Comments by "Steve Valley" (@stevevalley7835) on "The Drydock - Episode 221" video.

wrt Brenden's question about armored cruisers, I was reading about British capital ships a couple weeks ago, and one piece talked about the armored cruiser/battlecruiser decision. An armored cruiser would cost a few hundred thousand Pounds less than a battlecruiser, but not enough less to enable more of the ships to be built for the same amount of money in the annual budget. The Admiralty was considering building another generation of armored cruisers, after building the Invincibles, as a budget cutting option, but then got wind of Von der Tann being built with battleship grade guns, so the Admiralty dropped the armored cruiser idea and proceeded with the Indefatigable class. Bottom line: 9.2" armored cruiser would cost almost as much as a battlecruiser, but could not stand up against a battlecruiser, nor could serve as an adjunct to the battleline. I was reading about the Courageouses in particular, and read that Fisher was specifying a maximum draft of 22.5 feet. The Courageouses failed that parameter spectacularly, drawing nearly as much as a Renown. I used SpringSharp to try to redesign Courageous to meet the 22.5 foot spec. By going to three twin 9.2" turrets taken from Lord Nelson class pre-dreadnoughts, to meet the cost and availability parameters of the Courageous, I could reduce the draft to 24.5 feet, which still missed Fisher's requirement.
9
wrt to the question about the Washington treaty prohibiting fortification of Pacific islands, The UK had already had decades to fortify Singapore. The US had already had decades to fortify the Philippines, particularly Manila Bay. The Japanese were awarded the former German colonies, the Marianas, Carolines, and Marshals, which sit astride the US communication lines between Hawaii and the Philippines, after WWI. Japan had not had time to fortify these new possessions, various points of interest like Truk. I'm thinking the ban on fortifications was aimed at Japan.
4
@untruelie2640 the Germans tried raiding northern England from Norway. The range was beyond the capability of the single engine German fighters. The unescorted bombers were slaughtered.
3
Amen to that. Muskegon, MI is a good destination: an LST, Gato class sub, and a civilian Great Lakes passenger steamer all on display. But they are only open during the summer. Muskegon is on the Lake Michigan shore and, in February, an Alberta Clipper comes off that lake that will freeze your nuggies off.
3
@Enterprise One if you want to see a good sub movie, check out "The Enemy Below". The film is loosely based on the novel of the same name, written by Denys Rayner, who spent WWII commanding Corvettes and Destroyers, hunting subs. Cracking good story, so good, that the plot was stolen, virtually point by point, for an episode of the original "Star Trek". The movie also features a real, Buckley class DE, a specialized sub killing machine. If you want to view more from the German/sub side, watch "Das Boot", but the critics were more enthusiastic about that one than I.
2
The Germans had a plan to take Gibraltar, which involved pulling Spain into the war on their side, so the German army could cross Spanish territory to lay siege to Gibraltar. The problem with using Brest and St Nazaire was they were within range of British bombers. Using the port facilities in Ferrol and Rota, would probably put German ships out of range of British land based bombers. Of course, with Gibraltar neutralized, that opens the Atlantic to the Italian fleet, and makes all the repair facilities of Italy accessible to German ships.
1
@WALTERBROADDUS the plan was not a hostile invasion of Spain, but a friendly alliance, so that the German forces in France could get at Gibraltar. Gaining access to Spanish ports would have been free. Look up "Operation Felix".
1
@rodrigogoncalves6165 According to my 1928 USN Port Guide, there are no drydocks, in Spain, or Portugal, that could accommodate the largest German ships. I don't know what may have been built between 1928 and 1940. Of what existed in 28, the largest drydocks, outside of France, that the Germans could have had access to, from the Atlantic, without running a gauntlet of British fire. were in Italy. assuming Gibraltar had been neutralized.
1
@rodrigogoncalves6165 yes, a nice anchorage, but you need repair facilities, like drydocks. That was the point of the British executing the St Nazaire raid, to disable the only dock in France that could accommodate Tirpitz. The USN wanted to base ships in the Philippines, but needed adequate repair facilities. The Dewey drydock was built in Maryland, in 1905. At the time, it was the largest floating dock in the world. It was then towed across the Atlantic, through the Med, through Suez, across the Indian Ocean, and into the Pacific, to get it to Subic Bay. The newspapers reported the Navy did the tow itself, using a couple colliers and a supply ship, because no commercial towing company, that had proper, sea-going, tugs, would attempt it. I'm sure suitable floating docks could have been built in Italy and towed to Spanish Atlantic ports, but it might have been simpler to send the German ships to Naples for work.
1