{{Use dmy dates, date=August 2022 Task Force 72 is an international association of Radio controlled

model boat Ship models or model ships are scale models of ships. They can range in size from 1/6000 scale wargaming miniatures to large vessels capable of holding people. Ship modeling is a craft as old as shipbuilding itself, stretching back to ancient ...

builders, all building in the common

scale (ratio) The scale ratio of a model represents the proportional ratio of a linear dimension of the model to the same feature of the original. Examples include a 3-dimensional scale model of a building or the scale drawings of the elevations or plans of a ...

of 1:72 (1 inch in 1:72 equals 72 inches or 6 feet in real life).

History

Task Force 72 originated in Australia in 1994, when a number of individuals building radio controlled models came together to form a

voluntary association A voluntary group or union (also sometimes called a voluntary organization, common-interest association, association, or society) is a group of individuals who enter into an agreement, usually as volunteers, to form a body (or organization) to ac ...

. The name derives from the military term for a group of

warships A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster an ...

operating to a common purpose, a task force, and the scale of the ship models being built (1:72). In the years since, the association has grown from a small number of model builders to several hundred currently active and former members located in Australia, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and several other countries. At this time the largest grouping of members is located within Australia, although it is hoped to grow membership internationally.

Annual Regatta

The Association holds an annual regatta each year, normally at

Wentworth Falls Wentworth Falls (postcode: 2782) is a town in the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales, situated approximately west of the Sydney central business district, and about east of Katoomba, Australia on the Great Western Highway, with a Went ...

Lake, located in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. The Task Force 72 Annual Regatta is usually held in November or December of each calendar year. The 2018 Annual Regatta will be held on the weekend of Saturday 25 (10AM – 8PM) and Sunday 26 November (10AM – 4PM) at Naracoorte in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. Two major prizes are awarded during the Regatta. The

Bravo Zulu The combination of the Bravo and Zulu nautical signal flags, i.e., Bravo Zulu, also referred to as "BZ," is a naval signal, typically conveyed by flaghoist or voice radio, meaning "Well Done" with regard to actions, operations or performance. In ...

Award, named for the Naval flag hoist signifying 'well done', is awarded by a reviewing officer, usually but not always a serving member of the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

. The Wentworth Shield is awarded to the model judged best by the members of Task Force 72 attending the Regatta. Several minor prizes are usually presented, including: Best Warship; Best Non-warship; The Newbie Award for the best first model by a member; and The Rob Sullivan Engineering Award for the most innovative engineering incorporated into a model.. Task Force 72 hopes that the Association's membership in other countries will grow to the point where they are large enough to support their own national regattas.

Types of models constructed

Currently the majority of

model ships Ship models or model ships are scale models of ships. They can range in size from 1/6000 scale wargaming miniatures to large vessels capable of holding people. Ship modeling is a craft as old as shipbuilding itself, stretching back to ancient t ...

owned by Task Force 72 members are

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

vessels however this is slowly changing as more non-warships are completed. In fact the joint winners of the Wentworth Shield for best model at the 2007 Annual Regatta were two non-warships, the lighthouse and

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...

aids tender Cape Don and the USS Charles Robinson, a

Liberty Ship Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Ma ...

. Similarly, the vessel voted best model of the 2008 Annual Regatta was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

hospital ship A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility or hospital. Most are operated by the military forces (mostly navies) of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones. I ...

, the USAHS St Olaf which, while operated by the military, was not a warship. Task Force 72 members have built models of a wide range of

ship A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...

s and submarines, ranging from 19th century cruisers to futuristic

missile In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocke ...

corvettes, from

sailing ship A sailing ship is a sea-going vessel that uses sails mounted on masts to harness the power of wind and propel the vessel. There is a variety of sail plans that propel sailing ships, employing square-rigged or fore-and-aft sails. Some ships ...

s to ballistic missile submarines. Despite the majority of ships being of military subjects merchant and passenger ships are also well represented. All share a basic characteristic. They are built to a common scale of 1:72 and are radio controlled.

Task Force 72 fleet composition

As of November 2015 the Task Force 72 "fleet" is made up of several hundred models, ranging in size from extremely large models of various

aircraft carriers An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a n ...

and

battleships A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type o ...

down to very small models of

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...

s and

patrol boat A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and the ...

s. The majority of the models are of medium-sized vessels, such as

destroyers In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

and

frigates A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

, which are considered by their builders to combine a reasonable size for ease of transport and "seaworthiness", with significant scope for the incorporation of detail and providing sufficient internal volume for the mechanics of making the models operational.

Task Force 72 Logo

The Task Force 72 logo comprises a stylised

compass rose A compass rose, sometimes called a wind rose, rose of the winds or compass star, is a figure on a compass, map, nautical chart, or monument used to display the orientation of the cardinal directions (north, east, south, and west) and their i ...

with an

anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek ἄ� ...

superimposed on the compass rose with the words Task Force Seventy Two surrounding the design.

External links

Task Force 72 home page

@TaskForce72Aust
– Task Force 72 Twitter feed

- Task Force 72 Facebook page Model boats Model boat organizations