Matrix Games Forums

Forums  Register  Login  Photo Gallery  Member List  Search  Calendars  FAQ 

My Profile  Inbox  Address Book  My Subscription  My Forums  Log Out

RE: Unit Descriptions: Air, Naval, Land

 
View related threads: (in this forum | in all forums)

Logged in as: Guest
Users viewing this topic: none
  Printable Version
All Forums >> [New Releases from Matrix Games] >> World in Flames >> RE: Unit Descriptions: Air, Naval, Land Page: <<   < prev  44 45 [46] 47 48   next >   >>
Login
Message << Older Topic   Newer Topic >>
RE: Unit Descriptions: Air, Naval, Land - 8/25/2009 10:05:36 PM   
warspite1


Posts: 41353
Joined: 2/2/2008
From: England
Status: offline
The Kriegsmarine surface units are coming on a pace. Please see Gneisenau below.


[4768 Gneisenau - by Robert Jenkins]
.B Engine(s) output: 165,000 hp
.B Top Speed: 32 knots
.B Main armament: 9 x 11-inch (280mm), 12 x 5.9-inch (150mm) guns
.B Displacement (Full Load): 38,900 tons
.B Thickest armour: 13.75-inches (belt)
.P The two-ship Scharnhorst-class are sometimes classified as battlecruisers
and sometimes battleships; certainly the German Navy classified them as the
latter. However, they were the opposite of what a battlecruiser was traditionally
designed to be; lightly armoured but powerfully armed, and were in fact lightly
armed and heavily armoured. They are referred to as battlecruisers in these write
-ups. They were built for the Kriegsmarine between 1935 and 1939.
.P The Scharnhorst and her sister Gneisenau were originally intended to be better
armoured versions of the Deutschland-class pocket-battleships. However, to avoid
the ships becoming un-balanced (too heavy armour protection for too little
hitting power) a third 11-inch turret was added to their design. As such, the
revised specification of these ships made them less like pocket-battleships and
more like battlecruisers.
.P Then, after the signing of the Anglo-German Naval Agreement in June 1935,
Adolf Hitler wanted to increase the main armament to a 15-inch (381mm) gun in
order that the battlecruisers main armament would compare with that of British
capital ships. This would mean their introduction would be delayed by up to two
years and this was not something Hitler could afford to do, given his territorial
ambitions.
.P The two ships were therefore completed with the smaller gun with a plan to
upgrade their main armament at the first opportunity. As it turned out, the
upgrade never happened and the two ships remained with their original main
armament throughout their life.
.P Both ships were named after important Prussian military figures from the
Napoleonic war era.
.P Gneisenau was completed in May 1938 and was made the Flagship of the
Kriegsmarine just before the outbreak of the Second World War. In October, the
Germans launched an offensive sweep in the North Sea in an unsuccessful effort to
lure the Royal Navy onto a line of U-boats and to bring them within range of land
based aircraft (see Koln).
.P At the end of November, Gneisenau and her sister tried to break into the North
Atlantic but they came across the British armed merchant cruiser HMS Rawalpindi
and after sinking her, they took the option of returning to Germany rather than
risk being found by the Royal Navy (see Scharnhorst). Her next operation,
Nordmark, came in February (see Admiral Hipper). Nordmark was an uneventful
operation that lasted just three days.
.P Beginning on the 6th April 1940, almost the entire Kriegsmarine were deployed
for Operation Weserübung; the attack on Norway. For this audacious operation, the
Germans employed six main groups (Marine Gruppe) each with a specific destination
on the Norwegian coast. Gneisenau and Scharnhorst were deployed to cover the two
northern most groups; Narvik-bound Marine Gruppe 1 (see ASW Counter 4811) and
Marine Gruppe 2, tasked with taking Trondheim (see Admiral Hipper). The two
Gruppe and their escorts sailed from Germany late on the 6th April 1940. They
were spotted by Royal Air Force (RAF) reconnaissance aircraft the following day,
but subsequent attacks yielded no damage to the invasion fleets and they were
able to continue north, shielded by cloud.
.P Meanwhile, the British had designs of their own on Norway and while the German
forces were commencing Weserübung, a Royal Navy force led by Vice-Admiral
Whitworth aboard the battlecruiser Renown with four destroyers, was covering a
minelaying operation off the Norwegian coast near Narvik. Another group was also
operating further south. When the British heard that a German force had been
located, they feared an Atlantic break-out and ordered Renown further north to
intercept. Then, when he was told that the break-out was in fact an invasion of
Norway, Whitworth was ordered back to Narvik. Although Renown failed to stop
Marine Gruppe 1 reaching the northern port, the British ship did come into
contact with the covering Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, early on the 9th.
.P Visibility was poor and the weather conditions atrocious and the first the
German ships knew that Renown was in the vicinity was when the British
battlecruiser opened up her six 15-inch guns. Gneisenau and Scharnhorst were
quick to respond and the three ships fought a dual at long range. Renown was hit
twice but with little damage. However, a hit on Gneisenau had knocked out her
fire-control system and this convinced Vice-Admiral Lütjens that he should
withdraw, and the battle came to an inconclusive end.
.P At the beginning of June, Gneisenau took part in Operation Juno, which was
originally designed to attack British supply lines between the UK and northern
Norway. However, although the convoys were not located, the aircraft carrier HMS
Glorious and her destroyer escorts were found and destroyed (see Scharnhorst).
Scharnhorst was damaged during the attack and so when Admiral Marschall put to
sea the next day for a second go, only the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper and four
destroyers were able to accompany Gneisenau. The sortie took place in extremely
poor weather conditions and as a result, once again no enemy vessels were
located.
.P The same two ships left Norway on the 20th and sailed north in order to divert
British attention away from the Scharnhorst that was returning to Germany in
order to get repairs for her torpedo damage. However, this operation ended in
more problems for the Kriegsmarine as the British submarine Clyde was able to
score a torpedo hit in Gneisenau`s bow. As a result the operation was terminated
and Gneisenau limped back to Norway and ultimately to Germany.
.P Once fully repaired, Gneisenau and Scharnhorst put to sea on the 22nd January
1941 in order to begin Operation Berlin. The two battlecruisers sailed under the
command of Admiral Lütjens, and he originally tried to get his ships into the
Atlantic via the quickest possible route; through the Iceland-Faroes gap. As it
turned out, he only narrowly avoided being found by units of the Royal Navy`s
Home Fleet and so he sailed back north to refuel from a waiting tanker. When he
tried to break-out again a few days later, it was via the Denmark Strait.
.P This time the Germans were successful and they began looking for enemy convoys
from the 7th February. However, their efforts were met with little success, at
least initially. Convoy HX106 was sighted on the 9th, but this convoy had the old
battleship Ramillies as escort. Lütjens orders were not to engage enemy warships
and there was no question of his battlecruisers taking on the 15-inch guns of the
British battleship.
.P It was not until the 22nd February that an unescorted convoy presented itself
to Lütjens, although this was not ideal as the ships were homeward bound. Lütjens
attacked anyway and a total of five ships were sunk during this engagement. After
this, he ordered his ships to the south-east, refuelling on the way, in order to
attack any convoys on the UK-Freetown route. They came across another battleship
escorted convoy, SL-67, at the start of March. This time the escort was HMS
Malaya. Although the German battlecruisers could not engage the British ship,
Lütjens was able to shadow the convoy, and thus led a number of U-boats to the
area; one of which later torpedoed Malaya.
.P Lütjens then left the area and began to turn to thoughts of home, or at least
France, where the two ships were to return to once Berlin was over. Before then
however, the Germans were to enjoy their most productive time of the operation.
In order to assist the Admiral Hipper and the Admiral Scheer return to Germany,
Lütjens was ordered to provide a diversion. After refuelling once more, he
ordered his ships to sail for an area east of the Canadian coast, sinking a lone
merchantman on the way. Once there, the two battlecruisers deployed with the two
tankers from which they had refuelled, in the renewed search for shipping. Six
merchant ships fell victim before Lütjen`s four ships headed east for Brest,
France. On the journey back, another sixteen vessels, totalling almost 114,000
gross registered tons were either sunk or captured as prizes. The last of these
was the Chilean Reefer. She managed to send out a signal which brought the
British battleship HMS Rodney to the area. However, Rodney was simply too slow to
give chase once the Germans retired at speed.
.P The two battlecruisers safely entered Brest harbour on the 22nd March. However
their stay in Brest was not uneventful. Gneisenau was due to take part in the
forthcoming Operation Rheinübung (see Bismarck) but on the 6th April she was
torpedoed during an attack by the RAF on the port. A Canadian, Kenneth Campbell
was postumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his attack and hit on the German
ship. Four days later, a high level bombing raid caused further damage to
Gneisenau; she would play no part in Rheinübung.
.P It was clear that the ports of western France were no longer safe for the
Kriegsmarine`s heavy units. In addition, Adolf Hitler wanted his heavy units back
in Germany, and so came up with a plan to bring Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and the
heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen home from Brest through the English Channel. Operation
Cerberus was a most audacious plan and one that caught the British napping (see
Prinz Eugen). Although Gneisenau struck a mine during Cerberus, she got back to
Germany on the morning of the 13th February.
.P Her days were numbered though. She was taken to Kiel to receive repairs for
the earlier mine damage and was placed in the floating dock there. However, in a
costly oversight, her ammunition was not removed prior to her entering the dock.
When, on the 26th February, the RAF launched a raid on Kiel, Gneisenau took a
bomb hit in her bow. The bomb pierced the armoured deck and exploded, igniting
ammunition in Anton turret that blew her bow section off. Remarkably, she was
still able to sail under her own steam to Gotenhafen where she was to be rebuilt.
.P She was to have got her 15-inch main armament at last, but sadly for the
elegant battlecruiser, work that had proceeded slowly, was finally abandoned
after the sinking of her sister ship in December 1943. She remained at Gotenhafen
and was sunk as a blockship in March 1945 as the Red Army advanced upon the
crumbling Reich.

_____________________________

England expects that every man will do his duty. Horatio Nelson October 1805



(in reply to warspite1)
Post #: 1351
RE: Unit Descriptions: Air, Naval, Land - 8/26/2009 2:48:26 AM   
Mike Dubost

 

Posts: 273
Joined: 8/24/2008
From: Sacramento, CA
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: warspite1


quote:

ORIGINAL: Mike Dubost


quote:

ORIGINAL: warspite1


quote:

ORIGINAL: Mike Dubost

In Post 1337, the reference to the Battle of Cape Matapan gives me a chance to boast about having met a woman who helped win that battle without ever leaving the UK.

The Italians used an Enigma machine to send out ciphered orders for the naval sortie. Mavis Batey (nee Lever) was able to perform one of Ultra's first successful Enigma decipherments on this message, and as a result, the RN knew what the RM was planning. By skillful use of this knowledge and superior seamanship/gunnery, the RN won. Is there enough room to add a sentence about Ms Lever's success to this description? It would be a nice "shout out" to a woman I found to be a charming elderly lady in 2002.

I have often remembered her remark "In my day, women knew how to get what we wanted and still have the door held open for us", as it sounds like something my mother's aunt (of the same approximate age as Mrs. Batey) would say.

I guess I have a slight case of hero worship where the WWII generation in general are concerned, and those I have met in particular.

Warspite1

Mike, I would look at any suggestion you have. I am not sure exactly what you have in mind - mentioning that the British knew in advance or actually mentioning the lady in question?? If the later, I think difficult to know how that would fit but willing to have a look.

"I guess I have a slight case of hero worship where the WWII generation in general are concerned, and those I have met in particular." - Yes me too





Well, we could try something to the effect of "Unfortunately for the Italians, the Enigma message they had sent out with the order for the naval movement had been intercepted. In one of the Ultra program's first major successes, Mavis Lever had decrypted the message."

Warspite1

I may add something general about the intelligence, but I think the naming of an individual looks out of place here - so I`ll pass on that, but thanks for the suggestion .




Thanks for considering it. I understand that you can't accept all my suggestions. I am impressed with the quality of the work you are doing. Please keep it up.

(in reply to warspite1)
Post #: 1352
RE: Unit Descriptions: Air, Naval, Land - 8/26/2009 2:54:59 AM   
Mike Dubost

 

Posts: 273
Joined: 8/24/2008
From: Sacramento, CA
Status: offline
Warspite1:

I was just re-reading one volume of Morrison's History of US Naval Operations in WWII, and I came across a mention of a Japanese sub that has to be the "flying sub" taking part in the Midway/Aleutians operation. Do you already have this info in the write up? If not, would you like me to try to briefly summarize it?

This same volume includes overviews of a small sample of US sub patrols. Would you like me to take a stab at writing up a couple?

