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[Game Notes: Now come on, do you really think a self-professed die-hard Bond fan would let his creator die? I mainly did this because I wanted Felix to be motivated, pissed off, and alone, all of which are pre-requisites for what I have in mind.]

And I thought I was a bit perverse... At least, I just send my characters to some forgotten trip to Hell to find something that isn't t here...:D
 
ColossusCrusher Well, he was more nambed after the Spaceballs character.

Griffin.Gen Well, as said in the Game notes.... :)

BritishImperial This is called character shield... I mean what would the world be without Bond? Drab and even more american. :eek:

Kurt_Steiner :rofl:
 
Intermission #1

HMS_Nelson_1925.jpg

HMS Nelson, 1925​

When World War Two started in September 1939, the Dreadnought was already becoming obsolete in the face of the Aircraft Carrier which fast became the primary weapon for the Royal Navy. Still, in 1939 Dreadnoughts, more commonly and incorrectly called Battleships, were still making up the majority of all major fleets in the Royal Navy. On outbreak of hostilities the most powerful ships in service of the King were the two Nelson Class Battleships Nelson and Rodney, accompanied by the older Queen Elizabeth Class vessels, of which of course HMS Warspite is the most famous one. The majority of this naval might was concentrated in Home Fleet, facing down the German and Soviet Navies, vastly inferior in numbers, but still posing a danger to Imperial merchant traffic. The majority of the “Queens”, along with all British pre-war Carriers formed the Mediterranean Fleet, based at Alexandria in Egypt.

The Nelson Class was the first British Dreadnought to be built within the limits of the old Washington Naval treaty, and was the only class built between the pre-treaty Iron Duke- and Queen Elizabeth Class ships, both of which still in service, in case of the two Irone Duke Class ships, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, with the Cannel Fleet. They were handily outclassed by the Nelsons in almost all respects, but the building moratorium after World War 1 led to the Queen Elizabeth Class still making up the majority of the British Battleforce. However, the situation was not as dire as one might think, because Warspite and her sisters had almost totally been refitted to the extent that one could say that they had only the hull in common with the ships that had been launched all these years ago, and actually superseding the Revenge-Class which had originally been intended to supplement or even totally replace them. The Revenge Class had the problem that the few units that had been built were not as easily refitted as the Queens, primarily because of the restricted space in their hulls which prevented the installation of heavier machinery which would have been needed to carry the heavier armour fitted on the Queens during the 1920s. The Nelson Class on the other hand was a class constructed to incorporate both the disastrous Washington Naval Treaty that was rendered null and void only a few years after its inception, and the lessons learned in the Battle of Jutland. Battleship construction re-started not until 1938, when the newly developed King George V Class was started. This class, although technically still within treaty limits due to the advanced nature of the design and the simple fact that there was nothing else at hand, given the delays with the Lion Class, would then go on the be the only Dreadnoughts to be constructed before and during World War 2, especially when the Lion Class was finally cancelled at an advanced stage in 1943. HMS King George V was laid down in September 1938, almost immediately after the new defence programme was instituted, but delays with the guns and a general lack of skilled labour and building capacity, something that would plague the British War effort throughout the early war years, prevent her completion until December 1940, as what was available was mostly concentrated on the Illustrious Class and later the newer Implacable Class Aircraft Carriers. By that time the German and Soviet Surface Fleets were essentially destroyed, and the Naval threat consisted of the shattered remnants of the Regia Marine in the Mediterranean Sea and, although distant, the Imperial Japanese Navy in the Far east. All these factors prevented the construction of further units, as after HMS Howe came off the slipways, all Dreadnought construction was cancelled, which would also spell doom for the Lion Class. The Aircraft Carrier had proven itself beyond doubt at that point, and it seemed as if the era of the mighty fighting ships was over. The defence policies after the end of the war seemed to prove this. The Americans, although shifting their own emphasis somewhat away from a costly carrier Battlefleet which proved to be too much of a strain on their shattered economy, still maintained a potent force, and these needed to be countered. Despite the roaring economy of the British Empire defence cuts needed to be made in a few areas, and the Battleships were the first to go, with only the five KGVs kept in service, in order to counter the American Union Class ships, of which five were kept[1], after the disastrous failure of the Iowa-Class, most notably of which APNS Commune of Paris[2], which was lost to a catastrophic fuel fire, which would lead to the decommissioning and subsequent scrapping of the entire class in 1948.

