|
Post by mycophobia on Sept 18, 2019 21:48:27 GMT -6
Battle of Cape Breton - Part 3 - October 12th- 13th, 1922 Sinking the Renown
At 20:29, October 12th, the only thing that stood between the unknown royal navy battleship and the aircraft carrier Calgary was 3 outdated destroyers, including outdated Creston class that have been striped down to only one torpedo tube. Yet these destroyers did not hesitate to put themselves in harms way to carry out an attack on the massive Royal Navy battleship. The incoming battleship was only going at about 20 knots, and was also coming towards Canadian ships while showing her broadside in preparation to fire. At an range of under 3000 yards, this makes for the perfect torpedo attack scenario. Seen from the Creston class destroyer Golden, the incoming battleship was hit in rapid succession by 3 of the 4 torpedo launched. As a squadron of larger British destroyer are still nearby, Calgary and her escort quickly left the scene to join the Canadian battleships.
At this time, it was assumed that the lone ship was Tiger, who have escaped earlier and was presumed to be the ship wrecking havoc in the rear of the convoy while the Canadian battleships engaged their British counterparts in the Bloody 13 Minutes. (The fact that a second battle squadron were present did not became obvious until after the battle) In reality, the ship sunk was the British flagship Renown, who had lost contact with Anson and Howe in the darkness; seen here as her escorting destroyers attempt to rescue survivors. She tried to escape north after taking the three torpedo hits before finally succumbing to flooding around midnight.
The Third Regroup
By 21:00, Calgary and her escort have joined the Canadian battleships and the remaining merchantman from the convoy before they start to make way for Halifax. New Brunswick's hit, which by now has been determined to be torpedo, likely launched from a British DD, were mostly under control, but the ship kept low speed just in case. Remaining Canadian destroyers fanned out to be on the look out for any other Royal Navy vessels in the area. By this time, Nova Scotia and the foremost part of the convoy are already well underway to Halifax, and are mostly out of the harms way. The night had kept Canadian sailors on edge, especially after an brief encounter with British Destroyer at 12:46 of October 13th. It is clear that the convoy is still being shadowed, but the Royal Navy did not press for battle, as it was busy trying to coordinate its dispersed force in the night as well. Next Morning
By 6:00 am of next morning the fleet is sailing close to Nova Scotian Coast as it made its way to Halifax. As Burlington were damaged the night before, Calgary begin to prepare its airgroup for an aerial search of any remaining threats.
Four recon Swordfish took off from Calgary around 6:20~, seen here flying past the battle damaged battle fleet and the convoy.
At 6:52, one recon plane spotted a squadron of Royal Navy Destroyer about 20-30 nm east of the Canadian fleet. In response, Calgary launched its last 3 operational swordfish to carry out a torpedo attack in the area. However, this strike failed to locate their target. The same group of destroyers (4 1,100 tonners) entered sight of the Canadian convoy by 8:30, and tried to close in. 8:32, Canadian battleship open fire upon the approaching Royal Navy destroyers, the British ships remained at beyond 15000 yards for nearly half an hour before attempting to make a charge under smoke cover. British destroyers came under heavy fire as they attempt to close to a range of under 8000 yards before wisely deciding to retreat. The destroyer Alfridi was seen being hit directly by an 14in shell and a 6in shell. She lost suffered heavy damage but was towed to safety as the Canadian fleet chose to move on rather than pursuing the British destroyer. Another RN destroyer, Erne, was sunk in the same attack to 5 6" hits.
World's First Airstrike
While the British Destroyer squadron was recklessly running the gauntlet, the air squadron from Calgary were finally returning after an hour of fruitless search for the British ships that are actually currently engaging the Canadian fleet. However, as they were about to turn back, they spotted a lone smoke trail behind them to the east. The smoke turns out to be the Anson, damaged from the night battle before and lost contact with the rest of the British fleet, she tries to return west towards Newfoundland after confused movement during the night put her much closer to the Canadian fleet than any British ship. Canadian pilots cannot believe their luck and begin their attack run at 10:26.
Anson had taken a beating the night before, and many of her anti-air weapons were destroyed as a result. As the British navy did employ heavier caliber AA guns, Anson was able to damage two of the attacking planes, but all three carried out their attack undeterred. At 10:27, the world's first aerial torpedo hit on a moving target was achieved by the Swordfish Squadron 454 of the Calgary.
Despite a single torpedo hit, Anson only took moderate damage and continued to steam east. While this success was radioed to the Calgary, she had no more planes to send until the recons returned in 11:15. A second wave of 2 planes were hastily prepared and launched, but could no longer locate their target in the open sea. Conclusion
Finally, the fleet safely entered the Halifax Harbour at 12:12. 9 Transports were sunk by the British attack, more than half of the whole convoy. Fortuntately, none of the Canadian battleships were sunk. The Final losses were : GB : 1 BB sunk(Renown), 1 BC sunk(Inflexible). 1 BC moderately damged(Tiger, 9 14in hits), 1 BB moderately damaged( Anson, 1 Aerial torpedo, 2 14in hits), 1 BB lightly damaged (Howe). 1 DD sunk, 4 DD heavily damaged, 3 more DD moderate/lightly damaged. Canada: 1 BB heavily damaged (New Brunswick), 2 BB moderately damaged (Quebec, Nova Scotia), 1 BB lightly damaged(PEI), 1 CL moderately damaged(Burlington), 5 DD sunk (3 are older 500/600 ton ones), 1 DD heavily damaged, and 1 DD lightly damaged.
