|
Post by akosjaccik on Sept 3, 2019 17:04:43 GMT -6
Eeeh I don't know, the Oliver-class might actually turn out to be a decent addition to the squadrons; torpedo salvo weight and a tad bit better survivability due to the displacement might add a new kind of ability for the canadian destroyer force that will prove to be fruitful. I'll follow the results intently, especially that I don't think I ever used a 3x3 launcher layout so far. The transports are very good looking as well! You could even make CAM ships, should RtW introduce them!
|
|
|
Post by aeson on Sept 3, 2019 18:52:20 GMT -6
Eeeh I don't know, the Oliver-class might actually turn out to be a decent addition to the squadrons; torpedo salvo weight and a tad bit better survivability due to the displacement might add a new kind of ability for the canadian destroyer force that will prove to be fruitful. I'll follow the results intently, especially that I don't think I ever used a 3x3 launcher layout so far.
I personally prefer something a bit more balanced than Oliver once my destroyers grow to that size, but yes, at the very least it ought to be a good torpedo boat.
As to the 3x3 torpedo launcher layout, I like it well enough on 1,500t destroyers when it becomes available, though compared to Oliver mine usually have more guns and less speed. Possibly also less engine reliability, if mycophobia went for 'normal' rather than 'speed' priority. I know I've seen AMCs in the separate convoy escort force and I think I might've seen some in the integral convoy escort. Might be close enough to justify it.
|
|
|
Post by mycophobia on Sept 4, 2019 15:54:45 GMT -6
Eeeh I don't know, the Oliver-class might actually turn out to be a decent addition to the squadrons; torpedo salvo weight and a tad bit better survivability due to the displacement might add a new kind of ability for the canadian destroyer force that will prove to be fruitful. I'll follow the results intently, especially that I don't think I ever used a 3x3 launcher layout so far.
I personally prefer something a bit more balanced than Oliver once my destroyers grow to that size, but yes, at the very least it ought to be a good torpedo boat.
As to the 3x3 torpedo launcher layout, I like it well enough on 1,500t destroyers when it becomes available, though compared to Oliver mine usually have more guns and less speed. Possibly also less engine reliability, if mycophobia went for 'normal' rather than 'speed' priority. I know I've seen AMCs in the separate convoy escort force and I think I might've seen some in the integral convoy escort. Might be close enough to justify it.
I went for Normal reliability, but mostly because it was 2am and I forgot that it would've been possible to do that and fit another 1-2 5in guns, which would make the ship a much more solid destroyer. As for speed, since I designed it to be a torpedo boat first and foremost, I thought that will help these ship get into position for attacks better and then pull out (1,500 ton DD are starting to get slightly pricey for my low budget), In practice I agree they probably would've been fine at 32 or even 31 knots. That said, as you will see in my next update or two, the Oliver Class have done rather well for themselves in fleet action. (I feel in no small part thanks to the fact that they never had to really fight the much better armed British destroyer in any significant number) Other types of transport are definitely planned as the year goes on , but for them time being I probably should move back to the main AAR and the navy ships before this becomes "From the Cargobay" xD
|
|
|
Post by mycophobia on Sept 4, 2019 16:45:18 GMT -6
Calgary Class Aircraft Carrier (1921) The Candidate for ConversionThe advent of naval aviation near the end of 1910s had lead the navy to consider constructing or converting a dedicated aircraft carrier. However, the priority given to Battleships meant that the effort was put on halt. Despite this, the Canadian navy continued to sponsor further development of their torpedo bomber of choice, the Viking Swordfish. With the war declared against Britain, there are finally enough funding to convert an existing ship. The question then becomes which ship should be chosen, since the Canadian navy did not have many suitable hull that is sufficiently large to carry a reasonable amount of aircrafts.. The 1914 Refit of Calgary are becoming dated in light of the many Battlecruisers that begin to dominate the sea. The old dreadnought British Columbia is also obsolete against any modern dreadnoughts, but can remain a powerful coastal bombardment unit (A role it served well in the invasion of British Caribbean). Ultimately, it was thought that British Columbia would be far too slow if converted (an expensive engine refit is out of the question), and it remains useful in supporting invasions. Calgary on the other hand, is too slow to chase modern cruisers and too weak to fight battlecruisers, and it were mostly on convoy duty in the beginning of the war. As a result, the conversion plan for Calgary were finally approved in 1920, and she entered service in August of 1921, in time for the invasion of Trinidad. Armament