(in reply to Mike Dubost)
Post #: 1353
RE: Unit Descriptions: Air, Naval, Land - 8/26/2009 4:45:11 AM   
michaelbaldur


Posts: 4774
Joined: 4/6/2007
From: denmark
Status: offline
quote:

The Scharnhorst and her sister Gneisenau were originally intended to be better
armoured versions of the Deutschland-class pocket-battleships. However, to avoid
the ships becoming un-balanced (too heavy


it is the write up for Gneisenau so :
The Gneisenau and her sister Scharnhorst

sound better

_____________________________

the wif rulebook is my bible

I work hard, not smart.

beta tester and Mwif expert

if you have questions or issues with the game, just contact me on Michaelbaldur1@gmail.com

(in reply to Mike Dubost)
Post #: 1354
RE: Unit Descriptions: Air, Naval, Land - 8/26/2009 6:59:48 AM   
warspite1


Posts: 41353
Joined: 2/2/2008
From: England
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: michaelbaldur

quote:

The Scharnhorst and her sister Gneisenau were originally intended to be better
armoured versions of the Deutschland-class pocket-battleships. However, to avoid
the ships becoming un-balanced (too heavy


it is the write up for Gneisenau so :
The Gneisenau and her sister Scharnhorst

sound better

Warspite1

You are right thank-you - master file amended


_____________________________

England expects that every man will do his duty. Horatio Nelson October 1805



(in reply to michaelbaldur)
Post #: 1355
RE: Unit Descriptions: Air, Naval, Land - 8/26/2009 7:08:05 AM   
warspite1


Posts: 41353
Joined: 2/2/2008
From: England
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mike Dubost

Warspite1:

I was just re-reading one volume of Morrison's History of US Naval Operations in WWII, and I came across a mention of a Japanese sub that has to be the "flying sub" taking part in the Midway/Aleutians operation. Do you already have this info in the write up? If not, would you like me to try to briefly summarize it?

This same volume includes overviews of a small sample of US sub patrols. Would you like me to take a stab at writing up a couple?

Warspite1

Mike - any help on the US and Japanese subs would be welcome. Having a quick look at the master list, it looks like the following Japanese subs have been written about to any extent:

Type B1
KD6a
KD5
KD4
Kd3a








_____________________________

England expects that every man will do his duty. Horatio Nelson October 1805



(in reply to Mike Dubost)
Post #: 1356
RE: Unit Descriptions: Air, Naval, Land - 8/26/2009 9:26:15 AM   
Shannon V. OKeets

 

Posts: 22095
Joined: 5/19/2005
From: Honolulu, Hawaii
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: warspite1


quote:

ORIGINAL: Mike Dubost

Warspite1:

I was just re-reading one volume of Morrison's History of US Naval Operations in WWII, and I came across a mention of a Japanese sub that has to be the "flying sub" taking part in the Midway/Aleutians operation. Do you already have this info in the write up? If not, would you like me to try to briefly summarize it?

This same volume includes overviews of a small sample of US sub patrols. Would you like me to take a stab at writing up a couple?

Warspite1

Mike - any help on the US and Japanese subs would be welcome. Having a quick look at the master list, it looks like the following Japanese subs have been written about to any extent:

Type B1
KD6a
KD5
KD4
Kd3a

Do you mean have NOT been written about?

_____________________________

Steve

Perfection is an elusive goal.

(in reply to warspite1)
Post #: 1357
RE: Unit Descriptions: Air, Naval, Land - 8/26/2009 3:40:01 PM   
ItBurns

 

Posts: 85
Joined: 1/3/2009
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: warspite1


.P Both ships were named after important Prussian military figures from the
Napoleonic war era.


I don't know if it merits a mention but both Gneisenau and Scharnhorst were famous comerce raiders at the begining of WWI so the names symbolised what their main purpose was going to be.

(in reply to warspite1)
Post #: 1358
RE: Unit Descriptions: Air, Naval, Land - 8/26/2009 7:20:47 PM   
warspite1


Posts: 41353
Joined: 2/2/2008
From: England
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets


quote:

ORIGINAL: warspite1


quote:

ORIGINAL: Mike Dubost

Warspite1:

I was just re-reading one volume of Morrison's History of US Naval Operations in WWII, and I came across a mention of a Japanese sub that has to be the "flying sub" taking part in the Midway/Aleutians operation. Do you already have this info in the write up? If not, would you like me to try to briefly summarize it?

This same volume includes overviews of a small sample of US sub patrols. Would you like me to take a stab at writing up a couple?

Warspite1

Mike - any help on the US and Japanese subs would be welcome. Having a quick look at the master list, it looks like the following Japanese subs have been written about to any extent:

Type B1
KD6a
KD5
KD4
Kd3a

Do you mean have NOT been written about?

Warspite1

Steve - no, I mean have been written about. Mike was asking about a Flying Sub and because I know nothing about submarines, I mentioned those classes that have a write-up. This is because for all I know one of the above may be a Flying Sub.

_____________________________

England expects that every man will do his duty. Horatio Nelson October 1805



(in reply to Shannon V. OKeets)
Post #: 1359
RE: Unit Descriptions: Air, Naval, Land - 8/27/2009 4:37:17 AM   
Mike Dubost

 

Posts: 273
Joined: 8/24/2008
From: Sacramento, CA
Status: offline
While following up a vague recollection of having heard about a Japanese plan to use the "Flying Sub" to attack the Panama Canal, I came accross a fascinating article on the I-400 class subs. I have incorporated the information into the draft write up. I was apparently wrong about the Midway operation involving THE flying sub, since the Japanese had a bunch of them, mostly smaller.

See below.

Length approximately 400 feet
Displacement 6560 tons (submerged)
Belt Armor N/A
Maximum dive depth 330 feet
Draft 23 feet
Maximum speed surface 18.75 knots
Maximum speed submerged 6.5 knots.
Armament: 8*21 inch tubes for Type 95 torpedoes, one 5.5-inch rear- facing deck gun, three triple-barrel 25mm anti-aircraft guns and a one 25mm gun
Special features: hanger containing 3 float planes with a compressed air catapult for launch.

The “flying submarine” counter represents a series of Japanese subs constructed before and during the war to carry seaplanes for reconnaissance and naval attack. At the beginning of the war, Japan had 11 submarines carrying one catapult-launched reconnaissance plane each.

During the preparations for the Midway/Aleutians operation in May 1942, Japanese naval planners worried that the US was preparing significant forces for operations in the North Pacific. Accordingly, one of the single-plane submarines, I-26 was sent to conduct a reconnaissance of Seattle's harbor. The plane reported no capital ships in the harbor, thus helping convince the Japanese that it was safe to begin the Aleutians phase of the operation.

The statistics given above are for the last and largest class (designed and constructed during the war), the I-400 class. Each of the I-400s was designed to carry three float planes, model M6A1 Seiran, which was originally intended to attack the U.S. mainland. The Seiran had a liquid-cooled engine for faster warm-up, and the aircraft carried either a 551-pound bomb with its floats attached or a 1,764-pound bomb (or torpedo) without floats.

In the late spring of 1945, the crews of two I-400s and the associated float planes began training for an attack on the Panama Canal. The plan called for the float planes to be painted with US markings and then launched off the coast of Ecuador. The planes were to fly over Columbia, and attack the Gatun Locks from the north.

However, due to the Japanese concerns regarding the US buildup for the invasion of Japan, the mission was scrubbed in favor of using them to attack US Navy ships preparing for the invasion. Due to a series of accidents, the mission was postponed and the surrender of Japan occurred while the submarines were in route to their attack positions.

The I-400s were surrendered to the USN and were removed from Japanese service in September of 1945. In December 1945, two of them were sailed to Pearl Harbor for examination by the USN. When the Soviets demanded access to the subarines, they were scuttled by the US.

The information on the I-400s is from an article by John Geoghegan found on historynet.com. The information on I-26 is from Volume IV (Coral Sea, Midway, and Submarine Actions, May 1942 - August 1942) of Samuel Eliot Morison’s History of US Naval Operations in WWII.

(in reply to warspite1)
Post #: 1360
RE: Unit Descriptions: Air, Naval, Land - 8/27/2009 4:42:09 AM   
Shannon V. OKeets

 

Posts: 22095
Joined: 5/19/2005
From: Honolulu, Hawaii
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mike Dubost

While following up a vague recollection of having heard about a Japanese plan to use the "Flying Sub" to attack the Panama Canal, I came accross a fascinating article on the I-400 class subs. I have incorporated the information into the draft write up. I was apparently wrong about the Midway operation involving THE flying sub, since the Japanese had a bunch of them, mostly smaller.

See below.

Length approximately 400 feet
Displacement 6560 tons (submerged)
Belt Armor N/A
Maximum dive depth 330 feet
Draft 23 feet
Maximum speed surface 18.75 knots
Maximum speed submerged 6.5 knots.
Armament: 8*21 inch tubes for Type 95 torpedoes, one 5.5-inch rear- facing deck gun, three triple-barrel 25mm anti-aircraft guns and a one 25mm gun
Special features: hanger containing 3 float planes with a compressed air catapult for launch.

The “flying submarine” counter represents a series of Japanese subs constructed before and during the war to carry seaplanes for reconnaissance and naval attack. At the beginning of the war, Japan had 11 submarines carrying one catapult-launched reconnaissance plane each.

During the preparations for the Midway/Aleutians operation in May 1942, Japanese naval planners worried that the US was preparing significant forces for operations in the North Pacific. Accordingly, one of the single-plane submarines, I-26 was sent to conduct a reconnaissance of Seattle's harbor. The plane reported no capital ships in the harbor, thus helping convince the Japanese that it was safe to begin the Aleutians phase of the operation.

The statistics given above are for the last and largest class (designed and constructed during the war), the I-400 class. Each of the I-400s was designed to carry three float planes, model M6A1 Seiran, which was originally intended to attack the U.S. mainland. The Seiran had a liquid-cooled engine for faster warm-up, and the aircraft carried either a 551-pound bomb with its floats attached or a 1,764-pound bomb (or torpedo) without floats.

In the late spring of 1945, the crews of two I-400s and the associated float planes began training for an attack on the Panama Canal. The plan called for the float planes to be painted with US markings and then launched off the coast of Ecuador. The planes were to fly over Columbia, and attack the Gatun Locks from the north.

However, due to the Japanese concerns regarding the US buildup for the invasion of Japan, the mission was scrubbed in favor of using them to attack US Navy ships preparing for the invasion. Due to a series of accidents, the mission was postponed and the surrender of Japan occurred while the submarines were in route to their attack positions.

The I-400s were surrendered to the USN and were removed from Japanese service in September of 1945. In December 1945, two of them were sailed to Pearl Harbor for examination by the USN. When the Soviets demanded access to the subarines, they were scuttled by the US.

The information on the I-400s is from an article by John Geoghegan found on historynet.com. The information on I-26 is from Volume IV (Coral Sea, Midway, and Submarine Actions, May 1942 - August 1942) of Samuel Eliot Morison’s History of US Naval Operations in WWII.


Verrry Interresttin.

Thanks.

_____________________________

Steve

Perfection is an elusive goal.

(in reply to Mike Dubost)
Post #: 1361
RE: Unit Descriptions: Air, Naval, Land - 8/27/2009 6:47:00 AM   
warspite1


Posts: 41353
Joined: 2/2/2008
From: England
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mike Dubost

While following up a vague recollection of having heard about a Japanese plan to use the "Flying Sub" to attack the Panama Canal, I came accross a fascinating article on the I-400 class subs. I have incorporated the information into the draft write up. I was apparently wrong about the Midway operation involving THE flying sub, since the Japanese had a bunch of them, mostly smaller.

See below.

Length approximately 400 feet
Displacement 6560 tons (submerged)
Belt Armor N/A
Maximum dive depth 330 feet
Draft 23 feet
Maximum speed surface 18.75 knots
Maximum speed submerged 6.5 knots.
Armament: 8*21 inch tubes for Type 95 torpedoes, one 5.5-inch rear- facing deck gun, three triple-barrel 25mm anti-aircraft guns and a one 25mm gun
Special features: hanger containing 3 float planes with a compressed air catapult for launch.

The “flying submarine” counter represents a series of Japanese subs constructed before and during the war to carry seaplanes for reconnaissance and naval attack. At the beginning of the war, Japan had 11 submarines carrying one catapult-launched reconnaissance plane each.

During the preparations for the Midway/Aleutians operation in May 1942, Japanese naval planners worried that the US was preparing significant forces for operations in the North Pacific. Accordingly, one of the single-plane submarines, I-26 was sent to conduct a reconnaissance of Seattle's harbor. The plane reported no capital ships in the harbor, thus helping convince the Japanese that it was safe to begin the Aleutians phase of the operation.

The statistics given above are for the last and largest class (designed and constructed during the war), the I-400 class. Each of the I-400s was designed to carry three float planes, model M6A1 Seiran, which was originally intended to attack the U.S. mainland. The Seiran had a liquid-cooled engine for faster warm-up, and the aircraft carried either a 551-pound bomb with its floats attached or a 1,764-pound bomb (or torpedo) without floats.

In the late spring of 1945, the crews of two I-400s and the associated float planes began training for an attack on the Panama Canal. The plan called for the float planes to be painted with US markings and then launched off the coast of Ecuador. The planes were to fly over Columbia, and attack the Gatun Locks from the north.

However, due to the Japanese concerns regarding the US buildup for the invasion of Japan, the mission was scrubbed in favor of using them to attack US Navy ships preparing for the invasion. Due to a series of accidents, the mission was postponed and the surrender of Japan occurred while the submarines were in route to their attack positions.

