Tended to be US owned ships that needed to go to places where the US flag caused problems
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Hvalfjörður, presumably. Or Hvalfjord(ur) Englished
What? Half? The Iowas were only a touch smaller (about 10%). If if you're referring to previous classes of BB, they weren't THAT much smaller were they?
So, not one of the (in)famous 5 Sullivan brothers, eh?
RamscoopRaider
Donor
All five of them joined the Navy, were assigned to USS Juneau (CL-52) and died when she was sunk at Guadalcanal
All five brothers served on the same ship, and all five brothers went down with her when she was sunk. It's a major part of the reason why the US Armed Forces doesn't allow siblings to serve in the same unit anymore, iirc.
Errr... Right. Lived in Iowa a while (near their home town, even), and I forget the story of the Sullivan brothers isn't more widely known.
Oh, I thought the word "infamous" was used because the brothers did something or behaved in a questionable way.
1944 movie The Fighting Sullivans is based on their story.
They are referenced in Saving Private Ryan.
Nope, Ted is a fictional character from N. Georgia who we have seen a couple of times.
Ramp-Rat
Monthly Donor
While I believe that there is general agreement that events in what is to the British the Far East, and the Americans the Pacific and Philippines. Are going to be different to what they were IOTL, tho the extent of this is totally in the decision of our author. The following has to be considered, if the decision is that the Japanese opening moves are the same or very close to those of OTL, it will take time for the divergence to evolve. One thing is however given, that if the Japanese elect to go against the British, Hong Kong will fall. It had already been written off by the British establishment, civil and military, they just hadn't told anyone.
If the British manage to hold a significant portion of Malaysia and Singapore, then I believe that Sumatra at least, and possibly Java too, will be retained out of the DEI. And with these two in Allied hands, there is little chance of the Japanese conducting a significant campaign in Papua New Guinea. Japanese air attacks against Singapore, are given a different air officer commanding, going to be very costly for the Japanese. And without access to the oil from the DEI, the Japanese war machine is rapidly growing to run out of the vital resource of modern war.
On a side note in regards to amphibious warfare, while the British unlike the USMC, didn't have such an enfaces on this aspect, they did do some vital work. The origins of both the LCT and LST, were British designs, and Britain was the first nation to produce such vessels. And it was the Japanese who in 1935, with the Shinshu Maru produced the first primitive LSD. It was just that the Americans had the industry to produce the shipping needed in significant numbers.
RR.
If the British manage to hold a significant portion of Malaysia and Singapore, then I believe that Sumatra at least, and possibly Java too, will be retained out of the DEI. And with these two in Allied hands, there is little chance of the Japanese conducting a significant campaign in Papua New Guinea. Japanese air attacks against Singapore, are given a different air officer commanding, going to be very costly for the Japanese. And without access to the oil from the DEI, the Japanese war machine is rapidly growing to run out of the vital resource of modern war.
On a side note in regards to amphibious warfare, while the British unlike the USMC, didn't have such an enfaces on this aspect, they did do some vital work. The origins of both the LCT and LST, were British designs, and Britain was the first nation to produce such vessels. And it was the Japanese who in 1935, with the Shinshu Maru produced the first primitive LSD. It was just that the Americans had the industry to produce the shipping needed in significant numbers.
RR.
Don't have to tell me, I'm one of his most ardent defenders on this board. And I despise how little recognition he gets. I've said this before: "If there was a better pre WW2 4 star in the USN, I do not know him." Hart frankly, is so underrated, unknown, compared to what he did with his command, and as the PRESIDENT of the General Board 1936-1938, that to be cold, it's criminal.
(To be blunt: He was the president of the Board that pretty much authorized/directed/started: Iowa. ESSEX. Gato, Fletcher... Want me to go on? Asiatic fleet under his command never lost a ship at sea.)
It's also the reason behind Sole Surviving. And the USN remembers. There's been TWO ships so far (current is a Burke) named for them.
