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Barely decent... 4 total barrels of 1.1 inch guns with a deliberately lower rate of fire. These modifications are just hitting the fleet in 4th quarter 1940 and won't be completely rolled out until Q2 1942
Good work, I always thought that the Navy should have taken a look at the 37mm autocannon developed by Browning and used in the P-39 -59 series of fighters and the M 1, M 3 AAA used in the P.I. and available after 1937. It could replace the 3"/23 cal on destroyers and smaller vessels. The Navy did adopt the gun for PT boats in the SW Pacific.
the M4 37mm is a backward step.
Much less muzzle velocity even than a 1.1" let alone a Bofors 40mm.
Story 0536
April 3, 1941 17,000 feet over Lvov, Ukraine
The twin engine bomber was unarmed. The gunners were left on the ground in central Poland. The airfield where the bomber took off was getting crowded as old squadrons flush from the success and failures in the west had started to head east. New squadrons were also forming in Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania. It was getting hard for a pilot to find a desperate Polish girl willing to do what she needed to do for some bread.
The competition for girls was fiercer than the opposition on this reconnaissance run. The targets were the forward airfields of the Soviet Frontal Aviation. There was no explosive flowers greeting him unlike any raid on London. There were no fighters seeking him unlike over Egypt. There was nothing besides a nasty looking thunderhead several miles to the east. He dove slightly as every camera on board whirled. He wanted to bring himself home in one piece and fighting thunderheads was seldom a wise decision.
The twin engine bomber was unarmed. The gunners were left on the ground in central Poland. The airfield where the bomber took off was getting crowded as old squadrons flush from the success and failures in the west had started to head east. New squadrons were also forming in Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania. It was getting hard for a pilot to find a desperate Polish girl willing to do what she needed to do for some bread.
The competition for girls was fiercer than the opposition on this reconnaissance run. The targets were the forward airfields of the Soviet Frontal Aviation. There was no explosive flowers greeting him unlike any raid on London. There were no fighters seeking him unlike over Egypt. There was nothing besides a nasty looking thunderhead several miles to the east. He dove slightly as every camera on board whirled. He wanted to bring himself home in one piece and fighting thunderheads was seldom a wise decision.
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Story 0537
April 4, 1941 Petsamo, Finland
A small Finnish flagged freighter cleared the harbor. Soviet observers on the Rybachi Pennisula counted a few tarps onboard the merchant ship. The duty here was cold but boring. The Finns had not resisted after the occupation columns had moved in.
Several miles away over the Norwegian border, the Finnish commander met with an august gentleman. The GebirgsjagerKorps had been moving north in steady dribs and drabs. Coastal convoys were being run frequently with only the threat of the occasional mine and ice floe. The lieutenant general in charge of these elite troops was in Kirkenes for the first time to inspect his forward units and the ground that he and his men were likely to advance over in the next few months.
A small Finnish flagged freighter cleared the harbor. Soviet observers on the Rybachi Pennisula counted a few tarps onboard the merchant ship. The duty here was cold but boring. The Finns had not resisted after the occupation columns had moved in.
Several miles away over the Norwegian border, the Finnish commander met with an august gentleman. The GebirgsjagerKorps had been moving north in steady dribs and drabs. Coastal convoys were being run frequently with only the threat of the occasional mine and ice floe. The lieutenant general in charge of these elite troops was in Kirkenes for the first time to inspect his forward units and the ground that he and his men were likely to advance over in the next few months.
Story 0538
April 5, 1941 Edessa, Greece
Mount Olympus was in the distance. Men who had been raised in the public schools doffed their caps and remembered the long rote lessons as they memorized Homer. There were no long limbed Acheans here. Instead short, thick torsoed Welchmen dug into the ground while Australian and New Zealand infantry men sighted their weapons and examined the defensive positions. This was a strong set of positions and it was growing stronger every day. Once the divisional anti-tank guns were linked to the resupply columns, the Australians were confident that they could hold a PanzerKorps attacking them head on. They were also convinced that beer was meant to be drunk at near bath water temperature.
Lt. General Wilson was happy with his position. That was about the only thing he was happy with. The Royal Air Force was sparse. Three fighter squadrons and a pair of bomber squadrons was all that they could promise. There was only a single modern Greek fighter squadron forming up on Crete with American Martlets. The Greek Army was split. Half of the army was in Albania and the other half was entrenched behind the Mexatas line to his northeast. That army had almost no transport and no ability to respond to any surprises. Theoretically the Yugoslavian Army would hold the door to his rear but Wilson did not believe that they had the will nor the capacity to hold for long.
All he could trust was that the navy would support him. He had long discussions with both the Commander in Chief and Admiral Cunningham. The Navy already had plans to evacuate his force if they were flanked. Naval beach and port parties were distributed in half a dozen ports along the Aegean. They were there to coordinate the in-flow of supplies but they were also very aware of which harbors could be used to pull out the corps as needed.
Mount Olympus was in the distance. Men who had been raised in the public schools doffed their caps and remembered the long rote lessons as they memorized Homer. There were no long limbed Acheans here. Instead short, thick torsoed Welchmen dug into the ground while Australian and New Zealand infantry men sighted their weapons and examined the defensive positions. This was a strong set of positions and it was growing stronger every day. Once the divisional anti-tank guns were linked to the resupply columns, the Australians were confident that they could hold a PanzerKorps attacking them head on. They were also convinced that beer was meant to be drunk at near bath water temperature.
