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Post by mycophobia on Jul 23, 2019 0:01:20 GMT -6
Battle of Helgoland (January 20th 1904)
Following their victory at Emden, the Canadian navy are emboldened to carry out more aggressive sorties into the German coast, sometimes without British support. The remainder of 1903 saw several more German raider scuttled or interned. Still, the promise that the Canadian sailors will return home for Christmas had fell through once again. While Germany are clearly suffering from the blockades, public opinion in Canada are also shifting against a prolonged war that seems to only benefit the British. Desperately needing a victory to bring Germany to the negotiation table, the Canadian force again sortied in force in January 20th. Once more however, the Battleship Quebec missed the action, being requested by the British to cover for the mined battleship Resolution.(By now she missed 4 major fleet battles). The Canadian force aim to intercept the German force transiting from Helgoland to reinforce Emden, which is believed to consist of three German battleship and a few squadron of escort. The weather of Jan 20th was surprisingly pleasant, despite the overcast the sea was fairly calm. Contact (10:30 am)
The German fleet is spotted by the Calgary at around 10:30 in the morning, consisting of 2 Weissenburg Class Battleship and 1 Preussen Class Battleship (Her 16in speed is likely a false report, she can keep up to the Weissenburg in battle no problem). Calgary quickly used her speed to close distance while the lumbering Canadian line slowly followed. Calgary led the Canadian torpedo squadron to cut ahead of the German ships, and tried to launch a torpedo attack at 10:50. Calgary engaging the German Battle line while the destroyer squadrons behind her attempts to make a torpedo run. Canadian battleline can be seen firing at the German line at the distance, but their shot had little effect at such extreme range.
Unfortunately, the torpedo attack was driven back by the huge number of secondary guns on the German battleship, and the escorting German Destroyers. Not willingly to risk their ships for little gain, the destroyers withdrew at 11:05, together with Calgary. Chase (11:00-13:00)The German fleet are able to use their superior speed to keep the Canadians at distance as they turned to steam back towards Helgoland. Sporadic gunfire exchange occurred, but it seems that the Germans will again escape. However, at around 13:00, the Weissenburg class battleship Wittlesbach slowed down, likely due to an issue with her engine. To cover their comarde, the German fleet turned around west, which allowed the slower Canadian ship to close the distance and catch up. Canadian destroyers carried out another torpedo attack as they got ahead of the German fleet, while the rest of the Canadian fleet concentrated fire on the Wittlesbach. However, despite the short range, confusion over shell splashes from the battleships severely impaired Canadian fire control, and actual hits scored are rare. The battleship Nova Scotia being hit in the aft machinery room by a dud 11" shell that penetrated below her armored belt as it did not explode on hitting the water surface. This lead to a severe flooding and salt water contamination that slowed her down to 11 knots and a list that took hours to correct. At the distance, Canadian destroyer squadron are moving to attack the German fleet.
Destroyer Alma, almost in position to launch her torpedoes before a 7" shell destroyed the bow of the ship, and she sank rapidly. two other Fort McNeil class destroyer are lost in the failed attack, sunk by combined secondary and destroyer fire. Fortunately, most survivor were picked up by the Calgary and her escorts that followed.
Wittelsbach can be seen steaming north, away from the German line in an desperate effort to avoid Canadian torpedo.
Sink the Wittelsbach!(14:30)
The failed torpedo attack did accomplish one objective, in the resulting confusion, Wittelsbach became separated from the main German fleet, the two Canada class(Nova Scotia was temporarily withdrawn to repair the damage she suffered earlier) quickly positioned themselves to prevent the remaining German ships from regrouping with Wittelsbach. It is now up to the Calgary to engage in a close range gun duel against the Wittelsbach, supported by another squadron of Fort McNeil class. Calgary and her destroyer escorts pincered the Wittelsbach from both sides, but the torpedo officers on the Canadian destroyers are driven back by furious fire from the Wittelsbach, two torpedo are launched, but neither scored a hit. Calgary was able to score hit after hit with her large 6" secondary battery against the German battleship. But those are of little effect, the only penetrating damage she was able to inflict was a 250mm shell that penetrated Wittelsbach's fore, causing minor flooding.
In return, Calgary was subjected to heavy fire. 6" shell inflicted severe damage to her superstructure, killing many and even toppling one of her funnels. Thankfully her comprehensive armor scheme prevented most belt penetration. Despite the damage suffered, Calgary fought on furiously in a close range knife fight against the her opponent for nearly an hour, but was unable to inflict any significant damage.
