Rising Sun, Falling Skies: BTSL Bigred vs John 3rd

[John 3rd]

YUMMY!

The Opening Phase of the war is now closed. It is now time to fully LET SLIP THE DOGS OF WAR!

BANZAI!!!

[Bif1961]

So you have been holding back until now?

[bigred]

I see the arrival of a new surface fleet in 8 days. Interesting

[John 3rd]

ORIGINAL: Bif1961

So you have been holding back until now?

Just having to do the 'normal' Opening Moves. Now they are done...

[John 3rd]

Yaaa...the Allies get a ton of stuff at start and as reinforcements. Tahiti begins with a French surface and SS contingent then gets those big, bad boys as reinforcements.

Michael really LIKES those fast BC to link-up with other fast BC for one heck of a Fast Strike Force in mid-42.

[bigred]

ORIGINAL: John 3rd

Yaaa...the Allies get a ton of stuff at start and as reinforcements. Tahiti begins with a French surface and SS contingent then gets those big, bad boys as reinforcements.

Michael really LIKES those fast BC to link-up with other fast BC for one heck of a Fast Strike Force in mid-42.

i was looking at the gun size on the french battle cruisers and wondered about the ammo needed to keep them shooting after they get into a battle and need a reload. Since they are diffefferent caliber than US I figured they are ONE AND DONE. Kind of like a 60 year old man with a 20 yr old girlfriend.[:D]
[:D][:D]

[bigred]

A french AKE will be my blue pill.

[ny59giants]

Michael really LIKES those fast BC to link-up with other fast BC for one heck of a Fast Strike Force in mid-42.

Be careful with them at first. They need some 'milk runs' to bring up their experience levels. The late '42 Fletchers go with them nicely!

[John 3rd]

Didn't we place an AKE with them Michael? Cannot remember...

[ny59giants]

If not, I'll add one.

[John 3rd]

Why don't we add a small one at start in Tahiti? We could use a 3500-4000 T French ship for the squadron there and then bring in a BIG AKE to help with the BCs when they arrive. Hadn't really thought about that until Paul brought it to my attention.

[John 3rd]

The Alternate French story in BTS:

When the fall of France occurred, the French Fleet fled mainland France. INSTEAD of going to North Africa, Martinique, and Dakar, the French move--en masse (that's a FRENCH term!!!)--to Great Britain. There is no Mers-el-Kebir bloodbath or antagonism of the French by the British when they formally surrender. The Fleet defiantly rallies to Great Britain and serves the rest of the war in that capacity.

It is this action that allows for the French to station several cruisers, DD, and SS at or near Tahiti for action starting December 7th. If these ships are present five months later, they join that powerful Surface Squadron built around Strasbourg and Dunkerque where they can truly raise some HELL if so desired.

[Bif1961]

Good thing I am only 59 and the girl is older, 21! [:D]

[RangerJoe]

I would have had the French Fleet move to the Caribbean (Martinique and Guadeloupe) and be supplied with the fuel to do so by the US. But not enough for them to sail from there until after the US entered the war. This would explain the low experience levels. This would also have kept those two areas from going Vichy.

[bigred]

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

Don't forget that John just LOVES, LOVES sinking merchants. [:D]

ny59giants is very correct.

[durnedwolf]

ORIGINAL: John 3rd

The Alternate French story in BTS:

When the fall of France occurred, the French Fleet fled mainland France. INSTEAD of going to North Africa, Martinique, and Dakar, the French move--en masse (that's a FRENCH term!!!)--to Great Britain. There is no Mers-el-Kebir bloodbath or antagonism of the French by the British when they formally surrender. The Fleet defiantly rallies to Great Britain and serves the rest of the war in that capacity.

It is this action that allows for the French to station several cruisers, DD, and SS at or near Tahiti for action starting December 7th. If these ships are present five months later, they join that powerful Surface Squadron built around Strasbourg and Dunkerque where they can truly raise some HELL if so desired.

Just curious - the French warship main guns - is the British ammo compatible? Would Britain have to replace the guns?
And torpedoes for the French subs and DD?