The I-400s were surrendered to the USN and were removed from Japanese service in September of 1945. In December 1945, two of them were sailed to Pearl Harbor for examination by the USN. When the Soviets demanded access to the subarines, they were scuttled by the US.

The information on the I-400s is from an article by John Geoghegan found on historynet.com. The information on I-26 is from Volume IV (Coral Sea, Midway, and Submarine Actions, May 1942 - August 1942) of Samuel Eliot Morison’s History of US Naval Operations in WWII.

Warspite1

Mike - thanks for this. Sorry I have to ask, I take it these are your own words and not a copy from the sources you mention?

This is really helpful and I shall format this and put into the master list.

Would you be able to compose an opening paragraph (for use in all Japanese sub counters), providing a bit of general backgound i.e. how many subs they started the war with, what they saw their role as, that sort of thing (see below for an example taken from the CW sub counters)?

.P These World In Flames counters represent a number of submarines rather
than any specific individual submarine. The dates printed on the back of the
counters do not tie up in any meaningful way with build dates for the various
classes of Royal Navy (RN) submarine class and therefore the counter date in
most cases should be ignored. These Commonwealth submarine write-ups contain the
usual technical data, followed by a brief history of one or more submarines from
each of the main classes that saw action during the Second World War.
.P The British initially tried to get the submarine outlawed during the inter-
war years. When this policy failed, Britain tried through treaty to limit the
number of submarines that would be available to any potential enemy. When Hitler
ordered the expansion of the Kriegsmarine in the mid-thirties, U-boat building
was allowed at up to 100% of the RN submarine tonnage (although in theory, this
meant tonnage being taken from surface ship allowances). At the start of the
Second World War, the RN had fifty-nine submarines, of which all but twelve
could be considered modern vessels.




_____________________________

England expects that every man will do his duty. Horatio Nelson October 1805



(in reply to Mike Dubost)
Post #: 1362
RE: Unit Descriptions: Air, Naval, Land - 8/27/2009 3:13:59 PM   
Extraneous

 

Posts: 1810
Joined: 6/14/2008
Status: offline
Here is some reference information on Japanese submarines:

combinedfleet.com - Submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy

combinedfleet.com - Stories and Battle Histories of the IJN's Submarines

_____________________________

University of Science Music and Culture (USMC) class of 71 and 72 ~ Extraneous (AKA Mziln)

(in reply to warspite1)
Post #: 1363
RE: Unit Descriptions: Air, Naval, Land - 8/27/2009 9:25:30 PM   
warspite1


Posts: 41353
Joined: 2/2/2008
From: England
Status: offline
...and the answer is......

[4805 Michel - by Robert Jenkins]
.B Engine(s) output: 6,650 hp
.B Top Speed: 16 knots
.B Main armament: 6 x 5.9-inch (150mm), 1 x 4.1-inch (105mm) guns
.B Displacement (standard): 10,900 tons
.B Aircraft: 2 x Arado 196 float plane
.P During the First World War the Germans employed auxiliary cruisers to
attack Allied shipping. During the Second World War the Kriegsmarine revived the
concept, requisitioning fast merchant vessels and modifying them to fulfil their
new purpose. Due to a lack of detailed planning pre-war, there were no laid out
plans for each ship`s conversion and in some cases this delayed the completion
of the vessels.
.P The conversions were not standard and the final specification could differ
from ship to ship, although the 5.9-inch gun was most widely used. They also had
torpedoes and a variety of smaller weapons.
.P The ships were of sufficient size to carry at least one Arado 196 aircraft.
These provided vital reconnaissance capability in the vast expanse of the oceans
they patrolled. One of the drawbacks of this type of raider was the complete
lack of armour and so action against enemy warships was to be avoided if
possible.
.P Each ship was given a Handels-stor-Kreuzer (HSK) number and a pennant number
identifying them as "commerce disruption cruisers". Michel was known to the
British as Raider H.
.P World In Flames allows the German player to build up to ten of the most famous
examples of the auxiliary cruiser.
.P Michel (HSK-9) was originally the Polish merchant vessel Bielsko that was
built for the Gydnia-Amerika line just before the Second World War. She was
captured by the Germans during their invasion of Poland in September 1939. She
was only converted into an auxiliary cruiser during 1941, having been used as a
hospital ship prior to that, and was commissioned into the Kriegsmarine in
September of that year. She carried her own motor torpedo boat, Esau in addition
to two aircraft.
.P She did not leave Germany for her first operation until March of the following
year due to mechanical problems, but eventually sailed under the command of
KorvettenKapitän Von Ruckteschell. She sailed through the English Channel on her
way to her initial target area, the South Atlantic, and despite being attacked by
Royal Navy motor torpedo boats, she completed the hazardous voyage just over two
weeks later.
.P Her first victim was a British tanker, Patella, which she sunk on the 19th
April and the British vessel was quickly followed by the American tanker,
Connecticut. The latter ship was sunk by the Esau, the first of many for this
handy addition to Michel`s armament. Next to succumb were a Norwegian merchant, a
second American vessel and a British merchant, before Michel refuelled at sea at
the end of June.
.P Seven more ships were sunk before, in September, Michel headed for the Indian
Ocean. Targets proved more difficult to come by there and after three more
victims were sent to the bottom of the sea over the next three months, Michel was
ordered to sail for Japan. She arrived there in March 1943 and upon arrival, she
received a new captain. Due to ill-health, Ruckteschell was replaced by Kapitän
Zur See Gumprich, who had previously been in charge of the auxiliary cruiser
Thor until her accidental destruction whilst docked at Yokohama.
.P Michel`s second operation was to prove as unsuccessful as the first had been
successful. After leaving Japan on the 21st May, she headed south and then west
to enter the Indian Ocean once more. She then sailed back into the Pacific. In
the five months she had been at sea, just three enemy merchant ships were sunk
and she headed back for Japan.
.P She was close to home when, on the 17th October, she was spotted by the US
submarine Tarpon. Tarpon attacked, hitting her with three torpedoes that doomed
the German vessel. There were just 110 survivors from her crew of 400.

< Message edited by warspite1 -- 8/27/2009 9:37:14 PM >


_____________________________

England expects that every man will do his duty. Horatio Nelson October 1805



(in reply to Extraneous)
Post #: 1364
RE: Unit Descriptions: Air, Naval, Land - 8/27/2009 10:57:41 PM   
brian brian

 

Posts: 3191
Joined: 11/16/2005
Status: offline
interesting. thanks again. I thought some of the auxiliary cruisers laid mine fields too?

did you already do the write up on the one that sailed around Siberia? that bit of Soviet<>Nazi cooperation has always fascinated me. Did the Soviets know that the ship was really an offensive vessel?

the CX pieces that came with Convoys in Flames are really fun. It's too bad that the generally excellent action limits system in WiF makes it about impossible to use them. the new offensive points system is a bit of a partial remedy, but that still makes naval activity too expensive. I hope Harry frees the Commerce Raiders someday. As fun as they are though, it is important to remember that all of them only sank about 3 or 4 actual WiF Convoy Points.

(in reply to warspite1)
Post #: 1365
RE: Unit Descriptions: Air, Naval, Land - 8/28/2009 1:47:04 AM   
Mike Dubost

 

Posts: 273
Joined: 8/24/2008
From: Sacramento, CA
Status: offline
Extraneous:

Thank you for the excellent sources. I will be visiting those links often in my efforts to write up the subs.

Warspite1:

No problem, I understand that you do need to ask if this is a copy-and-paste job due to copywrite issues. The words are my own summary of the content of the sources.

As for the opening "boilerplate", how does this sound for the IJN subs:

These World In Flames counters represent a number of submarines rather than any specific individual submarine. The dates printed on the back of the counters do not tie up in any meaningful way with build dates for the various
classes of Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) submarine class and therefore the counter date in most cases should be ignored. These Japanese submarine write-ups contain the usual technical data, followed by a brief history of one or more submarines from each of the main classes that saw action during the Second World War.

The Japanese began hostilities against the Western Powers with 60 submarines, excluding midgets. The smallest type were the midgets, which were small submarines usually carried by larger subs into range of a port, where they would attempt to sneak in and fire their 2 torpedoes at enemy vessels. The next largest in size were the 13 RO-type coast defense submarines which had limited endurance and were intended to operate near friendly ports and coasts to attack enemy fleets. The largest in size were the 47 I-type fleet submarines. With their longer ranges and endurances, the I-type were intended to cooperate with the main surface battle fleet by locating and wearing down enemy surface fleets.

In pre-war planning, the IJN paid little attention to commerce raiding, and during the war rejected German advice to send large numbers of I-type boats against Allied shipping, although they did send a few subs to patrol off the US West Coast, and did briefly conduct commerce raiding in the Indian Ocean. The IJN soon decided that the limited results achieved in peripheral (to them) theaters were not worth the effort required to continue major operations, and so turned to various special missions. These included refueling of planes for long-range bombing of Hawaii, nuisance bombardments of Pacific Islands, and especially supply of bypassed Japanese island garrisons. In the end, despite a respectable number of subs armed with excellent torpedoes similar to the famous Long Lance, the IJN’s submarine arm failed to have a significant impact on the war.

(in reply to warspite1)
Post #: 1366
RE: Unit Descriptions: Air, Naval, Land - 8/28/2009 1:55:18 AM   
Shannon V. OKeets

 

Posts: 22095
Joined: 5/19/2005
From: Honolulu, Hawaii
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mike Dubost

Extraneous:

Thank you for the excellent sources. I will be visiting those links often in my efforts to write up the subs.

Warspite1:

No problem, I understand that you do need to ask if this is a copy-and-paste job due to copywrite issues. The words are my own summary of the content of the sources.

As for the opening "boilerplate", how does this sound for the IJN subs:

These World In Flames counters represent a number of submarines rather than any specific individual submarine. The dates printed on the back of the counters do not tie up in any meaningful way with build dates for the various
classes of Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) submarine class and therefore the counter date in most cases should be ignored. These Japanese submarine write-ups contain the usual technical data, followed by a brief history of one or more submarines from each of the main classes that saw action during the Second World War.

The Japanese began hostilities against the Western Powers with 60 submarines, excluding midgets. The smallest type were the midgets, which were small submarines usually carried by larger subs into range of a port, where they would attempt to sneak in and fire their 2 torpedoes at enemy vessels. The next largest in size were the 13 RO-type coast defense submarines which had limited endurance and were intended to operate near friendly ports and coasts to attack enemy fleets. The largest in size were the 47 I-type fleet submarines. With their longer ranges and endurances, the I-type were intended to cooperate with the main surface battle fleet by locating and wearing down enemy surface fleets.

In pre-war planning, the IJN paid little attention to commerce raiding, and during the war rejected German advice to send large numbers of I-type boats against Allied shipping, although they did send a few subs to patrol off the US West Coast, and did briefly conduct commerce raiding in the Indian Ocean. The IJN soon decided that the limited results achieved in peripheral (to them) theaters were not worth the effort required to continue major operations, and so turned to various special missions. These included refueling of planes for long-range bombing of Hawaii, nuisance bombardments of Pacific Islands, and especially supply of bypassed Japanese island garrisons. In the end, despite a respectable number of subs armed with excellent torpedoes similar to the famous Long Lance, the IJN’s submarine arm failed to have a significant impact on the war.

Replace "do not tie up in" with "do not relate in".

_____________________________

Steve

Perfection is an elusive goal.

(in reply to Mike Dubost)
Post #: 1367
RE: Unit Descriptions: Air, Naval, Land - 8/28/2009 6:54:08 AM   
warspite1


Posts: 41353
Joined: 2/2/2008
From: England
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: brian brian

interesting. thanks again. I thought some of the auxiliary cruisers laid mine fields too?

Warspite1

They did.....

