I'm looking at various ways of making a small gun version of torpedoes (just for fun, possibly propose to spice up teh local club). I'd like it to be small because a lot of our ships can't have anything big on the deck, (big=heavy=boat playing turtle) My idea so far would be to use a "spurt cannon" to simulate the tube, arm it with 3-9ish bb's, and unleash them all at once with a severe downangle. This could be made small I beleive, theres no interuptor pin so it could be just a few inches longer than a nornal barrel. I know you big gunners have effective torps, mind sharing your thoughts?
What you have described is pretty much how I envisioned setting up small gun torpedoes. A 5 round spurt gun set to impact very close aboard, would fairly closely simulate the damage a torpedo could cause I'd think. Obviously, you wouldn't be able to reload, but in reality IIRC, only the Japanese carried reloads for their cruiser's torpedoes anyways. This would give a cruiser or destroyer one heck of a one-time wallop for any battleship who chose to not take them seriously. Mike D
You should consider using a Big Gun style "Arizona" gun to fire a 5-BB blast. These weapons have been used to propel two 1/4" steel balls per barrel at an enemy, and the two-ball impacts tend to let in more water than two separate 1-ball impacts. A 5-ball hole, even a 5-BB hole, must be quite impressive. It's worth experimenting with, and the benefits are that you don't need an onboard CO2 bottle (weight savings) and the weight of the cannon is almost entirely down low (stability). Most importantly, Arizona cannons can be made with all commercial parts. Just be sure to use an oversize barrel so you get that shotgun effect that tears chunks. If you run torpedoes, you should allow the torpedoboat to have one 5-round spurt off each side. It gives the captain a bit more freedom in his initial attack, and a second chance if he makes a mistake. Also, the most effective torpedo-boats aren't destroyers, but light cruisers like the Capitani Romani or Giussano. These CLs are bigger and can handle a heavier sea, but most importantly they are more stable and easier to work with.
How do some of the larger torpedo equipped cruisers fare? I know the IJN cruisers all had large torpedo packages and were fairly fast ships as well. The Soviet Kirovs were also quite speedy, and packed a decent torpedo punch. How about some of the slower torpedo armed Allied heavies such as the RN Counties and the USN Pensacolas and Northamptons (as completed)? Are they very effective ships, or is their speed low enough that they can't effectively deliver a torpedo strike? Mike D
There are several important factors that come into play when determining the effectiveness of a torpedoboat. First is the offensive power: does the ship have the speed and maneuverability to catch its prey, and the firepower to make it worth the effort? Speed is really helpful here, because if you can't catch up to your prey then it's going to be a long hunt. Maneuverability is secondary, as it only really comes into play after you've caught your opponent and its time to land the hit. This isn't much of an issue for most cruisers and destroyers, as they tend to go at least as fast as battleships, which is what they will usually be hunting. Second is the defensive power: does the ship have the speed and maneuverability to outrun potential predators, and the damage control to survive the predators it cannot evade? Here is where the Allies tend to fall short. In general the Allied cruisers were designed to go at "fleet speed" of 33 knots, which means that even as one is hunting a battleship, it is at risk of being hunted down and sunk by another battleship. I have observed this shortcoming in several gun-armed heavy cruisers, which could match but not outrun several battleships on the pond, and were run down and sunk because of it. Fortunately for the Allies, both the French and Italians had some extremely fast cruisers which can battle on either side. A few ships that stand out: Mogami, has twin rudders, heavy torpedo armament, and is the fastest Jap cruiser I know. Kirov, is fast and well-armed. I don't know about the machinery layout, but there is someone building one in my club. Giussano/Cadorna, are the original torpedo cruisers. They are rather light on armament, but lots of speed. Cadorna has a much smaller superstructure than Giussano, but is otherwise identical. Capitani Romani, aka Scipione Africanus, is very fast with a heavy torpedo armament on a small hull. Potentially very maneuverable. Emile Bertin, is among the fastest cruisers I know. Excellent armament, although four shafts and one rudder makes for lackluster maneuvering. Spahkreuzer SP-1, laid down but never completed, is the single most deadly torpedoboat in the WWCC. Its fast enough to catch battleships, and triple rudders help it line up the shot with ease. USS Omaha, at 35 knots its fast enough but the long skinny hull was designed for speed not agility. Decent torpedo armament but the funky casemented main-gun layout could potentially be utilized as well. I don't know of any good british torpedo-cruisers, but if you find one let me know. There are also several good torpedo-armed destroyers if you want more options.
British Dido class like USS Atlanta. Exeter with 8 inch guns and torpedoes. Sheffield class like Cleveland's with torpedoes. Just about all there heavy cruisers. Much more to pick from than the U.S. ships