Calgary's refit removed all her main and secondary batteries except 5 casemated 5inch guns midship in the original layout. This gave her some ability to defend herself against opportunistic destroyers but not much more. Against hostile aerial attack, she is equipped with 6 dual Vickers HMG mount to disrupt and damage planes carrying out their attack runs. To conserve weight, she has no centralized fire control for her 5inch guns, and all aiming is done locally. Armor
The armor scheme of the Calgary is unchanged, her 5inch gun, previously in unarmored casemates as tertiary guns are not given any armor either. Calgary's armor are dated, but the thick Belt edge arrangement should still give her comprehensive waterline protection against destroyer grade weaponry. To obtain some measure of torpedo protection and more displacement for aircrafts, Calgary is given a torpedo bulge, which also slowed her by 2 knots. Air Group
Extensive effort was made to stuff as many plane as possible onto Calgary. Internal armored deck and machinery, both unchanged due to the prohibitive cost involved, made it extremely difficult to have a reasonable hanger capacity. In the end, at the expense of being overweight, Calgary carry a total of 17 aircraft, 10 Viking Swordfish C Bomber, and 7 Norman Osprey Biplane fighter(Upgraded to newer Norman Beaufort in 1922, which are finally actually faster and more maneuverable than the Swordfish they were supposed to escort.) Aircraft in Canadian Naval Air Service As of 1922
Speed
As refitting Calgary's engine into a new oil-fire engine that maintain her old 24 knot speed will increase the cost of the rebuild almost ten-fold (going from about $1,440,000 to $14,640,000), the admiralty accepted a drop of Calgary's speed to 22 knots post-refit. It was deemed acceptable since this can still keep up with the Canadian battleships, and can still escape any British ones. While Calgary would no doubt be sitting duck against enemy battlecruiser and light cruiser, it was hoped her decent armor should at least help her escape towards escorts. The conversion is hindered by the wartime need to have a usable carrier quickly and cheaply, but sometime these are the sacrifice that needs to be made. Comparison of Calgary in her 1914 and 1922 Configuration.
Finally the venerable ship is able to squeeze in maybe another decade of active service life . I am pleased to find that this was a genuinely cheap and fairly quick conversion to meet my wartime needs. I look forward to her living up to her reputations in the years to come. (Also a bit sad that the 1914 configuration, which I had a lot fun making, didn't see any notable action, but such is the reality of naval development in this time)
|
|
|
Post by mycophobia on Sept 6, 2019 3:14:10 GMT -6
1922 - Price of Hubris
With victory after victory in the Caribbean, the Canadian navy thought it might be time to finally bring the fight to the British. After several months to consolidate their hold in Trinidad, the Canadian entire battle fleet consisted of both battle Squadron made for Europe to reinforce the French fleet in April, 1922. (The First Battle Squadron, consisted of Haida and Athabaskan remained to guard the Caribbean/North American coast to prevent any British ships from reaching Nassau or Newfoundland.) The British home fleet have recently received its newest battleship, the 34000 ton Renown, equipped with 16inch guns, good armor, and a fast speed of 25 knots, Renown is the most powerful warship in the world. With Renown being fitted out in April, the Royal Navy avoided open engagement with the combined Canadian French Fleet, which, with 12 Battleships, 7 Battlecruisers out numbers the British Home Fleet, which had 10 Battleships and 5 Battlecruisers available in home waters. The Old British Dreadnought Caesar(19000ton,12 11inch gun in hexagonal layout) were caught and sunk by French Battlecruisers in April, but the Royal Navy avoided a fleet battle. Taking advantage of the emptiness in Canadian home water, The British dispatched two Battlecruisers, Inflexible's sister ship Invincible, and Indefatigable, which have an almost identical layout to the Inflexible class, but mounts 14inch guns instead of 12inch guns. The two battlecruiser are expected to attack and cut off Canadian ships providing supply to the Caribbean to finish off the British holdouts on Trinidad. It is hoped that this will allow the Royal Navy to once again contest the Caribbean, and force the Canadian fleet to retreat from Europe. Built three years after Inflexible, Indefatigable are able to fit 14inch firepower on an almost identical hull as the 12inch-armed Inflexible class, the similarity of the two class' silhouette will have crucial impacts on the battle to come.
