RE: Size Class Escalation -- How high in Mass?

> But you can get a LOT of service out of a big
> versatile ship. Some of the Iowa's might be museums
> now but we used them in 3-4 wars for a long period
> of years. We definitely got our money's worth out
> of them. I suspect we'll keep our carriers going for
> an equally long number of years.

Sure, and they speak of such in FB1 when describing the various size
classes. (Without going over the FB IIRC they were talking 30 +/- year
"lifespans" on the ships for active frontline duty) No argument there at
all, if we are talking a 50 +/- lifespan.

> So, yes a big ship is expensive to operate, but if
> you need a big ship for a particular role, it can
> still be a bargain. What small ship would you
> replace an american supercarrier with?

Prickly... Merely to play Devil's Advocate again... Define "bargain". In
truth, I happen to think that the modern day naval model of overall
fleet
construction and organization is a bad model for  the strategic look at
what
a GZG navy would look like. (Tactical is a *whole* 'nother matter BTW,
there
I would say it *is* somewhat correct). I would argue that due to the
amount
of space covered, the time of travel and communication involved, and the
economic forces involved that overall the fleets are going to look more
like
navies out of the Napoleonic Era. <g>

Outside of a war or other severe "police action", you don't use the big
battle-wagons or carriers. You are worried about general patrol/picket
duty,
commerce raiding, piracy, nominal "police action", rebellion,
whatever...

That generally calls for Frigate's, "Destroyer's", and Cruiser's. <g>

David

> --- David Rodemaker <dar@horusinc.com> wrote:
> > Something else I just thought of that no-one has
> > brought up yet (I think
> > <g>).
> >
> > What is the cost to employ the ships during their
> > lifespan? There is the
> > obvious fact that a large ship with more crew has
> > greater life support
> > costs, salaries, etc. But what about fuel and annual
> > maintenance? These are
> > all among the reasons why a small ships *can be*
> > more economical to operate
> > than large ships...
> >
> > David
> >
>
>
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