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Post by chaosblade on May 24, 2016 7:15:46 GMT -6
I was thinking, when one of my ships suffers a critical hit and loses electrical power, it also seems to end up dead in the water. Is this worked as intended? I can understand a loose in performance (specially in a coal ship with stokers and engineers having to work in the dark) and I agree, primary weapons should be a no go, hell most weapons too, but I am unsure why they ships looses all speed.
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Post by tbr on May 24, 2016 13:40:48 GMT -6
I went to sea on a steam DDG. With those loss of electrical power was a symptom of other things not working, basically that the steam plant lost "balance". The blowers wind down, the pumps for oil loose power etc. Without air blown down into the burner and pressure on the oil line temperature begins to subside and the engineering crew scrambles to reinitiate the cycle. Every remaining ounce of steam pressure in the system is precious since it is needed to "restart" so you do not expend it on the propulsion turbines.
Perhaps "loss of electric power" should not have as radical an effect on coal fired compound engine early steam plant ships, since those were "non -automatic". But for later turbine designs this feels right.
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Post by oldpop2000 on May 24, 2016 16:48:29 GMT -6
I was thinking, when one of my ships suffers a critical hit and loses electrical power, it also seems to end up dead in the water. Is this worked as intended? I can understand a loose in performance (specially in a coal ship with stokers and engineers having to work in the dark) and I agree, primary weapons should be a no go, hell most weapons too, but I am unsure why they ships looses all speed. I believe that the steering gears were driven by electric motors and hence, if the electrical system was damaged, the ship would have to come to a halt to rig a temporary steering system or switch to manual steering in the stern. You could use propellers to steer but that is only very temporary.
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Post by director on May 24, 2016 23:34:59 GMT -6
Pretty much all auxiliary systems were electrical or hydraulic, and a lot of hydraulic systems depended on electrical pumps. As tbr notes, the boilers and engines depend on fuel pumps (if oil), lubrication and water pumps, and blowers for forced draft. The guns depend on electric and hydraulic systems to load, train and elevate, damage control relies on pumps that are likely electric if they are high-capacity, and everyone needs electric lights. As oldpop says, steering motors are usually electric or hydraulic... and the pressure pump for hydraulics is often electric.
A 'modern' warship in the RtW time period is more dependent on electricity than you might think. A number of US battleships were even electrically driven (the turbines ran generators and those drove giant DC motors). That system was heavy but very fuel-efficient (the turbines always ran at their most efficient speed) and power could be cross-connected to different motors at need. More efficient high-pressure steam systems eventually won out, but the turbo-electric drive was pretty slick.
USS South Dakota suffered the loss of a major electrical system at the Second Battle of Guadalcanal. It didn't stop the ship but it did take down radar, communications and gunnery. She was pounded by the entire Japanese task force with no means of reply. As I heard it, a crewman was concerned that the breakers might pop at a critical moment and tied them down... guaranteeing a total failure when something shorted, and making it impossible for the system to recover until the breakers were reset.
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Post by fredsanford on May 27, 2016 17:44:21 GMT -6
As tbr noted, there are many components in a steam plant that are electrically dependent, so if there's a loss of electrical power it will take your plant down at least temporarily (I was a hole snipe myself). I don't think steering engines are a factor here game-wise, steering casualties are modeled with their own critical hit.
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Post by oldpop2000 on May 27, 2016 18:28:42 GMT -6
Pretty much all auxiliary systems were electrical or hydraulic, and a lot of hydraulic systems depended on electrical pumps. As tbr notes, the boilers and engines depend on fuel pumps (if oil), lubrication and water pumps, and blowers for forced draft. The guns depend on electric and hydraulic systems to load, train and elevate, damage control relies on pumps that are likely electric if they are high-capacity, and everyone needs electric lights. As oldpop says, steering motors are usually electric or hydraulic... and the pressure pump for hydraulics is often electric. A 'modern' warship in the RtW time period is more dependent on electricity than you might think. A number of US battleships were even electrically driven (the turbines ran generators and those drove giant DC motors). That system was heavy but very fuel-efficient (the turbines always ran at their most efficient speed) and power could be cross-connected to different motors at need. More efficient high-pressure steam systems eventually won out, but the turbo-electric drive was pretty slick. USS South Dakota suffered the loss of a major electrical system at the Second Battle of Guadalcanal. It didn't stop the ship but it did take down radar, communications and gunnery. She was pounded by the entire Japanese task force with no means of reply. As I heard it, a crewman was concerned that the breakers might pop at a critical moment and tied them down... guaranteeing a total failure when something shorted, and making it impossible for the system to recover until the breakers were reset. It happened to my Dad's carrier, the Saratoga which was turboelectric drive. They were hit on August 28th after the Battle of the Eastern Solomons and he said the ship came to screeching halt. He said it was unnerving, sitting there in the middle of the ocean, not knowing where the IJN submarines were, and whether anymore were around. Finally, they were able to reset all breakers and get back on line.
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