The Hunt for Invincible and Indefatigable (May 5th, 1922)
The movement of the British Battlecruiser did not go unnoticed. While they were able to arrive safely in the Bahamas, they were spotted by Canadian merchants and the Athabaskan were dispatched together with a powerful squadron of 3 Oliver Class Destroyer, 3 Pointe-Claire Class Destroyer, and the Airdrie Class protected cruiser Chestermere to hunt down the British ships. Anthabaskan caught the British battlecruisers just north of Grand Bahamas at 8:12 in the morning. Athabaskan's spotter mistakenly identified their targets as two Inflexible class battlecruiser, which matches the report of the merchant captain who did not know that since Inflexible had already been sunk, Invincible is the only remaining ship of the class. Perhaps due to confusion over the naming scheme of the British Battlecruisers, Athabaskan's commander did not realize this glaring oversight, and ordered her to engage. Athabaskan engaging British Battlecruiser, straddle were achieved in 8:17, and the first hit scored in 8:24 on the Invincible. However, extremely similar appearance of the British ships lead to confusion about their identity. Presuming that both British ships are armed with 12inch guns, Haida carelessly entered a dangerously close range of 10000 yards.
8:25 a volley from Indefatigable's 14inch gun struck home, two hit were scored, with one jamming the B turret and another penetrated fore belt edge. At 8:30, a 12inch gun penetrated the upper belt of Athabaskan below the funnels, and the splinter perforated her uptake. At 8:34, another 14inch hit further damaged Athabaskan's uptake.
By 8:34, Athabaskan had taken 6 high caliber hits, 4 of these caused significant damage and the ship slowed down to 21knots. It finally became clear that one of the enemy ship must have been the 14inch equipped Indefatigable, Haida-Class battlecruiser are armored against 12inch guns, not 14inch gun and certainly not at a range of under 9000 yards at this point. Athabaskan quickly took stopped closing distance, but the captain still believed that her remaining 6 14inch guns are able to quickly dispatch the British ships. However, compared to the British ship refitted with director firing, Canadian central firing system and rangefinding equipment are both inferior, and from 8:34 to 8:50, only two hits were scored on the Invincible, both hit penetrated her armor but the detonation were absorbed by her coal bunker. 8:51, another 14in hit also jammed Athabaskan's Y turret as well, finally prompting her to turn away under the cover of a destroyer attack. The Oliver Class Destroyer Sainte Julie launched a torpedo attack at long distance, which did not score any hit but forced the British ship to retreat out into beyong 15000 yards.
Athabaskan's damage control team worked furiously to repair the damage to her turrets and replacing injured crews. Both turret were brought back in action by 9:16, and Athabaskan once again turned to close range. Unfortunately, British, having once again found their range after their evasive action against the torpedo attack, landed 7 hit in rapid succession on the Athabaskan, with two penetrating hit causing her to take on even more water. Finally conceding she might be over matched, Athabaskan turned to escape under the cover of a two wave torpedo attack by her escorts. Unfortunately, a 14in hit in 9:35 damaged her aft generator and cut power to 3 of her four shafts, reducing her to a mere 2 knots of speed.
Between 9:35 to 10:40, two waves of Canadian destroyer attacks filed the water with torpedo, and the two British Battlecruiser had to retreat to beyond 20000 yards from Athabaskan. However, with one Oliver class and two Pointe-Claire sunk in the attack, the only British loss were the 900 ton escorting destroyer, which were disabled by 5in gun fire and sunk with a torpedo hit. Over the next two hours, Canadian destroyers made run after run, exhausting their torpedo supplies in an effort to buy time for Athabaskan to conduct repair and combat the worsening flood. Sadly the damage to Athabaskan's generator are deemed irreparable, and her crew prepared to make their last stand.
Finally, with all destroyers exhausted of their torpedo, the cruiser Chestermere decides to lead one last charge against the British Battlecruiser at around 12:00. The British focused their fire on the Athabaskan, not knowing she was all but doomed. Chestermere was able to exploit the British focus on Athabaskan and rapidly closed with the pursuing British Battlecruisers, who were unwilling to turn away in order to finish off Athabaskan. Despite being mauled by 6inch gun fire, Chestermere closed to under 1500 yards of Indefatigable, and hit her with a single well-placed torpedo at 12:26. Indefatigable stayed afloat for a few more minutes before an explosion blew the ship in half.
While Indefatigable was sunk, the heavily damaged Athabaskan had to fight off the rapidly closing Invincible alone. At this point, only Athabaskan's Y turret remained able to engage the Invincible, and despite scoring one more hit, she was hit many more times and finally sunk due to uncontrolled flooding in 13:16.(she received 50 high caliber hits and 20 6in hits) Chestermere tried her best to escape, but damage suffered in her daring torpedo attack slowed her to a mere 18 knots, and Invincible caught up and sunk her with gunfire at 16:50. Two Oliver and two Pointe-Claire Class were able to survive with their high speed, but the blow to the Canadian navy is serious. Aftermath
The Battle on May 5th is a painful blow to the Canadian navy. Their overconfidence allowed the Royal Navy to strike when most of the Canadian fleet are in Europe. However, it is the gross negligence in identification of British warships that ultimately caused Athabaskan's loss, and it would serve as a painful reminder to the Canadian navy that the war is far from won. Nevertheless, the valiant performance of Chestermere's crew at least made the Royal Navy pay a significant price of their own(Even though Indefatigable is only one of the older battlecruiser in the Royal Navy). The loss of the Indefatigable also prevented the British from effectively attacking Canadian convoy in the Caribbean, and the British holdout in Trinidad were defeated in May. Thus the action of May 5th were not a complete loss.