[4806 Orion - By Robert Jenkins]
.B Engine(s) output: 6,200 hp
.B Top Speed: 13.5 knots
.B Main armament: 6 x 5.9-inch (150mm), 1 x 2.9-inch (75mm) guns
.B Displacement (standard): 15,700 tons
.B Aircraft: 1 x Arado 196 float plane
.P During the First World War the Germans employed auxiliary cruisers to
attack Allied shipping. During the Second World War the Kriegsmarine revived the
concept, requisitioning fast merchant vessels and modifying them to fulfil their
new purpose. Due to a lack of detailed planning pre-war, there were no laid out
plans for each ship`s conversion and in some cases this delayed the completion
of the vessels.
.P The conversions were not standard and the final specification could differ
from ship to ship, although the 5.9-inch gun was most widely used. They also had
torpedoes and a variety of smaller weapons.
.P The ships were of sufficient size to carry at least one Arado 196 aircraft.
These provided vital reconnaissance capability in the vast expanse of the oceans
they patrolled. One of the drawbacks of this type of raider was the complete
lack of armour and so action against enemy warships was to be avoided if
possible.
.P Each ship was given a Handels-stor-Kreuzer (HSK) number and a pennant number
identifying them as "commerce disruption cruisers". Orion was known to the
British as Raider A.
.P World In Flames allows the German player to build up to ten of the most famous
examples of the auxiliary cruiser.
.P Orion (HSK-1) was originally the merchant ship Kurmark, built in Germany in
1931 for the Hamburg-Amerika line. She was actually requisitioned by the
Kriegsmarine before the outbreak of the Second World War and she began conversion
to an auxiliary cruiser. Despite this head start it was only in December 1939
that she was commissioned into the Kriegsmarine. She was worked-up in the Baltic
until March 1940 and then sailed for the North Atlantic via the Denmark Strait at
the start of April, commanded by Korvettenkapitän Weyher.
.P Her first victim was the British freighter Haxby, which she sunk while still
in the North Atlantic. She then headed south and after refuelling, headed for New
Zealand. In mid-June, whilst in New Zealand waters, Orion laid mines off Auckland
and these soon claimed their first victim in the form of the liner Niagara.
.P Orion`s next victim was a Norwegian freighter that she took as a prize and she
was followed by three further Allied merchantmen that were sunk. In October,
Orion rendezvoused with the auxiliary cruiser Komet and the two ships acting in
concert were able to sink a further five ships, including the liner Rangitane.
.P Weyher was then ordered to head for the Indian Ocean, although the next
months brought little but frustration for the German ship. Not only were targets
difficult to find, but Orion was having severe mechanical problems after being at
sea for so long. It was only as she headed for France in July 1941, that Orion
claimed another victim, this time the British merchant Chaucer.
.P Orion finally made it to Bordeaux the following month. Having been at sea for
510 days and sunk 77,000 tons worth of Allied shipping, Orion was retired from
duty as an auxiliary cruiser. Instead, she was renamed Hektor in 1944 and used as
a training ship. She managed to return to Germany and in January 1945 she was
renamed Orion and was deployed in the Baltic during the evacuation of troops and
civilians cut off by the advancing Soviets. Whilst sailing to Denmark on the 4th
May 1945, she was hit by bombs off Swinemünde and sank.


_____________________________

England expects that every man will do his duty. Horatio Nelson October 1805



(in reply to brian brian)
Post #: 1368
RE: Unit Descriptions: Air, Naval, Land - 8/28/2009 6:55:38 AM   
warspite1


Posts: 41353
Joined: 2/2/2008
From: England
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: brian brian

did you already do the write up on the one that sailed around Siberia?

Warspite1

I did...

[4803 Komet - by Robert Jenkins]
.B Engine(s) output: 7,500 hp
.B Top Speed: 15 knots
.B Main armament: 6 x 5.9-inch (150mm), 1 x 2.4-inch (60mm) guns
.B Displacement (full load): 3,287 tons
.B Aircraft: 2 x Arado 196 float plane
.P During the First World War the Germans employed auxiliary cruisers to
attack Allied shipping. During the Second World War the Kriegsmarine revived the
concept, requisitioning fast merchant vessels and modifying them to fulfil their
new purpose. Due to a lack of detailed planning pre-war, there were no laid out
plans for each ship`s conversion and in some cases this delayed the completion
of the vessels.
.P The conversions were not standard and the final specification could differ
from ship to ship, although the 5.9-inch gun was most widely used. They also had
torpedoes and a variety of smaller weapons.
.P The ships were of sufficient size to carry at least one Arado 196 aircraft.
These provided vital reconnaissance capability in the vast expanse of the oceans
they patrolled. One of the drawbacks of this type of raider was the complete
lack of armour and so action against enemy warships was to be avoided if
possible.
.P Each ship was given a Handels-stor-Kreuzer (HSK) number and a pennant number
identifying them as "commerce disruption cruisers". Komet was known to the
British as Raider B.
.P World In Flames allows the German player to build up to ten of the most
famous examples of the auxiliary cruiser.
.P Komet (HSK-7) began life as the merchant vessel Ems. She was built for the
Norddeutscher Lloyd Line and was launched in 1937. She was requisitioned by the
Kriegsmarine at the start of the Second World War for the purpose of being
converted into an auxiliary cruiser, although was not commissioned until June
1940. She was the smallest of all the auxiliary cruisers but despite this, she
carried her own Motor Torpedo Boat (MTB).
.P She was unusual in that she arrived at her hunting ground, in Komet`s case
the Pacific Ocean, via the Arctic. Despite her neutrality at the time, the
Soviet Union assisted the German ship with a number of ice-breakers to ensure
her safe passage through to the Pacific.
.P Once there, Komet, commanded by Kapitän Eyssen sank a total of seven vessels
and captured a further one. Two of these ships were sunk in company with the
auxiliary cruiser Orion. Komet returned safely to Germany in November 1941.
.P For her second operation, she was commanded by Kapitän Brocksien. She had
had a major refit that included removal of her obsolete 2.4-inch gun, her two
aircraft and her MTB. She was given four 37mm and four 20mm anti-aircraft
weapons. She left Germany in October 1942 and this time attempted to breakout
into the Atlantic via the English Channel.
.P For the journey west she had an escort of minesweepers, and this flotilla
were attacked by British MTB`s while still in the eastern half of the Channel.
The British were beaten off and Komet continued until she lost much of her escort
to a minefield off Dunkirk. Eventually, she made the port of Le Havre and there
she picked up a new escort of MTB`s.
.P However, Komet was spotted by a British reconnaissance aircraft and Brocksien
made the fateful decision to continue west rather than put into Cherbourg. A
force of Royal Navy destroyers and MTB`s were already at sea and sailed to
intercept the German ships. What exactly happened next is subject to some debate
but in the confused action that followed it is believed, certainly by the
Germans, that Komet`s escorts were badly shot up, not by the British, but in
error by the forward gunner of the Komet who panicked under attack. Although it
was believed initially that a torpedo from MTB 236 had sunk the Komet, the
Germans believe she sank due to the effects of gunfire from the destroyers.
.P A fire, started by a British shell, raged out of control on board, and when
the fire reached the forward magazines, Komet blew apart taking all 269 officers
and crew with her to the bottom of the English Channel.

_____________________________

England expects that every man will do his duty. Horatio Nelson October 1805



(in reply to brian brian)
Post #: 1369
RE: Unit Descriptions: Air, Naval, Land - 8/28/2009 6:56:50 AM   
warspite1


Posts: 41353
Joined: 2/2/2008
From: England
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mike Dubost

Extraneous:

Thank you for the excellent sources. I will be visiting those links often in my efforts to write up the subs.

Warspite1:

No problem, I understand that you do need to ask if this is a copy-and-paste job due to copywrite issues. The words are my own summary of the content of the sources.

As for the opening "boilerplate", how does this sound for the IJN subs:

These World In Flames counters represent a number of submarines rather than any specific individual submarine. The dates printed on the back of the counters do not tie up in any meaningful way with build dates for the various
classes of Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) submarine class and therefore the counter date in most cases should be ignored. These Japanese submarine write-ups contain the usual technical data, followed by a brief history of one or more submarines from each of the main classes that saw action during the Second World War.

The Japanese began hostilities against the Western Powers with 60 submarines, excluding midgets. The smallest type were the midgets, which were small submarines usually carried by larger subs into range of a port, where they would attempt to sneak in and fire their 2 torpedoes at enemy vessels. The next largest in size were the 13 RO-type coast defense submarines which had limited endurance and were intended to operate near friendly ports and coasts to attack enemy fleets. The largest in size were the 47 I-type fleet submarines. With their longer ranges and endurances, the I-type were intended to cooperate with the main surface battle fleet by locating and wearing down enemy surface fleets.

In pre-war planning, the IJN paid little attention to commerce raiding, and during the war rejected German advice to send large numbers of I-type boats against Allied shipping, although they did send a few subs to patrol off the US West Coast, and did briefly conduct commerce raiding in the Indian Ocean. The IJN soon decided that the limited results achieved in peripheral (to them) theaters were not worth the effort required to continue major operations, and so turned to various special missions. These included refueling of planes for long-range bombing of Hawaii, nuisance bombardments of Pacific Islands, and especially supply of bypassed Japanese island garrisons. In the end, despite a respectable number of subs armed with excellent torpedoes similar to the famous Long Lance, the IJN’s submarine arm failed to have a significant impact on the war.

Warspite1

Excellent mike - thank-you


_____________________________

England expects that every man will do his duty. Horatio Nelson October 1805



(in reply to Mike Dubost)
Post #: 1370
RE: Unit Descriptions: Air, Naval, Land - 8/29/2009 8:21:39 AM   
warspite1


Posts: 41353
Joined: 2/2/2008
From: England
Status: offline
Please see the Prinz Eugen below. She contains the detail for the Channel Dash, Operation Cerberus.