German Retreats (15:30)
By this time, the German force to the south of Wittelsbach was able to finally lose the pursuing Canada class, and Wittlesbach is able to likewise rejoin the main German fleet, still being pursued by the Calgary. Two close miss from Calgary's 250mm gun strikes water near Wittelsbach, the armored cruiser continued pursuit despite 5 11" hit, 35 6" hit, and a toppled funnel. Only the descending winter darkness finally convinced Calgary to give up the chase at 16:30.
Aftermath
While the Canadians are able to drive off the German fleet once again, their losses are not to be overlooked. 3 new Fort McNeil class are lost in the failed torpedo attack around 13:30, and almost all other destroyers took significant damage. The large secondary battery and numerous escort really punished attacking destroyers. Canada classes dreadfully slow speed is clearly a problem for the Canadians, and one that they have little ways to deal with. Even when Calgary was able to corner the Wittelsbach, the slow Canada class are simply to slow to close the net. As a result, it was decided after this battle that Calgary's sister ship, Vancouver, be transferred to the European theater as well. (she was previously hunting German Raiders in the Atlantic) Lastly, the durability of German ships are truly something to behold. Wittelsbach survived focused fire from three Canadian battleship, and then the close range duel against Calgary. She took no less than 15 close range 250mm hits, and probably 30 more 6" hits. of all these hits, only 5 250mm hit were able to penetrate her armor, and only the one of these penetrating hit caused flooding worth worrying about. Despite these issues, the courage of the crews of Calgary is unquestioned, she was first into the fray, engaged in a close ranged duel against a superior foe at point blank range and fought on even after the Canada class became too slow to keep up. Fortunately, her armor design had proven effective, and despite suffering 5 11" hit and over 30 6" hit, she only suffered light flooding damage and moderate superstructure damage.
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Post by akosjaccik on Jul 23, 2019 15:50:22 GMT -6
I wrote about the Calgary-class that "It will be very interesting to see how and if the concept will pay off - and even before that, her prowess in different situations." - I wish every prediction of mine would come true in such way. It was a sight to behold for sure, although as impressive as it was, I wouldn't be surprised if it was also about as frustrating having to drag the battleships across the sea @16kts, all in vain. Fortunately, Germany is still blockaded I presume and the combat capability of the canadian Navy did not change drastically. Fairly slim "victory" for the Kaiser.
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Post by mycophobia on Jul 23, 2019 23:07:40 GMT -6
Their Victory, Not Ours (1904) Further Wartime Build Up
Following the completion the Calgary class, Canadian yard did not remain idle. Despite limited budget of the nation, Canadian parliament are granting the navy all it could spare to strengthen the navy. In November, 1903 4 new Airdrie class protected cruiser are laid down. Around the same time, two new Ontario class battleship have been laid down. In January 1904, four more Fort McNeil class destroyer have been laid down to replaces losses in the Battle of Helgoland. State of the War
These construction programs promised the Canadian navy with more forces to use against the German, but also stretches the already tight Canadian budget further. The losses suffered in battle, especially amongst destroyer crews are also leading to unrest amongst Canadians at home. Particularly, many French-Canadians opposes the war to begin with, and are now finding themselves being supported by others from all parts of Canadian society. It is clear that the war cannot go on for too long. Fortunately, Britain and Germany are of a similar mind. Britain does not want to risk its precious fleet in an open battle against Germany, and Germany are also not willingly to fight to the death if relatively lenient terms can be agreed upon. Thus early 1904 saw a new round of peace talk between the parties. While no agreement was reached, many hoped that the boys can finally return home for the Christmas of 1904. The Second Battle of Helgoland (March 1904)
In a further effort to tip the ongoing negotiation, the Canadian fleet sortied again into the North Sea to attack German coastal traffic. The entire Canadian fleet minus Quebec(again) and the cruiser Vancouver once again engaged a German battle squadron escorted by a large destroyer force. Both side fought at long range for about a hour before both retreating as darkness descends, neither side willing to take a risk when peace negotiations are underway. PeaceFollowing the battle, the Canadian navy realized that it is unlikely that they can really achieve further victories against the German Navy if all sides are content with saving their ship while the politicians sort the matter out. Thus, as dignitaries frantically attempted to reach a peace agreement through various channels, the navies of each nation did not participate in any further action. The blockade was held, and some raider attack occurred, but as whole, fleet from all parties avoided confrontation. Finally, under internal pressure of a potential revolution, the Kaiser conceded to his advisors that Germany will yield some economical and trade concession to England and Canada in exchange for peace. The formal agreement was signed in August of 1904, ending the Anglo-German war that lasted for almost two and a half years. Fort McNeil, credited with sinking the German Battleship Braunschweig, and also bearing the name of the first Canadian ship lost in the war, had the honor to lead the Canadian fleet as it returns from Europe.
