Recent content by naraic

I agree with you there. The Royal Navy really needed to rebuild their cruiser fleet post ww1. They won't have the capital to do this if they get the 2 power standard for capital ships. Unless of course the British are much much better off than otl.

I doubt that the not building cruisers would fund the naval expansion suggested in the op but I do agree that the cruisers would be a cost of the capital ship expansion. The Navy might try and keep as many older battlecruisers as they can to try and relieve pressure on cruiser forces but a 28...

The Grand Fleet base at Scapa was partially due to submarines. The Grand Fleet didn't base further south for this fear. If the Germans actively worked in the North Sea and the British failed to make contact (a plausible suggestion without room 40 for a few incidents but not for sustained german...

My understanding is that from the location where Canopus was grounded that no Germans could spot Canopus unless they came inside the harbour (and Canopus couldn't spot the German squadron). Canopus was grounded behind a hill and reliant on spotters from the spotting station on sappers hill. The...

I guess it depends on what no major fleet action looks like. If we have raids on the British coast and actions like Helgioland Bight and Dogger Bank it may reinforce the navy and in patricular battlecruiser ideas.

We had this discussion relatively recently. The key point was that the prewar pilot core of the Kido Butai was a precious resource that could not be thrown away on suicide attacks. That said carrier air groups weren't really full a lot of the time. They could theoretically pull a couple of...

Try this forum https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/a-more-powerful-curtain-call-the-australasian-federation-and-world-war-2.305127/ Otherwise known as Johnboy of this forum.

Please explain why and how. The Dunkirk evacuation was sold at the time as a miracle in propaganda. It wasn't. Maybe the extent benefited from some luck but it would have taken a German miracle to make it a failure. Or else pigs flying and carrying Luftwaffe bombs. If you get that then surely...

Greater freedom for shipping supplies through the Baltic would take some pressure off the overstressed rail network too.

First off would Cornwall and Dorsetshire have been in that position if there was decent fighter cover in Ceylons. Secondly the strike that sank Corwall and Dorsetshire was being prepared to hit airbase around colombo. The second strike on Ceylon airbases was diverted as the first strike was...

I believe USS Langley carried 32 assembled P40s while MS Sea Witch carried 27 disassembled P40s. Were there pilots and air wing staff used to the P40 ready in Ceylon or would they spend months in familiarisation. Perhaps if Ceylon's airbases is more of a threat the raids on airbases will be...

If Wilhelm II was in power in Germany Hitler will have him and his heirs killed much like he had Hindenburg killed to remove the head of state and cement his own power and authority.

I'm pretty sure there was a B29 version modified to carry grand slam bombs and they did use the tallboy operationally during korean war. I'm sure there would be viable targets but these bombs were in fairly short supply so its not going to have a decisive influence. I'd say their use would be...

Pope Gregory VII 1073-1085 was the popes that drove home clerical celibacy in a big way. Before that it was an ideal but it was quiet common for priests to be married or to have mistresses. One of the things he did was write an encyclical that was circulated to the nobility priests of europe...

To make more confusing the fleet air arm wanted two types of fighters. A longer range one (to allow longer CAP patrols and escort missions) and an interceptor with higher performance. So thats five real roles identified by the FAA. Some are easy enough to combine and the idea of needing two...