Keynes' Cruisers Volume 2
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They are loaded to the point where the ship's engineer is only mostly worried about stability in a storm.
Actually the true 24" Long Lance torpedo was only used on surface ships.
Japanese subs used a 21" version that had a similar propulsion system for similar top speed
but due to the smaller size both a shorter maximum range and less explosive.
As with the 24", later in WW2 new versions tended to trade range for warhead.
That was significant as the early versions already carried large payload compared to allied weapons
though by then the Allies had better explosives eg Torpex
Some simple reshaping of the nose gave slightly better speed on both sizes.
Other models were created that were more reliable or easier to make.
Taking these adaptations all in all,
it seems that wartime experience taught the IJN that the extreme range of the oxygen torpedo was less useful than prewar estimates had concluded
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Story 1772
Southern Makassar Strait, 1300
USS Saratoga was joined by her sister, USS Lexington, as she turned southeast at flank speed. A moment later, the first Avenger began its take-off run. Sara Maru was sending off ten Dauntlesses from her bombing squadron, nine more dive bombers from the scouting squadron, thirteen big Grummans and ten smaller but still stubby Grummans. Lexington was committing a full deck load strike: 33 Dauntless, 12 Avengers and 12 Wildcats.
The pilots assembled just north of the task force. They circled lazily as they climbed for altitude. Below them were six battleships and nine cruisers. The battleships were in an elongated diamond formation, the American ships on the east and north while the Royal Navy battle wagons were on the south and western positions. Anti-aircraft guns tracked the growing strike.
Within half an hour, the strike from Task Force 17 was on its way north.
USS Saratoga was joined by her sister, USS Lexington, as she turned southeast at flank speed. A moment later, the first Avenger began its take-off run. Sara Maru was sending off ten Dauntlesses from her bombing squadron, nine more dive bombers from the scouting squadron, thirteen big Grummans and ten smaller but still stubby Grummans. Lexington was committing a full deck load strike: 33 Dauntless, 12 Avengers and 12 Wildcats.
The pilots assembled just north of the task force. They circled lazily as they climbed for altitude. Below them were six battleships and nine cruisers. The battleships were in an elongated diamond formation, the American ships on the east and north while the Royal Navy battle wagons were on the south and western positions. Anti-aircraft guns tracked the growing strike.
Within half an hour, the strike from Task Force 17 was on its way north.
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Story 1773
Southern Makassar Strait, 1325 January 2, 1943
The three sister carriers had just finished replacing their CAP. Soon seventy eight dive bombers, thirty four torpedo bombers and and thirty two fighters would be launching. The dive bombers carried a mix of 1000 pound general purpose and 1000 pound armor piercing bombs. It would be a long, slow flight as the the attackers needed to fly at a lean fuel mix to stretch out their reserves.
Every minute moved the carriers another six hundred yards away from the target. The wind was coming from the southeast and the target was in a box to the north. The second full strength strike of the day started to launch and by ten minutes to two, the last fighter was in the air. The fighters would catch up with the bombers within sixty miles.
Thirty miles to the north of USS Enterprise, the radar operators aboard USS Nashville and HMS Fiji were rubbing their eyes in amazement. The newly installed Plexiglass tracking boards were a mess as black oil smudges tracked the outbound strikes as well as the local patrols. Two large northbound strikes had been tracked. The fighters for TF-17 had just caught up to the bombers and if the operators concentrated hard enough, they could see the Wildcats climb over the Dauntlesses. TF-16 was still shaking out as they ambled northwards. They could also see the eight Sea Hurricanes that provided the forward barrier CAP and local point defense over the battle line on their scope. Behind them were each task force’s local CAP.
“Oi, sir, many contacts north 70 miles” This was not the desired sighting report terminology but it was enough to get the radar officer’s attention aboard HMS Fiji. Several hundred yards away and a few seconds later, the radar JG aboard USS Billings was also pulled to the scope. Both ships’ scopes showed a massive raid fuzzing up the top of their screens.