State After the War
DiplomacyCanadian sailors made arguably the greatest sacrifices in the war and yet Canada received very little of Germany's reparation or concession in comparison to the British. Britain had remained silent on the Newfoundland issue. Many veterans remembered the lack of British support in the war with bitterness. To most Canadians, "Victory" is not met with excitement and joy, but a sense of passive indifference. Canadians did their part in the Alliance, nothing more, nothing less. Despite these feelings, strategically the alliance with Britain remains useful. British technological assistances, while not cheap, have helped Canadian ship building to improve significantly. Japanese spies have been arrested during the war, leading to an increase in tension with the rising Asian power. Germany have been defeated, but not disarmed as the UK and Canada would've liked. Canada still need a strong ally, and there are no better protector than the Royal Navy. Development
Canadian technology improved greatly from war time experience, increased budget, and British Assistance. Canada have purchased a new 11" gun design from Vickers, and would later in November, 1904 design their own 12" design. Torpedo, AP shell and Fusing technology all saw significant grew due to war time need and experience. Perhaps more importantly, the proposed British Battleship HMS Dreadnought promises to outclass all existing battleships if completed. While the design was ultimately scrapped by Lord Fisher in favor of a faster "Large Cruiser" design, the idea and the name stuck, and Canadian designers begin to look into a way to incorporate multiple main battery guns onto one ship. To meet the need of constructing large, modern warships, Canadian shipyards have been constantly expanding. By the end of the Anglo-German war, can accommodate 19000 ton, and still being expanded. Post War Plan
Following the war, a significant naval budget cut is issued, in part due to the discontent of military spending that essentially ended up being used to fight a war that had very little to do with, and in the end brought negligible benefits, to Canada. As a result, many naval construction, Including both of the Ontario Class battleships, and two of the four Airdrie Class cruisers are being put on hold. To deal with the budget deficit, the Canadian navy placed most of its ships into reserve status, and cut back on espionage spending. However, the small navy could not afford to scrap any ship. The admiralty plans to focus on technological development until the navy is needed once more. Protected Cruiser Airdrie under construction in Halifax shipyard. Limited budget after the war meant only the all warship construction except two of the Airdrie class are put on hold. The cruisers are continued because of their relative cheapness and their utility in peace time.
And that concluded my first war. It did end a bit anti-climatically but hey, I dont think im should really be taking the spotlight in a war between UK and Germany anyway at this point xD. I do enjoy the down time to begin designing and building more warships. I have the next two class that will enter service ready to go in FtD as well, so I will provide the details of the new ships under construction in the next update so I don't clutter the AAR portion.
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Post by mycophobia on Jul 25, 2019 0:41:23 GMT -6
Recovery from the War 1904(Aug) - 1906(March)
The post war budget cut came it a extremely inconvenient time, the Anglo-German War saw a rapid growth in technological development across the world as naval theorists frantically absorbed the lessons of the war. Canadian technology caught up to leading powers in many respect, but now they lack the funding to capitalize on these advances. The navy is barely able to maintain is standing force by sending most of its main ships into reserve status and paying off most sailors. Nevertheless, wartime construction stimulated Canadian resource industry, and the liberal government took advantage of these wartime development and made significant investment into Canadian industry. These economical development will have significant impacts in the decades to come. Canadian Munitions Limited Plant in 1905. The Anglo-German war saw a massive increase in the company's factories to supply the Canadian navy with guns and ammunition. These plants also served to produce various Civilian use chemicals during peace time.Despite Sir Laurier's preference to focus on expanding the Canadian Economy, the Canadians navy still managed to complete two of the four planned Airdrie class protected cruiser by Nov, 1905. One of the two planned Ontario Class battleship, Ontario was also re-started when tension between Canada and Germany rose again in January of 1905, when Sir Laurier remarked that Germany's warmongering way had not changed at all upon hearing the construction of the new Battlecruiser type ship " Goeben". Full specification of the Goeben was obtained by Canadian spies in 1906. The new ship threatens to surpass all earlier warships in speed and firepower, causing the Canadian to re-start the 40% completed Pre-Dreadnought Battleship Ontario.
