The Drydock - Episode 228 (Part 2)
Added 2022-12-31 10:01:00 +0000 UTC
Comments
Q&A: How much threat did gatling guns, puckle guns, and other proto-machine guns pose to non-capital warships of the 19th century?
Voqiir
2023-01-28 17:55:33 +0000 UTCQ&A: Since you know what a B10 is. I assume you are familiar with the "Captain's Bluff" rule. I can think of plenty of times a Royal Navy Captain got the other guys to back down, they usually had the size and numbers to back it up. The only historical case I can come up with was "Albemarle" Cushing's postwar trip to Cuba to take custody of the crew of a gun-runner the Spanish didn't want to give up. When refused, he simply asked them to evacuate the dockside, as he intended to fight all their ships (he had the sloop Wyoming). No one wanted to tangle with him, outnumbered or no. Is their a better "real" example of this "gamey" rule in action?
Andrew Dederer
2023-01-09 16:22:04 +0000 UTCA great question Ted. I would like to see similar answers regarding Nagumo at Pearl Harbor and Admiral Mikawa at first Savo Island.
Capitano Lorenzo
2023-01-07 18:55:24 +0000 UTCQ&A: What if, for the sake of argument, the Axis actually coordinated in depth at a technical level? For example, if the IJN shared Type 93 torpedoes, early night vision technology, and 400 series sub design with the Kriegsmarine and Regia Marina. And if Kriegsmarine shared anti-sonar detection methods for U-boats, surface search radar, radar assisted fire control systems, homing torpedoes, and Fritz X technology with IJN and Regia Marina. What could Regia Marina bring to the party? Littorio design?
Capitano Lorenzo
2023-01-06 19:22:39 +0000 UTCKurita -- Again, I REALLY want to know what 7th Fleet ships were in Leyte Gulf at the time. I know USS Pennsylvania was waiting but what else was there? And as with ASW, it would have been hard to get Japanese naval officers to hunt transports when there were warships still around. The thought, even if it was a delusion, of coming to grip with USN carrier task groups was too tempting to pass up for a target that would mainly benefit the army.
Ted Jones
2023-01-03 04:45:03 +0000 UTCEven if the IJN had had a couple more Shōkaku-class aircraft carriers would they have had enough oilers and oil to keep them in action? The OTHER reason the Yamatos spent so much time at Truk was because they couldn't keep them steaming all over the Pacific. The IJN couldn't get officers to participate in ASW because it wasn't as glorious. The poor officer put in charge during the war couldn't get anyone really interested in the problem. And by the time they realized they had a problem it was already too late.
Ted Jones
2023-01-03 04:16:52 +0000 UTCPostulation in response to the question on possible effect if Kurita had pressed the attack at Samar: What if the main long/medium term effect could have been political? Center Force could have absolutely demolished or otherwise destroyed a good chunk of the amphibious landing forces— or at the very least give everyone in the US a great shock— but this wouldn’t overall affect the American ability to keep prosecuting the war. But then again it really wouldn’t have to, the sheer shock of an American invasion force being thrashed like this all of a sudden could have been enough to shake public opinion back home (you would see a similar thing develop in response to the Tet Offensive in 1968, where little material damage was done to the US effort, but the psychological & morale effect basically superseded that). And bear in mind the date for Samar… the presidential elections are only days away, and 1944 would already be a slim victory for FDR in our timeline, lending credence to arguments by his opponents in the Republican Party that people back home were growing weary of issues on the home front, namely the economy & perceived shortcomings and cronyism of the New Deal. The only thing FDR seemed to have going for him was pressing the war to victory… yet the fall of 1944 was actually becoming a rough time. In Europe, you have the drive across France slowing down to a crawl in Lorraine. A similar grind developing in Aachen and the Hurtgen. And the “ninety percent successful” mitigated catastrophe that was Market Garden back in September. Throw on top of that an American invasion fleet getting surprised shelled by the Japanese in the Philippines instead of the pictures of a triumphant returning MacArthur wading ashore, and Kurita’s push may have been the straw the broke the camel’s back for the American voter. So even if it wasn’t the effect Japan was planning on, and even if a Republican presidency lived up to its campaign promise to continue on the Alliance & the war, you could still see Kurita having an effect on the political career of FDR.
The Rogue Chief
2023-01-02 14:36:03 +0000 UTCOver a tonne of Christmas Pudding mix, loaded with an appropriate quantity of rum.... Now that sounds like a real family sized pudding :-)
Rob Smith
2022-12-31 16:19:32 +0000 UTC
