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Post by garrisonchisholm on Apr 25, 2020 22:06:02 GMT -6
To Commander S.M.S. Spaun;
That's the stuff!!
OberCommandant zur See Wilhelm Klink
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Post by akosjaccik on Apr 28, 2020 12:08:56 GMT -6
Zum Herr Kapitän Klink, your input is greatly appreciated!
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Post by akosjaccik on Apr 28, 2020 13:04:07 GMT -6
While we are at it, welcome to the "taking a break from painting 2D images of dubious quality by making 3D models of dubious quality" Show, also called "I bought more stuff I don't need and don't even know how to use anyway." To be fair, I had this thing for months now,but just now, after this much time between the four walls had this bright idea of testing it on my diorama I already have. "This thing" in this case is this particular "Water gel effects" stuff, for... uh, effecting water. Gel. Effects. #notsponsored. Your guess is as good as mine, but the illustration sure is nice: Spoiler: ^This is not going to happen. Regardless, this is - and I quote - "...the perfect product for recreating any type of moving water effects from the bow wake of any vessel, ripples and waterfalls. Creating any moving effect is easy with this 1-part, low odour water based resin product. (...) This is a high-quality resin product developed for extreme realism. (...) for foam and wave effects." Uh-huh. Right. Well, right from the get go, if this is "low odour", I don't want to encounter a product that isn't. I guess one has to make sacrifices for "extreme realism" though, so all is well. This is how the ungodly substance looks like below the lid. Now, the text on the container advises to "use a spatula or an old brush for handling", but the diorama is in such a small scale that I opted to use my trusty toothpicks.
Like so. I did not work directly from the container, so it's exposure to air was more limited. I can't recall exactly how much I paid for the stuff, but certainly more than enough. In my experience with the lid closed firmly, such products can last quite a few months. This one for example did not even have a protective foil below the lid. Let's hope that this is due to the lid's good sealing and not just simply due to "cost-efficient" manufacturing.
At this point it dawned upon me that perhaps I should've watched a youtube-video or something about the topic beforehand, but oh well! Surely it's not rocket science.
...and this is how it looks like while still wet. Originally I did not put a whole lot of effort into the waves, as I did not know how the base resin will act and deform while drying, so the wake for example wasn't precisely drawn up or anything like that, I just freehanded it, and it shows to be honest. Once the "blue Nutella" has dried, I simply painted the crests over with white paint. Now this "water effects" stuff went mostly over these painted parts, which is not optimal, but part of the reasons why I'm doing this is to find out what's optimal. In it's wet state the substance is fairly opaque and almost looks like hot glue. The original blue water base did not keep it's details well while drying, and waves and "foam" got more bland and tame. What I'd like to see from this "new" stuff is the opposite of that. It's especially interesting since in such small scale "bulky" waves are more out of place. This is the model after roughly two hours of drying. ^ Even counting in the massive distance between a pro modeler and myself, I do feel that there is a slight case of the classic "hamburger-on-the-photo" syndrome, looking back at the second image from the top. Still - it turned out somewhat better than I anticipated it, disregarding the issues with the undiluted white paint below it.
Switching over to artificial lighting. It's apparent that the wakes are still not that fantastic, perhaps I should experiment with brushes as well, and detailing with paint and perhaps cotton pieces. It sure beats just paint though; and probably would help tremendously with shell splashes. Besides, I already paid for the stuff, so might as well apply it to everywhere I have just even a smidge of reason that helps me justify doing so. I am looking forward to do a new diorama based on my campaign, but so far I haven't got an event that sparked the "That's it!" in me quite just yet.
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Post by garrisonchisholm on Apr 28, 2020 17:20:05 GMT -6
Considering the scale you're working with I would not be disappointed. It is surely an order of magnitude better than I could manage! Although, if you wanted a diorama suggestion, do one of the first "launch" of an aircraft from a ship, whatever you would have that be.
