Naval History Forums

Firstly I would not deliberately make an enemy of Italy over Abyssinia or Spain. Secondly I would see both the Leauge of Nations and the Naval Treaties as the dead letters they were by the mid 1930's. You reinforce Malta with heavy and light AA guns and modern Fighter aircraft to protect it as a Nav...

I don't think they have one really. A third strike -at the oil fuel tanks and repair facilities, etc- at Pearl Harbor might have delayed US recovery a bit. If they had managed to win at Coral Sea or Midway (Difficult with the USA reading their codes) again a delay, but Japan cannot invade the US mai...

Bismarck's armour scheme was more old fashioned than the KGV's. In actual results -always to be prefered to theory when we have them- British WWII sea borne radar worked better than German sea borne radar. One problem with only comparing technology is it takes little account of Doctrine, Orders, exp...

Yes I agree very complex, as real sea battles almost always were, but that's what makes it interesting...
Ted

Okay so the basis of this is that Prince of Wales and Repulse are not sunk by Torpedo bombers off Malaya and that the Fleet Carrier HMS Indomitable, did not accidentally ground and joins Force Z. Lets say Churchill does not send so many Aircraft and Tanks to Russia on Artic Convoys, but instead send...

I will do so, but I will need a hand with the USN and Dutch ships and probably the Japanese too.
Ted

Purely for myself I find what if scenarios involving fleets and squadrons, much more interesting, although also certainly much more complex too. Too give an example: What happens at the 'Battle of the Java Sea', if Prince of Wales and Repulse are not sunk off Malaya and the RN and RAN plus the USN a...

Oh sure, I know why people do it, but it is a very artificial concept, since, as you say, in reality ships seldom fought alone with out supporting Cruisers and escorting Destroyers. The German lack of escorts -although they certainly used Destroyers to support their Heavy ships in some operations- a...

Well, based on what actually happened in real WWII Battleship combat, I don't see anyone hitting much at all, even in the best visability, beyond about 35,000 yards, at the most, if both ships are able to move at a reasonable speed and turn freely. I am not sure any WWII Battleship was very seriousl...

On this board, and elswhere, one often reads 'What ifs' that put one ship up against another, very often ships that were highly unlikely to fight each other in real life. Many of the ships built in the 20's and 30's, especially in Britain and the US were built to 'treaty limits', rather than the bes...

In general terms the German High Seas Fleet Heavy units were short ranged, and also had relatively poor crew accommodation for long voyages. If the Germans had had a Battle Cruiser in the Pacific, firstly the British would probably have had at least two (to say nothing of the Allied Japanese Navy) a...

Why not have the Japanese Fleet joining the German-Italian Fleet in European Waters (That's almost as unlikely as the Italian Fleet being willing to leave Italy undefended by sea or being able to get out of the Med) and then the whole USN Fleet can join the RN and there can be a second Jutland in th...

Bismarck was a very powerful Battleship in 1940, but, contrary to popular belief, she was not a 'supership' in a class of her own, for one thing her armour scheme, in certain respects, harked back to the Baden and Bayern of the old German Imperial Navy. Bismarck, for her time, had a good combination...

I think HMS Warspite might make the most famous list.
Too late for WWII but HMS Vanguard would otherwise deserve a place in most powerful and most beautiful...
Ted

The Royal Navy remains a formidable fleet in world terms with her Nuclear hunter killer subs and almost the only viable amphibious capacity outside of the USN. The two new 65,000 ton Carriers will be the largest and most powerful in the world outside the USN and the 'Darings' are good ships. The 'Du...