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On Thu, 6/19/14, Rupert Boleyn <rupert.boleyn@gmail.com> wrote:

 Subject: Re: [TML] Ship Design & the 'Plankwells'
 To: tml@simplelists.com
 Date: Thursday, June 19, 2014, 10:13 PM

 On 20/06/2014 07:04, Phil Pugliese
 (via tml list) wrote:

 > Well, I do recall that something similar happened to at
 least one german BC at the Dogger Bank & it survived
 'cuz it had decent armor. After which the german navy
 changed their designs/procedures to prevent it from
 happening again.
 > Also, as I recall, the 'fix' involved hardware
 installation (flash suppressors) as well as procedural
 modifications, so I think it could be classified as a design
 flaw.
 > Everything I've read labels it as such & I don't
 think I've read anyone that thinks those ships were good
 designs.
 > Heck, I even read somewhere that the first RN BC's were
 assigned as flagships to CL squadrons!
 > Even then it seems that they were never meant to be
 placed in the 'line-of-battle'.
 > But, as more than one author has written, those big 12"
 guns were just too tempting.

 Actually, Fisher's plan was for exactly that - they were
 supposed to replace battleships, and to 'speed tank'
 incoming shellfire, to use a modern gaming term. It went as
 well as you'd expect.

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Well Fisher was nothing if not unorthodox.

That old adage, "Speed Kills" come to mind! ;-)

Just look at what he came up with when he got back into control after WWI started;

Glorious, Courageous, & that silly Furious!

Somewhere I have a book that detailed the original armor scheme for the Renown, Repulse, & the Hood at the time they were laid down (pre-Jutland).
The Hood was particularly silly w/ 32,000+ t/displ & pretty thin armor.

Still, I can sorta' see some logic in the idea of having a squadron that could race ahead, behind their friendly line of battle, & then 'cross the T' on the enemy linre of battle that would be, presumably, parallel to the friendly. But it would be a very tricky thing to pull off & you'd still have a big, big problem as those lightly armored ships would probably eventually come under heavy shellfire.

To get back to the TU & the CT Plankwells, I couldn't imagine trotting them out into battle using the CT HighGuard rules. Not w/ that puny Class 3 Meson Screen!

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