Australian Battle Group

The Australian Battle Group Inc
Radio Controlled Combat Warships Club
http://www.ausbg.org/info.htm

Welcome to the wonderful world of Radio Controlled Fighting Warships!

This is a hobby model warships manoeuvre, attack and sink each other. The hobby has been operating in the USA foe the past 30 years. The warship attack or defend convoys and shore installations. Each ship is equipped with low-powered CO2 propelled BB(ball bearings) cannons for attack and electric pumps for defence. The ships are made to sink, having only thin balsa as "armour" with all electric's waterproofed, When these ships are raised and patched (temporarily with silk span and dope), they are soon ready to fight again.

The scale is 1 : 1444 (1 inch :12 feet), with ships laid down between 1901 and 194+ eligible to battle. Most ships are built from a fibreglass hull which provides a very strong frame capable of taking the punishment of a combat warship. The Bowning Ship Yards id the main supplier of fibreglass hulls in Australia and con supply over 40 different hulls in fibreglass.

Canon can be purchased from the Us or built from plans. CO2 tanks are either 20 oz, 7 oz or 3.5 oz and are refillable and must have a syphon- type valve.

The hobby is legal in Australia, being classified as an Adult Toy and not subject to any firearms Act, with some stated including Warship Combat in the exemptions to thier Acts. AusBG has $10 Million Public Risk to cover its Financial Members so local Groups can now approach thier Shires/Councils for better water. Al AusBG safety requirements, including the compulsory use of Safety Glasses, must still be followed.

These define main and secondary armaments for the Battleships, Battle cruisers, Heavy and Light Cruisers and Destroyers.

Speeds are proportional (timed over 100 feet) and there is no reverse allowed in combat. Carriers are just large targets and submarines too small although work is being done on torpedos.

Ships must close to 3m or 10 feet for BB's to penetrate the balsa skins and cause damage and sinking. Floats are deployed by sunken ships and help recovery.

Warships Combat also uses convoys of merchant ships which have to be protected/attached and id permanent ponds of dams are available, shore installations can be built and be bombarded. Cargo ships are unarmed and slow but so have pumps and extra large rudders to help survive surface attack, and shore installations could have oil tanks, harbour facilities and defence batteries which attack and shore installations could have oil tanks, harbour facilities and defence batteries which Could be attacked for additional points. No elevation of guns is permitted for safety reasons.