Unit Descriptions: Air, Naval, Land

[brian brian]

that picture of the C-4 makes it look like the pilot would reach up to pull a trigger on the machine gun ?


there are a lot of smaller-scale Luftwaffe campaigns that aren't so well known, such as in the Bay of Biscay. The Aegean in 43/44 is somewhat mysterious too, and in Yugoslavia I believe the Luftwaffe dusted off all those pre-war planes from the Reserve Pool to battle with Tito.

[Neilster]

ORIGINAL: brian brian

that picture of the C-4 makes it look like the pilot would reach up to pull a trigger on the machine gun ?


there are a lot of smaller-scale Luftwaffe campaigns that aren't so well known, such as in the Bay of Biscay. The Aegean in 43/44 is somewhat mysterious too, and in Yugoslavia I believe the Luftwaffe dusted off all those pre-war planes from the Reserve Pool to battle with Tito.

The main armament is in the nose. The machine gun you can see would not be operated by the pilot but by another member of the crew. It can be swivelled around to counter aerial threats/strafe other targets etc.

Cheers, Neilster

[Froonp]

This one Ju88C-6 is funny too.
Painted as a bomber to deceive enemy fighter pilots.

[Neilster]

That worked...for a very brief period of time.

Cheers, Neilster

[warspite1]

Please see example of a Royal Navy monitor.

[5102 Abercrombie - by Robert Jenkins]
.B Engine(s) output: 4,800 hp
.B Top Speed: 12.5 knots
.B Main armament: 2 x 15-inch (381mm), 8 x 4-inch (102mm) guns
.B Displacement (full Load): 9,717 tons
.B Thickest armour: 5-inch (belt)
.P Monitors were designed to support troops on land by providing naval
gunfire support against enemy positions and installations. They were slow ships
of a simple design that allowed construction at relatively low cost.
.P Most of the monitors that survived World War One were scrapped at the end of
that war, but two ships of the Erebus-class, armed with 15-inch guns, survived
the cull and would see service in the Second World War.
.P The two Roberts-class monitors were built for the Royal Navy (RN) during
the Second World War and were an improved version of the successful Erebus-class.
Construction began in April 1940 (Roberts) and April 1941 (Abercrombie). While
Roberts took just seventeen months to complete, her sister was not ready until
May 1943; the delay due to the building of other ship types taking priority.
.P For their main armament, each ship was fitted with a single twin 15-inch gun
turret. These weapons were already available to the Admiralty - One came from
Marshal Soult, an ex-monitor, and the other was a turret originally intended for
a battlecruiser. Secondary armament was provided by four twin 4-inch guns,
supported by two quad and one eight-barrelled 2-pdr pompom; a healthy anti-
aircraft (AA) defence.
.P Armour defence featured a belt, a maximum of 5-inches thick, and bulges were
added for anti-torpedo defence. For horizontal protection the ships featured an
armoured deck of 4-inches and further protection of up to 6-inches over the
magazine.
.P As befitting their role, the ships' machinery was not especially powerful,
providing a top speed of just over 12 knots.
.P Unusually for RN ships, these two monitors were named after army generals:
General Abercrombie served in North America in the 18th Century, and Field
Marshal Roberts who served in many colonial campaigns during the 19th Century.
.P HMS Abercrombie was completed in April 1943 and after work-up she was ordered
to the Mediterranean. This theatre was to give Abercrombie her only battle
honour.
.P Her first task was under US command in support of the Allied landings on
Sicily where Abercrombie covered the assault by the US 45th Infantry Division
(see HMS Argonaut). She then provided support for Allied units during the battle
to conquer the island (see HMS Howe).
.P At the start of September, Abercrombie was tasked with supporting Operation
Baytown, the landing by the British XIII Corps on the Italian mainland in
Calabria (see HMS Erebus), before being placed back under US command for
Operation Avalanche, the Salerno landings.
.P On the 9th September, the US 5th Army landed at Salerno, south of Naples, as
part of the Allied attempts to trap as many German troops as possible in the heel
and toe of the Italian mainland. The invasion forces sailed from various ports in
North Africa and Sicily. The assaulting troops were split into the northern and
southern attack forces. The British X Corps, made up the northern force and were
to land east and west of Salerno, with the task of taking the town, while the US
VI Corps, the southern force, were to land further south. Abercrombie was
attached to the US support group alongside the US cruisers Philadelphia, Savannah
and Brooklyn.
.P Rear-Admiral Harcourt was in command of the British escort and support group
and his flotilla consisted of the cruisers Mauritius, Orion, Delhi and HMCS
Uganda, the monitor Roberts and accompanying destroyers. The convoys were guided
to the targets by a submarine stationed in the Gulf of Salerno. Two further
forces were responsible for Covering the landings and providing support: Rear-
Admiral Vian`s support carrier force, known as Task Force 88, consisted of the
carrier Unicorn, the escort carriers Attacker, Battler, Hunter and Stalker; the
cruisers Euryalus, Scylla and Charybdis and escorting destroyers. The covering
force was under Vice-Admiral Willis and consisted of the fleet carriers
Illustrious and Formidable, the battleships Nelson, Rodney, Valiant and Warspite
and their escorting destroyers.
.P Thinking that surprise had been lost, the British laid down a shore
bombardment ahead of their attack, although the US forces decided to dispense
with this. Although the landings were successful, the resistance put up by the
German forces was fearsome and they managed to keep the two Allied corps isolated
from each other. For ten days the operation was touch-and-go and at one point,
the commander of 5th Army, Lt-General Clark, considered withdrawing. However, the
Allies held firm with the aid of support from the naval forces (see HMCS Uganda)
and ultimately it was the Germans that withdrew.
.P For Abercrombie however, the battle was already over. On the day of the
assault Abercrombie was badly damaged after hitting a mine and the damage
effectively ended her war. Although she was repaired, refitted and sent to the
Far East, the war finished before she had the chance to reach the war zone.
.P HMS Abercrombie was scrapped in 1954.