Unionbearb.png

However, the long service of the war years had worn out the guns and the ships themselves, and despite several costly upgrades it was decided to retire and scrap the KGVs in 1963. The threat from the few remaining American Battleships, which had just served in the Phillipine incursion, was deemed so severe by both the Dominion Governments and the Admiralty, that the Imperial General Staff and the Government and Parliament could be persuaded to go a step that no one had deemed possible since the end of hostilities: Six new Battleships were authorized. The only problem was that no design work had been done since the cancellation of the Lion Class in 1943, so what was to be done? The proposals ranged from designing something from scratch, which would have been prohibitively expensive to building a late-war design that hadn't even made it to the project stage, called Vanguard Class, all of which were rejected on various grounds. In the end it was decided to dust off the old Lion Class and bring her up to specifications and requirements for the 1960s, mainly electronics, the nascant naval SAM systems and helicopter operations. The respective units were to be named in honour of previous British ships, and so Lion, Nelson, Rodney, Thunderchild, Dreadnought, and Agincourt were chosen. The latter however was cancelled, as after the General election of 1962 the new labour government deemed five ships to be enough, although Agincourt was almost 70% completed. Instead another Illustrious Class Nuclear Carrier was to be built ahead of the plan. However she was to get a second lease on life, when the Government of the Imperial Dominion of India was looking to increase the strength of the Royal Indian Navy, and therefore bought the incomplete Agincourt alongside with the Trafalgar Class Carriers, and had her completed as HMIS Vikrant, under which name she still serves today. This episode however led the the curious circumstance in which HMS Dreadnought is the name of both the first and the last such ship to be completed for the Royal Navy. HMS Lion and her sisters, although never having fought in a major war, still distinguished themselves and can be seen as the last descendants of the great British Naval tradition begun in 1906.

Lion_1965.png

Preface to “Dreadnought tradition in the British Empire, 1906 – 2009”


Notes: this is not the Special Chapter, just a little something that begged to be written. I think I am going to sow these little pieces in now and again. They are not part of the narrative, and I think they work better than the special chapter, as they give smaller glimpses to how the future will look like.



[1] In OTL this would have been a ship somewhat smaller ship, a middle ground between the South Dakotas and the OTL Iowas.

[2] OTL USS Missouri
 
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Excellent chapter, indeed, but I miss reading about a particular ship...:D

I guess that there is more to be told -those nuclear CVs begg to be known!
 
Huzaah. This is a wonderful look forward to more great Brtish things. Also, do i detect a hint of war between Britain and America?
 
I wasn't able to comment on your previous update as I was visiting relatives, but GOOD UPDATE! and GOOD INTERMISSION! :D
 
Ok, it is only October in the aar, so is Warsow still holding? :confused:
And will this "aar" have gone to page 100 before Germany attacks france?
Or page 200?

Too much anglophilia, my eyes burn!!!
 
Kurt_Steiner It would reveal too much if I included Hood at that point.. We will hear from here soon though. The CVNs will be explained further, rest assured.

Lord Strange Indeed. There is nothing more british than a Battleship. War with America though is not on my cards for the moment, the future, however is uncertain as they say.

humancalculator Glad to hear that.

Enewald Yup, Warsaw is still holding for the moment. I'll make a overview update soon. Why is the AAR in airquotes? :confused: Anyway, I can promise that we will see case yellow before page 200. Page 100, well, that I can't promise, I will try though. And what is this with too much anglohpilia? This isnt possible! :D
 
Because aar stands for after action report.
Not stories of Ian Flaming and fellas. :D
But it might be that you have created such events into the game. I don't know.:eek:o
 
Because aar stands for after action report.
Not stories of Ian Flaming and fellas. :D
But it might be that you have created such events into the game. I don't know.:eek:o

Ah, well.

I didn't create any such events, but this thing is a clear case of "Story runs away with author - author unwilling to resist"
 
There are many aars like this around the forum.
Except with your anglophilia the story literally flies away in a spitfire. :D

Pretty much, yes.
 
yeah, its like superman looking for a cure for his powers. why would he want to?

i thought that interlude was most excellent. I presume the use (or anticipated use) of Dreadnoughts in the 60's is mainly because you love them and dont want to see them obselete? because presumably with the tech at that time they would be blown out the water by a jet hours before they got in range (much as it pains me to say it as a fellow lover of big noisy guns over big noisy planes flitting about)
lots of tantalising hints as to what is going to happen in the game, which i cant wait for.
 
yeah, its like superman looking for a cure for his powers. why would he want to?

i thought that interlude was most excellent. I presume the use (or anticipated use) of Dreadnoughts in the 60's is mainly because you love them and dont want to see them obselete? because presumably with the tech at that time they would be blown out the water by a jet hours before they got in range (much as it pains me to say it as a fellow lover of big noisy guns over big noisy planes flitting about)
lots of tantalising hints as to what is going to happen in the game, which i cant wait for.

Well, the Yanks kept the Iowas in service, or rather brought them back in in the 80s, to provide off-shore fire support, something that the RN will definitely need, as a flag-carrier in crisis areas, and for the simple reason that many piss their pants in fear when these artificial Islands appear on their coasts. That is the official reason, and there is a precedent, so it's not only because I love them.
 
But it is mostly why, you love for BIG guns. Also, when do we fight France, for is that not the sacred task of Britian?
Also, I think you can have your custom Avatar back, as I have seen many people with them recently.
 
Big Guns: Yes. Very much, but thats honestly not the only reason.

Fighting France: for now our meatshields...erm valiant Allies are needed against the Axis until the British Armed forces have recovered from the inter-war neclegt.

Custom avatar: Worth a try, thanks.