lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Feb 8, 2020 10:38:20 GMT
But could Hood be scrapped and a new battlecruiser be build in here place, even if there was the Washington naval treaty in effect. For most of the time there was an absolute ban on new construction and when that lapsed new construction was limited to 35ktons maximum size which would mean a smaller ship. Given that while she had flaws she was still more powerful than virtually the entire existing RN battle fleet it would be pointless given the limited resources to try and replace her. 1bigrich, is right that trying to convert her into a 3x3 turret set-up would be ruinously expensive but a different reconstruction, maintaining the 4x2 set up would have been a bit more practical. Unfortunately as the newest and largest fast ship she was deemed too important to be spared for 2-3 years while such a reconstruction took place. In hindsight it would have been better doing so but the people at the time didn't realise that.  So how long would it take to build a new battlecruiser and if they did build it, how much of Hood could be reused for it. |
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stevep
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Post by stevep on Feb 8, 2020 11:24:19 GMT
For most of the time there was an absolute ban on new construction and when that lapsed new construction was limited to 35ktons maximum size which would mean a smaller ship. Given that while she had flaws she was still more powerful than virtually the entire existing RN battle fleet it would be pointless given the limited resources to try and replace her. 1bigrich , is right that trying to convert her into a 3x3 turret set-up would be ruinously expensive but a different reconstruction, maintaining the 4x2 set up would have been a bit more practical. Unfortunately as the newest and largest fast ship she was deemed too important to be spared for 2-3 years while such a reconstruction took place. In hindsight it would have been better doing so but the people at the time didn't realise that. So how long would it take to build a new battlecruiser and if they did build it, how much of Hood could be reused for it.
Assuming the decline in construction resources a new BB or well armoured BB would take 2-3 years from start to finish, presumably not delayed by war as the last two KGV class were. Technically the RN definition for the KGV class was as fully armoured battlecruisers, which seems to be the term the RN used for fast BCs.
If they did this in the late 30's they probably wouldn't use anything from the Hood simply because it was too valuable a ship to be withdrawn from use. You could have something like an earlier or more numerous Vanguard project, with new ships using old 15" twin turrets then they would 1st use the old turrets in reserve then those from the less valuable old R class and possibly the Queens before they touched those on the Hood. - If your not familiar with it see HMS Vanguard for more details. The idea was that using modernised 15" turrets held in reserve to speed up producing new ships as turrets and their guns were a major bottleneck in construction but due to assorted delays the ship only entered service after the war. I have seen suggestions that there were plans for a number of such ships using other turrets, largely from the 5 R class old BBs as they were withdrawn from service but how likely that would be I can'tb say.
Steve
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Dec 24, 2020 13:33:51 GMT
Seems that thanks to Drachinifel we have something new to post about HMS Hood.
YouTube (The Refit of HMS Hood - But what if she had survived?)
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stevep
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Post by stevep on Dec 24, 2020 17:55:34 GMT
Seems that thanks to Drachinifel we have something new to post about HMS Hood. YouTube (The Refit of HMS Hood - But what if she had survived?)
Yes it sounded quite interesting. Not sure if a revamped Hood is better than a new Vanguard although both have limited application in the post-war world and if she was deployed to the Far East she could end up getting badly damaged there. Which could render it a moot point. On the other hand a modernised Hood would probably be cheaper than a Vanguard and a large CV on a Vangard hull, if the decision was taken early enough could be a very useful asset.
If Hood was reconstructed as described and survived the war I suspect its swansong would be Suez or a similar event rather than any Falklands conflict. Can't really see a ship 1st laid down in 1916 still being in service in 1982.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Dec 24, 2020 18:13:29 GMT
[. Can't really see a ship 1st laid down in 1916 still being in service in 1982. As a museum ship maybe. |
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stevep
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Post by stevep on Dec 24, 2020 18:37:28 GMT
[. Can't really see a ship 1st laid down in 1916 still being in service in 1982. As a museum ship maybe.
Given the economic plight of Britain after WWII I fear that would be doubtful. Especially if she avoided the OTL damage in the Med I would have preferred Warspite because of her record but can't see any of the big ships surviving as museum ships without drastic changes. Even then she wouldn't have a swansong in the Falklands.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Dec 25, 2020 20:38:23 GMT
Given the economic plight of Britain after WWII I fear that would be doubtful. Especially if she avoided the OTL damage in the Med I would have preferred Warspite because of her record but can't see any of the big ships surviving as museum ships without drastic changes. Even then she wouldn't have a swansong in the Falklands.
So she might end up like HMS Vanguard in 1955 when she was placed in reserve. |
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stevep
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Post by stevep on Dec 25, 2020 21:31:48 GMT
Given the economic plight of Britain after WWII I fear that would be doubtful. Especially if she avoided the OTL damage in the Med I would have preferred Warspite because of her record but can't see any of the big ships surviving as museum ships without drastic changes. Even then she wouldn't have a swansong in the Falklands.
So she might end up like HMS Vanguard in 1955 when she was placed in reserve.
You mean being scrapped a few years later. I fear it would be the case, unless Britain has a markedly more successful post WWII period.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Dec 25, 2020 21:37:26 GMT
So she might end up like HMS Vanguard in 1955 when she was placed in reserve. You mean being scrapped a few years later. I fear it would be the case, unless Britain has a markedly more successful post WWII period.
Do not think the Hood challenging here OTL fate will change the United Kingdom fate. |
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stevep
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Post by stevep on Dec 25, 2020 23:01:37 GMT
You mean being scrapped a few years later. I fear it would be the case, unless Britain has a markedly more successful post WWII period.
Do not think the Hood challenging here OTL fate will change the United Kingdom fate.
Its unlikely but some butterfly from later in the war could make a difference. Especially with effects later on such as no Korean war. That really screwed over Britain which had spent 5 years post war to rescue its economic position and meet US demands and went through a very grim period. Just about getting on its feet again when the communist attack in Korean mean a massive increase in military spending that plummeted the economy again.
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1bigrich
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Post by 1bigrich on Dec 27, 2020 23:05:16 GMT
Coming from Avalanche Press comes the nice article called, Rebuilding HoodHer main battery has also been replaced, the eight 15"/42-calibre BL Mk.I main battery rifles in four Mk.II twin-rifle mounts, with nine 15"/45-calibre BL Mk.II rifles in three triple mounts.
And they lost me right there. No sense in reading on, this is so far beyond realistic it cannot even be called a 'flight of fantasy' in good conscience. They might as well have said she is refitted with phasers from Star Trek and a Wave Motion Gun from Space Battleship Yamato.
Barbettes are an integral part of the strength deck. They can't just be taken out and replaced by larger barbettes. While the Italians did remove a barbette from their rebuilds, they only removed one out of five, and still had to do some strengthening where the structure was.
You can see my thoughts on Avalanche Press in this thread
Avalanche does some beautiful counter art, their system utilizes dozens of 'never-were' warships, but as a gaming system and simulation, I find it completely unrealistic. They above tells me they must be running out of new ideas for Second World War at Sea....
Regards,
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