I have to say, this is the first time in all my RTW1 and 2 games where misidentification had proven so costly, but I guess I paid for my negligence x.x It is still fun to see how that misidentification by myself(not even the game, which had shown the correct class 5 minutes after the engagement started) really impacted the outcome of the battle. Also, I realized there is a typo in the battle map where I wrote Haida instead of Athabaskan x.x will get that corrected with my next update
|
|
|
Post by aeson on Sept 7, 2019 6:53:07 GMT -6
On the one hand, I'm sure misidentifying the British battlecruiser as a ship with 12" guns didn't help, but on the other hand 2:1 isn't a particularly good matchup when the individual combatants are near-equals.
That said, I'd probably have taken that fight, too.
|
|
|
Post by ewaldvonkleist on Sept 7, 2019 7:32:49 GMT -6
Question regarding the battleship minecraft you are using, does it model lift? Does every block generate lift, or do spaces filled with air as well? So if you walls get holes your ships may sink from taking water?
Needless to say, your AAR looks gorgeous with all the illustration. Very well done.
|
|
|
Post by mycophobia on Sept 7, 2019 11:57:04 GMT -6
Question regarding the battleship minecraft you are using, does it model lift? Does every block generate lift, or do spaces filled with air as well? So if you walls get holes your ships may sink from taking water? Needless to say, your AAR looks gorgeous with all the illustration. Very well done. Glad you enjoy the AAR so far xD As for FtD, every block generate some lift based on bouyancy, as will fully enclosed airspace(which generate more than blocks) so multiple breached watertight compartments will cause the ship to sink. I did mod my game somewhat to give more weight to the watertight compartments and less to the block themselves to a get slightly more realistic sinking effect.
|
|
|
Post by mycophobia on Sept 7, 2019 11:59:31 GMT -6
On the one hand, I'm sure misidentifying the British battlecruiser as a ship with 12" guns didn't help, but on the other hand 2:1 isn't a particularly good matchup when the individual combatants are near-equals.
That said, I'd probably have taken that fight, too.
At 29000 ton Athabaskan is about 33% larger than either of her opponents and is more or less protected against 12in(but I do agree my thin BE probably did me in), which is why I was rather confident to engage. British ships only have 6in belt so I thought they would be easy kills, but my mediocre gunnery and coal bunker did mean they survived surprisingly well.
|
|
|
Post by mycophobia on Sept 12, 2019 1:46:34 GMT -6
Camrose Class Light Cruiser (1922) Ship in Class: Camrose, Burlington
The Canadian strategy of avoiding fleet battle with the Royal Navy meant most of the work are placed upon the cruiser force that covered troop convoys and supported invasion forces. Canada's 7 cruiser at the start of the war were not nearly enough. In 1920, there were 2 Airdrie Class (Airdrie and Chestermere) 3 Lethbridge Class (Lethbridge, Richmond, and Thunderbay), and 2 very old Red Deer Class (Red Deer and St.Albert). Of these ships, Lethbridge was sunk in the opening battle of the war, and Chestermere lost along with Athabaskan in 1922. Only the modern Richmond and Thunderbay can match the 6 modern UK light cruisers built after 1911 (UK also have 4 more older protected cruisers in service). Thus it is clear that new light cruisers are needed to replenish the thinning cruiser force. Thus a pair of ship was build to an enlarged Lethbridge Class Design. While two more ships were planned, those would be modified to a newer, more advanced design designated as the Saint Johns class. Armament
Compared to the previous Lethbridge class, Camrose class mounts an additional 6inch turret midship on a lengthened hull. This midship turret can superfire over other aft turrets. This was chosen over a fore or aft superfiring turret since this placed less weight on either ends of the ship, when the Lethbridge class were already coming close to being overweight. For her secondary armaments, 4 AA-HMG were equipped on her enlarged mast in one dual and two single mounts, providing modest AA defense. The 4in gun from the Lethbridge class were retained, the original plan was to mount heavier AA cannon in their place, but Canadian engineers struggled with developing an effective high angle gun design. To conduct some offensive mining to better assist the numerically inferior Canadian force, the aft torpedo tube were removed to make place for mine rails and 30 naval mines. Armor
As with the previous Lethbridge class, Camrose class utilitze fully enclosed, armored turrets to house her 6inch guns and combat situation have shown that these guns are mostly able to survive most combat action against enemy cruisers. As 3 of the 6 modern British Cruiser are armed with 5in guns, it was thought worthwhile to maintain a fairly thick 3in belt that can offer protection against 5inch guns. Speed
The Lengthened design and extra displacement allowed the Camrose class to work out the engine difficulty with the Lethbridge class, and make the original design speed for the Lethbridge Class at 28 knots, this is slower than the new Phoenix Class light cruiser in British service, but both of those 29 knot ships were sunk by 1922, giving Camrose a temporary advantage. However, the British Battlecruiser fleet can mostly make a speed of 28 knots as well, which can prove extremely dangerous for the Canadian light cruisers should they encounter Royal Naval Battlecruiser without heavy supports of their own.