HMS Fiji sent an alert voice message to all of the different admirals. Within seconds, alarms were going off on the ships in the battle line as gun stations that had been emptied for lunch and rest were soon being filled. Destroyers tightened up their stations and cruisers moved to clear the battleships gun arcs. Acknowledgment of the incoming raid was first sent by HMS Ark Royal and then within a minute, USS Enterprise and USS Lexington. Every available fighter not assigned to escort duty would be scrambled.
USS Nashville took control of the outgoing strikes. There had been long debates and more than a few war games over this exact scenario. The fighter pilots always wanted to slash into the enemy. And if it was a small raid from a single light carrier, the escorting Wildcats would be well spent breaking up the formation. But once the raid became a medium size raid much less a massive one, the escorts would be wasted. Instead, the two strike groups were edged a little further east with a plan to pivot back on course after half an hour of evasion.
The three sister carriers had just finished replacing their CAP. Soon seventy eight dive bombers, thirty four torpedo bombers and and thirty two fighters would be launching. The dive bombers carried a mix of 1000 pound general purpose and 1000 pound armor piercing bombs. It would be a long, slow flight as the the attackers needed to fly at a lean fuel mix to stretch out their reserves.
Every minute moved the carriers another six hundred yards away from the target. The wind was coming from the southeast and the target was in a box to the north. The second full strength strike of the day started to launch and by ten minutes to two, the last fighter was in the air. The fighters would catch up with the bombers within sixty miles.
Thirty miles to the north of USS Enterprise, the radar operators aboard USS Nashville and HMS Fiji were rubbing their eyes in amazement. The newly installed Plexiglass tracking boards were a mess as black oil smudges tracked the outbound strikes as well as the local patrols. Two large northbound strikes had been tracked. The fighters for TF-17 had just caught up to the bombers and if the operators concentrated hard enough, they could see the Wildcats climb over the Dauntlesses. TF-16 was still shaking out as they ambled northwards. They could also see the eight Sea Hurricanes that provided the forward barrier CAP and local point defense over the battle line on their scope. Behind them were each task force’s local CAP.
“Oi, sir, many contacts north 70 miles” This was not the desired sighting report terminology but it was enough to get the radar officer’s attention aboard HMS Fiji. Several hundred yards away and a few seconds later, the radar JG aboard USS Billings was also pulled to the scope. Both ships’ scopes showed a massive raid fuzzing up the top of their screens.
HMS Fiji sent an alert voice message to all of the different admirals. Within seconds, alarms were going off on the ships in the battle line as gun stations that had been emptied for lunch and rest were soon being filled. Destroyers tightened up their stations and cruisers moved to clear the battleships gun arcs. Acknowledgment of the incoming raid was first sent by HMS Ark Royal and then within a minute, USS Enterprise and USS Lexington. Every available fighter not assigned to escort duty would be scrambled.
USS Nashville took control of the outgoing strikes. There had been long debates and more than a few war games over this exact scenario. The fighter pilots always wanted to slash into the enemy. And if it was a small raid from a single light carrier, the escorting Wildcats would be well spent breaking up the formation. But once the raid became a medium size raid much less a massive one, the escorts would be wasted. Instead, the two strike groups were edged a little further east with a plan to pivot back on course after half an hour of evasion.
Story 1774
Western Makassar Strait 1353, January 2, 1943
The last fire was out. The major holes in the hull had been stuffed with mattresses. Weakened frames had been buttressed. The heavy cruiser Kinugasa limped north at fourteen knots.
Four destroyers overloaded with survivors from the dreadful morning followed the heavy cruiser. The objective was Davao and then who knows where else the cruiser could find refuge, respite and repair?
