Because the US took over the Nagato, would it be possible to run a Nagato as an allied ship in IRCWCC?
I would say that technically, one could. I think that it would be distasteful, though. Ditto for the Prinz Eugen. There are others who I respect who disagree with me, though.
I'm not actually sure if Allied/Axis requirements are actually laid out anywhere in the rules. My gut take would say no, as she didn't serve as a comissioned warship in the USN. However... The Empire of Japan fought against the central powers in WW1 and alongside the other 'Allied' forces though Nagato was not completed until the interwar period, she was laid down during the war. So there's arguable cause for IJN vessels, in particular the Nagato to serve with the Allies. I've always felt the teams being laid out in ww2 terms was annoying... For me Axis vs Allies is a distressingly rigid structure given the spans of time and differing wars involved.
To me the cruisers and predreadnoughts can flip sides no big deal. Lots of them traded sides between wars. Zyrini was Axis then US then Italian. Goben was Axis the Nuetral in WWII. The Italians and French kind of were on both sides. Japan was allied in WWI so a Kongo that's short without a bulge could go allied. The USS nagato is too much for me. So would any German WWI ships that went to Scapa
Nick your last comment brings up a couple of thoughts. As far as the WWII aspect.. we cant go by WWI .. as all the ships launched after WWI like the Japanese.. didn't fight for Allied ... others didn't fight for Axis etc. WWII makes the most sense as it captures the largest cross section of the ships of that time period and is the best basis for making the fleets. As far as Axis vs Allies.. to me .. why build a German, American, or Japanese boat if they will just be blasting away at other ships from the same country. One of the draws of this hobby was to play war. When we played Cowboys and Indians, Cops and Robbers, or Soldiers... we didn't mix up the factions.. they were very distinct. To me the battling is the same.. I want to play War.. its just not the same when I have mixed teams. I do know at times its required but my preference is as close to the real thing as possible.. and the best method is based on WWII alignment. I don't give credence to captured ships or ships sold after the war or anything like that moving to another fleet. It should be based on chosen alignment during entry into the war. Otherwise why stick to WWII... why not modern ships,... or generic 'battleboats'... if the fleet alignments and countries are irrelevant.. then why not change it up... but that would be a whole new hobby.. and personally I think we have enough variants right now that are dividing the attention of our captains.. potentially keeping them from getting a ship on the water in even ONE format. My .02
I view the hobby more as R/C Combat vs anything historical or even anything slightly realistic. There really aren't that many historical aspects of the hobby so why pretend. I think something with more generic boats could be a lot of fun plus it would take away a lot of the rules axis vs allies PITA. In my fantasy world with tons of battlers having local teams that had battles against each other would be ideal, like a real league, and I think you would need more generic boats for that to work well. Then you could have a yearly season and NATS could be a real tournament with some team being crowned the best each year. You'd still get to battle for your team of local buddies and have that teamwork aspect to the hobby but you could build any of the allowed ships. Of course there aren't nearly enough people in the hobby for something like this to work, maybe one day. The current system works fairly well most of the time and it does help with IFF while you're on the water once you learn the ships but there are significant drawbacks to it as well. However there really aren't any rules as to what the teams are which is probably for the better since it allows for flexibility which is a must with the number of people in the hobby and at any given event. I'd much rather fight a balanced flag/no flag battle than a very lopsided axis/allies, lopsided battles just aren't as fun, even if you're winning.
Don't forget that prior to WWI, and during the inter-war period, all major nations planned and prepared for conflicts against most other major nations. See War Plan Red, Gold, Green, white etc. There are many ways to dice up forces of differing nationalities. Axis-vs-Allies or Allies-vs-Entente are only two possible options. It gets even more interesting once you get to the age of sail, when nations declare war and fight major naval battles because one guy cut off another guy's ear. @SnipeHunter, your fantasy world sounds awesome. I'd love to see local teams competing tournament-style.
@Kotori87 If/when I start the RC Warship Combat League I'll let you know! Fighting for the glory of the New York Battle Group or Port Polar Bear, or Texas Battle Group is a lot cooler (and slightly more socially acceptable) than fighting for the glory of Nazi Germany.....
Ya... I just don't know how interesting a battle would be if it were out of proportion or everyone available only had allies or axis. In spite of historical reproduction, wouldn't you get more battling done with more intense battle if everyone divided up flags like red or blue? black or white? Might have to have nazis shooting each other and likewise per each nation and faction but, you'd have even and intense battles. I for one, will not be able to afford another warship for sometime so if no one can allow me some leeway like this, I have to be allied at all times and hope for fair conditions.
