ORIGINAL: FatR
As about cruisers, my thoughts continue to go in endless circles, John. I cannot choose among the following:
(1)The RL Agano
Pros: Can be built cheaply and rapidly, using second-rate shipyards, therefore can be built in relatively large numbers. I find myself using old 5500-ton CLs very actively in my games, because they are numerous and expendable, RL Agano can be same but better, and with pre-planning probably at least 8 can be constructed.
Cons: IRL it was too vulnerable and likely to sink or completely lose power from one torpedo hit against machinery spaces, which is not desirable for a fairly large ship. And not that cheap in the end - almost half the cost of an Unryu-class carrier. In the game qualitative inferiority within your class is punished harshly.
(2)A Super-Agano
An example, is, again:
Pros: Actually can take on Allied cruisers, at least in the night, while possibly still being relatively cheap and suited for mass construction.
Cons: Cheapness and suitability for mass construction on second-rate shipyards are not guaranteed. Is almost as vulnerable as RL Agano, but even bigger and more painful to lose.
(3)An Oyodo-sized cruiser
By the current point "Aganos" in RA actually approach this. I prefer this project, already posted in the previous thread, however:
Pros: More reasonable protection, can hold its own against American CLs at least in night combat, a better TF escort, due to powerful AA armament. The best balance of qualities required from a cruiser.
Cons: It's unclear if shipyards that built Aganos and training CLs can handle this. The first four can be armed with turrets taken from Mogamis, cutting down on the expenses, but after that they won't be cheap. Still weaker than Washington cruisers.
(4)The standard Japanese Washington CA
Note, that Ibuki and Hull #301 were based on Suzuya, not Tone, IRL.
Pros: More powerful and useful than any other cruiser, maybe not IRL, but certainly in the game. Good survivability and relatively little chance of being taken out with a single lucky shot. A pure artillery cruiser, a Tone-type scout and a Tone-based cruisers with increased medium AA armament all are very useful
Cons: Very big expensive, due to being an erzatz battleship, like all Washington heavy cruisers, but particularly Japanese ones. Why not just build battleships, after you are no longer bound by treaties? Japanese IRL certainly thought so, and laid down new CAs as a part of the Circle Urgent RL program only because they needed ships right now and hoped to complete those hulls quickly.
I think that the initial RA plan of building four of #3 and two of #4 is pretty nice and not particularly outlandish (considering, again, availability of turrets from Mogamis, absence of training cruisers, etc, etc), but I don't the idea of just adding more cruisers very much. Unless they arrive in 1945, making them more like "build at your own risk" projects, rathet than something Japan is expected to have.
Note that for Perfect War I now want to pick one of these options and build only that, to maximize production efficiency, but just cannot make a choice...