The Dreadnought Race
Following the inception of "Dreadnought" type ships proposed by the British in 1904, two ships of this type are under construction as of 1905. At the insistance of Lord Jackie Fisher, the Dreadnought design was revamped to sacrifice armor and a 12in turret to allow for faster speed to become the Inflexible Class Battlecruiser. The German response was the Goeben. Its becoming clear to the Canadians that the Ontario class is becoming outdated even before it left the yard. A furious debate arose over whether to even bother completing the two Ontario Class when the Canadians are confident in their ability to develop similar ship types on their own. In the end, the conservative Admiral Kingsmill insisted that the 70% done Ontario be completed on schedule, but the 30% done British Columbia be scrapped together with the two other Airdrie class to make room for the new dreadnought design. The Canadian Design, Alberta-Class, stayed true to the original Dreadnought concept as a line battleship, but still maintained much faster speed than most pre-dreadnought ships. The Canadians have learned their lesson in the Anglo-German War, but also feel the need to maintain a strong battleline before investing into fast ships. Two Alberta class was ordered in the beginning of 1906, making Canada the third nation in the world to join the dreadnought race, and one with most tonnage building. (This lead is to be very short lived)
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Post by mycophobia on Jul 25, 2019 1:03:26 GMT -6
Airdrie Class Protected Cruiser
The Airdrie class was developed in the Anglo-German war in an effort to bolster the numbers of Canadian Cruisers that can be used. The Red Deer class are versatile ships that can serve in trade protection, fleet scout, raiding or blockade duty. However, there simply isn't enough of these ships to meet the demand of a war against a major nation. As a result the four larger Airdrie class cruisers are laid down to further expand the Canadian cruiser force. Given the Red Deer's relative success, Airdrie is essentially an enlarged copy, with a noticeable improvement in speed. Weaponry
The Airdrie class carry two additional 5in guns over the Red Deer class, arranged with two guns that can fire directly forward and back, giving it slightly more punch in pursuit battles. Four 3in guns are also added for more hitting power against destroyer sized ships. Armor
The protection scheme of the Airdrie class are mostly unchanged from the Red Deer class, meaning that they are still well protected for their class. The shielded guns in particular offers good splinter protection for the crew manning these guns. Speed/Utility
The biggest improvement and the cause for a 1000 ton increase in displacement over the Red Deer class is to accommodate a much larger reciprocating steam engine and longer hull, allowing the ship to reach 24 knots of speed, faster than any contemporaries at the time of her design. However, the bulky reciprocating steam engine also added considerable weight, and as a result the ship came out slightly overweight when she was completed. Overall, the Airdrie class would go on to become the preferred dispatch cruiser of the Canadian navy, participating in many good will visits and international operations in the years to come.
Airdrie shelling Moroccan rebel ports in the 1907 Morocco uprising to assist the evacuation of Canadian citizens.
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Post by mycophobia on Jul 25, 2019 1:43:51 GMT -6
Ontario Class Battleship
The Design for the Ontario Class have been prepared for the Canadian admiralty as early as 1902. The ship is designed to address the three key weaknesses of the Canada class coastal battleship: Speed, Range, Fire Power. Unfortunately, technological development quickly obsoleted this otherwise well balanced warship, only one ship was completed to make way for more powerful dreadnoughts. Design
Canada dropped the French tumblehome design with the Ontario class after realizing their poor performance in rough sea and their weakness to flooding. Nova Scotia took a severe list from a single hit in the Battle of Helgoland, proving that overweight tumblehome ships are at high risk of capsizing if their hull integrity is compromised. As a result, the Ontario Class enjoy good seakeeping, better stability and is not overweight like the Canada class. Armament
The 250mm/40 Gun used by the Canada class have proven themselves woefully inadequate against German battleship in the Anglo-German war. While the C.M.L are working their hardest to develop new guns, the Navy decided that the new battleship class cannot wait for the uncertain development cycle, and instead purchased the British 11in Vickers Gun to arm the Ontario class. The Vickers 11in gun are a failed bid to equip the British battleships in 1900, and as a result are not a particularly powerful or effective weapon, but does outperform the French 250mm/40 gun that was the standard for the Canadian navy up till this point. Secondary armament are also expanded to include more 6in guns in casemates, these guns performed well in hitting less armored locations on enemy ship, and are very effective against cruisers and destroyers as well. The higher free board and better seakeeping of the Ontario class also indirectly improved their performance. The very weak 3in guns are also replaced with a few 5in guns against ship too small even for the 6in guns to handle. Lastly, the ship is equipped with new central firing fire control system, it was hoped that this can resolve the abysmal long range accuracy of the Canada class. Armor
The Canadian navy are happy with the armor scheme of the Canada class, so not much is changed for the Ontario class. New Krupp-cemented armor improved protection without significant change in thickness, and the ship's resistant to flotation damage is indirectly improved by dropping the tumblehome design keeping the weight level within design parameters. Speed/Range
The Ontario Class is designed to be a true ocean going warship, and thus have much better range and sea keeping to make the travel across the Atlantic, and can fight for extended in Europe if properly supplied by the British bases. Cramped accommodation is also addressed to make long range sailing less detrimental to the crew. The Canada class' dreadful speed is partially addressed by new engines giving the ship a decent speed of 19 knots. While fast for her time, she would quickly became outclassed by steam-turbine ships in 1906. Comparison of Canada Class and Ontario Class, note the larger displacement, engine space,main/secondary battery, and lack of tumblehome.