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Post by Adseria on Jul 9, 2020 9:20:03 GMT -6
While we are at it, welcome to the "taking a break from painting 2D images of dubious quality by making 3D models of dubious quality[...] The only thing that's dubious about this is how dubious the quality is. To my untrained eye, the model looks pretty impressive, and I can't wait to see a Zenta or a Kaiser with this stuff. Or maybe a Tiger, launching a torpedo, with the water splashing up as it enters the water? EDIT: By the way, I was just looking on your site. You've had two battles involving ships from both yourself and France; so why haven't there been 2 Signum Praefecti Auxiliorum plaques awarded? akosjaccik.uw.hu/slogs.html
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Post by akosjaccik on Jul 11, 2020 14:07:14 GMT -6
garrisonchisholm: We seem to think alike, because an airplane launch, either/or/both a catapult launch or alternatively a floatplane landing and a plane-on-carrier-deck was certainly in my mind. Given that I'll be able to push the AAR that far of course. Maybe, maaaybe an a/c shot down and spiraling downwards, or a TB on attack run, but that might be far-fetched just yet.
Adseria: Apart from the aerial stuff above I'd certainly like to try to implement an RtW battlefield scene, should one suit my needs and grab my imagination. Regarding the EDIT, good point! The sole reason for the missing awards is me being lazy. To give a more intricate answer, I tend to concentrate on one single aspect at one sitting to be less overwhelmed. This is the same reason why for example the Admiral Spaun-class does not have a data sheet despite the model being finished and presented, and the four ships already participating in live combat in the game multiple times.
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Post by akosjaccik on Jul 11, 2020 14:23:43 GMT -6
August, 1906
With our blockade still intact, there really isn't much to report. Smaller yards continue to work on submarines meant to replace the ones we've lost to accidents largely, the Spaun will rejoin her squadron soon enough as well, and the battleships of Italy are cautiously passive still.
Not so much so are their raiders.
The data seems to imply that Italy, despite never suffering an outright crushing defeat at sea, changed it's approach in this year and instead of directly confronting the blockading forces (at least at the time being?), they are trying to force a compromise by harrassing the trade routes. True enough, war weariness is present amongst our citizens - issue is, if the intelligence reports are correct, Italy still has it worse. In this situation forcing a fleet battle with their still very capable battleline seems to be the option promising a more reliable success. So, what they might be up to?
September, 1906
The autumn saw Italy once again trying to press a cargo convoy through the blockade. With most of our capital ships keeping a watchful eye on the italian main assets and the new "Rapidkreuzers" having their hands full with chasing raiders and carrying out reconnaissance missions, the destroyer force was tasked with responding to the intel. This time the target was not heading towards the italian mainland.
Aiming to resupply Sardinia, the convoy was expected to arrive to Cagliari in the late hours of the 14th of September. The destroyer squadron, operating from Bizerte, was unfortunate enough needing to realize that the intel was inaccurate. Question was, are the italian vessels lagging behind or we are the ones late to the rendezvous?
Acting on the worse option, the austro-hungarian formation led by the Scharfschütze increased speed, and sure enough they managed to estabilish visual contact with the convoy in the morning. 15 nautical miles, 20 at most - that's all the Regia Marina required at that point to finally catch some breath and perhaps renew their war efforts.
Destroyer 'Scharfschütze' (~'Marksman' or 'Sniper') of the 3rd DESDIV shelling the italian TR column
With no time to waste, the lead destroyer signalled "Charge!" Although we've spotted a hostile destroyer formation consisting of Granatiere-class ships to the east closing in, they served little more as a distraction as they were in no position to halt or seriously hinder our advance.
The presence of an auxiliary cruiser - an armed merchant ship - was more of a reason for concern, but there was no time for any fine-tuned, well executed approach. At ~08:00 GMT the (mostly) Tiger-class destroyers finally penetrated the convoy's formation, wreaking havoc in it's integrity.
Barely fifteen minutes later, light rain shrouded the events from the citizens of Cagliari. Listening to the intense dialogue of the quick-firing guns, they were hoping to catch the first glimpse of their cargo ships. Minutes however felt like hours, and the ships just did no seem to arrive still. Their hopes was robbed from them right at their doorsteps.
Onboard the austro-hungarian ships the situations did not feel so one-sided whatsoever on the other hand. The Regia Marina's destroyers, while not accepting the melee, fought in a well-disciplined manner, rarely breaking formation or contact, and their auxiliary cruiser was lucky enough to cripple the S.M.S. Tiger - and then follow it up with the coup de grâce.
