Has anyone ever taken a Fast-Gun ship and a Big-Gun ship of the same class and pitted them against each other?
From what I have heard, that would be a frustrating battle. The BIG gun ship would have trouble hitting the fast gun because of the high speed of the fast gun ship. The fast gun ship would have difficulty penetrating the thick armor of the BIG gun ship. I have also noticed that fast gun ship for the most part do not have rotating turrets. Every BIG gun ship I have seen, the turrets rotate and the barrels depress! I think that I would place my money on the big gun because, the fast gun would have to get in VERY close to have a chance of penetrating the thick armor, where as the BIG gun ship could toss those quarter inch ball bearing all the way across the pond at the fast gun ship. That is my two cents.
Its been done before, from what I've heard fast gun ships eat big gun ships for lunch. Fast guns ships have a huge advantage in maneuverability and speed so they can engage and disengage at will. Fast Gun cannons shot hard enough to punch through the thickest of Big Gun hulls. Also fast gun ships have pumps that can handle more water. That said it sounds like a fun time and I wouldnt mind giving it a shot, as long as im on the fast gun side in my VDT. ;-)
The fast gun ship would win. IF both ships played by the rules allowed in their group. Fast gun ships are faster and turn better. The big gun ship can't go in reverse. The fast gun ship can move and battle on his terms. Never letting the big gun ship get in a shot with the heavier guns. Fast gun ships can shoot faster. With their manuvering advantage they can stay on target unti their bbs are gone then leave never to be hit. A good fast gun will easiley go through 4 layers of pop can aluminum (Two pop cans stood next to each other), blasting through the thicker balsa of a big guns ship is not a problem. Fast gun ships have better pump at 2+ gal/min. Big gun ships pump out much less water. I don't think in one sortie, without reloads, that a fast gun ship would sink a big gun ship, unless there was a pump failure. Then you'd have to score points with the fast gun scoring system that ship would have many more points. If it was a battle until sunk format the big gun ship would never get to reload as the fast gun ship would use all their bbs quickly, reload, use bbs, reload... until they were sunk. But this is all just a theory, until someone tries it we'll never know for sure. If any of the big gunners want to come to the MWC NATS in Houston on July 21 is our free for all day. I'll do a 1on1 with one of your BB/BCs.
Years ago, there was a battle in Indiana where the MBG (big-gun) took on some fast-gun ships. Both fleets had both capitalships, and cruisers. The end result was that the fast-gun ships ended up with a good amount of larger holes, while the big-gun ships endes up with a large amount of smaller holes. But what was more interesting was the location of the holes. The fast-gun ships pretty much dictated when, and where the fighting took place, due to their higher speeds, and maneuverability. But if they tried to keep the big-gun ships at long to medium range, then all of the holes the big-gun ships took were for the most part above-the-waterline. When the fast-gun ships closed the range, in order to obtain hits on, and below-the-waterline, then the hits they took in return were perhaps fewer, but also larger. It was great fun. Mikey
Hey Windrider, you still have some of your Fast Gun ships, right? Do you have anything that would be a good match vs my Viribus? We can do a demo Big-Gun-vs-Fast-Gun match at one of the WWCC's battles.
Please note that Small/Fast Gun ships are invited to NABGO to compete under the standard combat rules (Big Gun) there. That means, primarily, slowing down to 0.1 km/h per knot of the prototype ship's speed (if you want the sec/100', there is a chart on the NTXBG ntxbg.org/documents/NTXBG_Technical_Appendix.pdf and WWCC sites), no combat reverse, and slowing down to the Big Gun ROF. Keep in mind that, even though the ship has its main batteries armed, for Small/Fast Gun ships, we would consider treating them as if they were arming the secondaries closest to the mains instead. And, there is a barrel multiplier - if a single barrel is representing 2 barrels of a secondary, you get double the ROF. What this means - Assume a Bis, with twin barreled 5.9"(?) secondaries. A 5."9 normally has a 2 second ROF. With twins, you would get a 1 sec ROF. Definitely an improvement over the main's 6 second ROF. We do have a Small/Fast gun Invincible in the club, but, sadly, every battle has had gremlins at the pond (she is an old, second hand, ship), and has been unable to battle. Soon, we hope. Also, do keep in mind that it is team play at NABGO (except at the Texas Cage Match), so you will have Big Gun ships along to help. Well as much as they help each other, anyway - which, if you are Axis may not be quite so much. Our Axis skippers tend to be more individual pirates while our Allied skippers tend to work more as a team. And, yes, depending on the mix, it is possible for a ship to be secunded to the other side, so a VDT might be on the Allied side if desired, especially if two Small/Fast Gun VDTs showed up, and did not want to be teammates. Cheers,
That sounds like a great way to incorperate fast gun ships into the big gun style of combat. I like how a single barrel can represent multiple barrels.
Hey Kortori, As a matter of fact I have a Uss Washington with triple sterns and single guns off the port and starboard sides up front that is combat ready. Stephen Morgret had mentioned that we should bring a couple of fast gun boats to the pond and have some combat with each other. However, it might be fun to run them against the other Big Gun guys and your VU. We will have to kick around this idea and maybe have some fun at one of the events. I will bring her in March for the M & G to putt around. Steve
Mike, With your fleet, your would feel pretty "at home" at NABGO. We usually have a Richelieu or two, a Dunkerque, and a Mogador. We have some other French ships in the works by one of our captains, who actually is French. It is July 12-18 this year, with MWC NATS beginning July 18 down in Houston. So, you could get two solid weeks of fun in, if you were a mind to. Another point, the AUSBG has moved the Big Gun World Championships to NABGO again this year, so think of the glory of winning a Big Gun World Championship award (even if it is "Most Sunk" - an award I have won) with a treaty ship! Cheers,
