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warspite1 -> RE: Bob Flemin's MWIF AARse IV - Nice AArse (7/26/2014 10:56:29 PM)
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Here is the write-up for the Queens
World in Flames uses two main types of naval transport counter: Transport (TRS) and
Amphibious (AMPH). The way these counters are used in the game depends to some extent on what optional rules are being used. However, as a general rule, TRS represent the various ship types that were used to transport men and material from one friendly port to another, while AMPH represent the specialised shipping that could land men and material on a hostile shore.
Note: World In Flames, uses convoy points to represent the shipping required to take vital supplies and raw materials, such as food and oil, across the oceans of the world.
These TRS counters represent a number of ships rather than any individual vessel. The different values for each counter reflect the fact that the make-up of any particular fleet of TRS ships differed both in terms of ship numbers and ship type; the size and type of operation being the key factors.
Given her island status and the large overseas empire that she controlled, the United Kingdom was more dependent upon the ships and men of the merchant marine than any other major power. It was therefore vital that all merchant shipping was managed efficiently to maximise this precious resource.
During World War II, ships of every type and from every available source, were placed under the command of the British Ministry of War Transport (MOWT). These ships were not only drawn from Britain's own merchant fleet but also from the fleets of Britain's Allies - the Norwegian contribution being particularly important. In addition, enemy ships captured by the Royal Navy (RN) also fell under the control of MOWT.
Some ships were commissioned into the RN and were given an RN crew, while others were
either totally crewed by civilians or had a mixed complement. By way of example, some merchant vessels were equipped with heavy guns that required operation by DEMS (Defensively Equipped Merchant Ship) gunners and these men typically came from the RN or even the army.
In World In Flames TRS not only include troop ships but also other vessels that kept troops fighting overseas supplied. These vessels include transports, munition ships, tankers, hospital ships and other cargo carrying vessels. These TRS write-ups tell the stories of a handful of the vessels that were so vital to the Commonwealth in ensuring a successful outcome to the Second World War.
This counter represents two very special merchant vessels. The transatlantic passenger liners Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth were among the biggest such ships afloat at the start of World War II - or soon would be in the case of the Queen Elizabeth. Employed as troopships, between them, they were to carry over two million troops during the war and shortly after its end.
• Name: RMS Queen Mary
• Engine(s) output: 160,000 hp
• Top Speed: 28.5 knots (cruising speed)
• Main armament: Not known
• Gross Tonnage: 81,237 tons
• Thickest armour: N/a
• Name: RMS Queen Elizabeth
• Engine(s) output: 200,000 hp
• Top Speed: 29 knots (service speed)
• Main armament: Not known
• Gross Tonnage: 83,673 tons
• Thickest armour: N/a
• Queen Elizabeth
RMS Queen Elizabeth was launched in September 1938. She was built for the world famous Cunard line specifically for the Southampton-New York route and was capable of carrying just under two thousand three hundred passengers. Her fitting out was due to be completed in early 1940 but the outbreak of war changed all that. She was sent initially to New York as she was too high profile a target for the Luftwaffe in the UK and in addition she was taking up shipyard space that was desperately needed for RN ships.
When she arrived in New York in March 1940, four of the world's great liners, Mauretania, Normandie, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary, were berthed alongside each other; a most impressive site no doubt. She was then moved to Singapore to be fitted out as a troopship and for her defensive armament to be fitted. She was ready to sail for Sydney, Australia in February 1941, from where she carried troops to the Middle East. On her return journey she took German and Italian prisoners of war to Australia.
At one stage, the Admiralty looked at possible conversion of both Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth to aircraft carriers but it was realised their troop carrying capability was too important to the Allied cause. After the US entered the war, she was sent to Canada and from there she carried US troops to Australia to begin the fight-back against the Japanese.
In April 1942, Queen Elizabeth was sent to New York, where her troop capacity was
increased to ten thousand. From August that year until the end of the war, she was used regularly between New York and the UK as the Allies built up their armies that would at some point in the future, attack the continent of Europe.
When the war was over she assisted the repatriation of thousands of troops and was finally handed back to her owners in March 1946. Queen Elizabeth made her final Atlantic crossing in November 1968 and was sold to become a floating university in Hong Kong in 1971. Conversion work was almost complete, when an arsonist is suspected of starting the fire that destroyed her.
She was the largest ship ever built at the time of her launch and she remained the largest passenger ship to have been built until 1996, when she was overtaken by the Carnival Destiny.
• Queen Mary
RMS Queen Mary was launched in 1934, having been built for the Cunard line specifically for the Southampton-New York route. She began her maiden voyage on 27th May 1936. Her passenger capacity initially was just under two thousand, although when she made her last voyage before World War II, she had just over two thousand five hundred passengers. After conversion to a troopship, she was ultimately capable of carrying over fifteen thousand troops.
Her war service began in March 1940, when she departed New York for Australia to
commence troop carrying duties between Australia and the Middle East. Her first convoy operation began on the 5th May 1940 (see Transport Counter 4717).
She was sent to the US at the start of 1942 to have her troop capacity raised further and she sailed from the US east coast to Australia in February carrying US troops for the first time. Her voyage in May was the first time any ship had carried more than ten thousand people, and three months later she provided another first, when an entire army infantry division of over fifteen thousand men was loaded onto one ship.
In October 1942, tragedy struck when Queen Mary collided with the old AA cruiser Curacoa, slicing the cruiser in two (see HMS Curacoa). There was little damage to Queen Mary, although she had a new bow section fitted in the US during October.
On the 23rd December she began Operation Pamphlet, or The Long Voyage, which took her
from the UK to Suez, from Suez to Australia and back again, arriving in Scotland in April 1943. The main goal of Pamphlet was to get the men of the 9th Australian Division back to Australia from the Middle East following the entry of Japan into the war. In addition to Queen Mary, Aquitania, Ille de France, Nieuw Amsterdam and the Queen of Bermuda were the transports for this convoy. Not surprisingly, the convoy was closely protected at all times, with a strong ASW presence. For the journey across the Indian Ocean, the battleships Warspite, Resolution and Revenge were accompanied by the cruisers Mauritius and the Dutch Tromp and van Heemskerck. The convoy arrived safely in Sydney on the 27th February.
After arriving back in the UK, Queen Mary was then used to take five thousand German
prisoners of war to Canada whilst at the same time carrying the Prime Minister to the US. The peak number of passengers and crew carried was reached in July 1943, when in total, Queen Mary carried sixteen thousand six hundred and eighty three troops and crew. Queen Mary continued sailing back and forth until victory was secured and she could begin to take troops back home again.
Queen Mary was returned to her owners after the war and resumed passenger service in July 1947. She was retired from service in 1967, having crossed the Atlantic just over 1,000 times. She sailed for Long Beach, California where she arrived at the end of that year.
Queen Mary remains at Long Beach to this day as a floating hotel.
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