By ~11:30 (GMT) however, despite Italy's best efforts, barely anything more to protect remained afloat. As the RM's destroyers pulled up to the coastline to withdraw from the engagement under the protection of the coastal fortifications, the A-H ships began to steer towards the survivors as the rain lifted as well.
The Granatiere-s were up for an encore, however. Granted, they broke no regulations with their act, and the plan - trying to single out the scattered, distracted A-H destroyers - in it's machiavellian way made sense. Still, their advance against our ships saving - among others - their own countrymen infuriated the captain of the Panther so much so that her ship alone lunged forward to meet the opposition.
Fortunately, the exchange of fire resulted in no dire consequences for either side, and with the supporting force (S.M.S. Streiter and Lussin) appearing on the horizon, the italian destroyers broke contact. This time decisively. At 13:30 our formation regained cohesion and headed back to Bizerte.
Hunting down the Tiger cost Italy ten cargo ships. Cagliari witnessed in shock as the remnants of their merchant navy finally showed up in the port, battered, listing and terrified. Nine ship out of nineteen. The wolves ripped the rest apart right at their gates. And they could do nothing about it.
More than 40 of our crewmen did not return back home. In turn, the austro-hungarian destroyer flotilla picked up 665 survivors - S.M.S. Salamander, already bearing the Blood Cross, 101 herself alone. With the ongoing investigation it is not yet feasible to decide whether the loss of the Tiger can be validated by the situation with a reasonable level of confidence. Given the results in the light of the operational aims, probably. This won't ease the fact that our destroyer force is taking the brunt of the attritional war, and losses are starting to mount up. Although losing five destroyers in 20 months of conflict could be interpreted as a testament to the proper application of both careful and aggressive tactics, it all matters little if by the end we won't have any ships to carry out said tactics with. Although the examination of the 600-ton destroyers did not yield promising results (Refer to the "TB.600 Project" @ 1902, JULY), the 10cm SFK L/40 (E) acquired a year later from Britain might open the way either for a new type or potentially rearming the Tigers. For the former we don't have the time, for the latter we don't have free capacity as we cannot do without even just a handful of destroyers for as much as four months - given that everything goes right, and the delivery delays plagueing the construction of the Kaisers point at that everything might not go right, especially in wartime. For now, additional funding was granted to research and development projects affecting the destroyers, and high ranking officials of the destroyer arm were discreetly informed that chances are they need to fight this war to it's conclusion with the equipment at hand. They also got the verbal promise that the development of their branch will gain top priority the moment we'll have a solid, clear next step to take. In contrast, Italy's destroyer force is relatively numerous (20 to our 13), but worn down and somewhat obsolete all the same. Reports state that they've finally commissioned the armored cruiser 'Giuseppe Garibaldi', the 11700-ton vessel mentioned in June and also finished rebuilding the Amalfi. Despite three of their armored cruisers sunk so far, we are still no match for their large cruiser force. Or anyone elses for that matter.
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Post by garrisonchisholm on Jul 13, 2020 10:08:00 GMT -6
"More than 40 of our crewmen did not return back home. In turn, the austro-hungarian destroyer flotilla picked up 665 survivors..."
Is there any truth to the rumor that upon being shouted to that he was to be #666 the final survivor instead allowed himself to sink into the sea rather than bear the scourge of that label?
(I *love* your presentation, especially the post-battle hit location charts. They make the actions so pertinent and intimate.)
