Hindenburg won't be replaced. Just complemented. There's an interesting little event chain in Mod33 that requires at least 3 German carriers to get going. Peter might end up visiting Scapa Flow in a couple of years.
Hindenburg won't be replaced. Just complemented. There's an interesting little event chain in Mod33 that requires at least 3 German carriers to get going. Peter might end up visiting Scapa Flow in a couple of years.
If I read the memo correctly, sounds like Hindenburg might be quickly replaced by a more combat-capable carrier.
I hope so. More capable carrierS.
I have been loving this AAR - always looking forward to more. One thing though - why are all the ships prefixed KMS - shouldn't they be SMS now that the Kaiser is back?
A
Looks like Peter and Canaris have gotten themselves a promotion, always nice to see good man go rewarded.
Edward is just as obscure a twat as he was historically. Guess the Kaiser may be a bit disincligned to restore his trone after that sad performance.
Lastly, I fear for the Brits Cunninghams words are somewhat prophetic. You did promise us a new Battle of Jutland didn't you .
Langsdorff! Keep him away from HMS Ajax, HMS Achilles and HMS Exeter and he should do fine.
Saxe-Goburg und Gothas are behaving rather improperly.
Hindenburg won't be replaced. Just complemented. There's an interesting little event chain in Mod33 that requires at least 3 German carriers to get going. Peter might end up visiting Scapa Flow in a couple of years.
Hopefully in something faster than a Stuka.
"OKM to task force: Climb Mont Blanc'"
Looks like they are converting Merchies.
That shape... the Bismarck?
I cannot believe the cake of Balkans is divided yet again.
Which Balkan war shall now come?
Methinks the Balkans might either be much more or much less violent in the near future.
I wonder whether someone is repeating old mistakes...
Stuck with the K for "Kaiserliche Marine Schiff" - Imperial Navy versus the Royal Navy. Wilhelm isn't his father, but comparisons with Britain are kind of inevitable.
Peace in the Balkans! The sultan deserves several Nobel prizes if he can really pull that off . Looks like the Germans have a powerful new ally in the form of the Ottomans, but has the Kaiser the will to stomach Mussolini too?
Hmmm. I think you had actually dealt with this before.... Well, sorry for bringing it up again. Personally I would prefer seeing SMS (as it is a direct parallel of HMS), but that would require arsing about in the unitnames.csv - which is time-consuming at best. Thank you for answering my question anyway.
BTW, now that the German-Ottoman alliance has come about again, do you have any plans for detaching some ships for a Mediterranean Division; a WWII version of Goeben and Breslau?
A
It's more effective than scrapping my Type II boats and my tier-one destroyers that I can no longer convert to escorts (yes, there are things that worked better in HoI1!).
MINISTRY OF MARINE
IMPERIAL FLEETYARD WILHELMSHAVEN
CLASSIFIED - TOP SECRET
1 June 1937
His Majesty, Wilhelm III
All-Highest,
It is my duty as your Minister of Marine and First Lord of the Admiralty to report to you on the current state of the Imperial Fleet. It is also my pleasure to report on the progress of new construction programs.
First, the recent modernization programs have been brought to successful completion. The battleships Schlesien and Schleswig-Holstein are in full service with the Baltic Fleet and are as modern as they can be made given their age. Similarly, the two converted carriers Hindenburg and Germania have shown their operational capabilities, with the Hindenburg commanding the Mediterranean Squadron during the recent Spanish affair.
Second, the new construction program is proceeding as expected. The Deutschland class has completed combat tests, with all three vessels serving in the Spanish affair. While they are vulnerable to aerial attack as shown by damage to Deutschland, they have proven more than adequate to their surface-interception role, as evidenced by their neutrality patrol operations. The only hindrance to construction of further cruisers of the class is requisition of the K5-series cannon for army artillery testing.
The largest ships currently received are the battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau; however, these continue to experience difficulties in trials related to their seaworthiness. They may require reconstruction before becoming fully seaworthy. It is conservatively predicted that they will enter full service in 1939.
The submarine program also continues. There are now seventy submarines in full operation, though thirty of these are coastal submarines of the Type II class. The remainder are of the Type VII class which operated in Spanish waters recently. While the Type VII is a capable submersible with range to the Azores and beyond and submerged endurance sufficient for convoy operations, it is recommended that development continue on a more powerful, longer-ranged vessel capable of fully submerged operation. Recommendations have been passed to the Deutschewerft naval architects to this effect.
New construction since the 1936 fleet update is a significant factor. The four dedicated aircraft carriers laid down in 1936 are being revised based on the findings of the Spanish mission, including capacity for fifty aircraft and expanded launch and recovery surfaces. There is no plan at this time to replace Hindenburg and Germania. While these ships are not likely to be a match for the American Yorktown class or the British Ark Royal, the symbolic value of the Hindenburg makes it impossible to decommission in the foreseeable future.
Similarly, the six new battleships requested by Your Majesty are in sufficiently advanced state for an inspection tour if you so wish. The two intermediate battleships at Hamburg will likely be complete by mid-1941, while the four heavy battleships will begin service with the fleet in stages starting in 1939. The main bottleneck in their construction is the difficulty of forging and installing the 46cm guns specified by the Kriegsmarinewerft. As an intermediate measure, construction on four battlecruisers of a modified Scharnhorst class is proceeding; it is expected that these will join service in parallel with the battleship fleet.
In summary, the fleet currently stands at two prewar but modernized battleships, two aviation cruisers, three armored cruisers, and seventy submarines of varying effectiveness. New construction is expected to bring this to two fast battleships, four heavy battleships, two prewar battleships, four aircraft carriers, two aviation cruisers, six battlecruisers, three armored cruisers, and an indeterminate number of submarines by 1941. It is recommended based on these figures that a general naval conflict be avoided until this time.
As ever, I serve at Your Majesty's pleasure, and remain
ERICH RAEDER
Generaladmiral
Minister of Marine
TO: VOLKMANN J OBLT
FM: RWZA
RE: PERSONNEL ORDER 6-1937
YOUR ATTENTION DIRECTED ENCLOSED EXTRACT PERSONNEL ORDER 6-1937 -ENCLOSURE FOLLOWS
FOLLOWING PERSONNEL DIRECTED REPORT BENDLERBLOCK GENERAL STAFF COURSE 1937 - REDACTED - VOLKMANN JOHANN OBLT MILITARY MISSION ISTANBUL - REDACTED
TRAVEL ORDERS ON ARRIVAL ISTANBUL - REPORT BEFORE 30JUN37 - CONGRATULATIONS - JODL A GENMAJ TRUPPENAMT
Fregattenkapitän Heydrich,
Consider this note your promotion, reactivation, and apology. If you wish to return to His Imperial Majesty's good graces and service, I suggest you follow instructions to the letter. This note requires no response from you; I know you'll get it.
Oh, and as you can guess, please do not attempt to collect your pay or benefits from the Admiralty. Officially your previous condition continues.
CANARIS