Nova Scotia retired early due to the torpedo hit, but her torpedo bulkheads kept the damage moderate. Quebec took extremely heavy shelling, but fortunately most of those hit her hull above waterline. Thus despite taking 14 heavy hits, she is actually less damaged than both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. New Brunswick took the worst of the damage as she was forced to fight on after reciving a torpedo hit, had Howe fired AP rather than HE shell at her, she could well have been sunk. PEI, despite being the flagship, received very little fire through out the battle, the only hit on her being an 15in extended belt penetration by Tiger early on in the engagement that caused very minor flooding. Analysis
The battle is no doubt a Canadian victory, but their own force are bloodied in the engagement, and the loss of many convoy ships meant that the victory is not as complete as it could've been. Failure to locate and sink the damaged Anson also was a missed opportunity, but given the state of the ships after the night battle, it was hard to say whether it would be a good idea to risk Anson's 15in guns. (I thought about using PEI alone to go find Anson, but there isn't much time left and I don't know what else is out there.) Nevertheless, the Canadian force owe it as much to luck as courage for this victory. Quebec's survival in the beginning of the battle is almost miraculous, and the Canadian navy were only able to come out on top in the Bloody 13 Minutes due to the British force being rather dispersed, allowing the Canadian fleet to focus on each ship as they steamed past. Nevertheless, constant regroup kept the cohesion of the Canadian fleet throughout the night, allowing them to engage favorably against the fragmented British force. (Indeed, the Canadian fleet never encountered the second RN battle squadron at all, who were stuck far north of the actual engagement attacking mostly undefended transports.) Gunnery:
Canadian force scored 42 14in hits throughout the battle, most of it British battleships at close range. This is more due to quick reaction and inititive of Canadian gunners at night than accuracy of gunneries however. (Nova Scotia, who did not part take in the night action only have 3% accuracy, compared to the 7-8% of the rest of the Canadian battleships) British ships had proven more accurate, with a 5-16% accuracy, though this is in part inflated by the facts that they fired at several immobilized merchantman and destroyers point blank. Armor
This battle had shown that at close range engagements at night, armor are essentially good for nothing, almost every shot fired penetrated, its only a matter of locations. British 16" did not prove much more deadly, although luck was certainly a factor. Early engagement against Tiger have shown that the British 15in gun can defeat the armor of Canadian battleship at med range however. Destroyers
While the night battle should be where the destroyers shine, the chaotic nature of this engagement made it very difficult for the Canadian admiral to rally and effectively command his destroyers. While individual destroyer captain did take initiative to make individual torpedo attacks, these usually cost them their life against British escort and secondary guns. It was only when multiple destroyers can surprise a Battleship(Renown) from a favorable position did torpedo attack see success.
Airpower
While the most of the battle was during the night, the successful attack on Anson did alert the admiralty of the Aircraft Carrier's utility in hunting down damaged enemy ship after a major engagement. They have also proven to be more effective scouts than lone light cruisers, however this did cut significantly in their strike capability due to the low plane count of Calgary. Talks of a larger aircraft carrier is already on the table.
Thus conclude the three part battle report on the Battle of Cape Breton, I hope you enjoyed this battle as I did. My next update will come a bit slower as I have to finish the upcoming battlecruiser Huron before continuing the AAR(or it can come very quickly if I decide to go ham on building ). This is a good time if you want to make some suggestions as to what kind of ship I should look to build next and how to proceed further in the war. I am only several months ahead of this point in play, with only one somewhat significant battle that I will get to shortly. The only major build after this battle would be the Huron entering service, an new 15in BC being laid down, and all my four modern BB being sent for a FC refit to bring them to PEI level, together with some AA improvements slaped on.
|
|
|
Post by mycophobia on Sept 23, 2019 5:59:36 GMT -6
Huron Class Battlecruiser (1923)
The actions against French battlecruisers in the Caribbean war have demonstrated some short comings of the Haida class. Namely, the weak turret protection and her relatively slow speed meant that engaging enemy battlecruisers are always a risky proposition. (This was demonstrated later in the subsequent loss of the Athabaskan) With newer battlecruisers entering service around the world, the Haida class are no longer adequate to fight against the battlecruiser fleet of other major navies. The UK in particular, had a large fleet of fast battlecruisers that can out run and out number the Haida Class. A new battlecruiser plan were being discussed, but the need to finish the new generation of battleships meant that the Huron Class was not laid down until the outbreak of the war. The need to complete the remaining battleships meant that only one ship of the Huron Class was ordered. By the time that enough funding were available(as the New Brunswick class finished), the navy opted for a more advanced design of the new Cree class. (laid down in 1922).
Overview
The Huron class is much more massive than earlier Canadian battlecruisers. At 36,500 tons, she is the largest Battle Cruiser in the world when she entered service in 1923 (Although USA/Germany/UK/Russia are all building larger ships at various stages of completion. The ship has a new hull design that improved stability and seakeeping compared to the Haida class. The spacious hull meant there remains some free displacement should there be any need of upgrade. The class also took advantage of development in fire control technology, which results in even larger "Totem Pole" structure to house plotting room, range finder, and directors.
