What would they think 1912-2012
- Thread starter Vingilótë
- Start date
Maybe. Remember that 1912 was well within the Yellow Peril period when it was widely feared that the Asiatic Peoples would bury the West with their superior population and villainous ways. So the surprise might be the China doesn't hold sway over all the earth with blood and horror.
Well, the RN is being expanded again, and it will return to great strength in the 2020s. In addition to the 2 Queen Elizabeth supercarriers and their F-35 contingents, there will be 22 frigates and destroyers, mainly the Type 26 frigates and Type 45 destroyers, easily among the most advanced and deadly warships in the world. There will also be 7 Astute class SSBNs. This in addition to the Ocean class helicopter carrier, 3 Albion-class LPDs, 24 OPVs, and 15 minesweepers already in service.
Keep in mind that these 22 frigates and destroyers are each armed with very advanced weaponry, and can reach many miles away. Wikipedia says that a Type 45 destroyer can simultaneously track, engage and destroy more targets than five Type 42s combined could. The carriers will also have a large and devastating reach.
As of now, though the RN is still the dominant navy of Europe, and the second-largest in NATO, and it is one of the few navies capable of global power-projection.
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In the RN's defense, guided missiles and carrier planes covering large areas mean that naval combat is not what it used to be, and does not require hundreds of warships like it once did. Yes, the RN is small, but it is undergoing a revitalization, and it will be really powerful in the 2020s. Today, its still the largest in Europe, and second-largest in NATO.
After seeing the future, Japan, Germany, France, UK and Russia would ally to take down the US.
Yes, and Nikola Tesla will build steampunk robotic armies to defeat the foreign invaders!
More seriously, I expect a lot of social horror at the fact that we don't share many of their values and norms, and a lot of "We have to save the future generations from themselves!" sorts of rhetoric, followed by actions to try and stifle social change/growth they won't agree with.
Is no one from 1912 horrified that we've developed the technical capacity to destroy civilization and most of humanity?
I'm old enough (48) to remember actually envying people living in earlier times (not that they didn't have their sh*t to deal with) because they didn't have that hanging over their heads.
I'm old enough (48) to remember actually envying people living in earlier times (not that they didn't have their sh*t to deal with) because they didn't have that hanging over their heads.
Ehm, that's been the buzzword for last 55 years "Contract now for revitalization some years later". By 2020's the big question is whether both QE's will be sold to India or one to India and one to Brazil. There's simply no way the carriers will become operational at least in any intelligent sense.
This still seems like overkill. There are not any conceivable threats to Britain, nor are there any on the horizon. Britain could disband its entire military and not suffer any ill effects.
BlondieBC
Banned
Sad, but true. I think the English GDP is enough to run a Navy, but the needed operational budget will never be approved. And it goes back to around 87 years ago. In the interwar period, the British had mutiny over pay, which to me is too much of the budget spent on ship building, not enough on operations.
Or form an alliance to cripple the USA while there is still time.
It's not that Britain can't afford a properly equiped Navy, it's just the Politicians won't spend the money. It's going to take a disaster to change this attitude. I sometimes think it might have been better if the Falklands war had cost a few more ships, it might have made people realise the truth behind the saying "If you want peace prepare for war".
Yes, after the First World War the RN's focus has been, sadly, more on quantity rather than quality. I think RN is a showcase in how it is always more difficult to manage a downsizing of a military force rather than upbuilding. When a state is upbuilding it's military forces from, say, regional power to major power navy (like today in China) it is always possible to find new career choices for every half decent officer and mistakes can be corrected via simply pumping up the money on wherever it is necessary. In downsizing a military the institutions fortify themselves in order to protect their careers leading to a situation, like today's RN, where there is more admirals than combatant ships. Today, maybe even more admirals than total number of ships. Money will not get allocated as effectively as it is always more easy to take a bit from there and there rather than to make decision what are realistic core capabilities and focus on them.