First of all, my apologies for the long delay in updates. I had fallen rather ill the past few days and is still recovering right now. Thus the next update might still take a while but I should return to more regular speed by next week. As mentioned in the last post, there is a rather large and exciting engagement coming up in the playthrough, but I rather wait till im in better shape before writing it. So, for now, I will wrap up the couple new light ship classes that will be present in the engagement starting with my new light cruiser to deal with all those cruiser battles that I've been getting.
|
|
|
Post by mycophobia on Sept 13, 2019 1:29:00 GMT -6
Chambly Class Destroyer (1921/22)
10 Built
Canadian experience with large destroyers like the Oliver Class were fairly mixed. While they provide good torpedo projecting capabilities, they are under armed and is rather expensive(costing 1/5th of a Camrose Class Light Cruiser, nearly double that of the old Saint-Constant Class Destroyer). Therefore the Navy requested a more balanced design with lower cost to fill the traditional role of a semi-disposable torpedo attacker. Thus the Chambly class was designed on a smaller hull which reduced her cost by roughly 10% and is slightly quicker to build. The Class is meant to serve as a mass produced general-purpose destroyer, although in practice the cost were still slightly high and better design were developed in 1922, so only the initial production run of 10 ships entered service. Armament:
By cutting one of the triple torpedo launcher, Chambly class is able to mount an rear superfiring 5in gun. While this firepower is still not very impressive, the layout does allow some additional firepower when retreating after a torpedo attack. However, cutting 3 torpedo tubes does mean that her torpedo armament is reduced to similar levels with other contemporary designs. Lastly, Chambly class have several AA machinegun mounted midship and in the bridge area for some self-defense against aircrafts. Speed
As Chambly's main purpose remains torpedo attack, she maintains the very high 33knot speed of the Oliver class and her engine is not overtaxed(normal reliability). She is amongst the fastest destroyer in the world, and is more heavily armed than any destroyer that do match her speed. Utility
To cement her role as a the backbone destroyer of the navy, Chambly class can also carry 10 mines and a small amount of depth charges, allowing them to carry out offensive mining and ASW works. While this does force the ship to divide its attention, UK's relatively small submarine force(20~ submarines) meant the need for ASW is not very strong. Squadron of Chambly Class conducting patrol off Canadian Coast.