Minutes later, the small, bedraggled group of survivors passed the still floating hull of the battlecruiser Haruna. Her sister had gone down hours ago with most of her crew. She still floated. Her screws had started to turn and push her north at seven knots. Four destroyers were her chaperones. One was tied up to the mangled bow providing extra power and pumps to the salvage efforts. The most severely walking wounded had been taken off and distributed to the four nearby escorts. The three active destroyers searched for the submarines that they knew had to be motoring at their best speed for the biggest prize that any of their skippers would ever claim.
The last fire was out. The major holes in the hull had been stuffed with mattresses. Weakened frames had been buttressed. The heavy cruiser Kinugasa limped north at fourteen knots.
Four destroyers overloaded with survivors from the dreadful morning followed the heavy cruiser. The objective was Davao and then who knows where else the cruiser could find refuge, respite and repair?
Minutes later, the small, bedraggled group of survivors passed the still floating hull of the battlecruiser Haruna. Her sister had gone down hours ago with most of her crew. She still floated. Her screws had started to turn and push her north at seven knots. Four destroyers were her chaperones. One was tied up to the mangled bow providing extra power and pumps to the salvage efforts. The most severely walking wounded had been taken off and distributed to the four nearby escorts. The three active destroyers searched for the submarines that they knew had to be motoring at their best speed for the biggest prize that any of their skippers would ever claim.
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I had a bit of trouble tracking this down in story. It didn't help that you use battlecruiser and battleship interchangeably, nor that Kirishima (so?) Is called 'the other battleship' and 'Vickers built', but her name appears only once in that scene. Iirc.
I'll revise
And also thank you for your willingness to say it was confusing to track; I want a clear story to tell so that the reader can engage with the imagination and not struggle with accounting and tracking elements.
fester's story #1768 Surabaya, Java 1145 January 2, 1943
"A dozen North American bombers took off. The Dutch pilots and crews were specialists. They had been held out of the fighting over Java and Bali as their mission required expertise and the acceptance of horrendous casualty rates to achieve their goals."
B-26s were fast planes. Do you think these Dutch flown B-25s will be speedy enough?
I think it would be almost a miracle if the IJN has any carriers left after this day plus whatever further capitol ship losses they may suffer. The Allied fleet may well lose a similar number of carriers and a few other ships. And both sides will suffer massive losses among their air crews. A very bloody day for all concerned. But it will be the decisive naval battle of TTL's Pacific War by ending the threat of any further large scale actions by the IJN if they lose the Kido Butai today and the 2 Yamato class BBs in the main force the following day.
This is really interesting now. Both fleets will have their air arms striking at the other's carriers. With the carrier fleets busy with each other will either have time to worry about the other's battleships? Will there be a big gun duel tonight or tomorrow morning. Only the Fester knows!!
If it happens at night the American radar fire control could cause a real headache for the Japanese. Do the British battleships have radar fire control at this point? I'm pretty sure that the Japanese didn't have it for all their ships, if any, at this time otl.
If it happens at night the American radar fire control could cause a real headache for the Japanese. Do the British battleships have radar fire control at this point? I'm pretty sure that the Japanese didn't have it for all their ships, if any, at this time otl.
If the ship's that slow, she'll have every US submarine in the area sprinting towards her. Eventually one will get lucky, after all, shitty Mk. XIV's didn't save Junyo.
Honestly if the Allies win the Carrier duel and have a strike force left... there's no reason for a gunnery duel save for finishing off cripples. Just flee south while waiting for daylight/the strike package to be set up, then turn em lose.
If the RN FAA is still intact enough to be able to launch a night strike against the main force BBs they might do that too. If the IJN main force is continuing to push South.
Wrong move ... don't break up the barrier lines to deal with a cripple that has to pass back through them
especially with 2 much more dangerous forces moving in the same area
and if I am ready fester correctly, it's the Dutch attack B-26s that are targeting the remains of the IJN Forward Force
I wonder if the leader of those planes is savvy enough to leave the damaged BC and CA alone and prune off the DDs?
Yes, but there are refs to both "B-26" and "North American bombers"..."26" looks like a typo in that instance...or something else is wrong.
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