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Post by akosjaccik on Jul 26, 2019 10:06:19 GMT -6
Poor Ontario-class, reached by the curse of the arms race. :\ Apart from some minor modifications (I'd live with 1,5" D and ditch the 5"-s due to potential issues in directing fire), I'd take the design in no-time; of course, just a few months can and did screw over everything for her. I do love the comparison as well, one of the many things I found rather statisfying in meddling with models regarding RtW is the sense of scale. On thing to know that "yes, my adversary has larger ships by 2500 tons", and another thing is to actually see that. It can be daunting. In my subjective and limited experience however, neat CL-s like the Airdrie can have a surprisingly long service life tending to various tasks, so in her case I'll be most interested in by how far in the passage of time can stay relevant.
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Post by mycophobia on Jul 27, 2019 5:05:00 GMT -6
1906-1907 Expanding Influences
Canada's Global Presence
By March 1906, the Dreadnought race is in full swing. The French laid down 3 Battlecruiser, Germany and UK each laid down one further Battleship, and US laid down 2 battleship. It is clear that Canada are again going to be quickly outnumbered in short order. Nevertheless, the victory in the Anglo-German war did bring the Canadian state to the world stage. Canadian economic growth also lead to a greater presence of Canadian trade fleet across the globe. With growing overseas interest, the Canadian navy starts to carryout various activity across the globe to protect Canadian interest. Such action have raised tension with several major nation. US is concerned with growing Canadian trade competition, Russia likewise became concern with Canadian expeditions in the northern pacific. Recognizing the navy's growing role in maintain Canada's new level of global influence, the government again reluctantly increased naval budget to protect various Canadian oversea interests such as trade ports and factory investments. Combined with the Anglo-Canadian alliances, many nation reacted negatively to this naval expansion. Global Conflicts
With the Canadian influence spreading across the globe, the young nation is also now dragged into conflicts across the globe. In early 1907, Canadian navy conducted a joint sortie with their UK allies to pressure the Argentineans in a dispute over the Falkland islands. While this did not lead to war, Nations like US and Russia heavily criticized the use of force and intimidation by the Allied navies. Montreal and Red Deer on a standoff with the Argentinean forces blockading the mouth of River Plate. Hostility was narrowly avoided when Argentina backed down due to lack of support from other major nations.
Furthermore, In March, Canada backed Britain again when the latter demanded Russia to back down from its latest attempt to expand into the Balkans. At this point, the Canadian navy remobilized its reserved warships and begin training its crew in anticipation of any possible escalation. In April, the possibility of a war with Russia lead to additional funding, this allows the admiralty to further lay down 5 Saint Georges Class Destroyers. By May, relation with Russia took a turn for the worse yet again as Canadian warships are dispatched to Northern China to protect Canadian in various northern Chinese ports that are facing an anti-west rebellion, the Canadian fleet were shadowed by Russian warships through out the operation. Relation with US are also becoming sore, in part due to the two nation's competition over trade. A civil war in Morocco lead to both US and Canadian ships being send to restore order. The US fleet wishes to take command of the coalition force, but the Canadian commanders refused to cooperate, believing that US fleet will prioritize protecting areas with American investment over that of the other nations. This considerably worsened the relation between the two nation. Canadian armored cars attacking a rebel occupied port town, backed by the cruiser Aidrie. Cooperation between coalition forces in Morocco is poor as most nations support different Candidate for the throne. With raising tension against the Russians and US, Canadian quickly withdrew its forces in Morocco by August, and no country was able to bring Morocco under their control.
Russia are now seeking an Alliance with the US to take on the Anglo-Canadian alliance that have encroached upon Russian power in both the Balkans and the Far East. While the US-Canadian relationship are at all times low, US are not willing to initiate a full scale war against the Anglo-Canadian alliance. Nevertheless, the US navy went on a major exercise in August to prepare for possible war, this lead to great panic amongst the Canadian public, with demands for the navy to take action. The admiralty pulled all the string it could to convince the liberal government that a war with the US and Russia at once should be avoided at all costs, and that overreaction to the US exercise will compromise the negotiation up till this point. Thus with great restraint, the Canadian took no action even when the US fleet conducted their exercise just off the water of New Brunswick. Nevertheless, the Russians have not given up on reaching out to the US, and the restraint by the Canadian navy may have only delayed the inevitable.
