Re: FT-IJN Designs?

----- Original Message -----
From: <bob_eldridge@mindspring.com>
To: <gzg-l@csua.berkeley.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, January 29, 2002 5:59 PM
Subject: Re: FT-IJN Designs?

Ohhh, comments, just what I like to see (and I mean that, I do like
comments, good or bad).

> Great minds do think alike<g>.

Thanks for the flattery. I prefere to think of myself as just a
forgetful
superior mind myself, not quite great <G>.

>
> . Specifically, the Japanese made the assumption that they would
always be
outnumbered, and so designed their ships to be individually superior to
any
potential >opposition. They also actively looked for "force multipliers"
to
compensate for their numerical inferiority. In FT/FB terms I can see
ships
that are  always at the top >end of each class break, well-armed,
armored,
and fast, but perhaps a little fragile structurally.

I would make them at the top of each class break (remember, the
musashi/yamato were the largest battleship ever built, if technically
inferior to the USN iowa`s). For the SD`s, I would make them bigger than
even the FSE`s carriers. The IJN carriers I would build almost as large
(10
or 20 mass less), but more following the NAC docterine of pure fighter
platforms.

> I can see ships up through heavy cruiser or possibly Battlecruiser
carrying significant numbers of P-torps combined with heavy long-range
beams.

Works in my mind in keeping with the historical parallels for the IJN,
but I
wouldn`t be sure about the PT`s on anything heavier than CH/CA`s myself
(just my preference).

>I do disagree with excluding fighters from all but carriers. After all,
the
Japanese fielded battleship carriers (Hyuga and Ise) and cruiser
carriers
(Mogami as rebuilt, >the Tone class, and the Oyodo) during WWII. So
maybe
the FT/FB IJN has several classes of fighter carrying ships rather than
just
heavy and light carriers, >BDN's and SDN's.

I like the idea of a lot of different fight carring ship sizes myself,
but I
would keep fighter to their own dedicated platforms, and off of the
battleline ships myself (although you could have the same hull used for
a BC
and a smaller carrier, just replace all the weapons with fighter bays).

> I like the idea of a heavy PDS fit.

Having inflicted heavy dammage through fighters at pearl harbour, and
losing
both their super battleships to US fighters, I could see them being very
carful about fighters (as well as using them extensivly themselves).

>Bif's proposed battleship is interesting, and a good start. I'll post a
couple of mine for comment once I get them finalized.

Can`t wait to see them, to see how YOUR design ideas work (probably
better
than mine, anyway <G>).