Alternate warships of nations
- Thread starter zeppelinair
- Start date
The "Canadian Hammers" battleship design 
The Laurier class (joined by HMCS John A. MacDonald and HMCS Charles Kingsmill) was built as Canada's contribution to the growing war effort of the 1930s, a Canadian design built with British and American influences but also Canadian developments.
Built with a desire towards maximum firepower after the failure of the Second London Naval Treaty, the Laurier class was built with American-design 12" main batteries and 8" primary secondaries and British 5.25" dual-purpose guns. They were powered by eight massive Massey-Ferguson turbocharged diesel engines (the most powerful diesels in the world at the time of their introduction in 1939) and were designed to an ethos. Figuring that Britain's massive fleet of battleships and its new (and powerful) Rodney, King George V and Vanguard class battleships would be sufficient to handle enemy battleships and that the Americans' North Carolina, South Dakota and Iowa class vessels would do the same for the Japanese, the Canadian Navy elected to build its flagships with an eye towards shore bombardment, destroying smaller vessels completely and the ability to run with convoys. The use of no less than eighteen 12" guns (the class used the same Mark 8 guns as America's Alaska-class cruisers) and eight 8" guns was designed for the destruction of smaller vessels and providing shore bombardment, but it would be made clear in history that the Laurier and MacDonald would be capable of rather more than just that. The ships had rather thinner side armor than battleships of the era but had similar deck armor, and the vessels had been designed with multiple-layer side armor in an attempt to add to the protection. The armor thickness, however, meant for complete coverage of the vessel's massive magazines and machinery. A newly-developed reverse-osmosis freshwater system, air conditioning throughout the vessel and excellent accomodations for the crew allowed the vessels to be well-loved by their crews. The
First commissioned on the eve of war in May 1939, the Wilfrid Laurier and sister ship John A. MacDonald (commissioned in March 1940) were deployed to assist the RN early and often. As with newly-commissioned massive cruiser HMAS Australia, the Canadian vessels got attention in Britain as the symbols of the colonies taking the job of defeating Hitler seriously. But the finest hour of the Wilfrid Laurier was helping to shut down the Bismarck.
After the loss of Hood and severe damage to the Prince of Wales, Churchill's angry demand that the RN "sink the Bismarck" was heard loudly with the Canadians as well. The Wilfrid Laurier had been at the time in rendezvous with British battleship Rodney, and both set out after Bismarck. King George V, Rodney and Wilfrid Laurier quite literally shelled Bismarck to pieces, with Wilfrid Laurier getting credit for a 12" shot which ripped right into Bismarck's bridge, almost certainly killing her commanding officer. Bismarck also inadvertantly proved just how tough that Canadian steel was when one of her 15" shots hit the Laurier just below the waterline ahead of its midships battery, which caused a huge dent in the belt armor but did not penetrate - reportedly, it was the only hit Bismarck scored on any of the three battleships. Laurier fired over 400 12" rounds, 250 8" rounds and 300 5.25" rounds into the Bismarck, part of the sledgehammering that sank the vessel. While exploration of the wreck decades later would find that the hull had never been punctured, news of the sinking of the Bismarck, and the monster 52,000-ton Canadian vessel involved in it, got attention on both sides of the conflict, with Hitler claimed to have said "Those bastards are back again?!"
The success of that operation, combined with the RCN's by-then known expertise at U-Boat hunting, allowed Canada to justify making a third such vessel. That one, HMCS Charles Kingsmill, was named after the RCN's founder. Laid down on October 15, 1941, the vessel was delivered to the RCN in February 1944 and was commissioned on June 3, 1944. By that point, the German surface fleet was in shambles, and all three of the Canadian vessels were sent to the Pacific to reinforce the Americans. Wilfrid Laurier and John A. MacDonald were there soon enough to be involved in the taking of Saipan, for which the Americans were grateful, as they were well aware of what the Canadian ships could do with eighteen 12" guns and 2160 rounds of ammunition for them. John A. MacDonald joined American battleships Tennessee and California as well as cruisers Indianapolis and Birmingham as direct support for the landing Marines, while Wilfrid Laurier was a support ship for the carriers during the battle of the Philippine Sea, claiming credit for eighteen aircraft shot down with its AA fire and taking no damage - indeed, few Allied ships in this battle did.