[4786 Prinz Eugen - by Robert Jenkins]
.B Engine(s) output: 132,000 hp
.B Top Speed: 32.5 knots
.B Main armament: 8 x 8-inch (203mm), 12 x 4.1-inch (105mm) guns
.B Displacement (full load): 19,040 tons
.B Thickest armour: 3.25-inch (belt)
.P The five Admiral Hipper-class heavy cruisers were ordered in 1935 as a
result of the Anglo-German Naval Agreement, which allowed the Kriegsmarine to
build up to three heavy cruisers and two others with a lighter armament. However,
the German response was to order three cruisers that paid no attention to the
10,000 ton restriction and indeed the final two ships were ordered to a similar
specification as the first three.
.P The design detail was changed during the course of their construction and in
the end, the Hipper-class fell into two groups, with two in the first and three
in the second. The outbreak of war and other priorities meant the final two ships
were never completed. The differences between the two were largely in size, with
the latter group having larger all-round dimensions. However, in terms of their
armour and armament, the specification was the same for all ships.
.P Not surprisingly, given the blatant disregard for treaty limits, these ships
were more powerfully armed, armoured and with a greater speed than anything that
the Royal Navy could counter with. However, this did not make-up for two major
flaws with their design. Firstly, given the need for the Kriegsmarine ships to
act as surface raiders, their range was surprisingly limited; being almost half
that of their Panzerschiffe for example. The second problem was their propulsion
system, which featured a sophisticated high pressure steam unit that proved
difficult to maintain.
.P Prinz Eugen, the sole ship of the second group, was named after the French
born military commander who transferred his allegiance to the Habsburgs and was
instrumental in the defeat of the Ottoman Turks in the early 18th century.
.P At the beginning of July 1940, before she had even had a chance to be
commissioned, Prinz Eugen was hit and damaged during an air attack on Kiel. As a
result, it was not until the following month that she formally joined the
Kriegsmarine, as the third ship of the class. She then took part in trials and
crew training from then until April the following year.
.P Her first operation was perhaps the most well known of all Kriegsmarine
operations during the Second World War; Rheinübung. For Operation Rheinübung,
Prinz Eugen accompanied the new battleship Bismarck in an attempt to breakout
into the North Atlantic to attack British convoys. The operation was to have
begun in April, but Prinz Eugen was damaged by a mine and she was under repair
for three weeks. The operation only got underway on the 18th May (see Bismarck).
.P After the Bismarck was damaged by a shell from the British battleship Prince
of Wales, the German commander, Admiral Lütjens decided to return to France with
his Flagship and allow Prinz Eugen to continue the original mission. However,
after successfully shaking off her Royal Navy shadowers on the 25th May, Prinz
Eugen`s mission only lasted three more days before mechanical problems forced an
early end to her only surface raiding operation. She arrived in Brest on the 1st
June and one month later she was hit by a bomb during a Royal Air Force (RAF) air
raid on the French port. This cost the lives of fifty of her crew.
.P Also at Brest with Prinz Eugen, were the battlecruisers Scharnhorst and
Gneisenau. They had arrived there in March, following the conclusion of Operation
Berlin (see Gneisenau). All three ships were subsequently damaged while at Brest
and it soon became clear that the west coast of France, rather than being a
springboard for devastating attacks on British convoys, was in fact a death trap
for German surface units.
.P In any case, after the sinking of the Bismarck, Adolf Hitler and Erich Raeder,
the head of the Kriegsmarine, were increasingly at loggerheads over how best to
employ the Navy`s remaining heavy units. Hitler wanted all ships recalled to
Germany and Norway, from where they could guard the northern flank of the Third
Reich and at the same time threaten the Arctic convoys to the Soviet Union.
Having decided to bring the ships back to Germany, the question was then how best
could this be achieved? Hitler was convinced that the English Channel was the
best option as a) the British would be slow to react to a well planned operation,
and b) the ships would not have to fight their way past the Home Fleet.
.P A most audacious plan was hatched, code-named Operation Cerberus, although in
the United Kingdom it is more usually known as the "Channel Dash". The plan
involved all three ships sailing through the English Channel, right under the
noses of the RAF and the Royal Navy who would be wrong-footed by the fact that
the German ships would leave Brest at night and pass through the Straits of Dover
in broad daylight. It was at the same time a foolhardy and brilliant plan, and as
it emanated from the Führer, Raeder`s protests were to no avail. Hitler told his
Kriegsmarine chief that if he did not adopt the plan, Hitler would simply
de-commission the ships.
.P The German force, commanded by Vice-Admiral Ciliax, left Brest on the night of
the 11th February 1942. They sailed in single file with Scharnhorst followed by
Gneisenau and then Prinz Eugen. They left port under the cover of darkness and
sailed through the western end of the English Channel, escorted by six destroyers
and numerous torpedo boats and minesweepers. German preparation had been thorough
and the Channel waters had been swept by minesweepers in the days leading up to
the operation. When daylight came, the German ships would have round the clock
fighter cover.
.P British plans went awry almost immediately and this stemmed from the fact that
their response did not allow for the possibility that the Germans would sail
through the narrowest part of the Channel in anything other than darkness. The
Royal Navy had a submarine patrolling off Brest, but she only patrolled up to the
time that the Germans would need to leave Brest if they were to make the Straits
of Dover during the night. Having got off to a bad start, the British attempts at
spotting the German ships were further hampered by a mixture of a lack of
communication between the RAF and the Royal Navy and in some cases bad luck.
.P Whatever the problems, the incredible fact was that the Ciliax`s force was in
the Bay of Seine before there was a visual sighting of his ships. Further delays
in actually attacking the Germans ships were then caused by the communication
issues, and so it was that the Germans had reached the Straits of Dover without a
single attack against them.
.P The first time they came under fire was just after midday on the 12th, from
the coastal batteries at Dover, although without any hits or damage caused. This
was quickly followed by an attack by Royal Navy motor torpedo boats (MTB). The
MTB`s, harassed by the escorting E-boats and German fighters, got nowhere near
the battlecruisers and had to launch their torpedoes from extreme range. Next in
line to attack were six Swordfish torpedo bombers from 825 Naval Air Squadron,
commanded by Lt-Cdr Esmonde. They were supposed to have five squadrons of RAF
Spitfires as cover, but because of delays in getting the fighters in place, only
one squadron was available when Esmonde went in to attack. His reduced fighter
escort was then caught up in dog-fights with the German fighters covering Ciliax
and as a result the bi-planes were soon on their own. It was a hopeless task but
Esmonde and his squadron continued to fly towards the enemy ships. The Swordfish
had to fly through a barrage of AA fire put up by the targets and their escorts.
All six aircraft were shot down with the loss of 13 of the 18 crew. Ciliax
described the attack thus "The mothball attack of a handful of ancient planes,
piloted by men whose bravery surpasses any other action by either side that day".
A planned second attack, by MTB`s from the port of Ramsgate was never carried out
and then the RAF failed to score any hits when they were brought into the fray in
mid-afternoon. Before the last unsuccessful air attack, six destroyers were
deployed to carry out a torpedo attack, but this proved as unsuccessful as the
earlier MTB strikes. Prinz Eugen and Gneisenau seriously damaged HMS Worcester,
although the destroyer was able to get back to base.
.P Even when, at around 1430hrs, Scharnhorst hit a mine and was temporarily dead
in the water, the British could not take advantage of the situation. The
inability of the British forces to stop the Germans sailing through the English
Channel and back home was a huge embarrassment for all concerned. During the
latter stages of Cerberus both Scharnhorst (for the second time) and Gneisenau
hit mines, although the damage in either case was not critical and did not stop
their triumphant return. The German fleet was able to reach Germany on the
morning of the 13th February. However, there was to be a sting in the tail for
all three ships that returned to Germany (see Scharnhorst and Gneisenau).
.P For Prinz Eugen the sting came just ten days later. She and fellow heavy
cruiser Admiral Scheer were ordered to Norway, sailing on the 21st February with
a five strong destroyer escort. They were spotted by the British who sent the RAF
to attack them. However, no hit was recorded against either. In the early morning
of the 23rd, the force were found by the British submarine HMS Trident which was
able to launch a torpedo at Prinz Eugen. The hit caused major damage to her stern
section, although she was able to make Trondheim, where she was patched-up in
order to allow her to make the journey back to Germany in May.
.P As a result of this, Prinz Eugen was out of the war until January of the
following year. That month, she sailed for Norway once more together with the
battlecruiser Scharnhorst and three destroyers for escort. Prinz Eugen was once
more to be thwarted in her attempt at getting to Norway. The German ships were
again spotted by the RAF and in order to avoid a repeat of the previous February,
both ships were re-called to Germany. Two weeks later, on the 23rd, the Germans
again tried to get the two ships to Norway, but once again the RAF were able to
sight the ships and their recall was ordered. Prinz Eugen never tried again.
.P After these two aborted attempts, Prinz Eugen was kept in the Baltic Sea until
March 1944. During that time she was used as a training ship. She was to see
action again though. In August of that year, she and an escort of four destroyers
and two torpedo boats, sailed for the eastern Baltic where they were called upon
to support army units from Army Group North that had been temporarily cut off by
a sudden Soviet advance. She remained in the Gulf of Finland to provide cover for
the evacuation convoys taking troops and civilians from Tallinn in September (see
auxiliary cruiser Hansa).
.P The following month, Prinz Eugen provided further naval gunfire support for
troops on the Baltic coast trying the impossible task of holding back the Red
Army around Memel. On the 15th October, in thick fog, she collided with the light
cruiser Leipzig, almost cutting the little cruiser in two. So heavy was the
impact that for fourteen hours the two ships were locked together, until
eventually they were able to be safely separated.
.P Repairs at Gotenhafen took just two weeks and Prinz Eugen was back in the
naval gunfire support role at the end of November, this time to support units in
the Sworbe peninsula. After repair work to her main armament in December, the New
Year saw Prinz Eugen continuing where she left off, although once again the front
line had moved further west and by the end of January the Soviets were in East
Prussia. She assisted further evacuation convoys in addition to the naval gunfire
support role.
.P From the 10th March until the 10th April, Prinz Eugen literally expended all
her ammunition in support of troops ashore. Having fired over seven thousand
rounds of 8-inch and 4.1-inch ammunition, and taken a number of casualties from
air and rocket attack, on the 10th April 1945 she left the area and headed for
Swinemünde. After surviving a couple of RAF raids she sailed for Copenhagen,
which she reached on the 20th April. A lack of fuel meant that that was the end
of her war.
.P The last two operational cruisers of the Kriegsmarine, Prinz Eugen and
Nürnburg surrendered to the British on the 7th May. She was later handed over to
the United States Navy.
.P Prinz Eugen capsized and sank while taking part in nuclear tests in the
Pacific in December 1946.


_____________________________

England expects that every man will do his duty. Horatio Nelson October 1805



(in reply to warspite1)
Post #: 1371
RE: Unit Descriptions: Air, Naval, Land - 8/29/2009 9:33:13 AM   
Froonp


Posts: 7995
Joined: 10/21/2003
From: Marseilles, France
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: warspite1
[4786 Prinz Eugen - by Robert Jenkins]
.B Engine(s) output: 132,000 hp
.B Top Speed: 32.5 knots
.B Main armament: 8 x 8-inch (203mm), 12 x 4.1-inch (105mm) guns
.B Displacement (full load): 19,040 tons
.B Thickest armour: 3.25-inch (belt)

Here is the beast :




Attachment (1)

(in reply to warspite1)
Post #: 1372
RE: Unit Descriptions: Air, Naval, Land - 8/29/2009 6:32:37 PM   
warspite1


Posts: 41353
Joined: 2/2/2008
From: England
Status: offline
...two more German counters, this time from the "what if" carrier force:

[4758 Graf Zeppelin - by Robert Jenkins]
.B Engine(s) output: 200,000 hp
.B Top Speed: 35 knots
.B Main armament: 16 x 5.9-inch (150mm), 12 x 4.1-inch guns
.B Aircraft: 43
.B Displacement (Standard): 28,090 tons
.B Thickest armour: 3.5-inch (belt)
.P The signing of the Anglo-German Naval Agreement in 1935 allowed the
Kriegsmarine to build aircraft carriers, although design work had begun in secret
a year earlier as part of Adolf Hitler`s plans to re-arm the German armed forces.
.P The decision was taken to order two such ships, Fluzeugträger (aircraft
carrier) A and B. The first of these was to be named Graf Zeppelin, after the
German general who went on to found the Zeppelin airship company. She was laid
down in December 1936. The second ship, B, was laid down around the time of the
launch of her sister. No name was ever formally chosen for this second carrier
but it is possible that she would have been named Peter Strasser in honour of the
commander of the German airship forces in World War I.
.P How good would these ships have been? The two ships of the class would have
been very powerful vessels in order to push their broad beam through the sea at
the projected 35 knots. Their defensive armament would have been heavy, although
like all major units of the Kriegsmarine, would have benefitted had they been
able to adopt a dual-purpose secondary armament. The placing of the anti-aircraft
guns was less than optimal. The ships would have been surprisingly lightly
armoured over the vital machinery, magazine and hangar spaces. However, the
aircraft they would have carried would have been a mixture of Me-109 fighters and
Ju-87 dive-bombers, known quantities that would have made them a potent attacking
force.
.P The immediate problem faced by the designers was that they needed to play
catch up as the German Navy had no previous experience of this type of vessel.
This problem was then compounded by Hermann Goering and his Luftwaffe, who showed
little appetite for naval aviation.
.P Work on the first of the two carriers proceded during the last years of peace
but the outbreak of the Second World War caused construction to be delayed as the
Kriegsmarine found other priorities such as the U-boat program. With Graf
Zeppelin around 90% complete, the German engineers were having problems with some
of her systems, including the catapult and arrester gear and the decision was
taken, in April 1940 for the construction work on both ships to be halted. For
Fluzeugträger B, the order was final and she was broken up on her slipway.
.P After the loss of the Bismarck in May 1941, the Germans revived their interest
in the aircraft carrier program and work was re-started on Graf Zeppelin for a
short time before being shelved for good after the debacle of the Battle of the
Barents Sea. She was scuttled at the port of Stettin in April 1945 and was then
raised by the Soviets who took her to Leningrad after the war. She was never
completed before her scrapping.
.P Graf Zeppelin was scrapped in 1948.

_____________________________

England expects that every man will do his duty. Horatio Nelson October 1805



(in reply to Froonp)
Post #: 1373
RE: Unit Descriptions: Air, Naval, Land - 8/29/2009 6:34:32 PM   
warspite1


Posts: 41353
Joined: 2/2/2008
From: England
Status: offline
..and the two Seydlitz counters:

[4763 Seydlitz - by Robert Jenkins]
.B Engine(s) output: 130,000 hp
.B Top Speed: 32 knots
.B Main armament: 10 x 4.1-inch (105mm), 8 x 37mm guns
.B Aircraft: 18
.B Displacement (Standard): 18,000 tons
.B Thickest armour: 1.25-inch (belt)
.P This is a World in Flames "what if" counter that gives the German player
the option of constructing the Seydlitz as an aircraft carrier rather than a
heavy cruiser.
.P Seydlitz was ordered by the Kriegsmarine to be the fourth of the five planned
Hipper-class heavy cruisers. She was about 90% complete as a cruiser (see the
alternative Seydlitz counter) when, in August 1942, she was ordered to be
completed as an aircraft carrier. The conversion work was not an easy job as
almost all her superstructure required removal. She was still some way from
completion when the debacle of the Battle of the Barents Sea caused all work on
her to be ceased in early 1943.
.P Towards the end of the war in April 1945, she was scuttled at Königsberg in
order to stop her falling into Soviet hands. However, she was raised by the
Soviets after the war and scrapped at a later date.
.P Had she been completed as an aircraft carrier, she would have been relatively
small, with an aircraft complement of only eighteen aircraft. Details regarding
her armour layout in aircraft carrier form appears to be unavailable, but she was
likely to have been lightly armoured given the layout of the Graf Zeppelin-class.



[4787 Seydlitz - by Robert Jenkins]
.B Engine(s) output: 132,000 hp
.B Top Speed: 32.5 knots
.B Main armament: 8 x 8-inch (203mm), 12 x 4.1-inch (105mm) guns
.B Displacement (full load): 19,040 tons
.B Thickest armour: 3.25-inch (belt)
.P The five Admiral Hipper-class heavy cruisers were ordered in 1935 as a
result of the Anglo-German Naval Agreement, which allowed the Kriegsmarine to
build up to three heavy cruisers and two others with a lighter armament. However,
the German response was to order three cruisers that paid no attention to the
10,000 ton restriction and indeed the final two ships were ordered to a similar
specification as the first three.
.P The design detail was changed during the course of their construction and in
the end, the Hipper-class fell into two groups, with two in the first and three
in the second. The outbreak of war and other priorities meant the final two ships
were never completed. The differences between the two were largely in size, with
the latter group having larger all-round dimensions. However, in terms of their
armour and armament, the specification was the same for all ships.
.P Not surprisingly, given the blatant disregard for treaty limits, these ships
were more powerfully armed, armoured and with a greater speed than anything that
the Royal Navy could counter with. However, this did not make-up for two major
flaws with their design. Firstly, given the need for the Kriegsmarine ships to
act as surface raiders, their range was surprisingly limited; being almost half
that of their Panzerschiffe for example. The second problem was their propulsion
system, which featured a sophisticated high pressure steam unit that proved
difficult to maintain.
.P Seydlitz was named after the famous 18th Century Prussian cavalry general.
.P Seydlitz was one of the two ships that were laid down but not completed. Under
the terms of the Nazi-Soviet pact the Soviets tried to buy all three incomplete
Hipper-class ships, but the Germans only allowed the Lützow to go to the Soviet
Union.
.P Once the war began, work on the cruiser was seriously delayed as the Germans
had other priorities. However, in August 1942 it was decided to convert her to
an aircraft carrier, although this project too, was never completed (see the
alternative Seydlitz counter). Her incomplete hull was scuttled in April 1945,
although she was later raised by the Soviets and taken to Leningrad where she was
later scrapped.
.P This "what if" counter allows the German player to complete Seydlitz to her
original cruiser design, while the alternative counter gives the German player
the option of completing her as an aircraft carrier instead.


