Which Transports Are The Best kinds of transports? Oilers Were very low in the water and are hard to see. Fast Transports are very hard to come by. LST Are quite Manuverable. And Sub Transports can dive and surface once danger has past. Which Transports are most recomended?
This would better be asked in the general forum, or in a specific club. Not tryin' to bust yer chops, just sayin' Personally, from the fun standpoint, it's hard to beat an LST (or the Japanese equivalent the T-103)... Fun in my case meaning "I can complete my forward and return trips without sinking, while annoying and frustrating the crap out of the warships that are trying to hit me".
Where can i get an LST hull? And what about a sub transport? Being able to dive, does it give it a better advantage of escaping?
Well, part of it has to do with which type of club you're in. In Big Gun combat, shots can fly all the way across the pond, so ships with high freeboard like the LST and T-103 are not very great. They are highly maneuverable, but they can be hit by long-range fire which would miss other, lower-profile ships. In any style of combat, agility counts for a lot. And agility is very closely related to length. A 7-foot monster like the RMS Queen Mary will take quite a pounding because it can't evade enemies, whereas a smaller and more agile ship could. I have plans for a 35-inch long oiler called the Mehoshi Maru. It is low-profile, reasonably small, and agile. I also have plans (though not CADed yet) for an even smaller 3-island tramp called the SS Puma. The Puma is even smaller (24 inches long) and also very low profile. I'm currently working on drawing up new Big-Gun-legal ribs for it, and then I will build several for me and some buddies. Speed also counts, so if you can find info on fast transports that would be great. A few possibilities: the IJN Kitikami class cruiser was converted to be a fast transport. After it was modified into an uber-torpedo-cruiser, they decided they needed APD's more than they needed PT's, and so they took off most (but not all!) of the torpedo tubes and installed cargo holds. The most important part is that they left the engines in their cruiser configuration, which enabled the transport-configured ship to reach speeds in excess of 30 knots. You would probably have to find detailed documentation before you can run such a ship, but it should be legal. Another possibility is the HMS Manxman/Abdiel class of minelaying cruisers. These ships had extensive holds and were very fast, so they were used to supply Malta during the fighting in the Mediterranean. I have read reports of those ships steaming at nearly 40 knots into the port at Malta, guns blazing and german bombers swarming around, unloading under fire, then retreating at high speed. As for submarines, the only problem I see is that only the Axis had them. There's the Milchkuh supply U-boat, and the oil-carrying I-402. Both ships should be pretty good as convoy ships, and both are very very axis. If you are a good builder and can get the hull to seal properly, they can dive to escape enemy fire. I pity the Allies who have to hunt them, but I fear even more the day that one gets lost, because it may never be found again (without SCUBA gear and several refills on your air tank).
Not so, Carl! USS Argonaut was officially converted from V-4 to APS-1, and carried half a battalion of Marine Raiders on the Makin Island raid. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Argonaut_%28SS-166%29 I believe she gave up her minelaying capability to gain the extra berthing space, but she was definately converted to a cargo/personnel carrier. I have plans for Argonaut in the works, but those won't be ready for use for a few months.
Don't leave out the ocean liner, converted to troop transport. Many people don't like them (myself included) because it's darn-near impossible to sink one. We had one (German Kronprinz Wilhelm, WWI vintage) that was very large & very fast. He didn't even bother with a pump, there was so much reserve buoyancy! We shot that thing up so badly, I really felt sorry for the guy having to repair it, but couldn't sink it (which is why a lot of people don't like them). Others of the ilk include Normandie, Queen Mary, etc. Key attributes: Huge, fast, easy to hit, but nearly unsinkable. Personally, I like oilers & tankers mainly because I think they provide opportunities to look cool with all sorts of piping topside. Victory Ships & Liberty Ships are cool, too. I think 2-shaft ships are easier to build than single because you don't have to go through the keel with a center shaft. Otherwise, I'd look around at what's in my club & build something unique, just for the sake of variety. There are lots & lots of examples to choose from. Any would be suitable. The biggest problem can be finding plans for the more obscure classes. JM
There is a fast fun Graf Zeppelin used for convoy that's the same way. She's nearly impossible to sink because of all the reserve buoyancy. Something that might be interesting is one of the many destroyers converted to fast transports. Most of them were well over 30 knots so would be difficult to catch, and there is always the added benefit of being able to convert it to a warship later if you so desire. Mike D
I would like to stick to allied ships for now. Once we finish the NC we would like to either build a sub or oiler transport. If not, My son would like to try the Alaska Battlecruiser.
What's this about super liners not needing a pump? We have a Normandie super liner in the WWCC, and the only reason why its never been sunk is because its got a monster pump to match the displacement. I've gotten it close to sunk a few times, but the sortie ends before it can take the plunge. If it didn't have a pump, I'd be taking SCUBA lessons right now...
Anecdotally only - I followed one alongside with my HMS Hood for 2 runs, up & back a 1/8 mile course, shooting as fast as allowed. Result: Lots of holes, lots of damage in general, but no sink - & no working pump in the liner! I wouldn't advise anybody building anything without a pump, but this guy got away with it, for awhile at least. JM