Charles Kingsmill was on the way when the battle of Leyte Gulf happened. Again, the Canadian ships were in the middle of it, in this case it was John A. MacDonald getting the honors as she had been assigned to support Taffy 3, while Wilfrid Laurier was among the battleships Jesse Oldendorf had at his disposal. Wilfrid Laurier is known to have hit Yamashiro, but whether she killed her or not is unknown. John A. MacDonald got caught up in the Japanese ambush that hit Taffy 3 and held her ground, supporting the American destroyers and destroyer escorts that bravely battled Admiral Kurita's center force, with on multiple occasions the destroyers calling out positions of ships for John A. MacDonald to fire on. The Canadian ship took a 18" shot from Yamato close forward which caused extensive damage to her bows, but the ship kept shooting. John A. MacDonald did a famous duty when she avenged the brave destroyer Johnston, when she took on battleships Kongo and Yamato singlehandedly in an attempt to buy the carriers time. A 14" shot through the forward deck aft the forward main batteries and multiple 8" hits was the result, but she gave Kongo multiple 14" shots in the face, one of which killed her commander, and a hit on Yamato which several of Admiral Kurita's staff. and despite the considerable damage from the battleships, the Canadian vessel stayed afloat. She was still shooting when the aircraft from the American carriers arrived, and that was enough to get Admiral Kurita to run. Badly damaged but still floating and still having power, John A. MacDonald worked to pick up survivors from the lost destroyers it had helped avenge before heading to Guam for repairs.
All three sailed together at Okinawa, now part of the British Pacific Fleet centered on carrier HMS Victorious. They all came under attack from Kamikazes, John A. MacDonald suffering a kamikaze just below her bridge which killed her commanding officer on May 6, 1945. After cleaning out the islands between Okinawa and Japan`s main islands (including Victorious and the British, Canadian and Australian heavy guns moving out with the intent of killing Yamato, only to have the Americans finish her off first) the three Canadian battleships assisted American troops in attacking Japanese positions on the island. In the process of that Charles Kingsmill took a kamikaze hit on her rear superstructure, causing extensive damage and forcing her to retire from the battle. Such was the horrible Japanese resistance that the atomic bombings were done largely as a way of simply avoiding the need to invade Japan`s home islands.
The Laurier class (joined by HMCS John A. MacDonald and HMCS Charles Kingsmill) was built as Canada's contribution to the growing war effort of the 1930s, a Canadian design built with British and American influences but also Canadian developments.
Built with a desire towards maximum firepower after the failure of the Second London Naval Treaty, the Laurier class was built with American-design 12" main batteries and 8" primary secondaries and British 5.25" dual-purpose guns. They were powered by eight massive Massey-Ferguson turbocharged diesel engines (the most powerful diesels in the world at the time of their introduction in 1939) and were designed to an ethos. Figuring that Britain's massive fleet of battleships and its new (and powerful) Rodney, King George V and Vanguard class battleships would be sufficient to handle enemy battleships and that the Americans' North Carolina, South Dakota and Iowa class vessels would do the same for the Japanese, the Canadian Navy elected to build its flagships with an eye towards shore bombardment, destroying smaller vessels completely and the ability to run with convoys. The use of no less than eighteen 12" guns (the class used the same Mark 8 guns as America's Alaska-class cruisers) and eight 8" guns was designed for the destruction of smaller vessels and providing shore bombardment, but it would be made clear in history that the Laurier and MacDonald would be capable of rather more than just that. The ships had rather thinner side armor than battleships of the era but had similar deck armor, and the vessels had been designed with multiple-layer side armor in an attempt to add to the protection. The armor thickness, however, meant for complete coverage of the vessel's massive magazines and machinery. A newly-developed reverse-osmosis freshwater system, air conditioning throughout the vessel and excellent accomodations for the crew allowed the vessels to be well-loved by their crews. The
First commissioned on the eve of war in May 1939, the Wilfrid Laurier and sister ship John A. MacDonald (commissioned in March 1940) were deployed to assist the RN early and often. As with newly-commissioned massive cruiser HMAS Australia, the Canadian vessels got attention in Britain as the symbols of the colonies taking the job of defeating Hitler seriously. But the finest hour of the Wilfrid Laurier was helping to shut down the Bismarck.
