Keynes' Cruisers Volume 2

[e of pi]

everywhere and everyone all at once

Write that down, there's a movie in that.

 

[Butchpfd]

San Francisco, April 26, 1945

"Damn this is too bright" Patrick grumbled to his wife as they left the hotel for the first time in two days.

"We need food, we've been burning a lot of delicious calories lately dear." Elaine stopped, pulled her husband's arm so that his cheek was now in reach of her lips and placed a quick kiss that was chaste enough for public consumption but promised a return to their reunion activities. She winced slightly as the pace picked up. Walking was pleasurably painful.

An hour later, they had eaten and were taking in the late morning sun along Market Street, a bustle at the corner newstand started. A murmur was starting along the streets. A minute later, someone opened the door to one of the shops and turned the volume on a radio to its loudest.

"JUST IN--- COMPLETE AND UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER OF ALL GERMAN FORCES HAS BEEN ANNOUCED... REPEAT, THE COMPLETE AND UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER OF ALL GERMAN FORCES HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED BY THE SUPREME HEADQUARTERS ALLIED EXPEDITIONARY FORCES. GENERAL EISENHOWER WILL RELEASE A STATEMENT SOON."

The two lovers looked at each other. Patrick wrapped one arm around his wife's waist and the other supported her head as he tilted her and leaned in for a kiss that would, in other circumstances, lead to either public indecency charges, or a deep throated moan. A few yards from the oblivious couple, a Chronicle photographer took a picture that would soon establish his career.

No sailor and nurse

 

[Fatboy Coxy]

Washington DC, April 27, 1945

"Mr. President, Mr. President, you have guests arriving in an hour." The White House butler paused and waited for a response. The President usually was up and about by now, even if he was merely reading in the Residence.

He had gone to bed six hours ago after a flurry of cables across the Atlantic. There had been a short celebratory session of drinks and cigars among his military advisors, Congressional leaders and a few Cabinet members. Germany first had succeeded. And then there were long discussions as Japan still needed to be finished off. The Vice President had advocated for siege and perhaps a demonstration of the outputs that were being built in New Mexico. He had been vague about what was happening in the desert as not everyone had been cleared for the project. He had only been briefed in over Christmas. Others were convinced several armies would need to be landed over the next year with casualties that would soon equal what the country had already suffered throughout the entire war to date. That was a decision the President would need to make over the next few weeks, assuming the test program worked.

The butler tapped his foot. This was almost unheard of for the President to not at least acknowledge his presence. The bodyguard at the door looked at the butler. They both nodded. The President was in bed, alone, deeply tucked into his covers. The bodyguard moved quickly and checked for a pulse. His fingers rested on the cool skin of the former President's neck and felt nothing. He shook his head. The butler immediately walked quickly out of the bedroom and down the hall to notify the head of security and then the chief of staff.

And so one of the greatest Americans that ever lived, passes away, but at least he saw the end of war in Europe. You managed to stretch out his life a little, historically he passed away on Thursday April 12, 1945. Fester, your a big softie!

 

[Spencersj345.346]

Well looks like the midway class ship (and yes I know the class has a new name this timeline) that got named after FDR is likely to still be getting that name. Hopefully she lasts longer in service than her otl counterpart whose last few engineering crews to this day says she had a few more years in her despite the official reasons she was retired

 

[fester]

And so one of the greatest Americans that ever lived, passes away, but at least he saw the end of war in Europe. You managed to stretch out his life a little, historically he passed away on Thursday April 12, 1945. Fester, your a big softie!

I figure he was slightly less stressed out.

 

[fester]

Well looks like the midway class ship (and yes I know the class has a new name this timeline) that got named after FDR is likely to still be getting that name. Hopefully she lasts longer in service than her otl counterpart whose last few engineering crews to this day says she had a few more years in her despite the official reasons she was retired

Those ships already have names assigned.... FDR might be the follow-on class.

 

[Spencersj345.346]

Those ships already have names assigned.... FDR might be the follow-on class.

if a ship of the class(which I forget how strong it is in this TL(the otl 3 finished out of 6 originally planned or something else) hasn't been launched they can be renamed. also to be blunt if FDR isn't getting a ship named after him soon by the time the USN ends up building its next class probably in the 50s he probably won't be getting one. which I suppose is one way to avoid the carriers being named after presidents naming convention so that's not entirely a bad thing.....