Weaponry
While the main focus of the Huron Class was to improve speed and protection, the designers were able to incorporate an additional dual 14" turret in the X position. This brings her firepower to the same level as the Quebec Class battleships. Huron has more barrels but have smaller guns compared to 15" equipped BC of Germany, UK, and USA. Huron's secondary armament remains the standard Canadian 6inch/50 gun in casemates, which are split further apart to protect them from damage. Casemate remain preferred choice of the Canadian navy, since their larger warship remained fairly weatherly, and the added protection of casemate armor is appreciated. Furthermore, 4 4" anti-aircraft guns were installed midship to give some anti-air capability, but the final model of the Canadian 4" AA gun have serious defect in their ability to train and elevate, meaning that they are essentially only useful in an anti-surface role, and even then being only roughly comparable to 3" guns in performance. Armor Huron's armor scheme took the lessons of Haida into account, and turret protection have further improved to be the same level as that of the Quebec class battleship (In fact, the ships used the same turret). More importantly, Huron discarded the earlier battleship design philosophy of spreading the armored belt across the waterline. Instead, Canadian designer took inspiration from US designs of the period to focus all the armor in the vital armored citadel of the ship. As a result of the new All or Nothing armor scheme, Huron is able to achieve belt protection comparable to the Quebec Class battleships, while maintaining a much thicker deck armor. While the belt still struggle to stand up against 14" or larger shells, Huron's thick deck armor gives her limited ability to resist even 15" shell at the range of around 17000-20000 yards. While this protection is not adequate for close range battles, it is hoped that Huron's speed can allow her control the engagement to a distance where her thicker deck armor will prove useful. Lastly, Huron feature's a slightly improved torpedo bulkhead, that is filled with water and oil fuel to absorb more blast from an exploding torpedo. This is improved upon the same system that saved the New Brunswick and Nova Scotia from a torpedo hit in the Battle of Cape Breton. Speed
Earlier Canadian battlecruisers generally came out slower than the design speed due to inexperience in constructing such warships. Huron have accumulated lessons from these previous setbacks, and have no problem reaching her design speed of 28 knots. This speed is chosen to match all British battlecruiser then in service. The Huron is also the first Canadian capital ship to make use of an Oil fired engine, taking advantage of Oil import from USA and some limited scale excavation into utilizing the Albertan Oil Sands. However, even though this reduced weight in comparison to the coal fired engine, reliability still had to be sacrificed to squeeze the most speed out of Huron's engine. Huron steaming off Nova Scotia at her speed trial, August, 1923.Overview:
Despite her size and capabilities, Huron became the only modern battlecruiser in the Canadian fleet when she entered service in August, 1923.
Pressed into service even before her faulty 4" AA gun can be replaced with newer models, she will have to face the Royal Navy Battlecruiser fleet including 3 15" equipped Tiger class. Despite all this, Huron will have to carry this burden, as Cree will not be completed before 1925, likely too late to join the war.
Well, this ship took a while to build, but that Pagoda was fun to stack. With Huron out of the way I will be back to updating the AAR portion next week.
|
|
|
Post by akosjaccik on Sept 25, 2019 5:07:30 GMT -6
When it comes to recommending directions in construction policy or strategy, maybe a very brief recap about the current state of the war could be beneficial? I can only speak for myself, of course, and I sure as hell could slash should just re-check the former posts, but I am ashamed to admit, I am unsure about the current general state of affairs. I was very into the engagements, but out of touch with the war. That aside, I took close attention to your post-battle analysis and might completely rip it off take it as inspiration! (Plus love how on some of the pictures the aircrafts in the background are doing aerobatics ) I'd take those results anytime, two british capital ships sent down to act as corral reefs for the marine life, for five destroyers in return - and I take it a fair few of those were convoy escorts? I also believe sticking together and keeping cohesion was the right thing to do in that situation, with the given information at hand. There was no clear indication about the fighting state of the Anson, reconnaissance data was probably cluttered, semi-reliable and all over the place, and you possibly don't have ships to spare in the long-run of the war to risk sending into a potential trap. All in all, I would've most likely come to the same conclusion and not push my luck, especially after the case of the Athabaskan.
|
|
|
Post by mycophobia on Sept 25, 2019 11:51:34 GMT -6
When it comes to recommending directions in construction policy or strategy, maybe a very brief recap about the current state of the war could be beneficial? I can only speak for myself, of course, and I sure as hell could slash should just re-check the former posts, but I am ashamed to admit, I am unsure about the current general state of affairs. I was very into the engagements, but out of touch with the war. That aside, I took close attention to your post-battle analysis and might completely rip it off take it as inspiration! (Plus love how on some of the pictures the aircrafts in the background are doing aerobatics ) I'd take those results anytime, two british capital ships sent down to act as corral reefs for the marine life, for five destroyers in return - and I take it a fair few of those were convoy escorts? I also believe sticking together and keeping cohesion was the right thing to do in that situation, with the given information at hand. There was no clear indication about the fighting state of the Anson, reconnaissance data was probably cluttered, semi-reliable and all over the place, and you possibly don't have ships to spare in the long-run of the war to risk sending into a potential trap. All in all, I would've most likely come to the same conclusion and not push my luck, especially after the case of the Athabaskan. An overall recap is definitely something I need to get to, the problem is that I tend to play 2-3 year before I realized that i should have take some screenshot of relative fleet strength, tension, and budgets XD I will provide a more complete analysis of the state of the war in the next update. As I probably will hold the game at the current point a bit longer while I get to a couple more upcoming ship classes.