[warspite1]

2/2 An example of the second class of monitor available to the Royal Navy during WWII. With thanks to Paulderynck re the names.

[5099 Terror - by Robert Jenkins]
.B Engine(s) output: 6,000 hp
.B Top Speed: 12 knots
.B Main armament: 2 x 15-inch (381mm), 6 x 4-inch (102mm) guns
.B Displacement (full load): 9,400 tons
.B Thickest armour: 4-inches (belt)
.P The two Erebus-class monitors were built for the Royal Navy (RN) during
the First World War and both were to see action in both world wars.
.P Monitors were slow ships of a simple design that allowed construction at
relatively low cost. They were designed primarily to support troops on land by
providing naval gunfire support against enemy positions and installations.
.P A number of classes were built for the RN during the First World War and although
most of these vessels were scrapped at the end of that conflict, the two Erebus-class
ships - Erebus and Terror - survived. This class benefited from experience learned from
previous monitors, and in particular the Marshal Soult-class, and proved successful in
their monitor role.
.P For their main armament, the Erebus-class featured two 15-inch guns in a single
turret. The secondary armament was updated early in World War II and the technical
data above reflects how the ships appeared in 1940. At this time they were given six
high-angle 4-inch guns. Close-range anti-aircraft (AA) weaponry on Terror was provided
by seven 20mm guns. Erebus had significant AA enhancements as the war progressed,
and she was ultimately fitted with twenty-five 2-pdrs and a mix of 40mm and 20mm
guns.
.P Defensive armour was also increased in 1939/40 to provide against the growing
aerial menace. The main deck was 2.5-inches thick and protection at the upper
deck level was doubled from 2-inches to four covering the magazine. For vertical
protection, the 4-inch belt remained, together with bulges for anti-torpedo
defence.
.P These ships were the fastest monitors the RN built during World War I and they
had a top speed of 12 knots.
.P The names Erebus and Terror had been used on many occasions previously by the
RN. On all but a couple of occasions, the ships that were given these names were
rocket or bomb vessels; early forerunners of the monitor-type. The second HMS
Erebus and the sixth HMS Terror were lost in 1845, having been part of the
ill-fated expedition to find the North-West Passage; an expedition that cost the
lives of Sir John Franklin and his 129-man crew. The final resting place of both
ships is unknown.
.P HMS Terror was completed in August 1916 and at the outbreak of World War II
she was in Singapore where she was being been used as a base ship. It was there
that she had the refit detailed above and that would allow her to be used as a
monitor once more. This work lasted until December following which she was
ordered back to the UK in January 1940.
.P On the journey home she was given revised orders to stay in the Mediterranean
in view of the growing possibility of war with Italy. A further refit took place
in Malta which increased the strength of her deck armour and she then remained in
Malta along with the gunboats: Aphis, Gnat and Ladybird to await developments.
.P After the Italian declaration of war in June, Terror was transferred to
Alexandria the following month in order to assist the defence of Egypt. She
provided naval gunfire support against the invading Italian forces after they
crossed the Libyan/Egyptian border that September. In December, with the Italian
"offensive" stalled, the British launched an offensive operation of their own,
Operation Compass.
.P To support Compass, Terror and the three gunboats operated as Force A,
providing naval gunfire support at Sidi Barrani. On the 17th, Aphis actually
penetrated the harbour and sank some coastal vessels before safely retiring.
Compass had originally been designed as a limited raid against the Italians to
disrupt their advance on Egypt. However, the incredible success of Lt-General
O'Connor's Western Desert Force was such that they kept on going long after its
original objectives were achieved. By early January the British force were just
south of the port of Bardia, Eastern Libya. On the 2nd/3rd January Terror took
part in the second bombardment of Bardia alongside the battleships Valiant,
Warspite and Barham; three gunboats and five destroyers. The carrier Illustrious
and the AA cruiser Calcutta provided cover for this operation. Both Warspite and
Barham were lightly damaged in the action which saw huge numbers of 15-inch,
6-inch and 4.5-inch shells fired at the Italian positions. Bardia surrendered the
next day.
.P After Bardia, Terror and the gunboats moved onto the larger port of Tobruk
where they resumed the shelling of Italian positions. This bombardment assisted
troops of the 6th Australian Division in capturing this port. After this
operation Terror had additional close-range AA weapons fitted in the form of 20mm
Italian guns that had been captured at Tobruk, although these were not to save
her from her ultimate fate.
.P On the 17th February she arrived at Benghazi and five days later left the
port to begin her next operation. During her departure she hit two mines that
caused only light damage, but the next day she came under attack from three
German bombers. Terror was hit and began to take on water. A minesweeper and a
corvette were sent to escort her back to port, but the damage proved too great
and after her crew were transferred to the escorts, Terror sank whilst off Derna.

[brian brian]

they recently found the 19th century Erebus or Terror in northern Canada, I forget which. just this summer.

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: brian brian

they recently found the 19th century Erebus or Terror in northern Canada, I forget which. just this summer.

Warspite1

I could find nothing to that effect on the internet - can you let me know how you came across this information please?

[Neilster]

ORIGINAL: warspite1

ORIGINAL: brian brian

they recently found the 19th century Erebus or Terror in northern Canada, I forget which. just this summer.

Warspite1

I could find nothing to that effect on the internet - can you let me know how you came across this information please?

I think that was HMS Investigator, one of the rescue ships.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-10793639

Cheers, Neilster

[brian brian]

my bad, Neilster got it right. the piece I read on my Yahoo front page mentioned the Erebus and Terror and I confused that with finding the Investigator. being a WiF player those two ship names certainly caught my attention. just not quite enough of it.

[warspite1]

I have finalised the Chinese navy this morning - please see three examples. BTW if anyone knows what Ioshima and Yasoshima were named after I would be grateful.

