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Post by cwemyss on Sept 22, 2022 8:45:55 GMT -6
And the rest of the fleet. 18 destroyers with 4 more building; that'll be about it for 500-tonners (all of which are future sub-chasers), I'll pause on DD's until either I can build 600t, or I start losing these in wars. Which is inevitable, I'm *very* good at chewing through the destroyers. These aren't actually a historical design, the real-life Bainbridge and Truxtun classes were 600-650 tons, and quite a bit faster. That'll be a future generation.
The fleet is rounded out by 28 Gunboats, Corvettes, Minesweepers, or whatever you'd like to call them. The USN had a stunning number of these at the turn of the 20th century, most of which roughly approximated the "Lake Erie" class... 1000-2000 tons, little/no armor, and 4-6 inch guns. Perfect for pushing the interests of the Dole corporation throughout Latin America, but not much use for anything else. Yorktown and Dolphin classes are based on real ships, the Lake Erie and Hudson are notional.
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Post by cwemyss on Sept 22, 2022 8:53:18 GMT -6
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Post by cwemyss on Sept 22, 2022 8:54:03 GMT -6
And with all that, I'll start playing a couple months. I'll probably not get another 'chapter' posted until probably next week.
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Post by prophetinreverse on Sept 22, 2022 17:47:50 GMT -6
And the rest of the fleet. 18 destroyers with 4 more building; that'll be about it for 500-tonners (all of which are future sub-chasers), I'll pause on DD's until either I can build 600t, or I start losing these in wars. Which is inevitable, I'm *very* good at chewing through the destroyers. These aren't actually a historical design, the real-life Bainbridge and Truxtun classes were 600-650 tons, and quite a bit faster. That'll be a future generation.
The fleet is rounded out by 28 Gunboats, Corvettes, Minesweepers, or whatever you'd like to call them. The USN had a stunning number of these at the turn of the 20th century, most of which roughly approximated the "Lake Erie" class... 1000-2000 tons, little/no armor, and 4-6 inch guns. Perfect for pushing the interests of the Dole corporation throughout Latin America, but not much use for anything else. Yorktown and Dolphin classes are based on real ships, the Lake Erie and Hudson are notional.
Dole was Hawaii, you’re thinking of United Fruit and Standard Fruit (granted the latter was acquired by Dole in the 60s). |
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Post by cwemyss on Sept 26, 2022 9:18:12 GMT -6
March 8, 1900 – The Metropolitan Club, Washington, DC The Chairman set his brandy carefully on the side table and looked at the other two men. “You are proposing a board that has no actual power but is expected to lead the entire Navy?” he asked, skeptically. “The Bureaus will still rule. I foresee a tremendous amount of discussion, a lot of posturing and bluster, and little real action.” “Possibly, Admiral,” answered The Secretary. “Some of the Bureau chiefs will be on the board, so as to be part of the deliberations. And some of the board members will be senior officers, such as yourself, who are beyond line responsibilities and can provide thoughtful, experienced council.” “Besides,” added The Governor, looking steadily through his glasses. “Few of them will be willing to argue with you for very long. Congress is on your side, and no matter how much the Bureau chiefs may complain they know Washington well enough.” The Chairman sat back and thought for a moment. “I’d like Naval Intelligence to be part of the board, and certainly the heads of Navigation and Construction.” “Engineering as well,” responded The Secretary. “And members with experience in Europe and Latin America. Your own time in Asia should be more than sufficient to cover the East.” The Chairman considered. This was potentially an excellent solution to the Byzantine system of overlapping jurisdictions, budgets, and parochial interests currently in place. He still harbored concerns that the board wouldn’t have enough formal powers, but it was a start. “I’ve looked over our fleet, and we’d have a very difficult time right now fighting the Europeans. We simply don’t have enough modern ships. I know you say Congress is on our side,” the Chairman nodded to the Governor, “but are they going to give us the resources to match our new empire?” The Secretary chuckled, “If you call it an Empire most of the press will skewer you. But yes, there’s enough pressure to show our strength that we should be able to start building more cruisers and battleships. And besides, we have time. We have good enough relations with Germany and England right now, and Japan as well. France and Italy are a little testy,” he shrugged. “ But either one is more likely to push each other to war than to make a play for our new colonies.” “I saw last week's statement from Hay about France. It was bland enough, but reading between the lines something is going on. What happened there?” The Chairman asked.