After the loss of Hood and severe damage to the Prince of Wales, Churchill's angry demand that the RN "sink the Bismarck" was heard loudly with the Canadians as well. The Wilfrid Laurier had been at the time in rendezvous with British battleship Rodney, and both set out after Bismarck. King George V, Rodney and Wilfrid Laurier quite literally shelled Bismarck to pieces, with Wilfrid Laurier getting credit for a 12" shot which ripped right into Bismarck's bridge, almost certainly killing her commanding officer. Bismarck also inadvertantly proved just how tough that Canadian steel was when one of her 15" shots hit the Laurier just below the waterline ahead of its midships battery, which caused a huge dent in the belt armor but did not penetrate - reportedly, it was the only hit Bismarck scored on any of the three battleships. Laurier fired over 400 12" rounds, 250 8" rounds and 300 5.25" rounds into the Bismarck, part of the sledgehammering that sank the vessel. While exploration of the wreck decades later would find that the hull had never been punctured, news of the sinking of the Bismarck, and the monster 52,000-ton Canadian vessel involved in it, got attention on both sides of the conflict, with Hitler claimed to have said "Those bastards are back again?!"
The success of that operation, combined with the RCN's by-then known expertise at U-Boat hunting, allowed Canada to justify making a third such vessel. That one, HMCS Charles Kingsmill, was named after the RCN's founder. Laid down on October 15, 1941, the vessel was delivered to the RCN in February 1944 and was commissioned on June 3, 1944. By that point, the German surface fleet was in shambles, and all three of the Canadian vessels were sent to the Pacific to reinforce the Americans. Wilfrid Laurier and John A. MacDonald were there soon enough to be involved in the taking of Saipan, for which the Americans were grateful, as they were well aware of what the Canadian ships could do with eighteen 12" guns and 2160 rounds of ammunition for them. John A. MacDonald joined American battleships Tennessee and California as well as cruisers Indianapolis and Birmingham as direct support for the landing Marines, while Wilfrid Laurier was a support ship for the carriers during the battle of the Philippine Sea, claiming credit for eighteen aircraft shot down with its AA fire and taking no damage - indeed, few Allied ships in this battle did.
Charles Kingsmill was on the way when the battle of Leyte Gulf happened. Again, the Canadian ships were in the middle of it, in this case it was John A. MacDonald getting the honors as she had been assigned to support Taffy 3, while Wilfrid Laurier was among the battleships Jesse Oldendorf had at his disposal. Wilfrid Laurier is known to have hit Yamashiro, but whether she killed her or not is unknown. John A. MacDonald got caught up in the Japanese ambush that hit Taffy 3 and held her ground, supporting the American destroyers and destroyer escorts that bravely battled Admiral Kurita's center force, with on multiple occasions the destroyers calling out positions of ships for John A. MacDonald to fire on. The Canadian ship took a 18" shot from Yamato close forward which caused extensive damage to her bows, but the ship kept shooting. John A. MacDonald did a famous duty when she avenged the brave destroyer Johnston, when she took on battleships Kongo and Yamato singlehandedly in an attempt to buy the carriers time. A 14" shot through the forward deck aft the forward main batteries and multiple 8" hits was the result, but she gave Kongo multiple 14" shots in the face, one of which killed her commander, and a hit on Yamato which several of Admiral Kurita's staff. and despite the considerable damage from the battleships, the Canadian vessel stayed afloat. She was still shooting when the aircraft from the American carriers arrived, and that was enough to get Admiral Kurita to run. Badly damaged but still floating and still having power, John A. MacDonald worked to pick up survivors from the lost destroyers it had helped avenge before heading to Guam for repairs.