|
|
|
Post by mycophobia on Sept 26, 2019 0:30:42 GMT -6
Without End In Sight 1922 - 1923
With the Battle of Cape Breton ended in Canadian Victory, many damaged Royal Navy warships were forced to withdraw to England for repair. While the damaged Canadian battle fleet likewise remained in port for repair, Canadian light forces were able to have relative free reign in the Caribbean and Newfoundland coast. Canadian troops took the opportunity to press their invasions of the remaining UK naval bases in the Canadian sphere of influence. The invasion of New Providence island is progressing smoothly, the army is also making good progress in the Newfoundland Front. Construction & ResearchFollowing the Battle of Cape Breton, Canadian navy are eager to incorporate lessons of the battle. However, the budget remains tight with two 6500 ton Saint John class light cruiser, Battle Cruiser Huron and Cree all being under construction. As a result, the only new construction were 6 destroyers Chateauguay class (which is an improved Chambly class design)and 4 new model submarine to replenish Canada's horribly outdated submarine fleet(which were only operating two 1911 model at this point). Technology wise, a 16inch gun design have been developed in late 1922, but is no budget to build any ships armed with them. Theory on purpose build carriers are also being developed by designers, but the Navy did not wish to offer any funding for a purpose-built carrier that may take over two years before becoming combat capable. Battle of Witless bay - November 30th, 1922
Attempting to take advantage of the British weakness after The Battle of Cape Breton, the Canadian navy dispatched the Haida together with a large squadron of 6 Chambly class destroyer and the Camrose Class cruiser Burlington. While most damaged British ship had left for repairs, the Battleship Centurion remained in St.John, undamaged from the action a month earlier. at 11:20 local time, look out on Haida spotted a lone British warship over 20000 yards north, which was initially thought to be the battlecruiser Tiger. Weary of Tiger's 15in guns, Haida maintained her distance. However, at 11:27, Haida was hit by a near missed which jammed the rudder for 7 minute. The DD escorts are sent out to provide cover, and as they steamed past Haida, lookouts on Burlington correctly made out a fourth turret and the British warship, and correctly identified it as the 14" equipped Battleship Centurion.
The loss of Athabaskan is still fresh in the mind of Canadian captains, and Haida carefully kept her range between 15000-20000 yards, and unleashed her destroyer escort on the lone British battleship, which could only make 20 knots. The plan was to overwhelm the Centurion with waves of torpedo from Canadian destroyers while Haida provided fire support. Seeing the Canadian destroyers approaching, Centurion immediately turned north to escape towards St.John's harbor. Over the next hour, Canadian destroyer begin to close their distance, but British secondary guns and the fact that Centurion is trying her best to escape is making this process more difficult than it seems. The first wave of torpedo was launched at Centurion at 12:00, but the battleship is able to avoid them all as they are launched from behind the Centurion, giving her more time to react. Then, at 12:20, disaster struck. Centurion's return fire against Haida had been inaccurate due to her constant movement to avoid Canadian destroyers, but at 12:20, a single 14" shell hit Haida's B turret again(The only direct hit she received this entire battle, if one discount the near-miss that jammed the rudder), near the same location that she was hit 5 years ago. This time, the Magazine could not be flooded in time before the flashfire travelled down to the main magazine. In a massive explosion, Haida broke in half and sunk within minutes. As the destroyers were away chasing the Centurions, no ships were around to pick up any sailor that may have survived.
Despite the horror of losing the Haida, Canadian destroyers carried on a second wave of torpedo attacks, but were repulsed by ferocious fire from the Centurion, and two Chambly class were lost as a result. Around 1PM, Centurion were able to escape to the safety of St.John's, and the Canadian fleet stayed around for a few more hours outside the port and were able to intercept two merchantman that were not re-routed. Nevertheless, the attack was a total failure with the loss of Canada's remaining modern Battlecruiser.
New Caribbean Offensive - Jan - May 1923
While the loss of Haida was a major blow to Canadian war effort, the situation in the Caribbean remain firmly in Canadian control. By January, 1923, Canadian forces completed occupation of New Providence Island, leaving Grand Bahamas the last British holding in the Caribbean. Planning for the invasion of Bahamas begin immediately after. Canadian battlecruisers attack and cut off all convoy supplies to Bahamas by March, and the landing begin in May, supported by the three old Canadian Dreadnoughts Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia. Yukon and Nunavut attacking and sinking a large British convoy in March, 1923. While the relatively slow speed of these old ships can no longer keep up with modern battlecruisers, they remain capable of annihilating any convoys without capital ship escort. Sinking the Lion
In March, the old British Battlecruiser Lion were sent to Newfoundland to carry out attack against Canadian troop convoys en route Bahamas. The Royal Navy held back their new Tiger Class and the fairly modern Indomitable class Battlecruiser ( Both capable of 28 knots) in Europe in a standoff against the Marine Nationale. Lion was oddly slow for a British Battlecruiser if Canadian intel proves true, but is heavily armed and more than capable of fighting the Yukon Class. With Haida sunk, the royal navy must have thought that the Lion is fast enough to do as it pleased in Canadian east coast. However, Lion's luck would run out in the first month of her transfer. She was able to spot a Canadian convoy moving through overcast in the early morning of March 22nd. However, said convoy are escorted by the battleship Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. Lion exchanged fire with the Canadian battleships at 6:40-7:00, with New Brunswick being hit 3 times and the Lion being hit 5 times by 14" shells, one of which damaged her uptake and slowed her to 20 knots. Lion however was able to briefly escape into the overcast.
As the weather cleared up in early morning however, Lion was again spotted and torpedoed once by a Canadian destroyer at 7:32. She slowed significantly and became a target for the Canadian battleships. 8:11, Canadian destroyer carrying out an attack on the Lion, who has already been hit by a torpedo and over 10 14" shells. Lion is still firing back around 8:00, but quickly went silent as more shells find their target. She finally went down by 9:05 to one torpedo and 34 14" hit.
