H.M.S. Fifi

Yet another post about the obscure!

The battle of Lake Tanganyika is told exceptionally well in a few books; The Phantom Flotilla by Shankland and Mimi And Toutou Go Forth by Foden cover the events in entertaining detail. Fact is stranger than fiction…Spicer-Simson is a character any fiction writer would be proud of…

Talking with my neighbour about my current painting (more Masai and Kikuyu) we got onto the subject of the battle of Lake Tanganyika. I showed him the Old Glory model I have of Mimi and it made me really think that I need Toutou. In 1915 the Admiralty dispatched 2 Thornycroft motor launches to tackle the German gunboat Hedwig von Wissmann which dominated the strategically important Lake Tanganyika in Africa. Treat yourself to a great read and buy one of those books!

Anyway, eBay seller Actual Size Miniatures had the very model. So I picked up his Mimi/Toutou along with some other nice pieces

Mimi and Toutou 

Old Glory model on the left. New eBay purchase on the right. The seller, Bill contacted me and asked if there was anything I’d like to see added to his range. Well Fifi would be nice. Never thought he’d take me up on it… but he did!

As well as the Hedwig von Wissmann, the Germans had a couple of other vessels on Lake Tanganyika. One was the Kingani. Yes I said that I asked for Fifi; Kingani was captured in action on Boxing Day 1915 and renamed H.M.S. Fifi. Quick as a flash, Bill designed and built Fifi and sent me one of the test models for free! Wowsers!!!

The German vessel Kingani mounted a single 6 pounder gun

After its capture, the British patched it up and armed it with a 12 pounder! The gun was 12 feet long while the ship was only 45 feet long. The gun could only be fired directly forward for fear of capsizing Fifi and in the subsequent battle against the Hedwig, the British discovered that firing the gun stopped the ship dead in the water!

When can a gun be too big?!

As you can see the kit allows for both the Kingani and Fifi to be represented. The British crews are also from Actual Size Miniatures. I highly recommend that you check out Actual Size Miniatures on eBay. Something for everyone!

I have bought some rules called Steamer Wars. These are written with the battle of Lake Tanganyika in mind. They’re designed for 1:600 scale models though. I’m gonna need a bigger table…

Take care

Chris