1/3

[5075 Chiang Kai-Shek - by Robert Jenkins]
.P By the time of the Sino-Japanese war in 1937, the Chinese navy was small and
the few vessels available to it were mostly obsolete. A program designed to
strengthen and modernise this force in the late twenties/early thirties was never
completed, although in that time a number of gunboats and two light cruisers were
constructed. The failure of the program was due largely to internal divisions
that plagued China at that time and the fact that the Japanese, who were
providing technical assistance, had designs of her own on the country.
.P When war with Japan came in 1937, the Chinese navy was very quickly eliminated
and the Japanese were able to occupy key chinese ports and coastal areas, making
further naval construction impossible. In reality, even if some of her dockyards
had remained under her control, China would have found construction virtually
impossible. For one thing Japanese air attack would have been a problem and even
more importantly, there would have been a lack of both the required materials and
shipbuilding expertise for ships of any real size.
.P However, notwithstanding the above, World In Flames allows the Chinese player
the opportunity to build a limited navy; provided of course that China still has
access to her port facilities.
.P Chiang Kai-Shek is a battleship that enters the force pool in 1941. There are
no technical details available for what is a truly hypothetical vessel. This ship
has been given a powerful offensive armament, combined with a low range and she
is likely therefore to be a coastal defence type vessel.
.P She has been given the name of the leader of the Chinese Nationalist
Government during the Second World War, Chiang Kai-Shek.

[warspite1]

2/3

[5077 Ning Hai - by Robert Jenkins]
.B Engine(s) output: 9,500 hp
.B Top Speed: 22.25 knots
.B Main armament: 6 x 5.5-inch (140mm), 6 x 76mm guns
.B Displacement (standard): 2,500 tons
.B Thickest armour: No belt armour
.P The Ning Hai-class were Japanese designed cruisers, built for the Chinese
navy between 1930 and 1936.
.P The name ship of the class was constructed in Japan and completed in 1932,
while her sister, Ping Hai, was built in China. Her construction there required
the assistance of the Japanese, but when the Japanese withdrew in 1933, due to
the worsening political situation, her construction came to a halt. She was
finally completed in 1936 only thanks to the assistance of a team of German
technicians.
.P Although classed as light cruisers, these two ships were nothing of the sort.
They were small, relatively slow vessels, but with a shallow draught that meant
they were ideally suited to waterways such as the great Yangtse river.
.P For their size, they were powerfully armed, with six 5.5-inch main guns fitted
in three twin turrets. Secondary armament differed; Ning Hai being fitted with
six single 76mm anti-aircraft guns and Ping Hai being given three single German
88mm guns. Ning Hai carried two aircraft but Ping Hai did not have this
capability. Both vessels were fitted with two double torpedo tubes.
.P They were very lightly armoured vessels, having no belt armour and only a
thin, 1-inch armoured deck and turret protection of a similar thickness.
.P Their names translate to Peaceful Sea (Ning Hai) and Amicable Sea (Ping Hai).
.P The Sino-Japanese war began in July 1937 and the two ships lasted just two
months before being sunk. They were both deployed in the Yangtse near the capital
Nanking when they were attacked by Japanese aircraft on the 23rd of September.
.P However, thanks to the shallow water that they were in, after the Japanese had
taken Nanking, they were re-floated and repaired. Both ships then remained in the
Yangtse to defend the old Chinese Capital.
.P In 1943 they were transferred to the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) for use as
convoy escorts in coastal waters. They were re-named as Yasoshima (Ping Hai) and
Ioshima (Ning Hai). Their IJN careers lasted little longer than their Chinese
navy careers had done. Ning Hai was sunk off Honshu on the 19th September 1944
by a torpedo from the US submarine Shad and Yasoshima was destroyed by US
aircraft in the Philippines two months later.
.P In World In Flames Ning Hai is only available in games involving Days of
Decision, but Ping Hai allows for the fact that the Japanese re-floated and
repaired her and is available for use by the Japanese player in all scenarios.