No End in Sight
With the loss of the Lion, the Royal Navy once again returned to the defensive in the Atlantic and the Caribbean. In July, a French battle squadron were able to sink the old Jupiter Class battleship Caesar (12 11in gun in hexagonal lay out). Despite being forced back on all fronts, the Royal Navy still maintained its core fighting strength with no sign of relenting. In September, an engagement off the Bahamas saw the Lethbridge class cruiser Thunderbay sinking the British Cruiser Carysfort, but not before succumbing to the damage she received from her opponent. The Royal Navy have proven itself a tenacious opponent. No peace talk had been offered, the Old Lion has fight in it yet.
|
|
|
Post by mycophobia on Sept 26, 2019 1:28:10 GMT -6
Situation Recap, October 1923
By 1923, the Franco-Canadian alliance is maintain a clear advantage in the war(VP 47,581 vs 26,952). No peace talk had been attempted, and the UK government remained stable, for little conflict threatened the home Islands. Strategic Situation
By October 1923, Canada had captured all British holdings in the Caribbean. While British holdout remained on Grand Bahama, without further Royal Navy support, the Canadian victory in the Caribbean is all but certain. With this, the Caribbean Squadron can finally be freed to join the main Canadian Fleet in North America. The British Fleet remain disperse across the world to keep French convoy raiders in check, and the French fleet in Mediterranean and Northern Europe also required significant attention. However, British North America remains a tough target. The Canadian army had been fighting an indecisive trench warfare in the Newfoundland front for almost 4 years, and a naval invasion of the Newfoundland are still outside Canadian capabilities in face of extensive British defense and fortification. Thus, the only choice is to starve the island of support. The Royal navy knows the importance of its last major North American holdings, and will not hesitate to provide it with all the support it can spare. However, it is likely that they will not risk another major confrontation without being able to bring the full force of the Royal Navy to bear against the Canadians. Currently, a squadron of Royal Navy Battleship is blockading Canadian home waters while the Canadian battle fleet are in dry docks for refit, but this state of affair is unlikely to last for long. Naval Strength
Canadian Fleet, 1923BB | New Brunswick Class | 2 Refitting | BB | Quebec Class | 2 Refitting | BB | Alberta Class | British Columbia | BB | Manitoba Class | Manitoba, Saskatchewan | BC | Huron Class | Huron | BC | Yukon Class | Yukon, Nunavut | CA | Montreal Class | Montreal | CL | Saint John Class | Saint John | CL | Camrose Class | Camrose, Burlington | CL | Lethbridge Class | Richmond | CL | Red Deer Class | Red Deer, St. Albert | CVL | Calgary Class | Calgary | DD | Oliver Class | 3 | DD | Chambly Class | 4 | DD | Mirabel/Pointe Claire | 7 | DD | Saint-Constant Class | 4 | DD | Victoriavile/Fort McNeil | 6 | DD | Creston(ASW Refit) | 4 | AMC | Kaslo Class | 2 | KE | Anmore Class | 12 |
Capital Ships
The Canadian navy remains outmatched in capital ships, and would likely be at a disadvantage in a decisive fleet battle. The deficiency in battlecruisers are particularly painful following the loss of Haida and Athabaskan. With that in mind, all four modern Canadian are brought to port in September for a fire control refit, which also aim to install several 4" AA guns on board, now that the technically difficulty surrounding the gun were finally solved. Even with the larger Cree class battlecruiser 21 months from completion, a fleet confrontation against the Royal Navy is still a bleak prospect if it cannot be thinned further. CA/CL
Canada's shortage in light cruiser had been evident throughout the war. The new Saint John class, soon to enter service, out performs their RN counterparts, but not by much. Earlier Canadian cruisers are also adequate for their role, but since they see much more action than capital ships, replacing their loss had always been an issue. (UK have 5 Cl and 2 CA total at this point, with one CA and 2 CL coming soon in 1924) A particular concern is RN's new Diadem class heavy cruiser, these ship, while weaker than Battlecruisers, are incredibly fast and can easily destroy and outrun any Canadian cruiser. There has been some talk of a ship as a response, but it may stretch the already thin resources and will take too long to take effect. DD
The destroyer force of the two nations are roughly comparble in number(30 vs 32), but the RN destroyers are uniformly 1,100 ton ships, while half of the Canadian ships are older 600-900 ton models, a quarter of which (Creson/Victoriaville Class) were refitted for ASW duties. Nevertheless, 6 new Chateuguay class are due to enter service in the next few months, which should increas the number of powerful modern destroyers avialble. Other Ships
Canadian currently operates one Calgary Class carrier, while the RN operates 3 CVL carrier , capable of carrying 11/6/20 aircrafts, respectively. The disadvantage in carrier capacity is partly the reason behind the AA refit for the battleships. Furthermore, the RN have constructed fairly extensive land based airfields in the home islands, and operates a total of 176 naval aircrafts to Canada's 79 (which is basically Havanna airbase, Halifax Airbase, and planes on the Calgary) The RN also maintain a fleet of 24 submarines, not very large compared to some other nations, in particular France(who has 38 submarines). So far they have not been able to cause much damage thanks to Canadian ASW effort, but did sink several old destroyers. Construction/Budget
Currently, the navy is focused on completing the refit of the main battle squadron, and expanding the destroyer force with the new Chateauguay class destroyers. With the Huron completed, there is a fair amount of free budget that can be invested. Some proposed option includes converting an aircraft carrier, building 2 more light cruisers, or another batch of destroyers that utilize the newly developed dual turret for destroyer main guns. Building capital ships were definitely appealing, but seeing any ship laid down will not be completed in three years, their value to the war effort are limited, but it may be a good opportunity to put the newly developed 16" guns to use. Almanac
Thanks to akosjaccik 's suggestion, I've posted a situation overview as of October, 1923. This is where I am currently on my playthrough as well, so feel free to offer any suggestions or even some ship ideas as to how to proceed. In the meantime, I will be making the Saint John and Chateauguay class, and testing the new 1.09 patch a bit before proceeding further with the war.
