Keynes' Cruisers Volume 2
- Thread starter fester
- Start date
- Status
Driftless
Donor
Actually it'll lead to all five Alaska classes being built
You're just trolling CalBear now aren'cha.....
Wow. Just…wow. Superb writing.
Some thoughts:
Some thoughts:
- 200 torpedoes. TWO HUNDRED TORPEDOES! A lot of which reliably work, as the IJN found to their discomfort. For some reason it reminded me of that line from Crocodile Dundee: "That's not a massed torpedo attack. This is a massed torpedo attack!"
- Black Cats have very long endurance. They can scout, report, attack and shadow the retreating battleships until daylight, in relays if necessary.
- This should allow for the Dutch torpedo bombers to make a second attack at dawn.
- This should also allow for the sub lines to be redeployed as required.
- The FAA are heading to meet the tankers, will refuel (bunker oil and maybe Petrol as well) but stores are unlikely. Magazines will be getting pretty light. Still enough for cruiser killing, but not sure if they are going to be able to get far enough north to attack any heavies.
- USN carriers are already refuelled, and were moving into position for morning strikes.
I expect that there will be a rather pointed suggestion / request / demand from the allied BB admirals to the allied CV admirals as to EXACTLY which two Japanese ships the planes should prioritize in the morning. And by prioritize I mean send everything against those two monsters and ignore everything else.
As a follow on to the battle, if the planes do get the Yamato and Musashi, that would leave a situation where even the modernized older American BBs could handle anything that the Japanese could send against them on the surface. The Americans could start to think about a heavy escort for a major convoy to Bataan, and shelling the Japanese guns while they are in the area. The really valuable CVs and modern BBs could hang back and provide air cover without undo risk.
One other thought. If the allied planes do sink Yamato, would Yamamoto go down with her? He above all would know that the war is lost at that point.
Oh, Fester; The battle of Makassar Strait has been awesome!! And it's not even done yet!
As a follow on to the battle, if the planes do get the Yamato and Musashi, that would leave a situation where even the modernized older American BBs could handle anything that the Japanese could send against them on the surface. The Americans could start to think about a heavy escort for a major convoy to Bataan, and shelling the Japanese guns while they are in the area. The really valuable CVs and modern BBs could hang back and provide air cover without undo risk.
One other thought. If the allied planes do sink Yamato, would Yamamoto go down with her? He above all would know that the war is lost at that point.
Oh, Fester; The battle of Makassar Strait has been awesome!! And it's not even done yet!
Interesting point. Problem is that offloading facilities are extremely limited in Bataan, so sending a large relief convoy would require the fleet to hold position for some time whilst the supply ships were offloaded. This makes them good targets for any submarines, probably the only effective, coherent force the IJN have left. Now if they could work out a way to use the MTBs or ADs to upgrade the meagre port facilities, you could start thinking along these lines.
Ah. Someone had better measure the diameter of that dud shell rolling around Anson's radar room, and send word up that there's a couple of surprising ships out there.
Totally crazy, stupid "rule of cool" Bataan resupply idea.
South Dakota's topside and turrets are wrecked. USS Kentucky could be completed easier than SD could be repaired.
Fill South Dakota with supplies and run her aground on Bataan. She can serve as a steel sister to the "Concrete Battleship" Fort Drum.
Yes, I am nuts.
South Dakota's topside and turrets are wrecked. USS Kentucky could be completed easier than SD could be repaired.
Fill South Dakota with supplies and run her aground on Bataan. She can serve as a steel sister to the "Concrete Battleship" Fort Drum.
Yes, I am nuts.
It's so crazy it just might work.Totally crazy, stupid "rule of cool" Bataan resupply idea.
South Dakota's topside and turrets are wrecked. USS Kentucky could be completed easier than SD could be repaired.
Fill South Dakota with supplies and run her aground on Bataan. She can serve as a steel sister to the "Concrete Battleship" Fort Drum.
Yes, I am nuts.
Totally crazy, stupid "rule of cool" Bataan resupply idea.
South Dakota's topside and turrets are wrecked. USS Kentucky could be completed easier than SD could be repaired.
Fill South Dakota with supplies and run her aground on Bataan. She can serve as a steel sister to the "Concrete Battleship" Fort Drum.
Yes, I am nuts.
Nah, ram her into Yamato in the final big gun duel of the War, Ala the Pegasus from NuBSG.
Scrap the South Dakota, rename Kentucky to South Dakota, profit!
I'm both new to this forum and not a WWII expert, so can someone tell me why people hate the Alaska ships?
It's a "Large Cruiser" that takes inspiration from the Baltimore Class Heavy Cruiser but instead of 8in guns they get 12 inch guns, that in theory were to counter the Japanese Super Heavy Cruisers (not the actual name).
In practice they costed similar to an Iowa Class, but had less armor and carried 12 inch guns*.
They are the closest battle cruiser the USN ever built, but had I been in control, they'd get the same 16/50s that the Iowas would have.
*the 12/50 Mark 8 gun had similar penetration to the 14/50 Guns in use. Superheavy Shells OP
This actually seems more likely than the insanely proud IJN officer class deciding to run the gauntlet of submarine lines - two (2) - airstrike/s with whatever ship killing ammo the allied force still has, land based air strikes, possible storms at sea finishing off cripples...all to be told 'you may use the garden' and handed a knife.
Admiral Yamamoto has nothing to lose except his life, which he won't have for very long even if he makes it back to Japan. The rest of the Japanese officers and crews are in the same position. Ordering the cripples to try to make it to safety while he draws all allied attention onto the Yamato class battleships with a mad charge at an overwhelmingly powerful enemy is more in line with his code of honour, is it not?
I mean yes, suicidal, but glorious and self-preservation was not high on the agenda of people raised on Bushido as I understand it. A calm, coldly analytical cost-benefit analysis would probably not consider this a good idea. If the Japanese officer class of the era had been big on that kind of thinking they wouldn't have been the Japanese officer class of the era.
Go home with their tails between their legs in defeat, or die setting an example for centuries to come? Set aside your early 21st Century western society mindset for a moment and try to see it from the perspective of men who really BELIEVE that dying for the emperor will make them Shinto gods.
- Status