[warspite1]

3/3

[5079 Ying Swei - by Robert Jenkins]
.B Engine(s) output: 6,000 hp
.B Top Speed: 20 knots
.B Main armament: 2 x 6-inch (152mm), 4 x 3-inch (76mm) guns
.B Displacement (full load): 2,750 tons
.B Thickest armour: These ships had no belt armour
.P The Chao Ho's were originally a class of three cruisers ordered for the
Chinese navy under their 1908 construction programme, and built between 1910 and
1913. Reflecting China's somewhat limited shipbuilding capability, two of the
class, Chao Ho and Ying Swei, were built in the United Kingdom with the third,
Fei Hung, built in the United States.
.P The ships were actually designed to act as training vessels to prepare the
Chinese navy for a planned large scale expansion of the fleet.
.P These ships carried a variety of gun sizes, with the main armament consisting
of two single 6-inch guns. These were supported by a variety of guns, including
four 3-inch, six 3-pdrs and two 1-pdrs. The guns themselves were manufactured by
two different firms. Completing the weapons package were two 18-inch torpedo
tubes. The only subsequent up-date of any note was the fitting of two 2-pdr anti-
aircraft guns at the start of the thirties.
.P Armour defence was basic, with the ships having no belt armour and horizontal
defence of 1.5-inches maximum in Ying Swei and 2-inches maximum for the other two
vessels.
.P The ships were slow with a 20-knot top speed and range was limited. The
machinery and boiler arrangements differed from ship to ship, all of which must
have been a problem from a maintenance perspective.
.P Following the Chinese Revolution of 1911/12, both Fei Hung and Chao Ho were
put up for sale. The former was sold to the Greek navy shortly after completion,
but Chao Ho attracted no buyer and was delivered to the Chinese. Fei Hung was
renamed Helle upon commission into the Greek navy and she is available to the
player controlling Greece in World In Flames.
.P The names Chao Ho and Ying Swei translate respectively to Bring Peace and Be
Lucky.
.P Once Japan declared war in July 1937, the life span for these two ships was
never going to long; Chao Ho was attacked by Japanese aircraft in September that
year while at Canton. She was so badly damaged that she had to be run aground to
stop her sinking. Ying Swei was sunk in the Yangtse just a month later.

[Extraneous]

ORIGINAL: warspite1

I have finalised the Chinese navy this morning - please see three examples. BTW if anyone knows what Ioshima and Yasoshima were named after I would be grateful.

They were named after Islands (Io Shima and Yaso Shima).

[paulderynck]

ORIGINAL: warspite1


.P Once Japan declared war in July 1937, the life span for these two ships was
never going to long;

Once Japan declared war in July 1937, the life span for these two ships was
never going to be long;

[paulderynck]

ORIGINAL: warspite1


[5075 Chiang Kai-Shek - by Robert Jenkins]
The failure of the program was due largely to internal divisions
that plagued China at that time and the fact that the Japanese, who were
providing technical assistance, had designs of her own on the country.

Don't want to be picky but just spotting a few things...

The failure of the program was due largely to internal divisions
that plagued China at that time and the fact that the Japanese, who were
providing technical assistance, had designs of their own on the country.

[warspite1]

Thanks Paulderynck - don't apologise for being picky - I appreciate the double-check [:)] - changes now made.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

[5075 Chiang Kai-Shek - by Robert Jenkins]


... Japanese ... had designs of her own ...

Change to either:

... Japan ... had designs of her own ...

or

... Japanese ... had designs of their own ...

[Extraneous]

ORIGINAL: warspite1

2/3

[5077 Ning Hai - by Robert Jenkins]
.B Engine(s) output: 9,500 hp
.B Top Speed: 22.25 knots
.B Main armament: 6 x 5.5-inch (140mm), 6 x 76mm guns
.B Displacement (standard): 2,500 tons
.B Thickest armour: No belt armour

Armourbelt 25mm

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: Extraneous

ORIGINAL: warspite1

2/3

[5077 Ning Hai - by Robert Jenkins]
.B Engine(s) output: 9,500 hp
.B Top Speed: 22.25 knots
.B Main armament: 6 x 5.5-inch (140mm), 6 x 76mm guns
.B Displacement (standard): 2,500 tons
.B Thickest armour: No belt armour

Armourbelt 25mm

Warspite1

Same old problem - different sources claim different figures....