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Post by mycophobia on Jul 13, 2020 14:58:50 GMT -6
Excellent write up as always! It was certainly great to be able to read the latest AAR updates at work (and its been a while since I've had the pleasure to do so ). In particular, the 40 vs 665 certainly carry a particular weight behind those mere "numbers". At least Tiger were sunk in the attack and not while trying to rescue survivors from what it seems... (This also make me feel slightly guilty as I can probably count the times where I rescued enemy or friendly survivors in my playthrough with a single hand.... )
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Post by akosjaccik on Jul 14, 2020 8:19:48 GMT -6
I can only hope that my men did not leave the 666th bloke in the water out of superstition, either on Giuseppe's or the destroyer crewmen's end. Although if so, one can talk about self-fulfilling prophecies... I do indeed try to keep a very rudimentary track of say, plausible number of casualties. This consists of me looking up the complement of the ships in RtW and in light of the very few RL cases I have a vague clue on regarding suffered damage <-> casualties (like the naval battles of the Russo-Japanese War) I try to assign a believable number to RtW's battle damages. In case of specific circumstances I try to address those as well, so for example the sinking of the Leonardo da Vinci did not take a close-to-100% death toll, because it happened in arms reach of the shore (I don't have information on the RM's requirement on the ability of swimming but I assumed help from the coast arrived virtually immediately anyway), but night engagements in the middle of the sea, especially given RtW's rules regarding picking up survivors, might result in a "pretty much everyone is lost"-scenario, as it was the case when the Marco Polo couldn't deal with the torpedo hit in the night ('05 FEB), but next year will also deliver it's fair share of similar tragedies. I do not track however (apart from singular mentioning) AMC-s, TR-s and subs, as while I have an exact number on for example the complement of my first submarine type just due to the historical parallel, sinking ~10-ish TRs and then deducting the rescued survivors, assuming the help of civilian ships and so on is a tad bit too much. Overall, I feel the current system fits my purpose and adds an interesting/daunting layer for a very minimal extra effort. For example, this is the current state of affairs now:
The relatively low casualties on our part is due to
- (as historically was the case) every crewman is required to know how to swim
- the Kriegsmarine often was able to control the battlefield for long enough to conduct rescue maneuvers
- Italy's losses can mostly be attributed to losing ships to sinking, capital ones at that and sometimes in a, let's say "catastrophic" way. However in the rare fleet engagements, interestingly enough, A-H losses tend to be larger because of the inferior armor thickness and layout and the superior italian firepower. For example, in the convoy attack of May of 1905, despite achieving victory, I've calculated with actually a more severe loss of life on our part due to the state of damage on the respective battleships.
The latter issue is reflected on the novel approach utilized in designing the Kaiser-class ships.
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Post by akosjaccik on Jul 14, 2020 8:46:28 GMT -6
October, 1906
Strange how even war can build up it's everyday routines sometimes. Then again, we are slowly nearing to the end of the second year of the hostilities, so it's natural that there isn't much novelty to account for - and when it is, it often manifests in a whole lot of suffering. Thankfully, this month brought nothing but "boring workdays".
A joint austro-french armored cruiser division led by the Sankt Georg departed from Cattaro to damage or preferably destroy a couple of targets on the italian shoreline. Although a Marco Polo-class armored cruiser with her destroyer screen stumbled upon our squadron, the enemy did not attempt to interfere and retreated towards the coastal defences of Ancona in short order. Ultimately, we were able to report back a complete success with no casualties. It is important to note however that despite the excellent weather conditions and no distractions the communication-, and the resulting cooperation between the divisions was not above criticism. While signalling errors did not have any severe repercussions in this particular case, the issue needs to be looked at in detail as this is not acceptable even if we take the international nature of the squadron into account.
November, 1906
One of our AMCs, Elephant - much to her detriment - managed to intercept the raiding AMC Giuseppina.
There isn't much to specifically note about the engagement based on the survivors' debrief: the italians seem to utilize 15cm rifles on their armed merchants as opposed to our 10cm Model 1903's. Against their ability to retain distance, Elephant lost an uphill battle. That is not to say that the gallant men of the armed merchants don't deliver results, quite to the contrary! Reports indicate that our vessels - originally intended to carry out raiding sorties - are well able to carry their weight as anti-raiders now that the situation turned in our favor. In at least five instances were they able to thwart sporadic italian probes against our merchant shipping. The importance of handling these incidents cannot be overstated. War-weariness, while not critical, is present amongst our citizens, and the state disposes over limited reserves.
R&D had it's ups and downs as well. Although it was clear that preheating the air with the exhaust gas before entering the furnace yields increased thermal efficiency, now we have an actual technical solution in our hands ready to be installed into engine systems. Not so much so with the development of the damage control equipment. One might recall that after the long night of the Donau (@ 1905, FEBRUARY) the K.u.K. Kriegsmarine gained firsthand, live experience regarding the danger fires represent at sea. However, clumsy, unreliable and heavy equipment that requires far too much maintenance might in the end cost more lives than it saves, so equipping ships with only the equipment their crews can fully trust and handle with ease should be the way to go. To put it simply, we need more time.