All three sailed together at Okinawa, now part of the British Pacific Fleet centered on carrier HMS Victorious. They all came under attack from Kamikazes, John A. MacDonald suffering a kamikaze just below her bridge which killed her commanding officer on May 6, 1945. After cleaning out the islands between Okinawa and Japan`s main islands (including Victorious and the British, Canadian and Australian heavy guns moving out with the intent of killing Yamato, only to have the Americans finish her off first) the three Canadian battleships assisted American troops in attacking Japanese positions on the island. In the process of that Charles Kingsmill took a kamikaze hit on her rear superstructure, causing extensive damage and forcing her to retire from the battle. Such was the horrible Japanese resistance that the atomic bombings were done largely as a way of simply avoiding the need to invade Japan`s home islands.
HMAS Brisbane
Following the Imperial Conference of 1934, and resulting general adoption of the Statute of Westminster that year, the tonnage of the Dominion navies no longer counted toward the RN's Treaty limits. In 1935, 2 Hawkins Class cruisers were taken into hand for conversion to aircraft carriers. The conversion was more thorough than that of the Vindictive, leading to the removal of all her main guns, turrets etc and giving a total of of 20 aircraft in hangar, although the Australians used extensive deck parking, meaning that she rarely went to sea with less than 28 planes. These carriers were commissioned in the RAN as HMAS Brisbane and HMAS Darwin
Brisbane herself provided crucial air cover that led to the capture of Kastellorizo in Operation Abstention. She also proved instrumental in the sinking of the Italian Battleship Vittorio Veneto a month later with her Swordfish and Albacores from HMS Illustrious executing a coordinated "Hammer and Anvil" strike.
Following the Imperial Conference of 1934, and resulting general adoption of the Statute of Westminster that year, the tonnage of the Dominion navies no longer counted toward the RN's Treaty limits. In 1935, 2 Hawkins Class cruisers were taken into hand for conversion to aircraft carriers. The conversion was more thorough than that of the Vindictive, leading to the removal of all her main guns, turrets etc and giving a total of of 20 aircraft in hangar, although the Australians used extensive deck parking, meaning that she rarely went to sea with less than 28 planes. These carriers were commissioned in the RAN as HMAS Brisbane and HMAS Darwin
Brisbane herself provided crucial air cover that led to the capture of Kastellorizo in Operation Abstention. She also proved instrumental in the sinking of the Italian Battleship Vittorio Veneto a month later with her Swordfish and Albacores from HMS Illustrious executing a coordinated "Hammer and Anvil" strike.
Cryhavoc101
Donor
Turning the Hawkins into CVLs in the late 30s is one of my guilty pleasures
I've started an out line of a story where the CVL HMS Hawkins finds herself operating in concert with force G in the South Atlantic and is involved in hunting down several raiders and her Aircraft take part in the locating then sinking of the Graf Spee off the African Coast during "The Battle of Walvis Ridge" on the 3rd December 1939 and also supporting Allied Landings in Italian East Africa during 1940.
So sort of operating on the fringes but decisively so.
Your post has given me an idea where she becomes HMAS Brisbane in order for the RAN to work up carrier ability.
So Force G comprises HMS Exeter, HMS Cumberland, HMS Ajax and HMNZS Achilles as well as HMAS Brisbane
Since I've mentioned Tarrantry earlier, here's the brand new wiki page I've made for it. I plan to gradually add any more info that I can find on the series/universe. Just in case somebody would have an interest in it.
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This would, of course, have violated the Treaty. It was specifically put together to prevent this sort of trick. While that never stopped the Japanese from playing games, the RN was fairly rigorous in compliance. This was less out a sense of propiety and more out of a desire to keep costs down.
How did they keep the Glorious class at all? You had to send a ship to the breakers as soon as a replacement was complete. Once again, more than any other power, it was in the UK's favor to keep the Treaty alive as long as possible.