_____________________________

England expects that every man will do his duty. Horatio Nelson October 1805



(in reply to warspite1)
Post #: 1374
RE: Unit Descriptions: Air, Naval, Land - 8/30/2009 2:33:36 AM   
Mike Dubost

 

Posts: 273
Joined: 8/24/2008
From: Sacramento, CA
Status: offline
I have drafted one US sub description. I would especially like to have any comments on the initial "boilerplate". Please see below. In order to make it clear what is the "boilerplate", I have placed it above the unit statistics. I have actually found that Wikipedia is a good source for the unit statistics for subs, and it tracks well with other information I have found, so I will use it for the stats when I don't have other resources available.

These World In Flames counters represent a number of submarines rather than any specific individual submarine. The dates printed on the back of the counters do not relate in any meaningful way with build dates for the various classes of United States Navy (USN) submarine class and therefore the counter date in most cases should be ignored. These US submarine write-ups contain the usual technical data, followed by a brief history of one or more submarines from each of the main classes that saw action during the Second World War.

When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, the USN had a total of 111 large and medium submarines, of which 55 large and 18 medium were assigned to the Pacific and Asiatic Fleets, with a further 77 under construction. The average large fleet sub had a displacement of around 1500 tons. The smaller S-boats had displacements of approximately 1000 tons, while the largest fleet sub displaced around 2700 tons.

At the time of the outbreak of war in Europe, the US was a signatory to the London Naval Treaty of 1930, which prohibited unrestricted submarine warfare (Article 22 required attackers to first place passengers, crew, and ship’s papers in “a place of safety”). USN sub doctrine therefore emphasized attacks on capital ships, especially battle cruiser and above. On the first day of war, the USN concluded that the survival of the US was at risk in the war, and consequently ordered the use of unrestricted air and submarine warfare. According to Samuel Eliot Morison, combat vessels were still considered prime targets, but attacks on merchant ships were of major importance.

Unlike the German U-boats, the US subs typically operated alone, due in part to the large distances which had to be covered from a few bases. The US subs would usually attack while submerged, using periscope observations to gather the data to input into the mechanical targeting computer. At the start of the war, US torpedoes were defective. However, once the torpedo faults were corrected, US subs became very effective attackers. Nearly one third of Japanese combat vessels lost were due to subs, as well as nearly 2 thirds of the Japanese merchant losses.

Length approximately 350 feet
Displacement 2770 tons (surfaced)
Test depth 300 feet
Draft 17 feet
Maximum speed surface 14 knots
Maximum speed submerged 6.5 knots.
Armament: 6*21 inch torpedo tubes, two 6-inch guns


The statistics above are for the USS Nautilus, launched in March 1930 at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in San Francisco Bay.

The Nautilus completed a total of 14 war patrols, stretching from Midway to the Solomon Islands to the Kurile Islands.

On her first war patrol, Nautilus participated in the battle of Midway. After sighting and unsuccessfully attacking a large force of warships, Nautilus was attacked by a destroyer. As the destroyer was returning to the main force of IJN vessels, she was spotted and tracked back to the carriers by one of the groups of dive-bombers from the USS Enterprise. The successful sinking of the IJN carriers by the dive-bombers was thus due in part to the Nautilus.

Her second war patrol was the raid on Makin. Refer to the description of USS Argonaut for details.

Her sixth war patrol was a photo reconnaissance mission to the Gilbert Islands prior to the invasion of Tarawa. For her seventh war patrol, she was sent back to gather last-minute surf and weather readings. During this mission, she was struck by friendly fire from a US destroyer (USS Ringgold). Despite significant damage to the conning tower, she was repaired and successfully completed the mission.

During her thirteenth war patrol, she was called upon to destroy a US submarine which had run aground on a reef and could not be recovered. Efforts to keep the sub out of enemy hands by destroying her with torpedoes failed, due to the shallow water around the reef, so the 6-inch deck guns of the Nautilus were used.

After completing her fourteenth war patrol, Nautilus was sent back to the US to be decommissioned. She was stricken from the naval register on July 25th, 1945, and was sold to be scrapped in November of 1945.

(in reply to warspite1)
Post #: 1375
RE: Unit Descriptions: Air, Naval, Land - 8/30/2009 3:35:15 AM   
michaelbaldur


Posts: 4774
Joined: 4/6/2007
From: denmark
Status: offline
looks fine ... but what class of submarine is the nautilus .... maybe you can teel something about that ..

and crew .....

and if you can find something about her captain ...

< Message edited by michaelbaldur -- 8/30/2009 3:36:51 AM >


_____________________________

the wif rulebook is my bible

I work hard, not smart.

beta tester and Mwif expert

if you have questions or issues with the game, just contact me on Michaelbaldur1@gmail.com

(in reply to Mike Dubost)
Post #: 1376
RE: Unit Descriptions: Air, Naval, Land - 8/30/2009 8:36:55 AM   
warspite1


Posts: 41353
Joined: 2/2/2008
From: England
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mike Dubost

I have drafted one US sub description. I would especially like to have any comments on the initial "boilerplate". Please see below. In order to make it clear what is the "boilerplate", I have placed it above the unit statistics. I have actually found that Wikipedia is a good source for the unit statistics for subs, and it tracks well with other information I have found, so I will use it for the stats when I don't have other resources available.

These World In Flames counters represent a number of submarines rather than any specific individual submarine. The dates printed on the back of the counters do not relate in any meaningful way with build dates for the various classes of United States Navy (USN) submarine class and therefore the counter date in most cases should be ignored. These US submarine write-ups contain the usual technical data, followed by a brief history of one or more submarines from each of the main classes that saw action during the Second World War.

When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, the USN had a total of 111 large and medium submarines, of which 55 large and 18 medium were assigned to the Pacific and Asiatic Fleets, with a further 77 under construction. The average large fleet sub had a displacement of around 1500 tons. The smaller S-boats had displacements of approximately 1000 tons, while the largest fleet sub displaced around 2700 tons.

At the time of the outbreak of war in Europe, the US was a signatory to the London Naval Treaty of 1930, which prohibited unrestricted submarine warfare (Article 22 required attackers to first place passengers, crew, and ship’s papers in “a place of safety”). USN sub doctrine therefore emphasized attacks on capital ships, especially battle cruiser and above. On the first day of war, the USN concluded that the survival of the US was at risk in the war, and consequently ordered the use of unrestricted air and submarine warfare. According to Samuel Eliot Morison, combat vessels were still considered prime targets, but attacks on merchant ships were of major importance.

Unlike the German U-boats, the US subs typically operated alone, due in part to the large distances which had to be covered from a few bases. The US subs would usually attack while submerged, using periscope observations to gather the data to input into the mechanical targeting computer. At the start of the war, US torpedoes were defective. However, once the torpedo faults were corrected, US subs became very effective attackers. Nearly one third of Japanese combat vessels lost were due to subs, as well as nearly 2 thirds of the Japanese merchant losses.

Length approximately 350 feet
Displacement 2770 tons (surfaced)
Test depth 300 feet
Draft 17 feet
Maximum speed surface 14 knots
Maximum speed submerged 6.5 knots.
Armament: 6*21 inch torpedo tubes, two 6-inch guns


The statistics above are for the USS Nautilus, launched in March 1930 at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in San Francisco Bay.

The Nautilus completed a total of 14 war patrols, stretching from Midway to the Solomon Islands to the Kurile Islands.

On her first war patrol, Nautilus participated in the battle of Midway. After sighting and unsuccessfully attacking a large force of warships, Nautilus was attacked by a destroyer. As the destroyer was returning to the main force of IJN vessels, she was spotted and tracked back to the carriers by one of the groups of dive-bombers from the USS Enterprise. The successful sinking of the IJN carriers by the dive-bombers was thus due in part to the Nautilus.

Her second war patrol was the raid on Makin. Refer to the description of USS Argonaut for details.

Her sixth war patrol was a photo reconnaissance mission to the Gilbert Islands prior to the invasion of Tarawa. For her seventh war patrol, she was sent back to gather last-minute surf and weather readings. During this mission, she was struck by friendly fire from a US destroyer (USS Ringgold). Despite significant damage to the conning tower, she was repaired and successfully completed the mission.

During her thirteenth war patrol, she was called upon to destroy a US submarine which had run aground on a reef and could not be recovered. Efforts to keep the sub out of enemy hands by destroying her with torpedoes failed, due to the shallow water around the reef, so the 6-inch deck guns of the Nautilus were used.

After completing her fourteenth war patrol, Nautilus was sent back to the US to be decommissioned. She was stricken from the naval register on July 25th, 1945, and was sold to be scrapped in November of 1945.

Warspite1

Mike - thanks this is excellent and I am really grateful for the help, without which the US and Japanese subs are not going to get done before November . You have also identified a problem with my submarine write-ups, whereby I put the technical details at the start..... I shall amend accordingly.

I have formatted your write-up and would make the following comments:
1. Before the technical details, please insert a little blurb about the class you are wrting about.
2. I have changed the technical details you chose so that these are the same for all submarine write-ups.
3. I have (very briefly) filled out her missing war career from your write-up. You may think this is necessary or not. I have also added some detail i.e. the name of the Japanese destroyer, the US submarine she sunk, and a few dates etc.
4. As part of the standardisation, can you include a completion date at the start of the unit write-up and a separate line that confirms when she was scrapped as per below? This is just to ensure standardisation.
5. Finally, I am starting the US write-ups (with one or two necessary exception e.g. USS Reuben James) from 7th December 1941 only. Can you take care with mention of things like "at the start of the war" so that it is clear what period you are referring to?


[4261 Submarine - by Mike Dubost]
.P These World In Flames counters represent a number of submarines rather than
any specific individual submarine. The dates printed on the back of the counters
do not relate in any meaningful way with build dates for the various classes of
United States Navy (USN) submarine class and therefore the counter date in most
cases should be ignored. These US submarine write-ups contain the usual technical
data, followed by a brief history of one or more submarines from each of the main
classes that saw action during the Second World War.
.P When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, the USN had a total of one hundred
and eleven large and medium submarines, of which fifty-five large and eighteen of
the medium type were assigned to the Pacific and Asiatic Fleets. There were a
further seventy-seven under construction. The average large fleet submarine had a
displacement of around fifteen hundred tons, while the smaller S-boats had
displacements of approximately one thousand tons, and the largest fleet submarine
displaced around two thousand seven hundred tons.
.P At the time of the outbreak of war in Europe, the US was a signatory to the
London Naval Treaty of 1930, which prohibited unrestricted submarine warfare
(Article 22 required attackers to first place passengers, crew, and ship’s papers
in “a place of safety”). USN sub doctrine therefore emphasized attacks on capital
ships, especially battlecruiser types and larger. Following the attack on Pearl
Harbor and the entry of the US into the war, the USN concluded that the survival
of the US was at risk in the war, and consequently ordered the use of
unrestricted air and submarine warfare [in line with practice adopted by nations
already at war??] According to Samuel Eliot Morison, combat vessels were still
considered prime targets, but attacks on merchant ships were of major importance.
.P Unlike German U-boats which operated in so-called wolf-packs for greater
effectiveness, US submarines typically operated alone, due in part to the large
distances which had to be covered from their few bases. US submarines would
usually attack while submerged, using periscope observations to gather the data
to input into the mechanical targeting computer.
.P Initially, US torpedoes were defective. However, once the torpedo faults were
corrected, US submarines became very effective attackers. Nearly one third of
Japanese combat vessels lost were due to the submarine service, as well as nearly
two thirds of Japanese merchant losses.
.P
.P This write-up looks at the two-ship Narwhal-class that were...and specifically
the USS Nautilus.
.P INSERT BRIEF DETAILS OF THE CLASS HERE
.P
.B Name: USS Nautilus
.B Engine(s) output: 5,633 hp (Surfaced) 1,600 hp (Submerged)
.B Top Speed: 17.44 knots (Surfaced), 8 knots (Submerged)
.B Main armament: 6 x 21-inch torpedo tubes and 2 x 6-inch (152mm) gun
.B Displacement (Fully Submerged): 3,960 tons
.B Diving Depth: 300 ft
.P USS Nautilus was launched in March 1930 at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in
San Francisco Bay and completed four months later. She completed a total of
fourteen war patrols, stretching from Midway to the Solomon Islands to the Kurile
Islands.
.P On her first war patrol in June 1942, Nautilus participated in the battle of
Midway. After sighting and unsuccessfully attacking a large force of warships,
Nautilus was attacked by the destroyer Arashi. As the destroyer was returning to
the main force of Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) vessels, she was spotted and
tracked back to the carriers by one of the groups of dive-bombers from the USS
Enterprise. The finding of the IJN carriers by the dive-bombers was thus due in
part to the presence of the Nautilus.
.P Her second war patrol was the raid on Makin in August 1942 (see USS Argonaut).
Following this, she undertook three further patrols between September 1942 and
April 1943 that netted seven merchant ships sunk. In the last of these three
patrols she took carried troops for landings on Attu.
.P Her sixth war patrol began in September 1943 and was a photo-reconnaissance
mission to the Gilbert Islands prior to the invasion of Tarawa. For her seventh
war patrol, she was sent back to gather last-minute surf and weather readings.
During this mission, she was struck by friendly fire from the destroyer Ringgold.
Despite significant damage to the conning tower, she was repaired and
successfully completed the mission.
.P Subsequent patrols saw her in the southwest Pacific, operating off the
Philippines. During her thirteenth war patrol, she was called upon to destroy the
US submarine Darter, which had run aground on a reef and could not be recovered.
Efforts to keep the submarine out of enemy hands by destroying her with torpedoes
failed due to the shallow water around the reef, so the 6-inch deck guns of the
Nautilus were used to accomplish the task.
.P After completing her fourteenth war patrol, Nautilus was sent back to the US
to be decommissioned.
.P USS Nautilus was scrapped in November 1945.