I've commented on this, but 7 (roughly two regiments of good troops) battalions are there. Just pulling a regiment of them out, and sticking them in Burma or Singapore is a MAJOR change. (and they held the Japanese for 3 days, not too bad)
Holding Singapore is easily doable. The biggest issue, really, is Percival didn't train what he had, and didn't have any real stiffeners. We have Monty in charge of the Ground units, plus at least (IIRC), good combat experienced divison. Singapore falling frankly, unless Japan is willing to write off other areas, isn't likely at all. Remmeber, 25th Army only has 2 divisions, and they're bog standard Japanese semi motorized, at best, Frankly? One (I THINK it's the 8th, come to think of it, or is that PWR?) combat experienced infantry division of the Commonwealth that's ably led and supported, can stop them cold halfway down. With them as "core" to form some colonial troops (and the Indian divisions could fight, btw) Yashamaria will be lucky to get 10km past the Thai border.
Singapore Falling, frankly, isn't really likely. Not even if the Burma Army comes with the 25th. It's not enough. Monty's task is simple: Hold the Japanese NLT 25km from Singapore's North Shore, keep Japanese out of that. Do that, Singapore holds.
And if it holds, Burma falling is iffy, very.
Actually, the US had the first designs, for all the future L series of craft. We just didn't build it. Shinshu was a modification of a cargo/draft.
And it doesn't matter if you have the 'craft' doctrine is the key. Britain (to some extent) thought "good enough for now" and didn't really think about the issues. Partly, because they didn't expect to be invading anywhere where they couldn't find an undefended beach, partly because they hit the point of "defense first"
USMC was the only group (and to be fair, it wasn't so much that the USMC was thinking war, as much as finding a reason to remain in existence, study Hoover's view of them) that did it, then pushed for FltEx, and desgins. It also neatly dovetailed with US planning, so the Marines were given carte blanc to do so. Britain's war plans had no real consideration for the issue.
Depends how far back you go, the UK did some very innovative work in 1917 but it never went anywhere after the war. Many of these things are very murky and were invented independently multiple times. Actually, I suspect a lot of the UK's views on opposed beach landings may have come from the Zeebrugge raid, which took very heavy casualties for marginal gains - something they had to learn again at Dieppe a few years later!
I was referring to our timeline, as per the linked article. The Houston did not get it's radar.
Story 0708
August 4, 1941 0445 Sitia, Crete
Three wooden boats limped into the small port. Within minutes, ambulances had gathered at the docks and half a dozen sailors were now being taken to the aid station of the battalion garrisoning this stretch of coast. Another four men were being brought to the small cemetary. An Anglican priest and a Byzantine Catholic priest performed their rites on the bodies after graves were dug.
Four boats had left the night before. Two were motor torpedo boats, and two were motor gun boats. They were to patrol the Kasos Channel. The first six hours of the patrol were quiet as they barely moved at six knots. Eyes scanned the horizon, ears strained to hear the sound of Italian engines. Nothing was seen, nothing had been heard.
And then the three Italian MAS boats sprung into action. Three red tracer strings quickly converged on the trailing torpedo boat. Seventeen seconds of uninterrupted fire led to MTB 213 skewing out of line quickly. Machine guns and light cannons began to bark back at the Italian interlopers. Torpedoes skidded off of racks and into the water as they reached out for each other. The nearly full moon bathed the deadly ballet as the boats neared each other and then pirouetted away. This went on for an hour until the Italian boats, all lightly damaged, withdrew to their port. The three surviving British attack craft rescued four survivors from the burnt out hulk of MTB-213 and limped home.
Three wooden boats limped into the small port. Within minutes, ambulances had gathered at the docks and half a dozen sailors were now being taken to the aid station of the battalion garrisoning this stretch of coast. Another four men were being brought to the small cemetary. An Anglican priest and a Byzantine Catholic priest performed their rites on the bodies after graves were dug.