|
|
|
Post by mycophobia on Oct 4, 2019 4:14:26 GMT -6
Saint John Class Light Cruiser (1923) Ship In Class : Saint John (1923) Hamilton (Due to complete 1924)The latest and likely last class of Canadian light cruiser based on a modified Lethbridge Class hull, the Saint John class represent the gradual improvement of Canadian cruisers during the war. The need for new cruiser to replace losses meant any improvement and changes are gradual, in order to cut down development time and maximize construction speed. The limitation of gradual design change does mean that the improvement of the Saint John class over the earlier Camrose and Lethbridge Class is rather limited. Weaponry
Saint John class briefly rearranged the gun layout of the Camrose class, by removing the midship 6in turret and replacing it with a pair of 6in turret located in the aft wing. This meant the ship can have four guns firing towards most of her rear arc, which comes in handy if she would needs to retreat from a superior foe. Its also worth noting that her ammo count is slightly reduced compared to earlier classes to reduce weight. Saint John also done away with the traditional underwater torpedo mounts, and mounts a pair of below deck(but above water) twin torpedo tubes for better arc of fire and less damage in event of a hit. Her AA suite is also slightly upgrade with more machine guns and a pair of 4" AA guns(again, as with Huron, these suffers from extremely poor reliability and training rate in practice, making them only effective against naval targets. The working AA design came too late to be mounted on this class at launch). Saint John, with her recon seaplane launched. Her underdeck torpedo launcher visible midship.
Armor
Saint John maintains essentially the identical armor scheme from the earlier Camrose class. Her larger size give some additional survivability, but she should not be expected to resist anything more than 5" shell hits at this point. Speed
Saint John class fully utilized an powerful oil fired engine to reach a high speed of 29 knots, the reduced exhaust also meant a funnel could be removed, freeing deckspace for her seaplane. 29 knots allows her to escape from British battlecruisers and run down British light cruisers, an important advantage that she will hopefully put to use. Seaplane
Lastly, Saint John class is the first Canadian ship to carry a scout seaplane onboard. Compred to building dedicated seaplane tender, the Canadian navy prefer to simply equip a scout to each of its new light cruisers. The midship turret and funnel are both removed to make space for a single Viking Hart seaplane(a very old 1916 model, with only 76 nm of range) parked on deck without any dedicated hanger. As seaplane catapult was not developed by Canadians until late 1922, Saint John class had to launch and recover its seaplane by lifting it with the ship's crane. It is hoped that the seaplane scout will allow Saint John to better patrol against enemy raiders and add some limited aerial scouting capability when Calgary isn't present. Saint John's scout seaplane flying over her carrier on a scouting mission.
My apologies for the rather delayed update, last week had been a mix of busy and lazy, but with the weekend coming up, I should hopefully resume updating with faster pace. The development of Saint John/Camrose/Lethbridge did remind me of the Japanese Sendai/Nagara class in a way, being mostly similar ships with gradual improvements. If I do get around to a new class of light cruiser it will probably see some drastic improvement in capability thanks to 4" DP, Dual turret on CL and above deck torpedo tubes, but I am not sure If I need such a vessel yet. Trying to put FTD's abnormally large plane on the poor cruiser's deck is also quite a pain, I might have to think of someway to shrink down these seaplane scouts in the future xD
|
|
|
Post by janxol on Oct 4, 2019 6:46:17 GMT -6
I was about to comment on the size of the plane, but then recalled the time i tried to put a helicopter on one of my ships. One thing I note about this (and the previous one) CL design is the aft mast. Doesnt it kinda prevent the superfiring turret from actually superfiring? Generally really loving the FtD designs, lots of effort put into them.
|
|
|
Post by akosjaccik on Oct 4, 2019 8:35:30 GMT -6
Ahh, an update! The first good thing in the day. Although I am still debt with addressing the former posts as well. Not that there is much to add to the loss of the Haida, still, incredibly unlucky to lose a ship with a single shell hit - although not without precedent. :\ I've found the recap very handy, not least it helped to put the events, such as the explosion of the day(...) into context. While the situation still seems frightening when taking purely the ratio of forces into account, it is also clear that the losses suffered by your Navy were most certainly not in vain and your strategic position seems to be firm and stable. Also, Centurion can't run forever especially with that estimated speed reported by your intelligence services. Completing the refitting of the capital ships does seem to be a major priority in order to not pass over the initiative for the RN, but otherwise the situation is looking rather well! Especially once that floatplane enters service. I bet that in the next iteration of the RN's identification aid booklet at the name of the Saint John-class they won't even bother with the image, just comment that "if you spot an odd silhouette, especially above you, that's a St.John." Still, while I am not too big on floatplanes, time and time again I surprise myself with just how handy they can be, even on such enclosed areas as the Adriatic. Just now on my french save for example I realized again that especially on early CVLs and conversions even strictly controlled scouting can burn away a substantial proportion of my first strike's potential. (Or alternatively I can choose not to scout aerially in an environment where the opposition might also have a carrier in play.) Taking into account that operating seaplanes doesn't feel like an unbearably massive hassle even without a catapult, and it gives individual combatants a visible increase in flexibility I am starting to warm up on the idea of slapping planes onto decks fairly liberally. If only their micromanagement wouldn't shorten my lifespan by months...