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Post by mycophobia on Jul 27, 2019 5:12:02 GMT -6
Poor Ontario-class, reached by the curse of the arms race. :\ Apart from some minor modifications (I'd live with 1,5" D and ditch the 5"-s due to potential issues in directing fire), I'd take the design in no-time; of course, just a few months can and did screw over everything for her. I do love the comparison as well, one of the many things I found rather statisfying in meddling with models regarding RtW is the sense of scale. On thing to know that "yes, my adversary has larger ships by 2500 tons", and another thing is to actually see that. It can be daunting. In my subjective and limited experience however, neat CL-s like the Airdrie can have a surprisingly long service life tending to various tasks, so in her case I'll be most interested in by how far in the passage of time can stay relevant. 1.5 D is probably something I can get away with for sure, but I was hoping that these may work early on in the dreadnought age since I didn't expect myself to have dreadnought tech as early as I did. My reason for the 5" over a bit more 6" was purely because I am worried that I cannot fit that many 6" conveniently in a rather small pre-dread hull in Ftd. I do like how having to make the ship make me think of things I wouldn't usually consider in RtW gameplay, like what happens if I try to fit way too many casemates. But yeah I realized the mix caliber can cause problem, so I fixed that with the Alberta class. The saddest part is 3 months after I laid down Ontario class I got Q0 12in guns.... The size comparison is definitely the part I enjoyed the most with making progressively bigger warships, it really tells the difference in a way that rtw doesn't really show. (Look forward to the Alberta Class , the FtD ship is already done but it will be a bit more before they show up in the AAR) My only issue with Airdrie is they are a tad slow since they were built before steam turbine, so they probably need a refit once BC starts showing up. But overall I do hope they can be decent generalists as you said.
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Post by ewaldvonkleist on Jul 27, 2019 5:28:47 GMT -6
Building the ships in the vehicle minecraft game is a really nice idea to illustrate the AAR. How impressive a combined operation with the British Grand fleet would be, ships and smoke as far as you can see.
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Post by mycophobia on Jul 27, 2019 5:50:50 GMT -6
Building the ships in the vehicle minecraft game is a really nice idea to illustrate the AAR. How impressive a combined operation with the British Grand fleet would be, ships and smoke as far as you can see. Britain seems more than content with tossing me second rate pre-dreads rather than anything larger( although this still doubled my forces in my first war), but I may have some big battles on the horizon, so hopefully I can finally try to fry my CPU with a potential dreadnought fleet battle xD
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Post by mycophobia on Jul 27, 2019 22:12:19 GMT -6
The Great War - The Beginning
In August, 1907 a war with America was narrowly avoided by the restraint of Canadian forces in response to a massive US naval exercise. Russia, unable to get the US to commit to an Alliance in containing the Anglo-Canadian Alliance, remained adamant with its expansion in the Balkans and Far East. Wishing to seize an opportunity to cripple the Russian threat before the Americans have a change of heart regarding their current neutral stance, Canada and UK Declared war against Russia on September 1st, 1907. As expected, American forces are on high alert, but did not came to Russia's aid. UK fleet moved towards Russian possession in Europe and blockaded the Baltic. However, the Canadian fleet remained mostly in North America out of concerns of the potential American threat. Thus with the outbreak of the war, most short ranged ships such as the Canada class are forced to remain in home waters. Balance of forces at the beginning of war. Main ships in Russian Navy
Battle of Bay of Fundy - Sept 20th, 1907
With the declaration of war, Canadian navies immediately sortied to patrol home water against possible Russian raiders as the main fleet prepared for a sortie into Europe to assist the British blockade. Meanwhile, before the war started, Russia also sent a pair of cruisers( Vityaz and the Varyag class, Bogatyr) out into the Atlantic, hoping to strike at Canadian merchants and tie up the Canadian navy in their home water.
In the morning of September 20th, Canadian cruiser Calgary and Vancouver, together with the British Cruiser Spartiate left saint john for a routine patrol, as the two ship and their escort destroyers left Bay of Fundy, they missed the two Russian Armoured cruisers that were able to successfully sneak past them in the morning fog. By 10:55, Calgary received a radio S.O.S from a merchant ship within the Bay of Fundy. The Canadian fleet immediately turned around to investigate. By 12:00, the Canadian fleet spotted the pair of Russian cruiser just south of Saint john, and moved in to engage. While the Vityaz was fast enough to keep her distance, she had to tag along with the older Bogatyr. Following a brief engagement, Vityaz sailed west in an attempt to shake off the Canadian ships, leaving Bogatyr behind. The Canadian destroyers were ordered to shadow the Vityaz while the Calgary and Vancouver engaged Bogatyr.
By 12:40, Calgary closed to within 1000 yards distance and scored over 15hit within 5 minutes on Bogatyr,she tried to turn south and flee, but was too heavily damaged to make far, and was slowing down to a near stop by 13:30 and being fired upon by both Vancouver and Calgary at point blank range.