Delta Force
Banned
Countries violated the spirit (and sometimes even the letter) of the treaties quite frequently. Tonnage violations were frequent, and some were fairly massive both in raw and relative terms. I think at one point Japan tried to claim a 14,000 ton cruiser as a 10,000 ton one. Japan and Germany also built cruisers with lighter armament to satisfy the letter of the treaty, but violated the spirit of it by designing them to exchange their turrets for ones carrying heavier armament in the event of war.
The treaties benefited Japan far more than anyone else. The Commonwealth and United States could have built far more ships than they were limited to. That's why some IJN officers were in favor of the treaties, because they knew they couldn't win a naval arms race against them due to their lower financial and industrial base.
You probably haven't seen one of these before.
Natural disasters are a recurring issue for the Mughal Empire. Cyclones occur regularly, and can kill tens of thousands.
Following a particularly devastating cyclone that claimed over twenty thousand lives along the Bengali coast, the Mughal government funded two disaster relief ships to be operated by the Green Crescent.
Intended to be a multi-function vessel, the Chattampi Swami class features:
-Hospital facilities including a triage area, two operating rooms, and 100 patient beds.
-Dry (food, tents, blankets, etc) and wet cargo (drinking water), for distribution to survivors, along with a modest water purification system.
-A vehicle hold for ambulances to collect patients and trucks to deliver aid.
-A well deck for landing craft capable of handling cargo and personnel transfers to and from shore in situations where local docks are unserviceable.
It remains to be seen whether the type proves to be effective in service; should this be the case, the Mughals foresee some utility in eventually operating up to four ship vessels...
Chattampi Swami, disaster relief ship laid down 1942
Displacement:
3,476 t light; 3,570 t standard; 4,704 t normal; 5,611 t full load
Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
397.87 ft / 393.70 ft x 68.90 ft x 12.14 ft (normal load)
121.27 m / 120.00 m x 21.00 m x 3.70 m
Machinery:
Diesel Internal combustion motors,
Geared drive, 2 shafts, 6,702 shp / 5,000 Kw = 18.38 kts
Range 10,000 nm at 15.00 kts (bunkerage = 1,253 tons)
Simmed as : Range 16,500nm at 15.00 kts (Bunkerage = 2,040 tons)
Complement:
283 - 369
Cost:
£0.930 million / $3.721 million
Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
Armament: 0 tons, 0.0 %
Machinery: 175 tons, 3.7 %
Hull, fittings & equipment: 1,794 tons, 38.1 %
Fuel, ammunition & stores: 1,228 tons, 26.1 %
Miscellaneous weights: 1,507 tons, 32.0 %
-525 t: Accommodation for 150 First-responders @ 3.5 t per
-350 t: 100 Patient Beds @ 3.5 t per
-200 t: 2 x Operating rooms + triage center
-300 t: Dry cargo
-60 t: Vehicle deck and 10 x 3 t trucks/ambulances
-32 t: 4 x LCVP @ 8 t per
-20 t: Water purification system
-20 t: Weight reserve
-450 t: 15 x 15 x 2 metre well deck (simmed as bunkerage)
-310 t: Fresh water (simmed as bunkerage)
-27 t: Gasoline (simmed as bunkerage)
Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
18,388 lbs / 8,341 Kg = 170.3 x 6 " / 152 mm shells or 3.7 torpedoes
Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.35
Metacentric height 4.9 ft / 1.5 m
Roll period: 13.1 seconds
Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 71 %
- Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.00
Seaboat quality (Average = 1.00): 1.93
Hull form characteristics:
Hull has low quarterdeck
and transom stern
Block coefficient: 0.500
Length to Beam Ratio: 5.71 : 1
'Natural speed' for length: 23.80 kts
Power going to wave formation at top speed: 42 %
Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 37
Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 10.00 degrees
Stern overhang: 0.00 ft / 0.00 m
Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
- Stem: 23.62 ft / 7.20 m
- Forecastle (20 %): 19.69 ft / 6.00 m
- Mid (50 %): 19.69 ft / 6.00 m
- Quarterdeck (20 %): 11.81 ft / 3.60 m (19.69 ft / 6.00 m before break)
- Stern: 11.81 ft / 3.60 m
- Average freeboard: 18.43 ft / 5.62 m
Ship space, strength and comments:
Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 48.1 %
- Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 249.0 %
Waterplane Area: 18,794 Square feet or 1,746 Square metres
Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 253 %
Structure weight / hull surface area: 73 lbs/sq ft or 357 Kg/sq metre
Hull strength (Relative):
- Cross-sectional: 0.92
- Longitudinal: 1.95
- Overall: 1.00
Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is excellent
Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent
Ship has slow, easy roll, a good, steady gun platform
Excellent seaboat, comfortable, rides out heavy weather easily
Natural disasters are a recurring issue for the Mughal Empire. Cyclones occur regularly, and can kill tens of thousands.
