HMS Alert – 1777 – Vanguard Models

This is the new, updated version of this kit (V3), and the only one we currently manufacture. Our revised Alert model kit now comes with a complete set of sails.

The Alert model is shown in its upgraded configuration, with twelve 6-pounder guns and a full set of twelve rotating half-pounder guns, giving a total of twenty-four guns.

The set has been designed to be as accurate in scale and detail as possible for a commercial model. To achieve this, every hull and deck component is custom-made — no off-the-shelf parts are used. Although assembling the Alert has been simplified as much as possible, basic carpentry skills (and patience) are still required.

Alert V3 set includes:

• Double planking in linden wood and a second planking in pear wood strips

• Laser-cut materials made from pear wood, MDF, 0.8 mm plywood for the interior decks, and transparent foil for the stand

• 3 separate photo-etched brass sheets

• Linden wood rods for masts and yards

• Standard pear wood deck grating

• 7 different thicknesses of rigging thread in black and natural colors

• 12 black resin six-pounder cannons and 12 black resin swivel half-pounder cannons

• 56-page full-color building instructions in A3 format

• Transparent display base made of film for a finished model

• All other materials and components needed to build the model as shown

• 0.8 mm birch plywood for the inner decks instead of the 1 mm basswood plywood from version 1

• Laser-cut pear wood sheets instead of lime wood sheets (now also include additional etched details for the sides and wheels of the gun carriages)

• Complete set of stitched sails with bolt ropes

• Black resin anchors

• Maple veneer deck with laser engraving imitating planks and treenails

Dimensions:

• Scale: 1:64
• Length: 63.7 cm
• Height: 51.7 cm
• Width: 25.6 cm

Instrukcja obsługi – The British Armed Naval Cutter Alert – Instrukcja

Story:

Alert, built in Dover by Henry Ladd and launched on 24 June 1777, was the largest type of schooner (cutter) in the Royal Navy. Initially, Alert was armed with ten 4-pounder guns mounted on carriages and between six and twelve half-pounder swivel guns. She was one of fifteen cutters built for the Royal Navy in 1777–1778. Smaller vessels of this type were often purchased or built in private shipyards and then acquired by the navy, but Alert was designed and built from the keel up specifically for the Royal Navy.

In February 1778, Alert entered dry dock in Plymouth for refitting, during which certain changes were made to her hull, and the ten 4-pounder guns were replaced with twelve 6-pounder guns. This increased the broadside weight by 30%. The armament change resulted from the fact that six-pound ammunition was more readily available, while the guns themselves were more effective.

As a result of this increase in firepower, Alert’s crew was expanded from sixty to eighty sailors, and the ship was recommissioned under a new commander – Lieutenant William George Fairfax. In May 1778, Fairfax was promoted to the rank of commander, and Alert was reclassified as a sloop of war to meet Admiralty requirements—although her cutter rig remained unchanged.

On 17 June 1778, Alert, operating together with the frigate Arethusa, sighted and intercepted the French frigate Belle Poule and the armed lugger Coureur. Coureur was overtaken by Alert and forced to surrender. After the victorious operation, Alert returned to Spithead with a prisoner. On 8 July of the same year, while on an independent patrol searching for the enemy fleet, Alert was surprised and captured by the French frigate Junon.

The alert was declared missing without a trace on December 15, 1779.