“They wanted a security guarantee,” answered the Governor, “But at the same time their agents are crawling around San Juan, Manila, even New York. They still haven’t squared things with Germany, either. Getting tied up with them seemed a terrible idea.” “Gentlemen,” interrupted an attendant. “Your table is ready.” The Chairman, soon to be head of the Navy’s new General Board, finished his drink and rose to join the other two in walking to the dining room. |
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Post by cwemyss on Sept 30, 2022 8:29:27 GMT -6
October 12, 1900 – Charleston, South Carolina “So, what do you think?” asked Captain Harold McLeod, leaning back in his chair and gazing across the water. The last of the day’s sunlight was playing off the harbor and McLeod could barely make out the flag at Fort Moultrie in the evening haze. Closer, USS Olympia rocked gently in the placid waters. “The best I can say is that there were no collisions,” responded Rear Admiral Oliver Newberry. “Otherwise it was a fiasco. Your destroyers were sent in too early, with predictable results. And mixing 17-knot cruisers with 22-knot cruisers made for a mess. We have a lot of work to do.” The two men, friends since Annapolis, had been on opposite sides of a fleet exercise earlier in the week and had finally broken free from official duties to wind down. The maneuvers, facing off two evenly matched cruiser-destroyer groups near the Virginia Capes, had been frustrating nearly to the point of embarrassment. Newberry had hoped his Caribbean Squadron would earn bragging rights over their Atlantic Fleet opponents, but in the end neither unit had covered itself in glory. “I can’t argue that,” answered McLeod. “The judges said Bainbridge got into position for a torpedo shot, but I doubt we would have survived. And I hate to say it, but the older cruisers have no place in a battle. They couldn’t keep up with the fight.” “Agreed. Unfortunately, that’s all I have in the Caribbean right now. Old, slow, and mostly in reserve. I’m pleased they moved the two Vermonts to Tampa, but they’re in terrible shape.” “Do you think you’ll need them?” asked McLeod. Newberry considered. “Well, the last word we have is that the French moved one of their battleships to the Antilles. I don’t know why we seem hell-bent on getting into a war with them, though.” “It’s a wonder we didn’t start fighting when the Wabash shot up a bunch of French fishermen off Lingayen this spring,” McLeod mused. “And McKinley needs to stick to what he knows, let the professionals handle diplomacy. At least Congress’s funding has matched the administration’s tone, they took well to Dewey’s speech in April. There’s some impressive ships coming together at Philadelphia and Brooklyn.” “A few of them might even get in the water in time,” shot back Newberry sardonically. “And in all reality, it’s likely I’m going to have to send ships to Colombia before I have to worry about the French.” |
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Post by cwemyss on Sept 30, 2022 12:59:41 GMT -6
January 24, 1901 – Miami, Florida Lieutenant Douglas Snyder mounted the last steps of the ladder to the aft deck of the USS St Louis, exhausted but very happy. He waved away a couple mosquitos and looked across the turquoise waters of Biscayne Bay at the dingy, low-slung buildings of Miami’s waterfront. The anchorage was beautiful but it was hard to say why the Navy had built a coaling station here, other than easy access to the Florida East Coast railway. Captain Marler had come through on his promise and Snyder was responsible for the St Louis’s magnificent powerplant. He’d been aboard the new ship since her commissioning in November, through a slew of trials and shakedowns. She had just made the 600 nautical mile run from Cape Hatteras to Miami in a bit under 28 hours and had logged as much as 24 knots for a couple hours. She was the fastest big ship in the fleet and Snyder’s machinery had worked beautifully, experiencing only minor issues with the new high-pressure boilers. Commander Jonathan Coffman joined Snyder at the rail, waving away Snyder’s salute. “At ease, Doug. She’s a marvelous ship, congratulations.” Coffman had been displeased at first to have an officer with no sea experience assigned to his wardroom, but over the past six weeks he’d warmed to the younger officer. Snyder’s enthusiasm for the ship was obvious, and Coffman reasoned that having aboard the man primarily responsible for her construction couldn’t be a bad thing. “Thank you sir,” responded Snyder. “We’ll have the grates cleaned and the coal bunkers topped off by morning. I’d like to adjust the pre-heater and a few parts of the feedwater system before we get underway again, but overall the plant worked well. I expect the gunnery drills this week will be successful too.” Coffman’s open expression darkened slightly. “I certainly hope so,” he said with a sigh. “We’ve been working the crew hard. And we’re likely to put the guns to real use, I’m just not sure who we’ll be turning them on.” Snyder didn’t answer, thinking of the recent news from Europe. Just as things had started to calm down this winter, an Archduke or Viscount or some such had been killed by anarchists while vacationing in Corfu. Italy and France had mobilized, with Germany and Russia following suit. French troops had marched from Tunisia to lay siege to Tripoli, and President McKinley had sent Teddy Roosevelt to mediate in some manner. Roosevelt was a singularly inappropriate choice and had managed in one chest-thumping speech before departing to simultaneously offend four different European countries and whip up American jingoism.   All in all, Snyder expected he’d see his beloved St Louis in action before long. The only bright spot was the Navy’s budget, which had increased enough in the last few months to expand shipbuilding and allow a new class of battleships to be drawn up. The Pittsburgh class armored cruisers, four large, fast ships, were all still a year or more from completion, and while the St Louis and her sister Cleveland were working up, the rest of the cruiser force was still a shambles. |
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Post by cwemyss on Oct 7, 2022 9:18:18 GMT -6