December, 1906
Revenge is bittersweet and often petty, but it's hard to complain about it when it also meets pragmatic aims. Auxiliary cruiser Konstantin - helped to an extent by the intel gained on the italian AMC armament a month beforehand - managed to sink the raiding armed merchant Ala. Not only was this a clear and proper answer to the loss of the Elephant, Ala was the ship responsible for the sinking of the Tiger-class's namesake destroyer as well.
The end of the year marked the triumph of the trade defense cruisers in a broader sense too, given that despite Italy's best efforts, not a single cargo vessel of the Monarchy was lost to hostile action this month. This, of course, only made the italian General Staff more and more desperate. Incursions, attacks against the adriatic coastline started to get more intense and numerous, and even the battleships were reported to support some of these. With no reactions on our part.
This did not help to elevate the Navy's popularity towards new heights, to put it mildly. And yet, there was no dire reason to redirect forces from the blockading fleet to respond and play directly into their hands. Not just yet.
The state of the war, December of 1906 (Original blind map: historical borders of 1914, source: d-maps.com)
Sure, the attacks do not look good in the newspapers, but this is a conflict Italy can't win solely on the Adriatic anymore. France has sent reinforcements into the area of operations, the swiss have more wit than to get anyone's wrong side especially with Germany in their backs sympathetic towards our cause, and as such Italy is on it's own, encircled and starving. The time might come when we are quasi-forced to answer to their provocations, but for now... - "We've lost a weather station. They are losing the war."
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Post by akosjaccik on Jul 15, 2020 17:35:56 GMT -6
Happy new year, gentlemen! Surely our victorius sailors will be back home before the leaves fall. Probably. Maybe. I have no clue about that just yet, actually.
January, 1907
We did not have a proper answer to Italy's armored cruiser force at the beginning of the hostilities - and this did not change the slightest ever since. This was, as the Reader might recall, a conscious decision way back then: although the Donau-class underwent an extensive refit, the Kriegsmarine could not compete with the Regia Marina in every aspect, so a sacrifice had to be made. We've built the Budapest-class vessels to narrow down the "battleship-gap" and lessen the chance for the complete collapse of our main strike capabiliy; we've increased the destroyers' numbers, and we've even managed to surprise our enemy with the Spaun-class "fast cruisers".
S.M.S. Sebenico towing U 4 near the area of operations in order to increase the sub's action radius With the blockade in effect, serving on the unreliable submersibles did not get any less dangerous.
Although ultimately luck, preparations and decisions such as these allowed us to gain the upper hand, the issue of the armored cruisers still seem to require too much effort for dubious return on investment. ...and sometimes, Italy exploits the weak spot as they should. Now, despite the Navy not being hellbent on resolving the problems the massive armored cruisers generate at all costs, small (...and relatively cheap) steps do occur. The examination of the possibilities new designs could provide and their potential place and role inside the organization has even gained some inertia now that Skoda finalized the design of their triple turret utilizing the 30,5cm L/45 armament.
One of the strictly confidential studies based largely on the Kaiser-class calculated with a 9-gun 30,5cm broadside Displacing ~23.000 tons, the ship would feature marginally better protection than the Kaisers, and a speed of 22 knots.
Most of these ideas however have various issues ...starting with the funding of course. Further, while the low profile and good weight distribution of these designs allow one to expect them to be stable gunnery platforms, in a chasing situation a three-gun salvo would be rather problematic when it comes to ranging, and the machinery and magazine spaces would also get a somewhat awkward layout. Finally, their speed would not necessarily give them the clear advantage. It is worth noting however that owing to the forced infrastructural developments, theoretically there are no technical barriers that would prevent the manufacturing of these ships entirely domestically. Overall, such sketches might not be good enough to jump the gun, but they are plenty good enough to raise some attention and inspire for further development.
February, 1907
The Kundschaftsbureau provided information about civilian discontent flaring up in various italian cities, sometimes culminating in anti-war gatherings. The authorities, perhaps fearing to escalate the situation, handled these events with a very soft touch.
While fantastic news indeed, we better tread carefully, as our public, while far from being rebellious, isn't exactly extatic for the war anymore either. It's hard to blame them. Great Britain in a similar spirit decided to withdraw from Kenya and ditched war - and considerable territories - for the sake of peace. No doubt after careful political considerations. Who knows, maybe the various freedom movements will take newfound inspiration from these events, and the Old Lion will soon regret that once it took just a step backwards. Regardless of what might be the case, we better keep a respectful amount of distance from where the elephants dance.
