker than the other two methods.

There is no right or wrong way to paint, It is a question of finding the method that suits you best, and achieves the best results in terms of time, style and personal preference. A combination of experimentation and perseverance will lead you to discover the best method for yourself. Practice improves skill, so if you are unsure, experiment on the smaller and less important vessels first. A tramp steamer with a scruffy paint job is unlikely to raise any eyebrows.

Colour Schemes

If you have access to the internet, then this part will be much simpler as much of the information is from manuel Gonzalez Lopez's two web sites (see below). His new web site is especially good, containing a section on colour schemes as well as some excellent colour drawings of some of the ships. Unfortunately, the second site is in Spanish and manuel thinks he is unlikely to translate it. If you are not a speaker of Spanish then the following basic guide should help. Moreover, the web site is worth visiting just for the photographs and drawings, and much of the actual text is in English on the earlier web site.

Failing internet access, there is very little in the way of books covering the naval aspect of the SCW, especially in English. More is available in Spanish, but there is no single source, particularly on colours and markings. manuel lists several books on his web site, and I have listed the sources I have found useful.

1) Pre war

Prior to the war its believed that Spanish ships were painted an overall mid to light grey, similar to the British Navy's Mediterranean fleet grey. all ships had black funnel tops. Decks were probably dark grey, with possibly linoleum ( brown ) on the upper decks of the destroyers. It is assumed that generally the ships followed the British practice, due to the overwhelming influence of that nation on Spanish shipbuilding.

Similar ships within classes were distinguished by a system of white bands on the funnels, with destroyers carrying white letters from their names on their hull sides. E.g.;

Espana class ; Espana ( lost 1923 ) no stripes, Alfonso xiii (later Espana ) 1 stripe, Jaime l - 2 stripes.

Destroyers ; Almirante Antequera - letters AA, Lepanto - letter L & 3 stripes .

However, both sides seem to have neglected this system during the war.

2) Republican

Up until November 1936, The Republican Navy appears to have kept the scheme outlined above. From photo's and sailors accounts it suggests a new scheme was adopted. Ship's were now painted in a darker grey similar to the British Navies Home fleet grey. The system of bands may have been retained, but it appears the letters were dropped from the destroyers hulls. One exception was the destroyer Jose Luis Diez which at one stage disguised herself as HMS Grenville.

3) Nationalist

Their few ships appear to have continued with the original 'Mediterranean fleet' grey of the pre war navy, although there is some evidence that Italian or German grey was used on occasions. The most distinguishing mark was that all nationalist ships carried a 2nd black stripe on their funnels, in addition to the funnel top. Occasionally, aircraft recognition markings of black St. Andrews crosses were painted on gun turret tops and decks.

Sources & Bibliography

The Internet

Navis magazine (Manuel's article is in English ).
http://navis magazine.com/features/spanishcivilwar

Manuel P Gonzalez Lopez Website ( in Spanish)

http://web.forodigital.es/uphm/mgl/buques/buques/

for the seaplane tender ' Dedalo'

http://www.oss.salem.org/navhist/carriers/spain.htm

Books

'La Ultima Cruzada' a wargamers guide to the SCW - Revised edition. Bob Cordery partizan press 1993.

'Armas y Pertrechos de la Guerra Civil Espanola' J Armero & M Gonzalez. Ediciones Poniente Madrid 1981.

'Conways all the worlds fighting ships 1906-1921' & '1922-1946'. Conway Maritime Press .

MODEL SOURCE

NAVWAR; 11 ELECTRIC PARADE, SEVEN KINGS ROAD, ILFORD, IG3 8 BY. for a full list send 6 x 20p stamps.

Related

Part 2 of article
Part 3 of article

Colour Information

Ship Colours of the Major Powers