Managing Colonial fleets

[majestic]

I would be interested to learn other players strategies for managing ships on foreign stations.

I play Britain a lot. Large numbers of cruisers and KEs across the world..

When and how often do you refit ships?
When do you replace them?

I often build new LCrs through out the game for fleet service and when I have enough send the oldest to replace ships around the world. How many LCrs at home/fleet service is enough is another question to ask?

Thank you

[wlbjork]

For me, each zone has sufficient CLs and KEs to cover their tonnage requirements.

I then have a further half-dozen or so KEs on FS to provide cover for when a breakdown happens.

It's difficult to give a number because that varies with tonnage requirements, which in turn varies with colonial possessions. However, it is important to keep the colonial fleet fairly modern as I understand that their speed can affect the success/failure of gaining a neutral colony.

[Nicholas]

Well first of, every cruiser and battleship gets designed with colonial tonnages checked on. Destroyers get a few years with that checked off up unit I can get them to 1200 tons. My legacy fleet consists of a dozen 15,000 ton Bs, another 15,000 ton CAs, 14 6,000 ton CLs, 10 6,000 ton CLs in construction and 24 400 ton DDs. The reason for those specific tonnages for the Bs, CAs, and CLs is for standardization and performance, i.e. I know how much each ship is worth and each ship is well designed. Although I did manage an effective and less expensive 12,000 ton design in RTW 2, I'm not managing such a design in RTW 3 (I suspect it has to do with the introduction of the upper belt). Before the game begins, half of the Bs and DDs are in home waters and the other half in the Med with the rest of the cruisers positioned around the world to satisfy foreign station requirements. I don't build KEs until the 1930s, construction is focused around CAs and DDs up until I can put together HMS Dreadnought (I'm less stingy on getting the 1st dreadnought as other nations, some mix of roleplay and wanting to put together something resembling a U.S. BB until word of some other nation's BB construction reaches me). From then on I'm building BBs, BCs and DDs exclusively until the other classes get superimposed turrets.

As for refits, Bs and CAs get their fire controls upgraded when I don't expect war in the next three turns and their refits won't put me in the red or interfere with BB/BC construction. Steam turbines are something I'd refit to the Bs and CAs when the above requirements are fulfilled, with the expectation that in the 12 months that the refit would take I have suitable replacements in place i.e. BBs and/or BCs in service. CAs get oil firing and an increase in speed up to 25 knots when I've got three or four BCs in service. So, at the earliest the Bs and CAs are getting a refit in 1903 with a possible second, longer, refit in 1905. There are no plans for refitting CLs and DDs.

As for replacements, Bs are disposed of after I have nine BBs. CAs are replaced after they become obsolete with later CAs with superimposed turrets getting continuous refits. CLs and DDs are disposed of after they become obsolete.