Battlegroup42 1.7: Toys for Sailors news

The first one is a Japanese destroyer of the Kagero class, of which 19 vessels had been build in 1939 to 1941. The 118.5 meters (389ft) long ships, weighing 2500 tons, were able to battle effectively with every hostile destroyers of that time. They were armed with six 12.7 cm (5") guns in three turrets, two torpedo launchers and depth charges. During the course of the war the amount of anti aircraft guns was constantly increased. Destroyers of the Kagero class fought in the front line of combat everywhere in the Pacific and only one of the 19 ships, the Yukikaze, survived the war. In Battlegroup42 the Kagero class replaces the Japanese destroyers of the Akizuki class (from the original game) on all maps before autumn of 1942 since the first ship of the Akizuki class was put on duty in summer of 1942.

Our second new addition is a long awaited one for the German Kriegsmarine. It's a Minensuchboot (minesweeper) Typ 40, one of the many small vessels of the Kriegsmarine which was used in the North Sea, the Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean Sea with the objective of clearing and securing the sea lanes. The ships of Typ 40 class were modernized minesweepers of the Typ 1916 from World War I which had been reactivated for duty by the Kriegsmarine from 1939 to 1942 due to its heavy demand for ships. The ships were 62.3 meters (20ft) long, had a displacement of 775 tons and crew of 68. Their armament consisted of one 10.5cm (4") gun and two 2cm anti aircraft guns. Many of the ships were later armed with an additional 3.7cm anti aircraft gun. Most of these ships sank during the war. In Battlegroup 42 the Typ 40 will be present on three brand new maps, which we will show you in another news, and the famous "Channel Patrol" map.

The third new addition is a small vessel also, but without the successful amphibious operations undertaken particularly in the Pacific theatre wouldn't have been possible. It's an American landing craft of the type LSM (Landing Ship Medium) of which no less than 498 were produced between May of 1944 and November of 1945. They are 62 meters (203ft) long, had a displacement of 1113 tons and participated in every landing action in the Pacific after the middle of 1944. Through an opening bow these ships could unload several tanks or amphibious vehicles directly onto the beach. For self defence against attacks from the air, the 50 men crew had six 20mm guns at their disposal. Some LSM were also armed with 40mm guns. In Battlegroup42 the LSM will replace the smaller LCT on all maps after middle of 1944.

Both ships were modelled and textured by our naval expert Cabrio, coding was done by Sarge31FR. That's it for today's news. More news are currently in preparation, so stay tuned and visit www.battlegroup42.de regularly to keep up to date with all new additions.