Keynes' Cruisers Volume 2
- Thread starter fester
- Start date
- Status
Probably missed it in this TL but wasn't the third in OTL converted to an aircraft carrier?
RamscoopRaider
Donor
Yes Shinano was converted to a carrier in one of the IJN's moments of stupidity*
*It cost as much to convert her as to build two Unryuu class carriers and it delayed her by quite some time, as a BB she would have been ready for Leyte Gulf, if barely, as a CV she was sunk before she finished fitting out after that whole mess was over
Story 2795
RAF Scampton, dawn March 20, 1945
A dozen bombers had started to line up along the taxiway. The engines were all running smoothly and soon they would ascend. Each aircraft carried a single massive bomb. No one bomb was expected to destroy a target but if the elite crews of the most elite squadron in Bomber Command could shotgun the target, the hollowing of the ground would destroy the bridges that the German Army needed to move and feed itself much less feed industry or the general population. The squadron would soon fly its fourth mission in six days.
Suddenly a staff car came barrelling along a taxiway. It cut hard, skidding like it was driven by a rum runner rather than a twenty four year old woman from a respectable family. Two men got out and waved a big flag. Flight operations would be suspended. The army had just notified Bomber Command that it's spearheads had laagered just eleven miles from the target at midnight. They might already be there and would be there when the master bombardier dropped the first bomb.
Chaos ensued as the bombers were disarmed and planners waited for news so that they could plan again.
A dozen bombers had started to line up along the taxiway. The engines were all running smoothly and soon they would ascend. Each aircraft carried a single massive bomb. No one bomb was expected to destroy a target but if the elite crews of the most elite squadron in Bomber Command could shotgun the target, the hollowing of the ground would destroy the bridges that the German Army needed to move and feed itself much less feed industry or the general population. The squadron would soon fly its fourth mission in six days.
Suddenly a staff car came barrelling along a taxiway. It cut hard, skidding like it was driven by a rum runner rather than a twenty four year old woman from a respectable family. Two men got out and waved a big flag. Flight operations would be suspended. The army had just notified Bomber Command that it's spearheads had laagered just eleven miles from the target at midnight. They might already be there and would be there when the master bombardier dropped the first bomb.
Chaos ensued as the bombers were disarmed and planners waited for news so that they could plan again.
Last edited:
They were considered so valuable that they had orders to bring them back if the target could not be attacked
Not as tense as discovering your Gate Guardian was a live bomb.
BTW I am aware some claims to have debunked the event however no "proof" of it being debunked is offered, by the same token no "proof" is offered of the truth. It is however well known that numerous WW11 weapons got stored in unsafe conditions around the world. Heck in some places around the world actuall military bases have no go areas with decomposing ww2 explosives. Notable Alaska and far flung bases.
Myth busters: The RAF Scampton gate guardian which 'turned out to be a live bomb'
It is rumoured that it could have flattened uphill Lincoln, including the cathedral
thelincolnite.co.uk
There are a number of decommissioned U.S. Arsenals and ammunition plants with no go bunker and manufacturing areas. there are at least 4 in Illinois.Not as tense as discovering your Gate Guardian was a live bomb.
BTW I am aware some claims to have debunked the event however no "proof" of it being debunked is offered, by the same token no "proof" is offered of the truth. It is however well known that numerous WW11 weapons got stored in unsafe conditions around the world. Heck in some places around the world actuall military bases have no go areas with decomposing ww2 explosives. Notable Alaska and far flung bases.
Myth busters: The RAF Scampton gate guardian which 'turned out to be a live bomb'
It is rumoured that it could have flattened uphill Lincoln, including the cathedral
Story 2796
Western Pacific, March 20, 1945
The USS Enterprise turned into the wind. A dozen Hellcats were warmed up and waiting for enough wind over the deck. The old carrier that had been redesignated as the night fleet carrier would have a busy day today. A dozen Hellcats for the first CAP slot and then maintaining a half dozen fighters at Alert 5 and another dozen at Alert-15 for the rest of the day. Two Avengers would be up for antisubmarine patrols at all times while half a dozen would be kept ready for long range scouting missions. The anti-aircraft guns would be kept at a third manned with the rest of the ship ready to spring to action within minutes. The engineers would make sure that her boilers were creating as much as steam as possible and the screws would bite deep into the water while the mess attendants managed the critical coffee urns and the cooks turned out donuts and sandwhiches for sailors to scarf down in the few minutes between potential emergencies.
A mile behind her, USS Independence, the light night carrier also prepared for a long day. Her fighters would be held on the deck and her Avengers would be seeking out the enemy tonight. Half a mile, the three fleet carriers that had been merely contracts and steel orders when Pearl Harbor was bombed, were organizing deck load strikes even as they waited for orders to launch. Around the five ships, two battleships, four cruisers and a dozen destroyers stood guard. They would absorb as many blows as possible to allow the carriers the chance to launch a second strike in the afternoon.
The USS Enterprise turned into the wind. A dozen Hellcats were warmed up and waiting for enough wind over the deck. The old carrier that had been redesignated as the night fleet carrier would have a busy day today. A dozen Hellcats for the first CAP slot and then maintaining a half dozen fighters at Alert 5 and another dozen at Alert-15 for the rest of the day. Two Avengers would be up for antisubmarine patrols at all times while half a dozen would be kept ready for long range scouting missions. The anti-aircraft guns would be kept at a third manned with the rest of the ship ready to spring to action within minutes. The engineers would make sure that her boilers were creating as much as steam as possible and the screws would bite deep into the water while the mess attendants managed the critical coffee urns and the cooks turned out donuts and sandwhiches for sailors to scarf down in the few minutes between potential emergencies.
A mile behind her, USS Independence, the light night carrier also prepared for a long day. Her fighters would be held on the deck and her Avengers would be seeking out the enemy tonight. Half a mile, the three fleet carriers that had been merely contracts and steel orders when Pearl Harbor was bombed, were organizing deck load strikes even as they waited for orders to launch. Around the five ships, two battleships, four cruisers and a dozen destroyers stood guard. They would absorb as many blows as possible to allow the carriers the chance to launch a second strike in the afternoon.
The USN in 1944-5 had light fleet carriers built on cruiser hulls, one of which was CVL-22 USS Independence, and it operated dedicated night fighter carriers.
So, a light carrier assigned to the night fighter role. OTL Independence was the first one. Discussed in chapter 4 of Friedman, Fighters over the Fleet
Last edited:
Makes sense, night fighting is on a different ritme than the standard carrier cycle. The pilots sleep and maintaince tasksare are during daytime hours.
For those interested in nighttime operations on aircraft carriers this article may be interesting:
www.history.navy.mil
Honestly personally i was surprised nighttime operations on carriers were even possible during world war two.
CIC Operations On a Night Carrier
In July of 1944, the USS Independence started operating as a night carrier after the qualification of her night air group. This immediately brought to the forefront a series of problems for CIC which heretofore had not been encountered. At the present writing, the bulk of these have been ironed...
Honestly personally i was surprised nighttime operations on carriers were even possible during world war two.
- Status