From The North - Canadian 3D AAR
Apr 18, 2020 4:07:46 GMT -6
garrisonchisholm and prophetinreverse like this
Post by mycophobia on Apr 18, 2020 4:07:46 GMT -6
1929 - We Stand Alone
May - 1929
With the formation of the Anglo-American Alliance, the situation facing Canada could not have been worse. Or so one would've thought. In May, 1929, French delegate informed the Canadian government that it would not renew the Franco-Canadian alliance that had lasted more than a decade. The threat of Facist Germany meant that France must focus its attention towards the European mainland. USA have no direct conflict with the French, and the British would be all to happy to see the Franco-Canadian alliance broken, thus both did everything they could to assure the French that no action will be taken against them.
Now, Canada stand alone against the combined force of the Anglo American Alliance. Fortunately, the dissolution of the Franco-Canadian alliance meant that tension with both USA and Britain had somewhat reduced. With Canada alone being a much smaller threat, many American begin to argue that war would no longer be necessary. Thus, for the most of the 1929, relation with the Anglo-American Alliance was tense, but not quite hostile.
Yet, in their panic to find a sense of security now that the French withdrew their support, the Canadian government passed bill after bill to increase naval and army spending. In their act to prepare the nation against an impossible war, they've only served to bring that war closer than ever. By December, 1929, tension had returned 1928 level. If weren't for a conflict between Britain and Argentina over the Falklands (which ended in British Victory within 2 months) and a major scandal involving a Russian spy that redirected public attention, war might've been inevitable.
For now, those around the world breathed a sigh of relief as the powder keg remained silent for yet another year...
1929 Fleet Upgrade Program:
While budget increases are ironically, the last thing the Canadian navy wants from its government given the current international situation, the navy is determined to at least put these budget to best use. With war looming on the horizon, construction priority focused on upgrading existing vessel and constructing ships that will be completed relatively quickly.
Most reserved warship, such as the old Yukon-Class battlecruiser, were brought back into active duty. Airbase are fully staffed with latest aircrafts. Development for new carrier-borne fighter was ordered. Three new light cruisers, equipped with the dual 6"/50 turret seen on the Erie class, are laid down mid 1929 to replace the old Canadian light cruisers that pre-dated the Anglo-Canadian War.
However, the main goal of the 1929 Fleet Program is to upgrade existing capital ships to give them every edge they could get. Excluding the old Yukon Class, all Canadian capital ships received a relatively small upgrade between 1929 and early 1930. A more extensive, year long refit for the Yukons can bring them up to 28 knots, but the funding went to prioritize the construction of the Boventure class aircraft carrier and the 3 new light cruisers instead.
( Note: The battleship Manitoba, which I thought had survived the Anglo-Canadian war, had actually been sunk in the closing months of the war by the submarine E-73 (the same one that torpedoed the Huron in the Battle of Nymphe Bank). I only realized it was gone when I was trying to find it for upgrade. RIP)
Below are the upgrades each class of ship received:
Quebec Class - The mast top was rebuilt to house 2 additional AA autocannons(MA=6) and the latest fire control director. Two AA/Secondary Gun directors had been installed at the midship platform where the searchlights were placed(The searchlight is now moved to the main mast).
New Brunswick: Being cousin to the Quebec class, the NB class underwent very similar upgrades. Namely new Secondary/AA directors, improved main gun director on mast top, and a few more AA autocannons where they could be fitted. Given the larger and more robust main mast, all the upgrade could be fitted into the main totem pole mast.
Huron Class - Compared to the rather simple mast makeover of the Quebec and NB class, the Huron enjoyed a slightly more signficant upgrade. When the Huron was built, she was the first warships equipped with the Canadian 4" DP guns. However, due to critical design flaw with the mounting that was not resolved until several years later, these 4" can only effectively engage surface targets. Thus, Huron went into service without any heavy AA weapons. This upgrade remedied the issue by providing 8 4" DP guns in 4 new dual mount developed in early 1929, replacing the 4 original 4" in their defective single-mounts. Given the larger size of the Huron, she also recived separate directors for her 6" and 4" secondaries.
Cree Class - As the first batch of 4" guns failed to work in their AA role on the Huron, Cree was designed without any 4" guns at all. Thus making it fairly difficult to include new guns, together with their ammunition storage and hoist, for the battlecruiser. In the end, designers decided to remove Cree's seaplane crane and the seaplane the ship carries to make space. The crane mast now house the director for 6" secondary guns and AA directors for the 4" DP guns. The fuel storage for the seaplane was converted to 4" ammo storage. This allowed 6 4" DP to be added in three dual mounts. While this is not a whole lot of AA firepower, it is still much better than a bunch of Vickers machinegun.
A shortish upgrade with some bad news for me xD. I decide to cut off here with this update as the new carrier is entering service. I did play slightly ahead of this, but thought this is a good place to leave without leaving me to too hectic with introducing new ships (of which there are quite a few coming, like the new light cruiser mentioned earlier) and new political developments.
The next planned update will take a bit as I again have to build a carrier from scratch, something I still don't have much experience with. Going before or after that update I plan to do an overview of the aircrafts in Canadian service as well, also with FtD models. (I am in the mood for some plane as well xD)
As always, hope you enjoy this update and until next time~