An excellent observation Powder. Something I've given thought to were I to ever battle standard fast gun again is running a little Atlanta class cruiser (2.5 units) with 1/2 unit spurt guns in the "wing" 5"/38s, both angled forward, and out at 15 degrees a regular 1 unit stern gun, with a 1/2 unit pump. I'd think those spurts would make some nasty holes in a Yamato, espeically if you hit em right about under B turret at the water line. You'd really only have one shot on either side, but there is the potential to lay some serious pain if you are patient enough to take the best shot. I can also hear the outrage if a super-battleship got sunk by an anti aircraft cruiser...
ouch.... anti aircraft cruiser well if the Japs didn’t cripple our fleet while we where at church I think the navel battles would have taken a different route and we would have had a chance to see more cruisers slug it out but instead they turned it in to an aircraft carrier chess match hence anti aircraft cruiser was molded But yes you are right crazy there will be some outrage on the pond this year I smell Cruiser Domination in the air …. Hey I can dream cant I []
Actually those AA cruisers were designed as destroyer flotilla leaders, and were designed as surface combatants. Of interest, they were the only US Navy cruisers to carry torpedoes during WW2 (the Omahas MAY have still had their torps but I am not sure), and also carried active sonar and depth charges! They only saw surface action one time, and both were sunk (Atlanta having been spanked by San Fransisco at close range) after being hit by torpedoes, but NO cruiser of WW2 ever shrugged off torpedo hits, so I think they have a bad rap for not being any good in surface fights. The bottom line is, they had the heaviest long range AA broadside of any ship in the US fleet (even better then the fast BBS)and were too valuable to use in surface actions, when there were plenty of 6 and 8 inch cruisers that could be fed into the meat grinder. It would have been interesting to see what the Atlantas could have done in a little bit better organized fight as opposed to probably the most chaotic naval engagement ever fought. Grr, you are making me want to work on my Salt Lake City more!
actualy you are wrong the Canberra shrugged off a torpedo hit [] In mid-October 1944 Canberra's task group raided Japanese air fields and other facilities on Okinawa and Formosa, in preparation for the forthcoming Leyte invasion. Japanese torpedo planes counterattacked and, during the evening of 13 October, she was hit by a torpedo that opened her hull amidships, bent a propeller shaft, and left her with both engine rooms and the after firerooms flooded. Though the ship's forward boiler rooms could still generate plenty of steam, her engines were completely out of action, and she was dead in the water less than a hundred miles from Formosa, a major enemy air base. Demonstrating masterful night-time seamanship, the heavy cruiser Wichita (CA-45) rigged a tow line and began to slowly pull the stricken Canberra out of range of hostile planes. The following night the light cruiser Houston (CL-81) was also hit and taken under tow. Despite more air attacks, which hit Houston again on 16 October, by month's end both crippled cruisers made it safely to the Navy advanced base at Ulithi. Canberra was later taken to Manus, where she was repaired enough to return to the U.S. under her own power. information From http://history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-c/ca70.htm
I wouldn't call being towed to Ulithi "shrugging it off" hehe. I call that "nearly sunk"! Actually the Canberra and Houston were referred to in the fleet as "crip div 1" and was used as bait to try and draw Japanese units out to fight. They (The IJN) didnt really bite on it. The struggle to save Houston was pretty impressive; she took A LOT of water on, and at least two torps (cant remember if it was 2 or 3 total. Most cruisers that were hit by 2 torpedoes sank. Conversely, off the top of my head, I can't think of any US cruisers that sank as a result of a single torpedo hit (Pensacola came pretty darned close). That does however remind me of the performance of the Portland at first Guadalcanal, after taking a torpedo which jammed her rudder and left her circling, when the sun came up an IJN destoyer was trying to limp away, and the "Sweet Pea" hit her with her 3rd salvo and the tin can blew up. Ah, I love cruisers! Portland is my #2 favorite cruiser behind the Salt Lake City, and it's a pretty darned close second. One could make a very convincing argument that the Portland had the better record. The cruisers were certainly fascinating ships, with colorful histories ranging from point-blank night time bar-room brawls to long range day engagements. When I look at the battleships, I always get a kind of "eh, how boring" with their careers. Among US Battleships only the USS Washington and the USS Massachusetts really stand out to me as "being there, doing that". Ah, if only Halsey would have left Ching Lee and TF34 at San Bernadino strait....
It is not a bad dream after all[] From a historical sense cruisers saw a lot more action than the bigger boys.
Well considering the damage we did with what we had I think we would have kicked some azz . What a ballsy bunch of sailors they where most would have turned tail and ran but those guys where the example of bravery and the American way .
If Halsey had left TF 34 (the fast battleships under VAdm Willis A. "Ching" Lee) guarding San Bernadino Strait, they'd have intercepted Kurita's center force (2 BB, Yamato and Nagato and 2 BCs Kongo and Haruna) with IIRC 8 fast BBs 2 Iowa class, 2 NC class, 4 SoDak class) and the battleship era would have gone out in a blaze of glory, and the destroyers of Taffy3 wouldn't have had to make their suicide charges into the muzzles of battleship and heavy cruiser guns. Even if Halsey had taken his precious Iowas (New Jersey was his flag ship) north with the CVs after Ozawa (who had two Hybrid battleships, Ise and Hyuga) the 4 SoDaks and 2 NCs should have been able to handle Kurita nicely, and would have still had enough surface firepower to take down the 2 Ise class ships in a gunfight if necessary.
The thought of a dozen Gearing class destroyers swarming and "herding" sea cows like the Yamato right into the path of the larger-caliber guns of an American battleship or a Yamato sinking under an endless barrage of small caliber fire from a fleet of tin cans is something I'd like to see on the pond (yes, another plug for a rookie-suitable destroyer).
Well wookie I will do my part to make your sea roundup come true. Only from a tin bucket that’s a tin cans bigger brother []
lol destroyers will always be too small and light for rookies to reliably build in 1/144 scale. Besides, in small gun without torpedoes they don't do enough damage to be anything beyond laughed at. A destroyer can shoot at me all day long, and won't "herd" me anywhere
Well if ramming was legal they could make a drive thru between your ribs who needs stinking torpedoes when you are driving one []
DDs may be for the expericned abttler and builder but in a points game if the skipper is very carefully he will out score the battleships and battle cruises, but if he makes a mistake he will pay the price big time.Years ago I had a friend the built a IJN Kagero and he a had a 3 shot metered spurt gun in the bow, had a 15 or 20 rd mag. Third bb hit you as hard as the first and it would open a pretty good hole in you! I would love to be a part of a swarm of Balitmor class cruisers! I got word from Barnstormers finally that he still plans on making the hulls, hope to see it happen!
Yes me to but I kind of liked being unique! [8] But soon the world will see as a massive armada of all powerful Baltimore’s take over the whole pond and look towards the sea can they be stop I think not… hoo-hah, oh, hey, was I dreaming again sorry []
The nice thing about the Baltimore hulls is they can also be used to make the light carriers Saipan and Wright, in addition to the standard Baltimore/Oregon City types. They're also fairly close (although not spot on) for the Worcester class light cruisers.
MuHAAHAAAHAAA more power to the armada air supremacy as well Bush look out your Navy may be replaced []