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Post by garrisonchisholm on Jul 16, 2020 0:42:26 GMT -6
Adriatic Command- Although we were not invited to the constructors collaboration meeting which we have of late had word of, we would like to suggest a mold-breaking design that would permit us to gain qualitative and quantitative superiority. Consider, an A C main battery layout with a secondary casement load of 8" guns would permit a broadside of 6 12" & 8" on a smaller hull with better armor and at least 2 knots superior speed. Back-of-my-train-ticket calculations suggest we could afford 5 such vessels for every 3 9x 305 designs. We would sail rings around England's line and out gun them in every respect. We have the highest hopes our ideas might find fertile ground. And that our invitation to future conferences will not be lost in the mail. Sincerely, OberCommandant zur See Wilhelm Klink (self-important sod )
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Post by thefleetofoceans on Jul 16, 2020 6:32:34 GMT -6
Private Journal of Captain A. Blackadder officer commanding 2nd Class Protected Cruiser HMS Vindictive
A certain officer of The KuK keeps appearing at parties and balls given in Pola despite the ongoing hostilities. OberCommandant zur See Wilhelm Klink, usually followed round by a rather portly flag officer. Schultz I believe his name was,a larger than average chap by every metric except brain size. I often wonder why someone so self important as Klink keeps him around. A third figure is always to be found with them, constantly talking with Klink and putting ideas into his head. A american liaison officer, one Captain Hogan of the US navy If my memory serves. He's rather an annoying chap this Klink always going on about how his ships fight hard and well, despite the fact that they never seem to leave port.
Still as an officer of his Majesty's Royal navy i'll show the flag as I always have and keep my ship and crew out of the line of fire for as long as possible. I only hope this blasted war is over soon so I can get back to my normal station is the Caribbean rather than being stuck here in Pola as a neutral representative of his majesty.
Albert Blackadder
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Post by akosjaccik on Jul 16, 2020 8:03:58 GMT -6
Sehr geehrter Herr Wilhelm Klink Ob.C. z See,
Concerning your most recent letter in which you were kind enough to address some of the underlying issues of the X X X X X X X X X X X X drafts and to offer your insights, I am very sorry to inform you that currently the Navy does not officially have any projects running in which your practical expertise is immediately required. Moreover, I must also politely remind you, that - as a gentleman and an officer of the Navy - excercise a particular level of discretion regarding the existence of the X X X X X turrets. Regardless, we are extremely grateful for your continuous goodwill and initiative.
Marinekommandant VAdm. Á. Jaccik
------- Handwritten page in the same envelope --------
...with the formalities out of the way, Lieber Wilhelm, I am glad to inform you that the MTK is indeed entertaining the thought of broadening the horizon of information we are planning on gathering before the next project, possibly even allowing external applicants to apply for the tender. One of the many reasons, as I can trust you with this information, for the "cruiser-hunter" concept apparently being stuck in place is the ongoing research on a new type of propulsion, very similarly to what was equipped on the Turbinia. Strongly related to this is the estabilishment of a commission of inquiry dealing with our R&D. I am not yet in a position to disclose their findings, but it's safe to assume that some restructuring of the R&D funding is expected, and the Navy will very heavily spur up intelligence activities to mitigate the massive deficiencies. Should these measures yield some results, the "cruiser-hunter" concept might step into it's next stage perhaps late year. Constructing in foreign yards would be an easy answer, but currently we are believing that it might endanger the livelihood of thousands of our workers, which is something we can't risk in the current climate.
Ákos
Herr Blackadder, it is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance! Just between the two of us, I would not mind to trade the adriatic winter for the caribbean sun myself either, especially now that the snowfall gets sometimes mixed with shells. You will most likely pleased to hear though that the 4 inch guns whose license his Majesty's Navy was kind enough to sell us perform just as it can be expected from something that was up for the standards of the world's leading power! Not that it was news to you I presume. In anycase, I do hope that you don't find this event unbearable - I must leave for a second now as the american gentlemen require my attention over there once again, but I hope I can be of service for his Majesty's representatives soon enough!
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