|
|
|
Post by mycophobia on Sept 16, 2019 3:21:45 GMT -6
Battle of Cape Breton Part 1- October 12th, 1922
With the completion of the Battleship Renown and 34,400 ton battlecruiser Tiger, the Royal Navy finally felt confident to move a large fleet to North America to bring the Canadian invasion of British North American/Caribbean Colonies to a stop. The Royal Navy thought to force the Canadian Navy to a decisive battle by blockading the movement of resources between Canada's French Ally, the Caribbean front, and Canadian East Coast. Canadian Navy responded to this development by heavily reinforcing any convoys going in and out of the Nova Scotia area. In particular, a large French Convoy carrying French troops for the offensive in the Newfoundland front, industrial resources, and weapon parts were given a powerful escort of the entire Canadian First Battle Squadron. While more force would've been preferred, the need to maintain a naval presence in Caribbean meant that the Canadian navy were split. The Royal Navy were not about to let this opportunity slide, and so a trap were set for the Canadian fleet just south of Cape Breton Island in the northern tip of Nova Scotia... British OOB
The British Force that will partake in the Battle of Cape Breton are a mighty one indeed, consisted of 6 battleships in two squadrons, and 2 Battlecruisers. This force is further supplemented by several destroyer squadrons totally 11 Destroyers, and several light cruisers that did not see action. British First Battle Squadron
This Squadron is the core of the British North American Force, consisted of the most advanced warships in the Royal Navy. All three ships can go toe to toe with any Canadian Battleships, although with the exception of Renown, Modern Canadian battleships are likely still holds a slight advantage against their counterparts. This squadron will see most action in the battle to come. It is worth noting that while this could've been a fast battleship squadron, the Royal Navy opted to use the 15" gun equipped Anson in favor of the faster Revenge, negating the squadron's speed advantage over their Canadian counterparts. British Second Battle Squadron
The Second Squadron are made up of older ships constructed during or shortly after the Great War against US and Russia. These ships are equipped with powerful 14" guns that can threaten Canadian ships at close range under 10000 yards, but are otherwise fairly clearly outclassed. Their limited secondary battery may also prove a weakness to Canadian destroyers. British Seventh Battlecruiser Squadron
The Seventh Battlecruiser Squadron is an Ad-hoc formation by placing the Invincible, which survived the sinking of Athabaskan and received repair in Newfoundland with the new battlecruiser Tiger. Tiger is the largest warship in the Royal Navy at the time, and is extremely fast and well armored. At the time of the battle, Canadian navy did not have full information on this new ship, and assumed that she only had 14" guns. British Force making way for North America in Sept, front to rearmost ships: Renown,Anson, Howe, Centurion, Tiger. They would be joined by the Invincible and the two Implacable Class in Newfoundland. Canadian OOB
The Canadian force were much more limited in comparison. At is core is the Canadian First Battle Squadron. Consisted of the New Battleship Prince Edward Island(equipped with latest director fire control), New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Quebec. These ships are individually more powerful than any British warship save perhaps Renown and Anson, but were out numbered 4 to 8. PEI leading the Canadian Fleet escorting the French Convoy in the late afternoon of October 12th, moments before the British Fleet were spotted. Note PEI's Mast is equipped with new director fire control that allow direct, centralized aiming of all of its guns, as opposed to Centralized fire control system of earlier ships, which only feed targeting information back to each turret .
The Canadian Fleet were further supplemented by over 18 escorting destroyers. But it is worth noting that while there is are one squadron of new Oliver and Chambly class each being present, most of the other destroyers present are old Creston and Victoriavile class, stripped of most of their torpedo armaments to carry depth charges. The light cruiser Burlington (Camrose Class) and the CVL Calgary provided scouting for the fleet. Unlike the British Fleet, Canadian forces have limited knowledge of the British movements, and their Battlecruiser and other light cruisers are spread thinly in the Atlantic ocean on patrol. Thus no Canadian battlecruisers were present in this battle. The two Yukon class had recently been transferred to the Caribbean, to replace the loss of Athabaskan. The Outdated Second Battle Squadron were likewise in the Caribbean at the time. The Encounter
At 17:52, the spotters on the tall foremast of PEI spotted smokes on the horizon to the east. The Royal Navy had cut off the convoy's approach to Halifax. RN Submarine had trailed the convoy and leaked its trail to allow this trap to be set. The incoming ship were quickly determined to be a pair of battlecruiser with escorting destroyers. As no other ships were spotted, the Canadian ships presumed that this is merely a pair of raiding battlecruisers, operating alone. Canadian Battleships opened fire at 17:58, and PEI scored two hit on Invincible a minute later, demonstrating the effectiveness of her new fire control system.
With Darkness begin to descend, the Canadian line closed range and ordered an destroyer attack. British Destroyer Replied in kind, and launched an attack of their own. By 18:20, Invincible is almost dead in the water before being sunk by three torpedo hit in the next few minutes.
The UK's destroyer attack did leave their marks as well. Nova Scotia were hit by a single torpedo at 18:19, which caused fairly severe flooding and slowed her to 16 knots. Quebec turned away from the approaching destroyers and were cut off from the rest of the battle line.
Despite the damage to Nova Scotia warranted her detachment from the Battle, the situation seems to be in Canadian favor. Invincible was all but doomed, and the ships report 7 14" hit on the Tiger since 17:58, who were also hit by a torpedo from Canadian destroyers before vanishing into the darkness with her incredibly high speed. However, as all Canadian attention focused on stopping the rapidly escaping Tiger, the British trap were sprung..... 18:23, as all the attention focused upon the escaping tiger, Quebec were illuminated by plumes of searchlights. As confused crew searched for the source of these lights, the darkness surrounding the setting sun were illuminated by blaze of gunfire as three battleship openfired on the completely unprepared Quebec...