At 13:38, the torpedo crews on Bogatyr was able to launch a torpedo towards Vancouver. The crews on Vancouver did not expect the burning Bogatyr was a threat at all, and despite last minute attempt to evade, was hit under the fore turret. In a moment, a massive plume of fire and smoke shot into the sky, and debris being scattered all over nearby ships.
As the smoke cleared, the forward section of the ship have bene blown clean off and rapidly sunk, fortunately the aft section remained afloat for a bit longer, allowing the Canadian destroyer to pick up survivors before finishing off the Bogatyr with their torpedo.(Seen listing and burning in the above picture)With the Bogatyr sunk, Calgary pursued the Vityaz alone. Around 14:30, her look out spotted the Vityaz, escaping deeper into the bay of Fundy, likely to wait till night fall before sneaking out again. Calgary gave chase, but her stokers became exhausted after maintain her 22 knot high speed throughout the morning. Nevertheless, when it became clear to the Capitan of Vityaz that He cannot lose Calgary, Vityaz turned around around 18:00 in a effort to fight past Calgary into open water. Calgary engaged Vityaz alone for a while before the British cruiser Spartiate added her fire to the battle against Vityaz. Vityaz, being better armored and armed than the Bogatyr, put up a fierce fight and drove off two attempt for Canadian destroyer to launch torpedo attacks against it, evading several torpedo in the process. However, pinned against the coast, she has no hopes of escape without fighting past Calgary.
Around 8, Calgary launched a torpedo, hitting the Vityaz right in the machinery space and caused her to list heavily. Minutes later, a second torpedo from Calgary hit Vityaz again under the aft turret.
The resulting explosion broke the back of the ship, and she quickly disappeared under the waves.
The Battle of Bay of Fundy was a costly experience for the Canadians, with the loss of one of the most powerful fast unit in their disposal. Vancouver missed major actions in the Anglo-German war, and her crews were eagerly waiting for an opportunity to prove themselves against the Russians. Alas, Capitan on both sides under estimated the effectiveness of newer model torpedo developed in the interwar years with deadly consequence. In terms of tonnage sunk, Canada got the upper hand, not to mention that Vityaz was one of Russia's largest cruiser. Nevertheless, given the limited numbers of ship in the Canadian navy, this is not a victory that Admiral Kingsmill would be eager to repeat.
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Post by mycophobia on Jul 27, 2019 23:23:14 GMT -6
1907 - 1908 The Great War - Escalation The BlockadeWhile the Canadian navy dealt a blow to the Russian navy at the outbreak of the war in Fundy Bay, The Canadian navy are ill prepared to fight in Europe. With the US vocally condemning the British and Canadian aggression against Russia, most of the Canadian fleet remained in north America in case the US decides to side with Russia and enter the war. Construction of warships are accelerated with wartime budget, and 5 more Saint-Georges Class destroyers are laid down for a total of 10 such ships. Peacetime research budget cut is repelled as the funding once again went into latest naval technology. Militarily however, Canadian navy contributed little. The Pacific squadron fought off some raiding Russian cruisers on the west coast. Calgary and Ontario were sortied briefly in early 1908 to assist the British blockade, but returned to North America again by summer. The most productive ships in the fleet are the old protected cruiser Lethbridge and Grande Prairie, which conducted raids against Russian shipping with great success. Calgary and Ontario patrolling the Baltic. The pair made two sorties into the Baltic early 1908, but did not accomplish anything beside sinking several patrol boats.
In May 1908, Calgary encountered the Battleship Peresvet in the Baltic(Ontario was not present for this patrol). Calgary, true to her prior reputation, again encountered the much larger battleship in a close gun duel. One of the escorting destroyers was able to score a torpedo hit on the Peresvet, forcing the latter to withdraw with heavy damage. Calgary's armor again helped her survive the worst of the damage, but she suffered very heavy superstructure damage from enemy secondary guns, with many crew killed. As a result, Canada withdrew its fleet in Europe back to North America for r&r.