March 2, 1901 – Department of the Navy, Washington, DC Eight months he’d been in his position, and only six of that with a proper office. In those eight months the world had gone to hell, with all of Europe in a fiercely-burning stalemate and now America drawn firmly into their conflict. Three merchant ships had been captured by the French and American cargoes taken, at the same time Roosevelt had been attempting to broker a peace. The argument that all three ships were bound for neutral Malta had meant very little to the French, who had released the crews but offered no apology. The action, its timing, and France’s arrogant response had been taken as mortal insult, and Congress had declared a state of war late last night. At least his suite in the Navy Department was large. The Chairman watched two workmen struggle to position an enormous world map on one of the office’s interior walls. The 6-foot-high chart would help him keep track of the Navy’s various activities in this new war. The Chairman had also insisted on installation of three telegraph stations in an adjoining office, one dedicated to traffic from Asia and the Indian Ocean, the others to Europe and the Americas. Fortunate that relations with Britain were, if not friendly, at least tolerable; the Brits hadn’t cut access to their globe-spanning cable network. He may not have direct executive power over any of the fleets, but he'd damn sure know what was happening. The Secretary had asked The Chairman and the General Board to weigh in on three questions: Could a base be secured by military means anywhere in Europe to support continuous operations? The diplomats were working to secure Italian or English support, and more importantly basing agreements, but they were having very little luck so far. Is there any place the French could directly threaten invasion of a US territory? Was the US Navy strong enough to follow Mahan’s advice, or would we have to resort to raiding and commerce warfare? The map laid out a stark picture. France was strong in Europe, both off the northern coasts and in the Mediterranean, where the United States had no bases. France also had ample overseas territories to allow raiders or even a battle fleet to range far and wide. The US on the other hand was strong in gunboats, and not much else. The fleet, which had routed the Spanish three years earlier and spent the intervening time crushing rebels in the Philippines and putting out minor fires in Latin America, was going to struggle mightily against a modern power. Not that the fleet's admirals would hear any of it. The Chairman worked daily to provide The Secretary with counterpoint to their boasting and unsupportable claims. The entire Pacific gave concern, particularly Southeast Asia where France held so many good ports. American bases across the region were fortified well enough to likely preclude direct invasion, but the Navy was just too thin.      The answer to the Secretary’s first question was very clear: sustained offensive operations in Europe were out of the question at the moment. The only American ships in any European waters were the cruiser Albany at Syracuse and the gunboat Dolphin at Rosyth, neither one really suited to support an invasion or even major convoy efforts. And that indirectly answered the third question as well. Even before meeting with the board, the Chairman was disposed to recommend a course of raiding rather than seeking a fleet battle. Admiral Farquhar would undoubtedly protest, but even combining the North Atlantic and Caribbean Squadrons wouldn’t provide enough strength to comfortably challenge the French. The question of staving off French invasion was trickier. The Caribbean was likely safe, simply due to proximity to southern US ports and the continued presence of the Army and Navy in Cuba and Puerto Rico. Southeast Asia was the most vulnerable, with French Indochina bases not far from US posts in Luzon. He considered sending a squadron to take Hainan to forestall a French lunge, the Chinese had almost no military presence on the island. But that would leave the force horribly exposed, Haiphong and Fort Bayard just a stone’s throw away. Best then to hold, and consider pushing harder as the war progressed. “All finished, Admiral,” said one of the workmen, packing his toolbox. “Give em hell, sir, just like Manila” “It won’t be like Manila at all,” answered the Chairman. “But we’ll do all we can, and more,” |
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Post by kiankier on Oct 8, 2022 13:59:43 GMT -6
is there any reason for you building 2 Buffalo?
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Post by cwemyss on Oct 8, 2022 15:35:53 GMT -6
is there any reason for you building 2 Buffalo? Heh. Copy/paste error in powerpoint. And right now I can't remember what the next one is actually called. |
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Post by garrisonchisholm on Oct 8, 2022 18:59:14 GMT -6
LOVE those profiles to lay out your fleet. I need to learn that skill.
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Post by cwemyss on Oct 8, 2022 19:51:28 GMT -6
LOVE those profiles to lay out your fleet. I need to learn that skill. Thanks!!! I'm certain theres a better way to do it, but my method: I pull the side profiles into MS Paint and turn them black-and-white (or navy and whote in this case). Pretty tedious, but once I get in a rhythm it's not too bad. Then drop them into powepoint, add the ships name, and spend far too much time lining them up. Screen grab, and back into paint to save as a png for upload. Optional steps: forget to change several of the ships names after copy/paste; use the wrong profiles for several ships, throwing off all the alignments; change your mind about what order to do them in and force a reshuffle; change the unit name from "Fleet" to "Squadron" and have to redo the pics. |
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Post by garrisonchisholm on Oct 9, 2022 7:22:13 GMT -6
I'm a master at optional steps like those. Such as re-writing 4 paragraphs because halfway through the post I seemingly changed tense just for grins.
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Post by cwemyss on Oct 9, 2022 9:00:09 GMT -6
I'm a master at optional steps like those. Such as re-writing 4 paragraphs because halfway through the post I seemingly changed tense just for grins. I haven't gotten far enough into this one yet for my signature move: swapping a couple characters for a few chapters. |
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Post by cwemyss on Oct 11, 2022 21:29:56 GMT -6
is there any reason for you building 2 Buffalo? It should have been C-17 Kansas City... post fixed.
Though in 5th grade I had a school club trip to Buffalo, and a family side trip to Niagara Falls. So... maybe a subliminal tip of the hat?
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