Thoughts on TTT modern navy:
Ship design. Upgrade ships? Conversions were and still are still fairly unique. Hulls and basic mission design don't change much and once you build the hull, you have pretty much “hardwired” the basic ship's characteristics. Ships systems are upgraded e.g. missiles for guns but the basic cruiser is still a cruiser, BB a BB, battle cruiser [BC] a battle cruiser, etc. Speed was one of the primary ship design considerations and a primary consideration when deciding if a ship class was “obsolete”.
Might consider sticking with basic classes and using promotions to differentiate between types within class. The entire ship design process starting around WWI was predicated on screening BB's. A sort of spider to catch the fly design process. Subs sink BB's … build DE's. Torpedo boats sink BB's … build Destroyers. Destroyers also launch torpedos … build light cruisers. Build Cruisers, tinker with BC's. But still, Bbs are the centerpiece.
CV/ CVA/ CVE
Aircraft carriers represent a paradigm changing ship class. Not until it was realized that aircraft could better replace surface guns was the concept firmly established. If the Japanese hadn't sunk or damaged most of the Pacific Fleet BB's and missed the CV's at Pearl Harbor, it might have taken the US another 2 or 3 years to replace the BB by putting the CV at the center of the battle group.
Since aircraft carriers adopted a cruiser hull design [WWI-WWII] they represent the only major class that was produced by “upgrades”. The remaining classes were pretty much “purpose built”. Armored CV decks were first employed by the RN. Many US CV's still lacked armored decks as late as 1944. The armored deck greatly increased the ships ability to sustain damage from aerial bombs and still operate. Wood deck ships were generally put out of action if hit by bombs because of fires started in the hangar deck.
CVE's were another reactive answer to the sub problem. Aircraft turned out to be invaluable in managing the sub threat in WWII and providing at least minimal air escort for smaller task groups.
LPH/ LPA/ LPD
First you need marines, then you need helos, then the carrier “invents itself” as a logical next step. Before that, the transport ships did the job [attack transport ship APA] ... became LPA when helos arrived.
CA / CL/ armored-protected cruiser
Cruiser design changed to adapt to better naval guns, oil fired propulsion systems, and armor piercing shells. Hence the “protected cruiser”. Once again a “purpose built” designs since the basic earlier cruisers and CL designs could not accommodate the extra weight of the necessary armor or heavier guns.
BC
The basic BC design was intended to defeat anything of lesser caliber weaponry or out run anything that outgunned it. The BC “flaw” became apparent when Beatty engaged battleships at Jutland. So while the HMS Hood continued to be a centerpiece of the RN, naval treaty compliance and a strategy rethink resulted in future ships construction focused on BB's and CA's. Germany in an effort to circumvent the naval treaties, continued with a form of BC design, the so called pocket battleship. Unique to GE.
BB
Conceptually not much different than the Line of Battle ship of the age of sail. The centerpiece of the fleets. Continually improved in speed, range, size and effectiveness of the guns. BB screening requirements or need for lower cost substitutes drove the design of other ship classes.
FF / FFG
The Frigate class is probably the most misused classification after the age of sail. I would recommend deletion of the class especially for WWI and WWII. Its missions from the days of sail were transferred to DD, DDE, and to CA and CL classes. Not until missiles replaced guns did the term Frigate come back into use as a lower cost escort ship with missiles replacing guns.
DD/ DDE
Should pretty much cover all the needs to represent small ship classes in the game. Given various promotions, they can represent the remaining combatant classes including those devoted to mine warfare. Might consider the use of special promotions for transports to make them mine layers.
SS
Again, promotions should pretty much allow distinguishing the difference in the various classes. Until the SSN / SSGN/ SSBN arrive. The SSG although first employed in WWII, was not a major ship class but a significant step toward the SSGN/ SSBN.
General comments:
Modern ship designs are only a variation on traditional missions modified by technology and cost avoidance strategies.
Significant technologies:
Impact ship design and naval operations once steam engines and “screws” became the propulsion method:
Wireless/ radio communication
Shells, armor piercing shells
armor
Torpedo
coal to oil fuels
mechanical and electro-mechanical computers for fire control [so called fire control clocks and tables]
cryptology
aviation
radar/ radar directed gunnery
proximity fuse
armored CV deck
combat information centers afloat
Electronic Computers
Nuclear propulsion systems and weapons
Guided Missiles
Artificial intelligence
. Only other one I can think of is the Fi 167. Where there others (WW2 era)
Because if so I might add a seperate class for them since difference between the biplanes and monoplanes is big enough for its own class
But are there any other examples? Since I like usually atleast 3 or 4 countries to use something if I put it in.