US Joins the War
In September, the dreadnought battleship Alberta was finally complete, and her sister ship British Columbia(named after the cancelled second Ontario Class ship) was completed a month later. Coinciding with the launch of the new dreadnoughts, several US employees within the shipyards were caught shipping technical drawings of the new battleships to Russian spies. The US employees were immediately seized and convicted in a trial in October. US strongly protested the arrest, and threatens military action if the arrested US citizen are not released. The Canadian government thought the Navy's opinion on the matter. As of October,1908, Canada have 8 new Saint-Geroges class destroyer and two dreadnought that is recently entering service, together with 5 pre-dreadnought battleships, when the US only have 1 dreadnought battleship still being fitted out, and 11 Pre-dreadnoughts . It is believed that the Canadian force can adequately engage the US force in a decisive battle with British support, thus the navy suggested that the parliament escalate matter, giving the Canadian navy a chance to defeat the US navy before the latter's industrial might overcomes the Canadian advantage in Dreadnought battleships. Thus, the Canadian government formally refused to return the arrested US citizen in November, 1908, and the army begin to mobilize to defend the border. In response, US declared war on Canada and the UK the same month. Giving the close proximity of the two nation and the amount of shipping that must be protected, experts around the world believe that it will be a matter of time before the largest naval battle in the new century is to happen.
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Post by mycophobia on Jul 27, 2019 23:29:38 GMT -6
Saint-Georges Class Destroyer
The Saint-Georges is the next step in Canadian destroyer development after Fort McNeil class. Budgetary restriction meant the ship remained similar in size to its predecessors, but the incorporation of new steam turbine engine allows the class to reach a impressive 30 knots speed. The class removed the rear mounted 4in gun for a pair of midship 3in gun mount. The freed centerline space allows all the ship to mount two torpedo tubes on the centerline instead of the old three torpedo arrangement in earlier classes. Overall, besides the speed this class is not a clear improvement over earlier ships. However the are cheap and quick to produce, thus allowing the Canadian navies to produce 10 ships quickly following the start of the war.
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Post by mycophobia on Jul 27, 2019 23:59:11 GMT -6
Alberta Class Battleship
The Alberta Class is the first Canadian dreadnought battleship, being larger and more armored than other contemporary ships. Constructing the two ships took up almost the entire Canadian naval budget, but the admiralty have such high hopes for the class that the half completed pre-dreadnought British Columbia was scrapped, and additional funding allocated to speed up their completion. The class is named after the newly formed province of Alberta, to mirror the new era of Naval warfare ushered in by this new class of ships. Weaponry
The Alberta Class is the first class of ships to mount the new Canadian Mod 1907 12inch Gun(Canada designed 12inch gun just a few month too late to be used on the Ontario class, the modified design was used installed on the Alberta Class instead), a much more powerful naval artillery than the older French 10in and British 11in gun used by Canadian navy capital ships. While still smaller in caliber than the 13/14in guns commons with major navies, the Canadian 12in gun have surprisingly good accuracy and penetration despite its caliber. The main battery is mounted in three twin turrets mounted down the ships centerline. Winged turret are not used since they would stretch the ship's beam and slow the ship down, something the Canadian navy trying hard to avoid. The 12in main gun and lack of wing turret does mean that the Alberta class have slightly inferior firepower compared to other dreadnoughts of the time. Alberta class also mounts a very large secondary battery of 16 6inch secondary guns, in a effort to save weight and limit the number of secondary magazines, these are all mounted in stacked casemates like those seen in the Calgary class. The disadvantage is that the lower gun is more prone to flooding in poor weather, and that a single shot can potentially knock out two guns. Nevertheless, the large number of secondary guns give the class good secondary firepower against ships of all sizes. Smaller secondary guns than 6in were not placed when designers realized that this made gunnery difficult. Alberta firing a full broadside following her full commissioning in Oct 1908, merely a month before USA joined the war between Canada, UK, and Russia. Armor
As with the earlier Ontario class, armor improvement is incremental, since it was felt that the 10-10.5inch belt armor is mostly adequate. Compared to most earlier dreadnoughts being designed as battlecruisers, the Alberta class can claim far better protection than most of its competitors. The twin stacked casemates also received some improved armor to prevent light hits from knocking out both guns sharing a casemate. The ship's larger displacement and better subdivision also makes her more resistant to damage compared to pre-dreadnoughts. However, the class does lack any meaningful underwater protection system. Speed/RangeCanada have been very keen with improving the speed of her battleships ever since the Anglo-German war, and they took this a step further by giving the Alberta class a 21 knot speed. While designers would've wished for the ship to be even faster, the new steam turbine engine design were not stolen from the US until early 1907, meaning the ships had to be constructed with old Reciprocating steam engine. As with the Ontario class, the Alberta Class is designed to be a global warship, and therefore designed with adequate range and sea-keeping to cross the Atlantic in the war time. However, there is a concern that the two Alberta class maybe forced to work with slower Canada and Ontario class battleships, thereby nullifying their advantage in speed. However, it was hoped that the old Pre-Dreadnought could all be replaced with better ships as time goes on. Unfortunately, the war in 1907 meant that the Alberta class does have to stand in a battle line with their slow predecessors. Size Comparison between Alberta and Canada, demonstrating how far Canadian ship building developed in less than a decade.
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