Situation at 18:23, as Canadian Destroyers frantically tried to stop Tiger making a dash towards the Convoy, and the Battle line scrambled to avoid British destroyers, Quebec found herself at the mercy of the three British Battleships....
Finally I am able to get around to this battle, which could well have been a Mini-Jutland of my Campaign so far. I had plenty of fun playing this scenario and I hope you will enjoy reading the AAR. To keep some element of suspense I will not post the overall battle map until the end of this battle, but do let me know if that cause some confusions. I do want to give this battle a bit more detail than my previous ones given its scale and complexity. So I will be doing this in two parts. (Maybe even three given how things goes.)
|
|
|
Post by akosjaccik on Sept 16, 2019 14:36:42 GMT -6
Outnumbered four to eight, and a mappleship (my bad! )is already having the time of her life thirty minutes after the first contact. This seems to be rough indeed. Losing the Quebec would be a very painful loss both in the short-, and the midterm. What I have hope in is that seemingly the BatDiv3 turned about to investigate the issue. Well, "issue" is a rather mild way to put it. By the way, am I seeing it right and does the Anson sport a fancy blue-ish paint scheme?
|
|
|
Post by mycophobia on Sept 16, 2019 15:03:34 GMT -6
Outnumbered four to eight, and a mappleship (my bad! )is already having the time of her life thirty minutes after the first contact. This seems to be rough indeed. Losing the Quebec would be a very painful loss both in the short-, and the midterm. What I have hope in is that seemingly the BatDiv3 turned about to investigate the issue. Well, "issue" is a rather mild way to put it. By the way, am I seeing it right and does the Anson sport a fancy blue-ish paint scheme? This is going to be one helluva ride for every ship involved XD Anson’s does have some blue stripes here and there, call it an “experimental camouflage scheme” xD. I thought to make her a bit more distinct together with Renown(identified by the extremely tall tripod mast) since both have a pretty big role to play in the actions to come
|
|
|
Post by mycophobia on Sept 17, 2019 3:12:51 GMT -6
Battle of Cape Breton - Part 2 - October 12th, 1922 Quebec's Escape18:25, in just under 6 minutes, Quebec suffered 13 High Caliber hits from Renown, Anson and Howe at the point blank range of 2500-3000 yards . For a moment it seems the lone Canadian Dreadnought is all but doomed. Yet rather than slowing to a halt, Quebec steamed away into the darkness as the last ray from the setting sun disappeared below the Horizon. Not only that, but quick reaction by the gunners of her X turret allowed her to score a single parting hit on the Renown as well. Hit Received by Quebec 18:19-18:25
Despite the seemingly devastating barrage, it is worth noting that majority of the hits are above waterline hull hits. The angle of the ship meant that most shells hit into the aft area, and the close range meant that the flat trajectory resulted in many hits to the upper hull. The most devastating damage being the 14inch belt penetration, and the two 16inch hit that knocked out/destroyed both triple turrets. With so few waterline penetrations, Quebec was able to maintain a high speed and escape into the darkness. Following her escape into the darkness Quebec brought her flooding under control over the next 30minutes, and while she did take on several thousand tons of water, she is not at risk of sinking, unlike the rather heavily damaged Nova Scotia, which had to be detached. The First Regroup
Realizing that the British fleet is far more powerful than previously anticipated, the Canadian Squadron escaped for the time being into the darkness towards the east to regroup. A quick assessment had shown that Quebec's situation are far better than any could've hoped, her flooding are mostly under control, and her jammed aft turret repaired. The only major loss being her forward triple turret. Nova Scotia fared less well, she is still steadily taking on water, and while in no immediate risk of sinking, further combat action could prove highly dangerous. Thus the decision was made at 18:46 to detach her with the lead element of the convoy to make for Halifax, while the rest of the battleship regroup and try to rescue the reminder of the convoy. As the battleships regrouped, Canadian Destroyers had to fight off the British forces themselves. The middle portion of the convoy is guarded by the newer Chambly class destroyer and older Victoriavile class. They fought valiantly to keep the British force at bay, and the cautious British Battleship did keep their distance for the time being, but several destroyer and merchantman did pay the ultimate price. Chambly in particular were sunk by point blank gunfire from the three British Dreadnoughts after an heroic torpedo attempt.