[RangerJoe]

ORIGINAL: durnedwolf

ORIGINAL: John 3rd

The Alternate French story in BTS:

When the fall of France occurred, the French Fleet fled mainland France. INSTEAD of going to North Africa, Martinique, and Dakar, the French move--en masse (that's a FRENCH term!!!)--to Great Britain. There is no Mers-el-Kebir bloodbath or antagonism of the French by the British when they formally surrender. The Fleet defiantly rallies to Great Britain and serves the rest of the war in that capacity.

It is this action that allows for the French to station several cruisers, DD, and SS at or near Tahiti for action starting December 7th. If these ships are present five months later, they join that powerful Surface Squadron built around Strasbourg and Dunkerque where they can truly raise some HELL if so desired.

Just curious - the French warship main guns - is the British ammo compatible? Would Britain have to replace the guns?
And torpedoes for the French subs and DD?

You could make ammo for the main guns, just mill them to the correct size and shape. The large gun barrels took a long time to make. The smaller guns were replaced in some instances, I do believe.

[durnedwolf]

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

ORIGINAL: durnedwolf

ORIGINAL: John 3rd

The Alternate French story in BTS:

When the fall of France occurred, the French Fleet fled mainland France. INSTEAD of going to North Africa, Martinique, and Dakar, the French move--en masse (that's a FRENCH term!!!)--to Great Britain. There is no Mers-el-Kebir bloodbath or antagonism of the French by the British when they formally surrender. The Fleet defiantly rallies to Great Britain and serves the rest of the war in that capacity.

It is this action that allows for the French to station several cruisers, DD, and SS at or near Tahiti for action starting December 7th. If these ships are present five months later, they join that powerful Surface Squadron built around Strasbourg and Dunkerque where they can truly raise some HELL if so desired.

Just curious - the French warship main guns - is the British ammo compatible? Would Britain have to replace the guns?
And torpedoes for the French subs and DD?

You could make ammo for the main guns, just mill them to the correct size and shape. The large gun barrels took a long time to make. The smaller guns were replaced in some instances, I do believe.

I hear you but different ammo types cause royal pains in supply chains. Now if the British shipyards had a few spare main guns that they could move to the larger French warships, all you are talking about is labor and your supply chain is clean. Swapping main guns (if they were available) would lay a warship up for what - a month?

Now torpedoes for French subs - That'd probably take longer to swap out (a WAG on my part there).

*** Note that on page three, Big Red noted the difference in French guns also.

[RangerJoe]

It is not just swapping out the main guns but the hoists and other equipment for moving the ammo plus the ammo storage spaces. Then there is the size and shape of the propellant and the black powder charge setting that off. The smaller guns may come complete with the primer, propellant charge, and the shell in one unit or the shell in one unit with the primer and the powder charge in another unit.

Then the guns were expensive to make and you just did not have a bunch of them laying around. Many times, older naval guns were reused on newer ships:

Naval Ordnance and Gunnery
Gun Barrel Construction

https://www.eugeneleeslover.com/USNAVY/ ... ION-1.html

This is also an interesting read as well:

http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNBR_14-45_mk7.php

http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNBR_14-45_mk7.php

[John 3rd]

May 1, 1942

So here is a funny story. I have my CVs roaming around, as is my want, and got a turn from Big Red this morning. I was at the computer when it came in and had high hopes for something to happen. Unfortunately, NOTHING happened...so...SIGH...I sent the new turn to him with the following note:

Hah! Fast turn around this morning.

We have Wreathes Across America this morning and I am home all day after that.

Welcome to May 1942!


Evidently Paul doesn't know too much about the Wreathes Across American program, because he had gone to work and interpreted my note to mean that I had sunk something MAJOR and that wreathes were needed for the brave boys lost at sea! He leaves work early to get home to check out the turn, calls and leaves a message to post anything major here on the thread, then calls again and catches us just back from the Wreathes ceremony at our small prairie cemetery.

We talked about 15 minutes and had a good laugh over his misunderstanding of my message. [:D]