_____________________________

England expects that every man will do his duty. Horatio Nelson October 1805



(in reply to Mike Dubost)
Post #: 1377
RE: Unit Descriptions: Air, Naval, Land - 8/30/2009 4:02:46 PM   
warspite1


Posts: 41353
Joined: 2/2/2008
From: England
Status: offline
If he`s still looking in on this forum, Hellfirejet this one is for you!

Please see Scharnhorst below featuring operations Juno and the battle of North Cape

[4771 Scharnhorst - by Robert Jenkins]
.B Engine(s) output: 165,000 hp
.B Top Speed: 32 knots
.B Main armament: 9 x 11-inch (280mm), 12 x 5.9-inch (150mm) guns
.B Displacement (full load): 38,900 tons
.B Thickest armour: 13.75-inch (belt)
.P The two-ship Scharnhorst-class are sometimes classified as battlecruisers
and sometimes battleships; certainly the German Navy classified them as the
latter. However, they were the opposite of what a battlecruiser was traditionally
designed to be; lightly armoured but powerfully armed, and were in fact lightly
armed and heavily armoured. They are referred to as battlecruisers in these write
-ups. They were built for the Kriegsmarine between 1935 and 1939.
.P The Gneisenau and her sister Scharnhorst were originally intended to be better
armoured versions of the Deutschland-class pocket-battleships. However, to avoid
the ships becoming un-balanced (too heavy armour protection for too little
hitting power) a third 11-inch turret was added to their design. As such, the
revised specification of these ships made them less like pocket-battleships and
more like battlecruisers.
.P Then, after the signing of the Anglo-German Naval Agreement in June 1935,
Adolf Hitler wanted to increase the main armament to a 15-inch (381mm) gun in
order that the battlecruisers main armament would compare with that of British
capital ships. This would mean their introduction would be delayed by up to two
years and this was not something Hitler could afford to do, given his territorial
ambitions.
.P The two ships were therefore completed with the smaller gun with a plan to
upgrade their main armament at the first opportunity. As it turned out, the
upgrade never happened and the two ships remained with their original main
armament throughout their life.
.P Both ships were named after important Prussian military figures from the
Napoleonic war era.
.P Scharnhorst`s first operation of the war began at the end of November when the
Kriegsmarine tried to get both her and her sister into the Atlantic. They sailed
initially with the cruisers KÖln and Leipzig and accompanying destroyers,
but then left them on the 22nd to proceed together toward the Faroes-Iceland gap.
The British armed merchant cruiser Rawalpindi was on patrol there and on the 23rd
the battlecruisers came across the British vessel. Scharnhorst, the lead vessel
was the first to see Rawalpindi and her captain, Hoffman, ordered the British
vessel to identify herself. However, his opposite number, Captain Kennedy simply
acknowledged the German signal and sought to shake off the battlecruisers. The
speed differential made this impossible and so Kennedy gave the order to open
fire. Despite being hopelessly outgunned the British captain chose to fight
rather than surrender. It was no contest. The profile of the Rawalpindi, with her
high sides and tall superstructure was an ideal target and the Scharnhorst, and
later the Gneisenau pounded her into submission. At one stage a shell struck the
bridge, killing Kennedy and everyone else in the vicinity. The fight was all over
within forty minutes and when flames reached one of her magazines, Rawalpindi
blew up. As a result of the action and the fact that the British would be aware
of his intentions, Vice-Admiral Marschall called off the sortie and the two
battlecruisers returned to Germany without problem, despite a massive search
by the Home Fleet.
.P Her next operation, Operation Nordmark, came in February (see Admiral Hipper).
Nordmark was an uneventful operation that lasted just three days. Her next
mission was a different proposition altogether. In company with Gneisenau,
Scharnhorst took part in the audacious combined operation to conquer Norway;
Operation Weserübung (see Gneisenau).
.P Weserübung was a success, although it did cost the Kriegsmarine a number of
irreplaceable warships. The British and French response had been badly thought
out and executed and within a short space of time they were clinging on to their
only foothold in Norway; around the northern port of Narvik. The overseas supply
line to this remote region was long and more importantly, the Germans had control
of the rest of Norway, giving the Luftwaffe control of the skies. The Allies had
no choice but to evacuate Norway and this process began at the beginning of June.
.P The Kriegsmarine decided to attack the lengthy Allied supply route and
earmarked Scharnhorst, Geneisenau, the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper and four
destroyers for the purpose. The force was commanded by Marschall on board
Gneisenau; the operation was code-named Juno. On the morning of the 4th June
1940, these ships sailed from Germany.
.P On the 8th June, the German ships came across came across a trawler, Juniper,
that was escorting the tanker Oil Pioneer back to the UK. These two ships were
quickly sunk by Hipper and the destroyers. A little later, they came across the
hospital ship Atlantis and the empty troopship Orama which were also returning to
the UK separately to the main evacuation convoys. Sparing the hospital ship, the
Orama was sunk with the loss of 19 crewmen. Hipper and the destroyers were then
detached and returned to Trondheim, while the battlecruisers continued their
mission.
.P Later that day at about 1600hrs, the battlecruisers were sighted by the Royal
Navy aircraft carrier Glorious. She too was separate from the main convoy for
reasons shrouded in mystery. She was escorted by the destroyers Ardent and
Acasta. For unknown reasons, the carrier was flying no combat air patrol and
indeed there were no aircraft ready on deck to take-off quickly. For these errors
over 1,500 sailors and airmen would pay the ultimate price.
.P Glorious sent Ardent to try and identify the ships in the distance and, as a
precaution, five Swordfish were to be readied for take-off. However, no aircraft
had time to get on deck and launch before Glorious` ability to launch had
disappeared. When the German ships spotted the British force they made full speed
for their target. Gneisenau opened the firing against Ardent at 1627 hrs and
Scharnhorst opened the firing against Glorious at 1632hrs. Ardent withdrew after
launching an unsuccessful torpedo strike at Scharnhorst and both destroyers made
smoke to try and screen the carrier. But by then Glorious had already been hit at
least twice, the first causing a fire in the upper hangar and the second smashing
into the bridge, killing the captain. For a time the destroyers became the main
targets and Ardent was the first to succumb at 1725 hrs. Five minutes later
Acasta fired a salvo of torpedoes at Scharnhorst, scoring a hit with one of them
that killed 48 German sailors. However, she too was then subjected to intense
gunfire and was soon ablaze. She sank at 1820 hrs. With the smokescreen now
clearing, Glorious became the target once more. She was hit in the main engine
room and immediately began to lose speed. She also developed a list and her
position became hopeless. Glorious sank at 1810 hrs. With Scharnhorst damaged,
Marschall ordered his ships to depart the scene immediately and return to Norway.
They were back in Trondheim around midday on the 9th.
.P In response, the Royal Navy tried to launch an air attack against Scharnhorst
launched from the aircraft carrier Ark Royal on the 13th. However, the attack by
fifteen Skua aircraft was a failure as only one hit was recorded; and that simply
bounced off her armour plate. Scharnhorst sailed for Germany on the 21st and
having survived another air attack on route, reached Kiel two days later.
.P Scharnhorst`s next mission, Operation Berlin, was a break-out into the North
Atlantic, and for this she was once again in company with Gneisenau (see
Gneisenau). The two ships arrived in Brest on March 22nd, but Scharnhorst needed
urgent repair work before she would be fit for action again. She was almost
repaired and ready for duty in July 1941, when she was hit by five bombs while
under-going trials at La Pallice.
.P It was clear that the ports of western France were no longer safe for the
Kriegsmarine`s heavy units. In addition, Adolf Hitler wanted his heavy units back
in Germany, and so came up with a plan to bring Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and the
heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen home from Brest through the English Channel. Operation
Cerberus was a most audacious plan and one that caught the British napping (see
Prinz Eugen). Although Scharnhorst was mined twice during Cerberus, she got back
to Germany on the morning of the 13th February.
.P Repairs to the damage received during the "Channel Dash" took until October to
complete, following which she undertook a work-up exercise in the Baltic
alongside the cruisers Leipzig and Nürnberg. She was then ready to attempt the
journey to Norway, where she was required to join the battleship Tirpitz, in the
New Year.
.P In January 1943 she sailed for Norway with the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen and
three destroyers for escort. She was thwarted in the attempt though as the Royal
Air Force (RAF) spotted the German ships and forced their return to Germany. Two
weeks later, on the 23rd, the Germans again tried to get the two ships to Norway,
but once again the RAF were able to sight the ships and their recall was ordered.
It was only at the third attempt, in March, that Scharnhorst was able to reach
Norway. She sailed with a destroyer and torpedo boat escort and arrived in Narvik
in the north of Norway on the 9th. Once there, she took part in exercises with
Tirpitz and the cruiser Lützow, the latter having arrived in Norway shortly after
Scharnhorst, in preparation for forthcoming operations.
.P In September, Scharnhorst took part in Operation Sizilien alongside Tirpitz
and a nine-strong destroyer escort under the command of Admiral Kummetz. This
operation was designed to attack enemy installations on Spitzbergen in the Arctic
Circle (see Tirpitz). Following this operation, Scharnhorst remained in the north
of Norway until December, when she sailed for her final operation.
.P The heavy units of the Kriegsmarine had made little impression on the Arctic
convoy traffic between the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union. Most of the
losses that had been incurred by the Allies had been caused by the Luftwaffe or
the U-boat service. Just before Christmas 1943, Admiral Dönitz ordered an attack,
code-named Ostfront, by his sole remaining serviceable capital ship, Scharnhorst.
For the operation, Scharnhorst, commanded by Rear-Admiral Bey, could call upon
the destroyers of the 4th Destroyer Flotilla as escort.
.P The convoys at sea at the time Scharnhorst sailed were the Soviet bound JW55B
that had left the United Kingdom on the 20th December and the homeward bound
RA55A that left Russia two days later. In addition to their usual close escort,
these convoys had the following escorts: Force 1, commanded by Rear-Admiral
Burnett, was a cruiser force that consisted of the heavy cruiser Norfolk and the
light cruisers Belfast and Sheffield and Force 2, commanded by Admiral Fraser,
and consisting of the battleship Duke of York and the light cruiser Jamaica.
Force 1 was heading west and it was planned that she would meet up with the east
bound convoy east of Bear Island. Force 2, the distant covering force, was
further to the west and heading east behind JW55B.
.P The west bound convoy had been sighted by German reconnaissance on Christmas
Day and Scharnhorst was given the green light for Ostfront to commence that
afternoon. The battlecruiser and her escorts sailed from their base in Altafjord
in the early evening, heading north. The British had picked up signal traffic and
were aware that Scharnhorst was at sea. Force 1 headed in a southwest direction
to intercept the Germans and Force 1 continued in her easterly direction.
.P At 0730hrs on the morning of the 26th, Bey ordered his destroyer force to
increase the search area by sailing to the southwest. Scharnhorst executed what
was essentially a wide 360 degree turn and was soon heading north once more. The
destroyers were never to see their Flagship again as they then lost contact. An
hour later, Norfolk`s radar picked up what proved to be Scharnhorst, which was,
at that time about 25,000 yards away.
.P Bey was unaware of two things at this point; firstly he was only about thirty
miles from JW55B and heading straight for the convoy. Secondly, he was still
unaware of both British forces, let alone the fact that the cruiser force was
closing the range to her all the time.
.P The battle commenced at around 0920hrs when Belfast opened fire with the range
at around 13,000 yards. Norfolk followed suit and Scharnhorst quickly responded.
However, it was Norfolk`s 8-inch guns that found their target first and
Scharnhorst was hit a number of times, one of these put her radar out of action.
Bey ordered his Flagship to turn away, although Burnett`s force was able to stay
in contact. In addition, the British ordered four destroyers from RA55A to join
Force 1. Bey, still unaware that there was a British battleship anywhere near,
now had a slice of good fortune when radar contact was lost. He ordered his
destroyers to join him, although this was never achieved and later, when Bey had
decided to head back to Norway, the same instruction was given to his destroyers.
.P At around midday, the British were able to make radar contact once more and
fire was resumed at 1220hrs. This time, Scharnhorst`s gunnery was more accurate
and she destroyed Norfolk`s radar and one of her main turrets. Sheffield was also
lightly damaged.
.P Bey turned south and unknown to him, put Scharnhorst on a collision course
with Force 2. The cruisers and destroyers of Burnett`s force continued to shadow
Scharnhorst. Duke of York picked up Scharnhorst at around 1615hrs. Half an hour
later Bey got a most rude awakening when Duke of York and Jamaica opened fire.
Scharnhorst responded whilst at the same time turning first east and then north
to try and open up the distance.
.P Although she had taken severe punishment, including putting her Anton and
later, her Bruno turrets out of action, she still had the advantage of superior
speed and at around 1800hrs the distance was increasing between Scharnhorst and
her tormentors. But escape was not to be. At around 1825hrs, a shell fired at
long range from Duke of York exploded in one of Scharnhorst`s boiler rooms. This
had the effect of reducing her speed and thus allowing the British ships to close
the range once more. The four destroyers were now close enough to launch
torpedoes and four of these struck Scharnhorst; her fate was now sealed.
.P At around 1915hrs, the last of Scharnhorst`s main turrets was put out of
action. Belfast and Jamaica were ordered to launch torpedoes, followed by the
remaining destroyers. The order was given to abandon ship soon afterwards and she
sank after a huge explosion at 1945hrs.
.P The British were able to pick up just 36 survivors from her crew of 1,968.
Admiral Fraser paid tribute to Rear-Admiral Bey and the way Scharnhorst had
fought to the end against an opponent far superior in numbers. Bey was not one of
the survivors.