|
|
|
Post by mycophobia on Oct 4, 2019 18:43:49 GMT -6
I was about to comment on the size of the plane, but then recalled the time i tried to put a helicopter on one of my ships. One thing I note about this (and the previous one) CL design is the aft mast. Doesnt it kinda prevent the superfiring turret from actually superfiring? Generally really loving the FtD designs, lots of effort put into them. It has to in with the way game generated the class’ superstructure and the fact camrose class only had a superimposed midship turret, so I had it further back towards midship. This meant that there is basically no space midship for An aft mast unless the crew is feeling like smoking funnel exhaust in the end a simple pole mast should not obscure much field of fire besides directly aft, something not often done irl anyways. In practice I’d also disengage with a slight angle to allow the aft wing turret to join in.
|
|
|
Post by mycophobia on Oct 4, 2019 18:49:43 GMT -6
Ahh, an update! The first good thing in the day. Although I am still debt with addressing the former posts as well. Not that there is much to add to the loss of the Haida, still, incredibly unlucky to lose a ship with a single shell hit - although not without precedent. :\ I've found the recap very handy, not least it helped to put the events, such as the explosion of the day(...) into context. While the situation still seems frightening when taking purely the ratio of forces into account, it is also clear that the losses suffered by your Navy were most certainly not in vain and your strategic position seems to be firm and stable. Also, Centurion can't run forever especially with that estimated speed reported by your intelligence services. Completing the refitting of the capital ships does seem to be a major priority in order to not pass over the initiative for the RN, but otherwise the situation is looking rather well! Especially once that floatplane enters service. I bet that in the next iteration of the RN's identification aid booklet at the name of the Saint John-class they won't even bother with the image, just comment that "if you spot an odd silhouette, especially above you, that's a St.John." Still, while I am not too big on floatplanes, time and time again I surprise myself with just how handy they can be, even on such enclosed areas as the Adriatic. Just now on my french save for example I realized again that especially on early CVLs and conversions even strictly controlled scouting can burn away a substantial proportion of my first strike's potential. (Or alternatively I can choose not to scout aerially in an environment where the opposition might also have a carrier in play.) Taking into account that operating seaplanes doesn't feel like an unbearably massive hassle even without a catapult, and it gives individual combatants a visible increase in flexibility I am starting to warm up on the idea of slapping planes onto decks fairly liberally. If only their micromanagement wouldn't shorten my lifespan by months...
I’ve used seaplane fairly extensively in a couple other playthrough for search purposes, since early carrier’s limited capacity are best left to carry out strikes. With my limited carrier capacity I plan to do that in this game as well(at least in the 20s). Still giving budget and everything I thought I’d try to use the two st.john class as a testing ground, 1 seaplane without hanger doesn’t weigh all that much, and can be handy when I need to track down a damaged ship. I do agree management is quite a pain...but hey...getting this fat bugger to fit on the deck or st.john in FtD is far worse xD
|
|
|
Post by mycophobia on Oct 8, 2019 0:29:05 GMT -6
Chateauguay Class Destroyers (1923) 6 Ships In Class
While the Chambly class had proven itself to be a capable class of destroyers, they also suffered heavy losses during their attacks on British capital ships during the loss of the Haida and the Battle of Cape Breton. Thus replacement ships were requested by the navy. Considering that the Chambly class are still somewhat outclassed by smaller Royal Navy destroyers in firepower, the new Chateauguay class incorporated some weight saving changes(notably reducing the amount of mines carried onboard) over the Chambly class to mount an additional forward super firing 5" gun. In addition to the additional gun, Chateauguay class also feature a new foreword conning tower to house some additional AA machine guns and search lights for night action. Combined with the characteristic high speed of Canadian destroyers, the Chateauguay class are a welcome addition to the Canadian Navy. However, after 6 ships were ordered immediately after the battle of Cape Breton, limited budget prevented more ships of the class from being laid down. When the Canadian navy begin to review its stock of destroyers in 1923, the navy believe that a new design utilizing new technologies such as newer engine and dual turrets will prove more useful than additional Chateauguay class. As a result, only 6 ships of this class were completed between late 1923 to early 1924.
Apologies for the rather short update, but as the Chateauguay class only has some minor change over the Chambly class, there is not really that much to talk about here. However, with this I've once again caught up with a model for every ship class currently in service as of October 1923, meaning I can carry on with the main campaign once more, so look forward to some more update soon down the line .