Four boats had left the night before. Two were motor torpedo boats, and two were motor gun boats. They were to patrol the Kasos Channel. The first six hours of the patrol were quiet as they barely moved at six knots. Eyes scanned the horizon, ears strained to hear the sound of Italian engines. Nothing was seen, nothing had been heard.
And then the three Italian MAS boats sprung into action. Three red tracer strings quickly converged on the trailing torpedo boat. Seventeen seconds of uninterrupted fire led to MTB 213 skewing out of line quickly. Machine guns and light cannons began to bark back at the Italian interlopers. Torpedoes skidded off of racks and into the water as they reached out for each other. The nearly full moon bathed the deadly ballet as the boats neared each other and then pirouetted away. This went on for an hour until the Italian boats, all lightly damaged, withdrew to their port. The three surviving British attack craft rescued four survivors from the burnt out hulk of MTB-213 and limped home.
Story 0709
August 5, 1941 Central Atlantic
Winston Special #10 was churning steadily south. The twenty one merchant ships were closely escorted by the battleship Malaya, fresh from repairs, and half a dozen destroyers. Sailing with the merchant ships and their escorts but acting independently was two sets of reinforcements for the east. Ark Royal, Kenya and Mauritius as well as five destroyers were due to reinforce the Mediterranean Fleet. The light cruiser Jacob von Heemskerk and three destroyers, Van Galen, Isaac Swears and Gerard Callenburgh would eventually make their way to Surabaya. They had spent their war escorting convoys but the East Indies oil and rubber fields were vulnerable and needed to be protected.
Story 0710
August 6, 1941 Moscow
The freshly rehabilitated colonel stretched his legs as the train stopped moving in the main Moscow train station. The entire camp from north of Lake Baikal was on this train. The journey had been long and cautious as the men who had been enemies of the state and traitors to the revolution until recently were now being called upon to save the state and the revolution from the German invaders. The Chekists were still amongst them, but they had backed away as intelligence appreciations were shared and the words of a few surviving officers who had been wounded fighting the German invaders were eagerly listen to. The Germans were too damn flexible in their tactics and they would flow around positions until they found a weakness to hammer.
He sipped the last of his tea, and ate the last of his freshly baked and entirely wheat bread. The uniform of a colonel of infantry hung loosely on him. It would have fit him a year ago, but now, it billowed on him. He smiled as he enjoyed the last few moments of calm and comfort before he was to be taken to a freshly assembled regiment that was to be attached to the Reserve Front. He knew that the regiment would be a combination of survivors and remnants as well as freshly mobilized reservists who had never trained together much less fought together. If the Southwestern Front could hold, they would have time to train. If not, he could again be leading men into combat soon.
Story 0711
August 7, 1941 near Cam Ranh Bay, Japanese occupied French Indochina
The periscope slid back down. The young man stepped back. The crew waited for the Old Man to speak. "Take us to the bottom"
O-16 descended and sat on the bottom of the South China Sea for the rest of the day. The Old Man had seen half a dozen merchant ships and at least three warships anchored in the great natural anchorage. They all knew that the French Eastern Squadron had left Singapore earlier in the week for Reunion and Madagascar, so they could only be Japanese.
After night fell, the submarine surfaced and expelled the stale air. The diesels started to hum and the submarine began the long, slow journey across the South China Sea to the forward operating base in Sarawak where a radio message could be sent to Batavia and Surabaya.
The periscope slid back down. The young man stepped back. The crew waited for the Old Man to speak. "Take us to the bottom"
O-16 descended and sat on the bottom of the South China Sea for the rest of the day. The Old Man had seen half a dozen merchant ships and at least three warships anchored in the great natural anchorage. They all knew that the French Eastern Squadron had left Singapore earlier in the week for Reunion and Madagascar, so they could only be Japanese.
After night fell, the submarine surfaced and expelled the stale air. The diesels started to hum and the submarine began the long, slow journey across the South China Sea to the forward operating base in Sarawak where a radio message could be sent to Batavia and Surabaya.
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