 

[Jon Lennox]

https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/keynes-cruisers-volume-2.451883/post-22153862

Reread Threadmark Story 2537

Do we know who is VP (or I guess President) now? That post just says "Truman's rival". OTL Wallace was the other VP candidate on the convention ballot in '44, but I don't know if this TL even had him as VP in '40.

 

[Trevayne]

Do we know who is VP (or I guess President) now? That post just says "Truman's rival". OTL Wallace was the other VP candidate on the convention ballot in '44, but I don't know if this TL even had him as VP in '40.

We know it isn't Truman, although I am curious as to why. What changed to decrease the influence of the Solid South over OTL?

Chicago, Illinois July 21, 1944

The senator from Missouri shook his head. There were no more arms to twist, no more threats to be made, no more side deals to be cut. His was a long shot bid by the Southern contingents to get a likely President out of a party that was only able to win national elections by deprioritizing their interests. At best he would be seventy five votes short. He could accept being a close second. At worst, he was over three hundred votes short. That would make him a laughingstock faction candidate when he made an honest run in '48 or '52.

His wife looked at her husband with understanding. They had skyrocketed over the past decade, through a combination of pluck, luck, hard work and counting votes very carefully. Today was not the day to throw away what had worked for them. She nodded in agreement.

Six hours later, the junior Senator from Missouri gave one of the best speeches of his life as he nominated his rival for the Vice Presidency of the United States.

I had not noticed that section previously, but why would Truman even consider trying to become VP ITTL? If everybody is happier with Wallace because the country is a little more liberal, why would Truman, a junior senator in his second term, even consider it?

The liberal Democrats did better in 1938 which is what is driving the change.

 

[Seawolf]

Those ships already have names assigned.... FDR might be the follow-on class.

I actually have to ask, how far along did Montana get in this timeline, because I can see her at the very least being laid down in this timeline due to the US increasing production sooner, which means she actually had her keel laid.

Also, what's the most Decorated Ship of World War II in this timeline for the USN?

 

[fester]

I actually have to ask, how far along did Montana get in this timeline, because I can see her at the very least being laid down in this timeline due to the US increasing production sooner, which means she actually had her keel laid.

Also, what's the most Decorated Ship of World War II in this timeline for the USN?

Most decorated probably Rusty W.... USS Washington....


Montana's.....steel never cut

Keynes' Cruisers Volume 2

Precisely. This scene is some of the last pours for Missouri. Didn't the US decide to keep the Montana class ITTL? Or at least a couple of them?

www.alternatehistory.com

 

[Spencersj345.346]

I suspect the Wisconsin will probably end up being finished due to the resources spent and in the end wasted in otl on the Hawaii and Kentucky postwar instead being used on her to barely scrape her by the limit of the USN suspending construction on most large surface warships in mid 1947 and save a handful of exceptions scrapping those ships.

 

[Seawolf]

I suspect the Wisconsin will probably end up being finished due to the resources spent and in the end wasted in otl on the Hawaii and Kentucky postwar instead being used on her to barely scrape her by the limit of the USN suspending construction on most large surface warships in mid 1947 and save a handful of exceptions scrapping those ships.

This seems plausible to be honest.

 

[ShortHairyGinger]

Berlin, April 23, 1945

Deep underground, a gun shot rang out.

And then another shot was fired.

Was reminded of an old joke:
'Hitler wasn't that bad. After all, he did kill Hitler.'

The war in Europe is wrapping up, will be interesting to see what the agreements regarding postwar occupation look like. If I recall, the western Allies never moved on Berlin OTL as the zones of occupation were a done deal by that point and it made little sense to expend blood and steel for what would wind up being Soviet occupied territory anyway.

 

[jlckansas]

Depending on if they use "Instant Sunshine" on Japan, they might decide that need a more armored command ship and eliminate the 16" turrets on the Wisconsin, add tons more AA, and build it as a heavily armored command ship.

 

[fester]

Near Niigata, Japan, April 29, 1945

USS Trutta accelerated into the murky night. She was needed 100 miles south to play lifeguard for a B-29 raid. The other boats in her wolf pack would take adjacent stations where the flyboys could safely ditch if they were brought down during their fire raids.

The skipper shook his head. This was not the duty that he had signed up for when he signed up to qualify for his dolphins a decade ago. During the half dozen war patrols on older boats, there were enemy ships to sink and minefields to lay. Two weeks on patrol in the Sea of Japan had led to only a pair of contacts that were possibly worth a torpedo. Queenfish sank a coal fired tramp freighter that might have displaced eight hundred tons while the other coastal convoy of three merchant ships and a pair of patrol boats slipped behind known minefields and escaped pursuit. The submarine had been active, four nights of surface gun actions had sunk over a dozen fishing boats for perhaps thirty five tons of damage to the enemy's war economy.