Lt. General Wilson was happy with his position. That was about the only thing he was happy with. The Royal Air Force was sparse. Three fighter squadrons and a pair of bomber squadrons was all that they could promise. There was only a single modern Greek fighter squadron forming up on Crete with American Martlets. The Greek Army was split. Half of the army was in Albania and the other half was entrenched behind the Mexatas line to his northeast. That army had almost no transport and no ability to respond to any surprises. Theoretically the Yugoslavian Army would hold the door to his rear but Wilson did not believe that they had the will nor the capacity to hold for long.
All he could trust was that the navy would support him. He had long discussions with both the Commander in Chief and Admiral Cunningham. The Navy already had plans to evacuate his force if they were flanked. Naval beach and port parties were distributed in half a dozen ports along the Aegean. They were there to coordinate the in-flow of supplies but they were also very aware of which harbors could be used to pull out the corps as needed.
I'm having a vision. I see this happening in the very near future to Greece's two battleships.
I think by this point they were in training and reserve duties. Hell, one of them had no guns.
Knew it was less than Bofors, I was still looking at something better than 3"/23.
Driftless
Donor
The 3"/23 seemed to be a jack-of-all-trades and master-of-none sort of affair: everything from AA to landing gun (with wheeled carriage)
In that case You might want to consider another weapon that the US had available in OTL from 1939
i.e. the 37mm M1.
For both AA and ASuW purposes it looks a better weapon e.g MV in the Bofors class
This was as standard US Army weapon, that served in the Pacific. It was quite heavy but "modular" so could be fitted in several positions. On a ship the weight may be acceptable especially if replacing a 3".
BTW The relatively lightweight M4 was adapted for use on aircraft from this design.
Aside: Later on there was the 37mm M9 which used larger shells for better performance (at the cost of yet more weight).
Apparently that also served as AsuW armament on PTBs in the Pacific, often replacing M4s that had been scrounged from downed P-39s.
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Lol... look at my original post on this, it was the M1 37 MM that I waS suggesting. I was referring to the M1 because it was already in production. But the author told me his preference to his lightweight, dual 1.1"; with 2 mounted on DD's though I think the 37mmm a better size fit.
Apologies... when I read your original post I focused on
and missed the later detail
Story 0539
April 6, 1941 before dawn Gyueshevo, Hungary
The victors of Poland, Belgium and France waited. The engines had turned over twenty minutes ago. An armored column with one hundred factory fresh tanks and then a string of infantry and artillery units with their half tracks, tractors and trucks was ready to move forward. Divisional scouts had cross the Hungarian-Yugoslav border hours ago. The border patrol station was still manned by older Macedonian reservists. They had their rifles on their shoulder slings but no heavy weapons were evident. The thrust of the Panzer Corps would ignore the gnat like nuisance if they could.
The objective was Skopje. Once there, the attack could split. One choice was to head north to Pristina and then break out onto the Bosnian positions where the Yugoslavian strategic reserve was stationed. The other was to curl south to Prilep and Bitola and take the Greeks in the rear.
Those were decisions far above the pay grade of a 19 year old veteran driving the lead Panzer III. He only cared that his commander kicked him and told him to start moving forward.
The victors of Poland, Belgium and France waited. The engines had turned over twenty minutes ago. An armored column with one hundred factory fresh tanks and then a string of infantry and artillery units with their half tracks, tractors and trucks was ready to move forward. Divisional scouts had cross the Hungarian-Yugoslav border hours ago. The border patrol station was still manned by older Macedonian reservists. They had their rifles on their shoulder slings but no heavy weapons were evident. The thrust of the Panzer Corps would ignore the gnat like nuisance if they could.
The objective was Skopje. Once there, the attack could split. One choice was to head north to Pristina and then break out onto the Bosnian positions where the Yugoslavian strategic reserve was stationed. The other was to curl south to Prilep and Bitola and take the Greeks in the rear.
Those were decisions far above the pay grade of a 19 year old veteran driving the lead Panzer III. He only cared that his commander kicked him and told him to start moving forward.
Story 0540
April 7, 1941 1240 Belgrade
The old man looked skyward. He had given up his place in the too crowded air raid shelter so someone’s daughter and grandchildren could survive the afternoon. The bombers had struck yesterday afternoon. They struck again this morning. There was now an almost continual wave of German, Italian, and Hungarian planes bombing the city that he loved and had lived in for fifty years.
A battery of anti-aircraft guns barked along the riverfront. And then their defiance ceased. There were no more shells. The road to the main magazine had been blocked for hours now as buildings had collapsed and a gas main was on fire. He looked skyward and saw dozens of black steel eggs arc down. His eyes tricked him. They all looked like they were falling onto his nose.
The string of bombs exploded near Hajd Park, damaging trees and destroying his grandson’s favorite football field. Another squadron dropped and their bombs clustered along the Sava’s barge docks. Flames flicked upward and the devastation continued throughout the afternoon as the city’s defenses fell silent due to destruction, fear or lack of ammunition.
What's a veteran of the Italian Front doing in Belgrade? If he was a Slovene, Croat, or Bosnian, he might have served in the KüK Armee, but how is he in Belgrade? And a Serb would have fought in Serbia or at Salonika. I suppose he could be a Serb from Vojvodina (the area just north of Belgrade across the Danube), which was ethnic Serb but part of the Kingdom of Hungary.
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