_____________________________

England expects that every man will do his duty. Horatio Nelson October 1805



(in reply to warspite1)
Post #: 1378
RE: Unit Descriptions: Air, Naval, Land - 8/30/2009 5:01:17 PM   
Mike Dubost

 

Posts: 273
Joined: 8/24/2008
From: Sacramento, CA
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: warspite1


quote:

ORIGINAL: Mike Dubost

I have drafted one US sub description. I would especially like to have any comments on the initial "boilerplate". Please see below. In order to make it clear what is the "boilerplate", I have placed it above the unit statistics. I have actually found that Wikipedia is a good source for the unit statistics for subs, and it tracks well with other information I have found, so I will use it for the stats when I don't have other resources available.

These World In Flames counters represent a number of submarines rather than any specific individual submarine. The dates printed on the back of the counters do not relate in any meaningful way with build dates for the various classes of United States Navy (USN) submarine class and therefore the counter date in most cases should be ignored. These US submarine write-ups contain the usual technical data, followed by a brief history of one or more submarines from each of the main classes that saw action during the Second World War.

When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, the USN had a total of 111 large and medium submarines, of which 55 large and 18 medium were assigned to the Pacific and Asiatic Fleets, with a further 77 under construction. The average large fleet sub had a displacement of around 1500 tons. The smaller S-boats had displacements of approximately 1000 tons, while the largest fleet sub displaced around 2700 tons.

At the time of the outbreak of war in Europe, the US was a signatory to the London Naval Treaty of 1930, which prohibited unrestricted submarine warfare (Article 22 required attackers to first place passengers, crew, and ship’s papers in “a place of safety”). USN sub doctrine therefore emphasized attacks on capital ships, especially battle cruiser and above. On the first day of war, the USN concluded that the survival of the US was at risk in the war, and consequently ordered the use of unrestricted air and submarine warfare. According to Samuel Eliot Morison, combat vessels were still considered prime targets, but attacks on merchant ships were of major importance.

Unlike the German U-boats, the US subs typically operated alone, due in part to the large distances which had to be covered from a few bases. The US subs would usually attack while submerged, using periscope observations to gather the data to input into the mechanical targeting computer. At the start of the war, US torpedoes were defective. However, once the torpedo faults were corrected, US subs became very effective attackers. Nearly one third of Japanese combat vessels lost were due to subs, as well as nearly 2 thirds of the Japanese merchant losses.

Length approximately 350 feet
Displacement 2770 tons (surfaced)
Test depth 300 feet
Draft 17 feet
Maximum speed surface 14 knots
Maximum speed submerged 6.5 knots.
Armament: 6*21 inch torpedo tubes, two 6-inch guns


The statistics above are for the USS Nautilus, launched in March 1930 at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in San Francisco Bay.

The Nautilus completed a total of 14 war patrols, stretching from Midway to the Solomon Islands to the Kurile Islands.

On her first war patrol, Nautilus participated in the battle of Midway. After sighting and unsuccessfully attacking a large force of warships, Nautilus was attacked by a destroyer. As the destroyer was returning to the main force of IJN vessels, she was spotted and tracked back to the carriers by one of the groups of dive-bombers from the USS Enterprise. The successful sinking of the IJN carriers by the dive-bombers was thus due in part to the Nautilus.

Her second war patrol was the raid on Makin. Refer to the description of USS Argonaut for details.

Her sixth war patrol was a photo reconnaissance mission to the Gilbert Islands prior to the invasion of Tarawa. For her seventh war patrol, she was sent back to gather last-minute surf and weather readings. During this mission, she was struck by friendly fire from a US destroyer (USS Ringgold). Despite significant damage to the conning tower, she was repaired and successfully completed the mission.

During her thirteenth war patrol, she was called upon to destroy a US submarine which had run aground on a reef and could not be recovered. Efforts to keep the sub out of enemy hands by destroying her with torpedoes failed, due to the shallow water around the reef, so the 6-inch deck guns of the Nautilus were used.

After completing her fourteenth war patrol, Nautilus was sent back to the US to be decommissioned. She was stricken from the naval register on July 25th, 1945, and was sold to be scrapped in November of 1945.

Warspite1

Mike - thanks this is excellent and I am really grateful for the help, without which the US and Japanese subs are not going to get done before November . You have also identified a problem with my submarine write-ups, whereby I put the technical details at the start..... I shall amend accordingly.

I have formatted your write-up and would make the following comments:
1. Before the technical details, please insert a little blurb about the class you are wrting about.
2. I have changed the technical details you chose so that these are the same for all submarine write-ups.
3. I have (very briefly) filled out her missing war career from your write-up. You may think this is necessary or not. I have also added some detail i.e. the name of the Japanese destroyer, the US submarine she sunk, and a few dates etc.
4. As part of the standardisation, can you include a completion date at the start of the unit write-up and a separate line that confirms when she was scrapped as per below? This is just to ensure standardisation.
5. Finally, I am starting the US write-ups (with one or two necessary exception e.g. USS Reuben James) from 7th December 1941 only. Can you take care with mention of things like "at the start of the war" so that it is clear what period you are referring to?


[4261 Submarine - by Mike Dubost]
.P These World In Flames counters represent a number of submarines rather than
any specific individual submarine. The dates printed on the back of the counters
do not relate in any meaningful way with build dates for the various classes of
United States Navy (USN) submarine class and therefore the counter date in most
cases should be ignored. These US submarine write-ups contain the usual technical
data, followed by a brief history of one or more submarines from each of the main
classes that saw action during the Second World War.
.P When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, the USN had a total of one hundred
and eleven large and medium submarines, of which fifty-five large and eighteen of
the medium type were assigned to the Pacific and Asiatic Fleets. There were a
further seventy-seven under construction. The average large fleet submarine had a
displacement of around fifteen hundred tons, while the smaller S-boats had
displacements of approximately one thousand tons, and the largest fleet submarine
displaced around two thousand seven hundred tons.
.P At the time of the outbreak of war in Europe, the US was a signatory to the
London Naval Treaty of 1930, which prohibited unrestricted submarine warfare
(Article 22 required attackers to first place passengers, crew, and ship’s papers
in “a place of safety”). USN sub doctrine therefore emphasized attacks on capital
ships, especially battlecruiser types and larger. Following the attack on Pearl
Harbor and the entry of the US into the war, the USN concluded that the survival
of the US was at risk in the war, and consequently ordered the use of
unrestricted air and submarine warfare [in line with practice adopted by nations
already at war??] According to Samuel Eliot Morison, combat vessels were still
considered prime targets, but attacks on merchant ships were of major importance.
.P Unlike German U-boats which operated in so-called wolf-packs for greater
effectiveness, US submarines typically operated alone, due in part to the large
distances which had to be covered from their few bases. US submarines would
usually attack while submerged, using periscope observations to gather the data
to input into the mechanical targeting computer.
.P Initially, US torpedoes were defective. However, once the torpedo faults were
corrected, US submarines became very effective attackers. Nearly one third of
Japanese combat vessels lost were due to the submarine service, as well as nearly
two thirds of Japanese merchant losses.
.P
.P This write-up looks at the two-ship Narwhal-class that were...and specifically
the USS Nautilus.
.P INSERT BRIEF DETAILS OF THE CLASS HERE
.P
.B Name: USS Nautilus
.B Engine(s) output: 5,633 hp (Surfaced) 1,600 hp (Submerged)
.B Top Speed: 17.44 knots (Surfaced), 8 knots (Submerged)
.B Main armament: 6 x 21-inch torpedo tubes and 2 x 6-inch (152mm) gun
.B Displacement (Fully Submerged): 3,960 tons
.B Diving Depth: 300 ft
.P USS Nautilus was launched in March 1930 at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in
San Francisco Bay and completed four months later. She completed a total of
fourteen war patrols, stretching from Midway to the Solomon Islands to the Kurile
Islands.
.P On her first war patrol in June 1942, Nautilus participated in the battle of
Midway. After sighting and unsuccessfully attacking a large force of warships,
Nautilus was attacked by the destroyer Arashi. As the destroyer was returning to
the main force of Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) vessels, she was spotted and
tracked back to the carriers by one of the groups of dive-bombers from the USS
Enterprise. The finding of the IJN carriers by the dive-bombers was thus due in
part to the presence of the Nautilus.
.P Her second war patrol was the raid on Makin in August 1942 (see USS Argonaut).
Following this, she undertook three further patrols between September 1942 and
April 1943 that netted seven merchant ships sunk. In the last of these three
patrols she took carried troops for landings on Attu.
.P Her sixth war patrol began in September 1943 and was a photo-reconnaissance
mission to the Gilbert Islands prior to the invasion of Tarawa. For her seventh
war patrol, she was sent back to gather last-minute surf and weather readings.
During this mission, she was struck by friendly fire from the destroyer Ringgold.
Despite significant damage to the conning tower, she was repaired and
successfully completed the mission.
.P Subsequent patrols saw her in the southwest Pacific, operating off the
Philippines. During her thirteenth war patrol, she was called upon to destroy the
US submarine Darter, which had run aground on a reef and could not be recovered.
Efforts to keep the submarine out of enemy hands by destroying her with torpedoes
failed due to the shallow water around the reef, so the 6-inch deck guns of the
Nautilus were used to accomplish the task.
.P After completing her fourteenth war patrol, Nautilus was sent back to the US
to be decommissioned.
.P USS Nautilus was scrapped in November 1945.





Thanks. I posted this as a draft, expecting some comments. Agreed, I should be careful with "at the start of the war" or similar verbiage.

I agree with your changes, but I would like to quibble a bit about one of them. I htink the decision to initiate unrestricted sub warfare should be clearly stated to have been made on the very day of Pearl Harbor. It was not made after a period of sober reflection. In a way, I think it significant to emphasize the extent to which the US is willing to respond to major threats with emotionally-driven decisions to cast off restraints.

I am starting to feel your pain on the discrepancies between sources. I have found the class referred to as both the Nautilus class and the Narwhal class!

Let's simply pick one. Since you have already written Narwahl-class, that works.

So, the addition would be "the two-ship Narwhal class that was specifically designed to be submarine cruisers with a pair of 6-inch deck guns. The design was one of several completed between the wars in order to develop a series of fleet submarines to perform various missions in the vast Pacific Ocean areas. The larger size needed for a second deck gun meant that this class was easier to detect and a bit clumsier, although they were faster on the surface than the older S-boats."

Please feel free to comment on this addition. By the way, valoratsea.com provided much of the information which I used to write this addition, so please add that useful site to our bibliography.

(in reply to warspite1)
Post #: 1379
RE: Unit Descriptions: Air, Naval, Land - 8/31/2009 6:32:11 AM   
morgil


Posts: 114
Joined: 5/9/2008
From: Bergen, Norway
Status: offline
One might include that the Narwhal-class of 2 ships was part of the type known as V-boat, a type that was built from 1919 to 1934.
Also I would recommend Wikipedia, as a place to sum things up, or find out where to go look for solid information.


_____________________________

Gott weiss ich will kein Engel sein.

(in reply to Mike Dubost)
Post #: 1380
Page:   <<   < prev  44 45 [46] 47 48   next >   >>
All Forums >> [New Releases from Matrix Games] >> World in Flames >> RE: Unit Descriptions: Air, Naval, Land Page: <<   < prev  44 45 [46] 47 48   next >   >>
Jump to:





New Messages No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages Locked w/o New Messages
 Post New Thread
 Reply to Message
 Post New Poll
 Submit Vote
 Delete My Own Post
 Delete My Own Thread
 Rate Posts


Forum Software © ASPPlayground.NET Advanced Edition 2.4.5 ANSI

0.860