1935 - The Royal Navy and the New Fleet Plan

18 BB's in 10 years is easiuly inside the armour availability.

In 1938 the building plan was 2 1/2 BB a year, and with an increase in the armour capability could have been raised to 3/year.
After that, other issues such as guns and FC equipment get to be the bottlenecks
But starting in 35 and ending in 45 1.8BB a year is no trouble, and they would be able to build the armourced carriers and cruisers as well.

However I think they would also replace all the early, experimental carriers by then, they will be getting too old and worn out - although its possible they may keep Courageous/Glorious as a training carrier, although the plans did include one as well as the other carriers.

Depending on what other contries are doing they may build extra, probably larger, fleet carriers, and quite possibly more Lion types that BC's, allowing the QE class to be in reserve.


The armor question is to be seen against other requirements as well, sicne armored vehicles too need it, as do aircraft in a lesser amount (Pilot seat armor in the Spitfire and Hurricane) The industrial output in the UK for the high quality facehardened cemented armor was facing a shortage in the late 30's as the buildign of both battleships and aircraft carriers was in full production by then, so a vast quantity of a slightly lesser Chechoslowakian Cemented Armor was purchased to cope with the shortage. This armor was mainly put into HMS Formidable and Indomitable as flightdeck armor, while the more superior British cemented armor was put into the King George V class battleships.
 
Aircraft entering service from 1937 Swordfish - TSR role, Skua - Dive Bomber, Sea Gladiator - Fighter. Note the skua will only be a dive bomber.
Aircraft entering service 39/40 Sea Henley- Dive Bomber, Sea Hurricane Fighter. Note the RN will take over the Henley project even though the RAF will abandon it. 2 questons could the henley have been modified as a Torpedo bomber, and if not were there any plans for a modern torpedo bomber in this period to replace the swordfish (apart from the Albacore?). Also the abortion that was the Roc is not going to exist.

I think the Skua still gets secondary 'fighter' duties - longer range than the Glad. But yes, is replaced by the Sea Henley - with wing-guns - as a FDB; this keeps the Fulmar away or with very limited no's. But rather than go with the 8 x 0.303" example of the RAF it jumps to cannon, via the Boulton-Paul P.88a (Hercules) with 4 x 20 mm cannon. As the engine power increases, the aircraft gradually replaces the Sea Henley - with its ability to carry bombs.
Blackburn & Fairey vie with each other to design a replacement TB - with either Hercules, Deerhound or Centaurus engine - analogue to Spearfish only earlier.
 
armour supply

OTL the extra armor needed to complete the late 1930's fleet carriers and Fiji class cruisers was ordered from Czechoslovakia* and shipped just before the nazi occupation. So the New Fleet Plan is plausible if there's no/ much smaller WWII in Europe. The US was not a viable source of armor because it had its own fleet expansion.
*Nelson to Vanguard-DK Brown, a good source for what the RN did and did not build for WWII
 
Rip,
I don't have much on the trade protection carriers. The design started near 14,500 tons with 4 5.25" guns, 15 aircraft, and 27-28 knot speed. Rose to around 17,000 tons before shrinking to 11,000 tons.

Later on there was a short-lived "aircraft destroyer" idea. A small carrier of 8,350 tons, 4 5" guns, 12 aircraft, 31-32 knots.

(the above is from Fleets of World War II, by Richard Worth)
 
OTL the extra armor needed to complete the late 1930's fleet carriers and Fiji class cruisers was ordered from Czechoslovakia* and shipped just before the nazi occupation. So the New Fleet Plan is plausible if there's no/ much smaller WWII in Europe. The US was not a viable source of armor because it had its own fleet expansion.
*Nelson to Vanguard-DK Brown, a good source for what the RN did and did not build for WWII

Hmm so if they needed more they could have orderd in bulk from CZ 1935-1938 and made astockpile of the stuff?
 
Hmm so if they needed more they could have orderd in bulk from CZ 1935-1938 and made astockpile of the stuff?


Do not forget the Czechoslowakian millitary also needed large quanteties of it for its army and fortresses, so even this purchased material was about the largest possible to aquire from other sources. Germany was also trying to purchase it, although was not succesfull due to political rivalry with the Czech.

Main point will remane the same, Armor was on too short a supply to do such large scale building, unless the starting date is moved further into the early 20's, which on itself is unlikely, given the economical situation around that time.
 
Ive been digging around on the warships project board, to see what I could find about armour production.

Alot of different estimates were found, but I think this is the most interesting as it is on the lower end of the scale. 35,000 tons per year pre-war, could be brought up to 56,000 tons per year with no significant investment (according to the companies), 60,000 tons a year with minor improvements to existing facilities, if a new £5.5 million plant is built 85,000 tons taking 2.5 years to build.

3 battleships (lion class) would need 48,000 tons of armour, as the number of battleships to be laid down over a 9 year plan would be 2 per year and staggerd 1 every 6 months this means 32,000 tons a year for the battleships, now also according to what I read 12,000 tons was brought from the czech republic in 39. So by buying czech armour plate in 36,37,38 and boosting production in existing plants, you could cover any shortfall until a new plant is brought and have sufficient to cover other needs say we go with 56,000 tons a year you could allocate 46,000 to the navy and still have 10,000 for the army.

Also the capacity to build 22 16in guns a year existed.

I suppose the issue is would the government invest in industrial plant? It definitley would help with employment and could be seen as vote winner apart from other things
I have just spent a sunday afternoon thinking about armour plate and watching cricket - weird combo.
 
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