Meanwhile, around 18:40, radio report from the Calgary and her escort near the end of the convoy report they are under attack from British Battleship as well. This could've either been the Tiger, or the second British Battle Squadron. Resolving to at least save the carrier if not the convoy, the Canadian battleship turned east to rendezvous with Calgary. The Bloody 13 MinutesBy 19:09, Lookout spotted dark shapes appearing near the burning wrecks of sunk merchantman, and it quickly became apparent that three British battleships are no more than 2000 yards away and on a intercept course with the Canadian battleships. All hell broke lose as Renown charged straight past PEI and New Brunswick before getting entangled with the angry crew of Quebec, eager to avenge their fallen shipmates. Renown being fired at point blank range by Quebec, who scored five hits before losing track of her prey. Renown was only able to land two 6in hit on the Quebec in return. Renown also suffered a further 14in hit from PEI, and multiple 6in hits from Canadian battleships. She limped away into the darkness visibly slowed. New Brunswick and PEI traded shots first with Howe, then with Anson as they steamed past at knife fighting range. New Brunswick took the brunt of the hit from Howe, being hit by 5 14inch shells at point blank range. However, initial misidentification by British Crew meant that 4 of the 5 hits were HE shells, which did nothing besides causing some injury to exposed crews. As one of those HE shells hit the X turret while the other hit the belt armor protecting machinery space, New Brunswick's fate could've been very different if proper shell were loaded.
Anson fared much better, taking only two 14inch hit before quickly retreating, she scored multiple secondary gun hits on New Brunswick, but otherwise accomplished little.
By 19:24, with Anson and Howe begin to retreat, New Brunswick shifted her fire back onto Renown, scoring two more hits. (Renown Received a total of 8 point blank 14in hits between 19:09 and 19:24). Just as when it seems that the Renown is all but doomed, an underwater explosion rocked the New Brunswick.
It was unclear whether it had been a mine or a torpedo launched by the British Battleships, but New Brunswick quickly fell out of line and begin to take in dangerous amount of water. Not willingly to risk the few battleship they had, the Canadian ship turned about to let the Royal Navy battleship retreat as well. From PEI first opening fire at 19:11 to New Brunswick being hit underwater by 19:24, The Canadian ships scored 17 heavy hits(8 Renown, 7 Howe, 2 Anson) on British battleships, and received only 5 in return. Nevertheless, the point blank engagement left bothside bloodied from scores of secondary hits, and it was difficult to assess the extent of damage done in the darkness. But in this bloody 13minutes, it seems that the Canadian navy have wrestled the advantage back into their hands through the courage and intuitive of their crewmen. The Second Regroup
The Canadian fleet now decides that the Royal Navy ships are badly mauled, they can be finished off by a destroyer attack without further exposing the Canadian battleships. (The presence of another British Battle Squadron are not known, while there were ships attacking the tail of the convoy, it was thought those are cruisers or destroyers, not three more battleships.) Thus the fleet spent the next hour regrouping with scattered destroyers. Gunfire is still being exchanged between destroyers guarding the convoy and the British attackers. Without their battleships however, the British destroyer were much more cautious in their attacks. Nevertheless, in 19:32, the Cruiser Burlington took a torpedo hit to her fore, which took her out of the fight but she was able to stay afloat. During this hour, officers discussed the possibility of detaching New Brunswick, but her damage control were finally able bring the flooding under control by 20:17, counter flooding were able to keep her stable. While no doubt severely damaged, the Canadian force cannot afford to give up another battleship (Only PEI is mostly undamaged and in good fighting condition), and so remained with the fleet she did. Calgary's Predicament
20:20, Calgary had been busy moving south west to rejoin the Canadian battleships, taking care to avoid possible enemy contact that were attacking the tail of the French Convoy. Until then, none of the British ships seemed to have noticed the carrier, which were escorted by several extremely outdated Saint-Constant and Creston class destroyers. But Calgary's luck would ran out. Even as the Canadian Battleship made their way to rendezvous with Calgary, her escort spotted a large vessel to the east. Deducing that any ship that size approaching from the east could only have been British, Calgary did not hesitate to order her escort to launch an attack (many of the destroyers only have one torpedo tube left, with the rest being uninstalled to make space for depth charges). Calgary had fought battleships many time her size in her career, and she did not wish to back down from this fight either. Calgary, being illuminated by enemy search lights, did not hesitate to fire her 5in guns to cover her escort in making their torpedo runs....
Thus this concludes the second part of the battle, which looks like will have to go into part three as this post is already becoming very long. I have to say, going through the logs, that I really lucked out at many occasions in this battle, and its really been more of a dance on the needle tip than I thought it was. (Particularly noting that Howe fired HE for 4 of her 5 hits on NB) In any case, I will get the next update up in the next day or two so you guys don't have to wait long at this cliffhanger . The drama of this battle is far from over yet.
|
|