|
|
|
Post by mycophobia on Oct 9, 2019 23:47:21 GMT -6
The 1923/24 Wartime Refit Plan
Following the Battle of Cape Breton, it is clear that Canadian gunnery left much to be desired, and significant improvement in fire control and optics will be needed. Furthermore, the successful attack on Anson alerted the Canadian admiralty of the threat of aerial attacks. Up till then, Canadian battleships are equipped with several AA MG position at most, and earlier Canadian 4" DP are completely dysfunctional. While a comprehensive upgrade of all the navy's capital ship is out of the question due to wartime pressure, the navy still believe some limited upgrade is necessary to ensure the best chance of victory against their superior British foes. The moment of respite after the fall of Grand Bahamas, the last British holdout in the Caribbean in September, 1923 provided an excellent opportunity to at least conduct a limited update of its warships. The proposed plan is two phased. Phase one begin on September 1923 and included Both New Brunswick class and Quebec class battleships, getting these new battleship refitted before the Royal Navy can recover from its defeat in the Caribbean is of high priority. Phase Two begin after the completion of Phase One refit in January, 1924. Phase Two is meant to bring the older ship of the navy, namely the Yukon and Manitoba class to more usable state. British Columbia, Canada's oldest surviving dreadnought, is passed for refit given budgetary restraint, and served as the Caribbean Fleet's flagship in the interim. One of the most controversial incident from the refit plan was that the navy were able to obtain a much improved French fire control director system, AFTER the most important phase one of refit had been completed. The navy was initially told that the French are reluctant and will most likely not provide the latest technology. The refit committee were not kept up to date with the process of the negotiation, and the phase one refit ships were only updated with the Canadian made director system used on the Prince Edward Island. Thus, ironically, it was the older phase two ships that were refitted with the new improved French director system. An investigation into negligence and corruption within the tech board is ongoing. Phase One Refit:
New Brunswick Class
The second ship of the New Brunswick Class, Prince Edward Island, were already equipped with the modern Canadian director system, so only New Brunswick require the minor rebuild of its main mast to the standard of Prince Edward Island. Since the class have comparatively greater free weight to use, the refit also installed a total of 8 new 4" DP gun that can actually work effectively against aerial targets. The two deck mounted 6" turret were removed to make space and weight for these 4" guns, meaning that the refitted New Brunswick Class only have 10 6" guns left. Given the 4" relatively quick rate of fire however, the ship should remain well protected against smaller crafts. The main change of the New Brunswick Class post refit were installing 8 4" guns midship, the main mast remained mostly unchanged. Several AA MG is also added to the aft and fore superstructure.
Quebec Class
Unlike the New Brunswick Class, Quebec class required a more substantial mast rebuild to incorporate the new director fire control system, additional platforms were also added to house AA MGs. The greater weight added by the reworked mast meant not as much 4" guns can be added. To keep everything within the tight time schedule, the 6" turret were not removed, but the underwater torpedo tubes are, to make weight for the 4" gun and their ammo. In the end a pair of 4" gun were added near the aft superstructure above the old torpedo room(which now store 4" ammo), some additional AA MG and a new director were added. Phase 2 Refit:
The Phase two refit incorporates a comprehensive rebuild of the superstructure of Yukon and Manitoba class to incorporate newer fire control, night fighting and anti-air equipment. The lack of deck space due to the classes' cross deck firing arrangement require the engineers to build up. As a result, both class have built up the characteristic "totem pole" mast of the later Canadian battleships, but the limited space and fairly tight construction schedule results in a more ramshackle appearance. As mentioned above, these ships are equipped with the latest director firing equipment thanks to the tech purchase from France, outperforming even those on the newer battleships. Due to the comprehensive rebuilt of the fore superstructure taking up substantial amount of the scheduled time, both class did not undergo significant change elsewhere, notably both classes maintained their old aft mast structure. Lastly, being older ships, both class have the elevation of their main gun increased, giving them a more respectable range of 22,000 yards to make them slightly more competitive in modern naval warfare. Both classes were also given a comprehensive maintenance of their hull and machinery to mitigate the worst effect of their advanced age. Manitoba Class Battleship
The Manitoba Class have little spare weight to use given its superior armor and armament, after installing the new mast, there aren't sufficient spare weight to install 4" guns and ammo without compromising the ship's stability. As a result, the two Manitoba class had to make do with several AA MG added throughout the ship. The Manitoba class is also the only class of this the refit to not receive any 4" DP guns.
Yukon Class
There were some discussions about rebuilding the Yukon class with a new oil-fired engine that can increase their speed to an extremely impressive 28-29 knots, but doing so is prohibitively expensive. Refitting both ship to this standard will take 14 months and cost almost 2/3 the price of a Huron Class. Thus they had to make do with a Manitoba class style rebuild focusing on the main mast. However, removal of Yukon's underwater torpedo tube spared enough weight to install a pair of 4" DP guns in addition to AA MGs. Lastly, here is the comparison between Yukon/Manitoba class before/after their refit to show the masts going up Yukon Class Before/After Manitoba Class Before/After
Anyways, I have proceeded one more year in the campaign, but I thought to first get the refitted ship out first. Suffice to say I've had great fun stacking Pagodas.
|
|
|
Post by janxol on Oct 10, 2019 14:33:50 GMT -6
Pagoda intensifies. I wonder how high it will get with future refits. One thing I wanted to ask about the building process is how do you measure the ships in ftd. Do you have a measure of how big they should be for their displacement or do you just eyeball it?
|
|
|
Post by mycophobia on Oct 10, 2019 15:11:34 GMT -6
Pagoda intensifies. I wonder how high it will get with future refits. One thing I wanted to ask about the building process is how do you measure the ships in ftd. Do you have a measure of how big they should be for their displacement or do you just eyeball it? Well, theme of this campaign would be "Ad astra per aspera", taken literally through our mast poles. I am not super precise with ship measurement / displacement because real scale will make build slower and more taxing on the CPU (I mainly cut draft, since a deep draft add additional internal deck level, which will quickly cause block count to go into ridiculous levels.). Generally, I aim for the dimension of ship of a comparable displacement and period when choosing the over all dimension. Placement of machinery and turret comes down to eyeballing, it is easier with turrets since I can build most larger turret to realistic size, but for machinery's it can be hard to gauge how much space should be dedicated to machinery. I just generally go with what "feels" right. I am a bit more strict with armor, I translate different type of block for rough armor thickness equivalent, and use them accordingly. For example, Huron is about 220-230m long, and 31m wide, which makes it somewhat comparable to the real life Kongo class post refit, but only a draft of about 6m so I can shave off one deck level or so. (This lead to some stability problem due to the pagoda mast, so I had to shave off some internal subdivision and armor to cut topweight.)
|
|