Now they just had to wait for bombers to crash. He knew his crew would soon wish that they had fired at least a few torpedoes to free up a few additional racks.

 

[Spencersj345.346]

Depending on if they use "Instant Sunshine" on Japan, they might decide that need a more armored command ship and eliminate the 16" turrets on the Wisconsin, add tons more AA, and build it as a heavily armored command ship.

Unlikely given the otl work on Hawaii and Kentucky pre 1947

 

[fester]

Berlin, April 30, 1945

The heavy thrum of diesel engines replaced the sounds of a Scots piper leading a battalion. Dozens of hastily cleaned and expediently repaired T-34 tanks followed by the same number of Studebakers holding tired infantrymen who would rather be sleeping, eating, or fraternizing with their defeated enemies slowly rolled past the reviewing stand set up along the steps of the newly conquered Reichstag. At the far end of the reviewing stand, General Williamson tensed his right shoulder slightly to bring a little more blood into circulation as his fingertips had seldom left his forehead for the past hour as rows upon rows of troops wearing a dozen countries' uniforms had marched down the streets of the defeated city and empire. They had walked past the entire civilian population of Berlin who had been ordered to observe. None of the Allied Powers wanted to do this again in another generation, so the German people see that they had been defeated by the overwhelming force of arms of their enemies rather than through the treachery of their generals or their citizens.

A pause in the long row of Soviet tanks came at last. His arm came down to rest at his side. Soon a hundred B-17s and an equal number of B-24s came low in rows of four. They flew with their bomb bay doors closed but their machine gunners ready and alert at only 4,000 feet. Once they had passed and a wing of Spitfires had zoomed climbed over the center city, the ground parade continued. The next segment was led by the 1st Battalion of the Jewish Brigade Group. Those soldiers marched behind their white and blue brigade flag with barely concealed contempt and rage at the civilians who had enabled their people's horrors. A battalion from Poland and then a New York National Guard company that had been formed from recruits on the Lower East Side and Prospect Heights followed the Jewish Brigade. The entire column was silent as they marched to the victor's beat.

 

[fester]

San Francisco, May 1, 1945

"Lt. Donohue, you're recovering nicely.... we'll need you here four mornings a week for rehabilitation sessions, but the rest of your time is yours and your wife's time to do as you wish until you get discharged from the hospital and receive new orders. " Patrick smiled as he heard the doctor tell him that he was almost free. The scuttlebutt was that all of the men in the hospital would be discharged from both the hospital and the colors at the same time. He doubted that. Too many men here knew too much, and there was still a tremendous demand for replacements in the Pacific. One of the men in his room was a Navy officer who had been wounded during an air attack on his destroyer minelayer. He thought that the invasion of Kyushu would make Normandy look like a training exercise against light opposition. Divisions would be coming from Europe, and those men would need to be familiarized with what the Japs did and didn't do, and who better than veterans who had seen it all. Patrick was convinced that this little break from reality where all he did was his wife, eat, sleep and relax would come to an end soon enough and he would be placed in a battalion that had fought in Germany to spread his knowledge around to men who had seen a different elephant than he had.

But until then, he had an eager wife waiting in the hospital lobby. She had two tickets to a play she had wanted to see and then they would spend some time looking for a small apartment that they could rent month to month instead of paying for a hotel room. Today would be a good day.

 

[fester]

Portsmouth, May 2, 1945
HMS Coventry would never go to sea under her own power again. She had been ordered to the Royal Dockyards for preparation to be placed into ordinary. Two world wars had worn her out. The engineers were happy when they could coax twenty six knots out of her knackered equipment as she shook and shuddered as if she was having a whole body orgasm when the captain called for twenty seven knots or more. She was a moaner in high seas. Now, her crew would be allocated to other tasks. The scuttlebutt on the waterfront was that the crews of ships built before the youngest hostilities only sailors birth would be decommissioned. There was no longer need to protect Atlantic trade from surface raiders or even submarines where any warship was enough of a threat. The old ships lacked the range and the firepower to survive near Japan, they had little need and less life to give.

By the next morning, the dock yard engineers had already laid out plans with the ship's officers to strip her of the few advanced electronics, her more than adequate light anti-aircraft batteries and a substantial portion of the ship's galley equipment. Some would be placed into long term war reserves while most would be manhandled across the harbor to equip far more modern ships that would soon be heading east to reinforce the British Pacific Fleet.