Initial Report – 1/350th German Cruiser Admiral Hipper 1941 from Trumpeter
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Latest news in from across the mighty Pacific Ocean - the hard working and dedicated folks at Trumpeter have now announced the release of their 1/350th German Cruiser Admiral Hipper 1941.
This kitset is to contain 418 parts on 12 sprues together with photoetch.
As is usual with most Trumpeter releases the kit will also include the upper hull, lower hull, waterline plate, & stand plus aeroplanes.
The designated kit reference is Kit no. 05317.
The expected release date and the suggested retail price at this stage are not known.
We will of course update you on this kitset as and when we have more detail.
Ships History
The German cruiser Admiral Hipper was the lead ship of the Admiral Hipper–class heavy cruisers which served with the Kriegsmarine of Germany during WW2.
The ship was named after Admiral Franz von Hipper, commander of the German battlecruiser squadron during the Battle of Jutland in 1916 and later commander-in-chief of the German High Seas Fleet. Admiral Hipper was the first of five ships of her class. Two others, Blücher and Prinz Eugen, were completed and served with the Kriegsmarine in the Second World War; a fourth, Lützow, was sold to the Soviet Union in 1939 before completion; and a fifth, Seydlitz, was to be converted into an aircraft carrier but was never completed.
Admiral Hipper took part in the German invasion of Norway (Operation Weserübung). On 8 April 1940 she encountered the British destroyer HMS Glowworm north-west of Trondheim (Norway's third largest city, roughly half way up Norway's west coast). After exchanges of fire and despite fatal damage, Glowworm turned to ram Admiral Hipper, causing damage to her before sinking.
On 9 April 1940, she passed the Norwegian coastal forts in the Trondheimsfjord, being fired at ineffectively, and entered Trondheim's harbour. Troops landed from Admiral Hipper occupied the city in the early hours, flying the Nazi flag on the city's old Kristiansten fortress and other municipal buildings before most of the inhabitants were even awake.
After repairs to minor damage, Admiral Hipper operated with the battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau off Norway to disrupt British supply routes. By October, 1940, Admiral Hipper needed serious overhauls to her machinery and returned to Kiel. Despite this work, two attempts to break out to the Atlantic were abandoned due to machinery breakdown and fires. Repairs were made at Kiel and Hamburg, delaying active service until December.
At last, Admiral Hipper broke out undetected into the Atlantic and operated as a merchant raider, based at Brest, France.
The first attack, on troop convoy WS-5A, took place in December 1940. Although one of the escorting British cruisers, HMS Berwick, was heavily damaged, the impact on the convoy was limited to damage to two merchantman. Engine problems and low fuel stores obliged Admiral Hipper to return to Brest. En route, she encountered and sank the freighter Jumna. Repairs took about a month to complete.
Admiral Hipper sailed on her second Atlantic cruise on 1 February 1941. On 12 February, she intercepted the unescorted convoy SLS-64. Seven ships out of 19 were sunk, but the convoy scattered and poor weather aided their escape. Short of 203 mm ammunition, Admiral Hipper returned to Brest on 14 February 1941.
The cruiser returned to Kiel via the Denmark Strait, arriving on 28 February 1941. Repairs were carried out and modifications made to increase fuel storage and hence her cruising range.
From March 1942, Admiral Hipper was based in Norway for operations against Arctic convoys and in preparation against an anticipated British action against Norway. On New Year's Eve 1942, she took part in the failed German attack on convoy JW-51B; where she sank the minesweeper HMS Bramble and the destroyer HMS Achates. Despite its strength, the German attack was repelled and Admiral Hipper was damaged. She returned to Wilhelmshaven, where she was decommissioned and moved to Gotenhafen.
Due to Hitler's disillusionment with the Kriegsmarine surface fleet, Admiral Hipper was not ready to re-enter service until January 1945, when she was used, partly repaired, to evacuate refugees and wounded troops from the Eastern Front.
Admiral Hipper was scuttled in dock at Kiel Deutsche Werke yards on 2 May 1945. Raised and moved to Heikendorfer Bay in 1946, she was broken up there between 1948 and 1949.
Box art and CAD Images courtesy of Trumpeter.
Wartime image and history courtesy of Wikipedia.
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| Comments (9) | |  |
Fordboy
Ahoy Shipmates
Here is the latest and greatest details on the new release from Trumpeter.
Check it out!
Link to Item
If you have comments or questions please post them here.
Thanks!
Sean blaster76
I wish they would quit announcing and strat releasing.
WANTED: My pre-oreder Graf Spee
WANTED: The Prinz Eugen they promised. goldenpony
I feel your pain as well.
C|:-) warshipbuild
Agreed.
It all seems to have gone awfully quiet on the 1/350 Prinz Eugen front.
A question for any dealers/resellers out there - Have you had any notice of delivery from your respective importers/distributors for the Prinz kit?
Initial rumours suggested Dec 2008, then June 2009, then July/August 2009, then September.
Given that we are now part-way through August I have thought that someone in the business would have had some firm notice of a shipping date..................? sighbeerguy
Agreed,
Where is the 1/350 Trumpeter K.M. Prinz Eugen and the funky little S-boat ?
We saw many tasty images late last year....
warshipbuild
From the distinct lack of responses to date, I can only conclude that the Prinz Eugen kit is also in doubt. too..........
It's only good if it actually materializes!
Halfyank
There is a site, LINK , that has a list of kit releases, and expected dates. They list September 2009 for the P.E. They also list September 2009 for an Academy Graf Spee and October 2009 for a Trumpeter G.S.
My original thought when I heard about the Trumpeter P.E. was "1945?" who wants a 1945 version. Everybody is going to want a 1941 version to go along with their Bismarck. Now I think I see the method to Trumpeter's madness. Come out with a 1945 version, people who just can't wait to get... warshipbuild
There were distinct differences between the PE & the Admiral Hipper.
Out of the two, I wonder which will closest match the PE 1941 version?
I suspect that Trumpeter won't go too far down the line of correcting differences such as overall hull length and will use a common set of parts to depict the two ships.
If this is the case, it will most likely be easier to convert Hipper into PE 1941 than to convert PE 1945 into PE 1941.
Any thoughts?
Fordboy
Hey there Rodger Cole good to see you back thanks for the information.
How is your grandson?
Dave my thoughts on these pending releases and what the finished product will look like, when and what can be done with it is a bit like a wait & see scenario.
I believe at this point due to business considerations your suspicions maybe correct but I guess we have to see what comes in the box.
Its frustrating as heck sometimes because as a news writer try as I may its hard to get specific ans... |
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