Following a particularly devastating cyclone that claimed over twenty thousand lives along the Bengali coast, the Mughal government funded two disaster relief ships to be operated by the Green Crescent.
Intended to be a multi-function vessel, the Chattampi Swami class features:
-Hospital facilities including a triage area, two operating rooms, and 100 patient beds.
-Dry (food, tents, blankets, etc) and wet cargo (drinking water), for distribution to survivors, along with a modest water purification system.
-A vehicle hold for ambulances to collect patients and trucks to deliver aid.
-A well deck for landing craft capable of handling cargo and personnel transfers to and from shore in situations where local docks are unserviceable.
It remains to be seen whether the type proves to be effective in service; should this be the case, the Mughals foresee some utility in eventually operating up to four ship vessels...
Chattampi Swami, disaster relief ship laid down 1942
Displacement:
3,476 t light; 3,570 t standard; 4,704 t normal; 5,611 t full load
Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
397.87 ft / 393.70 ft x 68.90 ft x 12.14 ft (normal load)
121.27 m / 120.00 m x 21.00 m x 3.70 m
Machinery:
Diesel Internal combustion motors,
Geared drive, 2 shafts, 6,702 shp / 5,000 Kw = 18.38 kts
Range 10,000 nm at 15.00 kts (bunkerage = 1,253 tons)
Simmed as : Range 16,500nm at 15.00 kts (Bunkerage = 2,040 tons)
Complement:
283 - 369
Cost:
£0.930 million / $3.721 million
Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
Armament: 0 tons, 0.0 %
Machinery: 175 tons, 3.7 %
Hull, fittings & equipment: 1,794 tons, 38.1 %
Fuel, ammunition & stores: 1,228 tons, 26.1 %
Miscellaneous weights: 1,507 tons, 32.0 %
-525 t: Accommodation for 150 First-responders @ 3.5 t per
-350 t: 100 Patient Beds @ 3.5 t per
-200 t: 2 x Operating rooms + triage center
-300 t: Dry cargo
-60 t: Vehicle deck and 10 x 3 t trucks/ambulances
-32 t: 4 x LCVP @ 8 t per
-20 t: Water purification system
-20 t: Weight reserve
-450 t: 15 x 15 x 2 metre well deck (simmed as bunkerage)
-310 t: Fresh water (simmed as bunkerage)
-27 t: Gasoline (simmed as bunkerage)
Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
18,388 lbs / 8,341 Kg = 170.3 x 6 " / 152 mm shells or 3.7 torpedoes
Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.35
Metacentric height 4.9 ft / 1.5 m
Roll period: 13.1 seconds
Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 71 %
- Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.00
Seaboat quality (Average = 1.00): 1.93
Hull form characteristics:
Hull has low quarterdeck
and transom stern
Block coefficient: 0.500
Length to Beam Ratio: 5.71 : 1
'Natural speed' for length: 23.80 kts
Power going to wave formation at top speed: 42 %
Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 37
Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 10.00 degrees
Stern overhang: 0.00 ft / 0.00 m
Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
- Stem: 23.62 ft / 7.20 m
- Forecastle (20 %): 19.69 ft / 6.00 m
- Mid (50 %): 19.69 ft / 6.00 m
- Quarterdeck (20 %): 11.81 ft / 3.60 m (19.69 ft / 6.00 m before break)
- Stern: 11.81 ft / 3.60 m
- Average freeboard: 18.43 ft / 5.62 m
Ship space, strength and comments:
Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 48.1 %
- Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 249.0 %
Waterplane Area: 18,794 Square feet or 1,746 Square metres
Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 253 %
Structure weight / hull surface area: 73 lbs/sq ft or 357 Kg/sq metre
Hull strength (Relative):
- Cross-sectional: 0.92
- Longitudinal: 1.95
- Overall: 1.00
Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is excellent
Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent
Ship has slow, easy roll, a good, steady gun platform
Excellent seaboat, comfortable, rides out heavy weather easily
HMS Royal Eagle was renamed HMS Buzzard to avoid confusion with HMS Eagle on her conversion to the UK' s only paddle wheel aircraft carrier. Used primarily as an Autogyro carrier and operating in the Anti Submarine role she performed admirably as a convoy escort. Her shallow draft saving her from several attempted torpedoing by uboats . She did operate Swordfish at several points in her career.
