Got to wonder whether the Flower class sloop design could have been dusted off and updated for oil firing rather than modify the Southern Pride whaler design into the Flower class corvette after all both are going to need modifications and the sloop design is already at the 250ft length that the later Castle class corvette came in at and was found to be the bare minimum needed for ocean work.
Best British interwar fleet?
- Thread starter Hood
- Start date
Got to wonder whether the Flower class sloop design could have been dusted off and updated for oil firing rather than modify the Southern Pride whaler design into the Flower class corvette after all both are going to need modifications and the sloop design is already at the 250ft length that the later Castle class corvette came in at and was found to be the bare minimum needed for ocean work.
It might be better to retire some French officials, and not necessarily in the army. If the French have to cut back their naval commitments the English have to step up.
I have long had half an idea for Australia to build a sub and sloop navy.
They went cruiser because it matched the RNs needs in the vast distances of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. But sloops especially suit the local industry's abilities better and subs are an obvious counter to the local major power after WWI.
Cruisers also suit the requirements of the RN to be able to deploy units from one part of the country to another part without either multiple port stops to refuel or large numbers of auxiliary tankers in service.
There is a reason why in the late 1930's the RAN just about had more cruisers in Service then they did destroyers.
Probably the correct decision given that even Australia managed to Build 56 ASW Escorts (Bathurst class) during the war.
There is a reason why in the late 1930's the RAN just about had more cruisers in Service then they did destroyers.
Probably the correct decision given that even Australia managed to Build 56 ASW Escorts (Bathurst class) during the war.
Asian Jumbo
Monthly Donor
So who'd like to go on an all expenses paid trip on an airship...it's the future of air transport & warfare don't you know...
Speaking of airships it would have been a good ideal for Britain to continue with developing Blimps after the success of the North Sea Class. They would have been handy for patrol work outside of Europe where it would be extremely unlikely to encounter enemy aircraft.
Usually, I would begin thinking about the "perfect hindsight" factor, but... With all the subs being aggregated by the various major combatants, and even minors, ASW has to be an obvious area of concern, specially so for those countries dependent on the seas for their existence. Keeping some successful actors from earlier conflicts as test beds makes a LOT of sense.
If no WNT, just build G3s and improved Arks Royal.
Within a treaty environment?
To get a full length flight deck on Courageous, Glorious and Furious, would hull blisters/bulges forward be required to fit a full-length flight deck, as the ships apparently lacked the structural strength otherwise? If so, I think it would be worth it, even with a drop in speed from 32 to 30kn. Then, rebuild Furious to this standard with a proper island. Hermes is the most modern of the rest, so she can be a proto Light Fleet Carrier. Eagle should be sold/given incomplete back to Chile.
I would also suggest retaining Tiger instead of the Iron Dukes so there would at least be a third active battlecruiser when Hood gets her "large repair".
When it comes time to build the KGVs, it's pretty obvious that nobody else wants to drop to 14". Even if you aren't going to go to 16", at least build the 15" Mk. II for their use.
Somehow get an earlier Hunt type escort destroyer, and get the Dominions building them as well. Put them in the escort role, and if not already building, have a ready-to-go design for a minesweeper that can be built by civilian shipyards. More standardization on the fast destroyer types too; more Tribals and less "Letter" class emergency boats
Either expand the testing tank at Denny's or build a larger one at one of HM Dockyards. Adopt welding too, the KGVs would thus expend less of their weight in rivets.
Within a treaty environment?
To get a full length flight deck on Courageous, Glorious and Furious, would hull blisters/bulges forward be required to fit a full-length flight deck, as the ships apparently lacked the structural strength otherwise? If so, I think it would be worth it, even with a drop in speed from 32 to 30kn. Then, rebuild Furious to this standard with a proper island. Hermes is the most modern of the rest, so she can be a proto Light Fleet Carrier. Eagle should be sold/given incomplete back to Chile.
I would also suggest retaining Tiger instead of the Iron Dukes so there would at least be a third active battlecruiser when Hood gets her "large repair".
When it comes time to build the KGVs, it's pretty obvious that nobody else wants to drop to 14". Even if you aren't going to go to 16", at least build the 15" Mk. II for their use.
Somehow get an earlier Hunt type escort destroyer, and get the Dominions building them as well. Put them in the escort role, and if not already building, have a ready-to-go design for a minesweeper that can be built by civilian shipyards. More standardization on the fast destroyer types too; more Tribals and less "Letter" class emergency boats
Either expand the testing tank at Denny's or build a larger one at one of HM Dockyards. Adopt welding too, the KGVs would thus expend less of their weight in rivets.
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"Do not question how Nelson and Rodney are able to mount 18" guns within the tonnage limits. If you really must then you'd be better off pondering the inadequacies of your own national ship building industries."
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Yes, no, maybe...
ASW and convoys was thought about and systems were put in place to implement convoys and control the merchant fleet from September 1939 that weren't even considered in 1914. Even an unescorted convoy ruins a Uboat's day by making targets harder to find.
Dedicated sloops are tricky. Low end escorts can be built quickly. Technology is moving quickly and can be tested on fleet units like destroyers during peacetime. Put another way, which frontline units are missed out on to get a fleet of sloops?
It is why I like them for the Dominions in the inter-war period. They aren't technically difficult, bootstrap the Dominion's military industries, and are unlimited by Treaty. But there is a whole Tragedy of the Commons thing going on there and it is basically impossible to get the Dominions to spend the money.
I have done a lot of thinking with alt-Washington scenarios... and one thing I thought of is what if the WNT was negotiated with less focus on trying to close the barn door after the horse has bolted, and more on nailing things down at current maximums- say, no more than 42 500 tons (Hood's standard displacement IIRC) for capital ships, max calibre of 16" to prevent a jump to 18", max carrier tonnage similar to Lexington and so on. Cruisers... perhaps still 10000t, or a jump commensurate?
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the Brits had 18" armed ships in WWI, so that horses were already out of the stable on that count.
Two, 1 a monitor and another had already had its gun removed during the war. They could be argued to be a failed experiment.
SsgtC
Banned
They did. And as @Peg Leg Pom points out, the RN wasn't exactly thrilled with them. More because of the ships they were mounted on being inadequate for the task, but they still learned the hard way that 18" guns required a lot more than they were willing to invest
Well at least until they were planning the N3s then they wanted the 18"guns
SsgtC
Banned
I'm still not sure if they were actually serious about that, or if it was just a ploy to get the other nations to the table
If not that, then to have something to give up to get the Treasury to fund a couple of extra G3's.
The G3s were also being sold as "battlecrusiers", despite being better protected than any class of battleship built before it