|
|
Post by outfishing on Mar 9, 2023 9:25:10 GMT -6
This admiral anticipates a fifty year run at the head of the Royal Navy and respectfully invites your suggestions for an entertaining and self-imposed rule set?
His thoughts so far can be summarised as:
1. Modernise the early fleet (the admiral appreciates standardised and balanced big-gun dreadnoughts)
2. Embrace technologies on, below and above the seas
3. Always maintain a competitive fast-fleet element
4. More turrets please, but keep the barrel count steady man, we're not French yet.
5. Engage at short range, then engage some more!
What other food for thought should his admiralty digest?
|
|
|
|
Post by flessar on Mar 9, 2023 9:45:09 GMT -6
Perhaps require torpedo boats and or batteries at all colonies until like the 50s?
Require at least one overseas possession to be expanding its naval capacity at all times, job creation is good for the public relations.
|
|
|
|
Post by outfishing on Mar 9, 2023 14:44:38 GMT -6
That's a good shout. Colonial possessions and overseas bases will bear the Admiral's flag and the signal shall be investment.
|
|
|
|
Post by hawkeye on Mar 9, 2023 23:45:58 GMT -6
Glory to the empire: In peace deals, taking colonies and thus expanding the empire, has absolute priority, maybe limited to 1940?
Impressing the natives: Colonial duty has to be performed by actual warships, i.e. ships on foreign station have to be at least of CL size.
|
|
|
|
Post by outfishing on Mar 11, 2023 5:51:34 GMT -6
This is the stuff, thank you for the replies.
The Admiral cut his teeth on the screw sloops of the Fantome and Osprey classes and so, deep in the blood, runs the small squadron of five or six vessels displacing around 900t with six or eight small guns apiece. The rough handling of the natives notwithstanding, in those days at the heart of darkness.
Modern KEs in the dreadnought era are of course a world beyond the ships of the Admirals hey-dey. At 1,600t, running 17knots and carrying 5" artillery and steel armour, they are literally double the ship of the Admiral's memories and then some. Though an exalted eyebrow is raised when he is reminded that main armament is limited to just two guns. Sabres and pistols, happily, are more freely distributed despite frequent interventions from the Director of Naval Ordinance.
In a nod to the more stretching demands of the modern era, the Admiral's modern sloops will be operated in squadrons where a modern CL leads the smaller ships in a ratio of at least one cruiser for each three KE.
|
|
|
|
Post by bobert on Mar 11, 2023 20:03:28 GMT -6
Don't build big CA's. Refit your BC's and they'll eat the big foreign CA's up.
|
|
|
|
Post by cwemyss on Mar 11, 2023 20:47:30 GMT -6
Don't build big CA's. Refit your BC's and they'll eat the big foreign CA's up. Disagree, kinda. If you have big CA's hold on to them and *DEFINITELY* rebuild, if they're still around, with flat tops and hangar space for 12-16. :-) Either late CAs or early BCs usually end up being my first CVL conversions. I usually build at least a few medium-large CAs (~13k-ton) in the early game before I get 3x centerline turrets. I also like 6k CLs, which are damned expensive, and largely remove the need for the big CAs. I'm usually waaaay behind in B/BB count, lol. |
|
|
|
Post by outfishing on Mar 12, 2023 4:38:12 GMT -6
CAs are a divisive one for RN play aren't they? There is historical form with the Diadem and Cressy classes but AFAIK the ships didn't enjoy days of unbridled glory and the RN soon went to battle cruiser designs for their fast heavy squadrons. The Admiralty will probably favour a small number of super CAs in the style of the USN Tennessee class, anglicised to carry four 9" guns and driven to a heady 23knots. HMS Minotaur with extra armour and a few years earlier perhaps? Like Sealord Cwemyss observes, these would make fine CVL conversions in the spirit of HMS Furious, sort of.
Lots of scope for diversion...
|
|
|
|
Post by konstantinosmegas on Mar 12, 2023 15:59:32 GMT -6
Increase fleet size to 14
|
|
|
|
Post by wlbjork on Mar 13, 2023 0:58:31 GMT -6
CAs are a divisive one for RN play aren't they? There is historical form with the Diadem and Cressy classes but AFAIK the ships didn't enjoy days of unbridled glory and the RN soon went to battle cruiser designs for their fast heavy squadrons. The Admiralty will probably favour a small number of super CAs in the style of the USN Tennessee class, anglicised to carry four 9" guns and driven to a heady 23knots. HMS Minotaur with extra armour and a few years earlier perhaps? Like Sealord Cwemyss observes, these would make fine CVL conversions in the spirit of HMS Furious, sort of. Lots of scope for diversion... The British Royal Navy built 43 Armoured Cruisers between 1896 and 1906. Prior to this they preferred to use the Protected Cruiser scheme instead as they considered the protection offered by armour plates to be inadequate until the Harvey Process was developed. This did include large ships with big guns that were otherwise the equal of Armoured Cruisers - for example, HMS Edgar. Which is one of the criteria I use for the RN - Legacy cruiser designs must use the Protected Cruiser armour scheme |
|
|
|
Post by flessar on Mar 13, 2023 8:54:35 GMT -6
Until 1942 any purpose build CV/CVL has to have at least 2" flight deck? Representing their need to survive in environments far away from home and repair.
|
|
|
|
Post by outfishing on Mar 17, 2023 8:54:20 GMT -6
The Admiral conveys his apologies for tardy acknowledgement of signals owing to his heavy commitments at the annual regatta.
Armoured carriers shall be the centre of the competitive fast-fleet element from the early 1930s. It is a shame the game imposes such a weight penalty for armoured flight deck but that will not deter the Admiralty in the slightest.
It would have been a tremendous feature in game, if divisions could have been customised pre-battle. The Admiral ponders how his forces would fare if he could coordinate a fast armoured-carrier squadron at the forefront of battle, with a rear force built around an open deck strike carrier. Think HMS Implacable acting in a scout group across contested seas, backed up by Ark Royal safely patrolling at a safe distance...
Jamie's website ArmouredCarriers.com is a delight isn't it?
|
|
|
|
Post by cormallen on Mar 17, 2023 16:22:06 GMT -6
Big fleet game (boost Fleet Size to at least 10 or 12).
Start fleet full of Victorian crocks (I've built start fleets for everyone full of 1890s junk so the early wars have more character).
LOTS of colonial forces (more than the game wants!) including proper battle squadrons for Med and Far East.
Always go max research.
Always steal more empire if at all possible!
Check out the AAR I did last year to see what that looks like?
|
|
|
|
Post by ludovic on Mar 18, 2023 17:27:53 GMT -6
1. Modernise the early fleet (the admiral appreciates standardised and balanced big-gun dreadnoughts) Continuous modernization: A certain percentage (perhaps by tonnage) of Obsolete ships must be either scrapped or meaningfully refitted (i.e. not simply refitted to remove the "O" tag and gain soft tech upgrades.) after every war. I've tried this, counting scrapping as double the tonnage, and 1/4 of my Obsolete fleet by tonnage is too harsh*. I'm not sure if 1/8 by tonnage is too harsh or too lenient for a made up rule, especially if I allow myself to carry over the balance if I refit my capital ships. *I do, however, like engine refits to capital ships and CAs at least until you hit 28kn, and tend to have multiple wars per decade, so those can make it expensive. Maybe I should count an engine refit as double the tonnage toward my rebuilding goal as well. |
|
