mikemike
Posts: 501
Joined: 6/3/2004 From: a maze of twisty little passages, all different Status: offline
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OOB issue: Most British DDs have incorrect armament. 1: The Admiralty 'V', 'W', 'S', and 'T' classes are defined with 4.5in guns instead of the correct 4in Mk IV; additionally there was no such thing as an Admiralty 'T' class; all those WWI ships with 'T' names belonged to the Admiralty 'S' class (Originally, there were DDs with 'S'- and 'T' names that belonged to the Admiralty 'R' class, but by 1939, the only 'R' class in service was HMS Skate operating in Britain.) The 'S' class should also be readily convertible between the DD form with three guns, four Torpedo tubes, and DC throwers and the DM form with two guns and 40 mines; all the ships of this class in the Far East were modified for that and in the run-up before Pearl Harbor frequently switched between forms as required. HMS Thracian in Hong Kong started off as a DM, laid a mine field on December 8th, and converted to the DD form during the replenishment periods between patrols, so I think conversion delay should be 1-2 days with no Sys damage. 2: The older DDs, 'A' to 'I' class, exchanged their aft Torpedo tubes for a 12pdr AA gun from mid-1940 on, with the exception of the 'D' class that was built with the 12pdr; likewise the 'J' and 'N' class exchanged their aft tubes for a 4in AA gun. In the AE OOB, all these ships have both the additional AA guns and both their torpedo tube sets, which clearly isn't correct. 3: From the 'S' class onwards, all DDs were equipped with a twin 40mm Bofors in a Hazemeyer mount amidships and 20mm Oerlikons in the bridge wings and on both sides of the searchlight; depending on availability, some ships had quad 2pdr or twin 20mm instead of the twin Bofors. When transferred to the Eastern Fleet, most DDs exchanged some or all of the 20mm for single 40mm Bofors or 2pdr guns; many also received a single Bofors instead of the searchlight. HMS Saumarez carried the twin Hazemeyer Bofors, four single 40mm Bofors instead of the searchlight, and twin power-operated 20mm mounts in the bridge wings. The stock OOB doesn't represent that correctly. 4: Stock AE has all British DD carrying six DC throwers and two DC racks. This is incorrect. Many DD, especially the classes equipped with mine-sweeping gear (the 'J' class, for instance), originally carried just two DC throwers and 20 Depth charges. From 1940 onwards, fleet destroyers generally had four DC throwers and two DC racks, while escort conversions had eight DC throwers, two DC racks and a Hedgehog.
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