Her paddles made her very manoeuvrable and she could turn very quickly which served her very well when deployed in the Med.
She was affectionately known as the "Lucky Buzzard " or similar by her crew. She was later used as a helicopter trials ship helping prove the concept.
Her overhanging flight deck gave her an ungainly appearance.
She was involved in the relief of the Channel Islands.
Her paddles made her very manoeuvrable and she could turn very quickly which served her very well when deployed in the Med.
She was affectionately known as the "Lucky Buzzard " or similar by her crew. She was later used as a helicopter trials ship helping prove the concept.
Her overhanging flight deck gave her an ungainly appearance.
She was involved in the relief of the Channel Islands.
Ooh can I include this in my TL when I get round to writing it? Although in my TL Force G is more likely to be supported by HMAS Darwin, and Exeter (these have been transferred to Canada) and will be replaced by the Benbow or one of her sister ships, probably the Boscawen, from which Commodore Harwood fley his flag.
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HMS Formidable
Although hailed as a radical departure from Royal Navy architecture, the Formidable aspects of the Formidable Class's design can be seen as a continuation of certain trends, such as the gradual thinning of armour protection in exchange for more hangar space. The in hangar aircraft capacity was not a great increase over the Indomitable class, going up from 72 to 80.
However, the lesson in carrier warfare gleaned from the US Navy showed in the size and configuration of the flight deck allowing for greater deck parking space without interfering with the more extensive launch and recovery facilities. This gave the class a total of 112 planes in the original configuration.
This airwing size was drastically reduced with the advent of jet aircraft, although the large hull allowed plenty of room for modernisation, and both Formidable, and her sister ship, the Irresistable, remained in service until the early 90s.
Although hailed as a radical departure from Royal Navy architecture, the Formidable aspects of the Formidable Class's design can be seen as a continuation of certain trends, such as the gradual thinning of armour protection in exchange for more hangar space. The in hangar aircraft capacity was not a great increase over the Indomitable class, going up from 72 to 80.
However, the lesson in carrier warfare gleaned from the US Navy showed in the size and configuration of the flight deck allowing for greater deck parking space without interfering with the more extensive launch and recovery facilities. This gave the class a total of 112 planes in the original configuration.
This airwing size was drastically reduced with the advent of jet aircraft, although the large hull allowed plenty of room for modernisation, and both Formidable, and her sister ship, the Irresistable, remained in service until the early 90s.
The Tarrantry series now has a page.
If anyone's knowledgeable about the topic, feel free to contribute with additional stuff. Links I haven't found yet are always appreciated.
If anyone's knowledgeable about the topic, feel free to contribute with additional stuff. Links I haven't found yet are always appreciated.
I made that page specifically to collect the existing fiction and backstory that are available online. See the Links section.
The Naval Fiction Board is all I'm interested in. It's just one part of that naval discussion board.
Cryhavoc101
Donor
Sure mate - knock yourself out
Im working on mine now and at the currunt speed of writing I may have something done by 2020 LOL