Bruships 179: Future Projects & Naval History Questions...

A carrier bearing his name is expected. Whether it belongs to the Ford class or its successor depends on the length of the construction programme.

Naval and merchant connections were highly influential, bringing ingredients and people into Britain while shipboard preservation made seasonings useful against the taste of salt-cured food.

The central effect would be renewed supply to Russia, which could keep it fighting longer and place much greater pressure on Germany's two fronts.

Seasonings could disguise the overwhelming taste of preserving salt, which should be distinguished from disguising rotten food.

Beer and grog supplied fluid with salted meals.

If the early reports hold up, the wreck supports the view that ancient mariners sometimes navigated well away from land instead of only coasting between ports.

Commercial survey funding can reveal historic wrecks and map the seabed, while archaeological announcements must account for the risk of looting.

Charcoal could support ironmaking without fossil fuels, but Britain's own industrial history shows the scale of the resulting demand for wood.

The war would likely last longer, with the United States in a much worse early position and greater pressure for British carrier support in the Far East.

Yes, for limited steam assistance. Its suitability for long voyages is doubtful, making a ship resembling HMS Warrior a more plausible endpoint.

Estimates for building a wind turbine in Texas become a disagreement about local conditions and the limits of applying one construction model everywhere.

Yes.

It appears feasible with cruiser-calibre guns, but heavier weapons impose increasingly severe weight and firing-load costs for a limited tactical benefit.

The premise overstates the defect: the ships would have been extremely unpleasant and ineffective fighting platforms, but their instability was not severe enough to make them capsize in that way.

A second crew member or supplementary control from a base or ship is preferred; a single pilot would need sufficiently capable automation and a manageable way to direct the drones.

The Su-57 and experimental S-70 programme raise separate questions about drone control, networking, and the role of information management in fifth-generation fighters.

No two-seat version is known, even for training.

The 9.2-inch shell carries significantly more explosive, so comparable rates of fire deliver much more destructive weight over time.

The US Navy would probably order more or improved Iowas and develop a Montana successor, but wartime priorities could still prevent the larger design from entering service.

A 1,900-pound American 16-inch shell carries roughly 70 kilograms of explosive, with salvo fire multiplying the weight delivered ashore.

It might act more boldly, but fuel shortages, limited unloading capacity, and the submarine threat would still constrain operations and prevent an easy strategic breakthrough.

A radar-equipped battlecruiser could give the Allies a much stronger fighting and command asset, making a reversal of the historical result plausible.

The convoy commodore manages the merchant ships, leaving the escort commander to deal with attacks.

Britannic is suggested, and Maine is the recurring RFA hospital-ship name; the preferred design would also provide modular disaster-relief, engineering, water, and electrical support.

A disagreement about worldwide population pressures leads to an argument for matching migration with labour demand in countries facing demographic shortages.

Other powers could react before Germany could use them effectively, while Germany would inherit unfamiliar ships without the crews, manuals, spare parts, or industrial system to sustain them.

Earlier mobilisation by radio could have put armed Norwegian reservists in position before the German landing at Narvik.

15-inch triples are favoured for combat effectiveness; 18-inch twins would have greater value as a threat to escalate the naval arms race.

Vickers' promotion of 14-inch guns links Japanese orders, competition with American manufacturers and the US Navy's move beyond 12-inch weapons.

It may become a common-systems project with divergent hulls, because the participating navies have sharply different operational needs.

One proposal uses French-inspired capital ships, numerous smaller combatants and a converted carrier, with mirrored armament for coverage above and below each hull.

Importing The Lost Fleet's relativistic combat capabilities changes the invasion scenario by assuming a form of warfare that Imperial ships cannot handle.

An electronic-warfare explanation connects short engagement ranges with unreliable detection and targeting in Star Wars.

HMS Rodney's heavy guns, secondary battery, torpedo tubes and 18-inch belt underpin a favourable comparison with the French Hoche.

A wholesale change is considered unlikely without another war to force a reassessment of ship categories.

Hoche's adequacy remains disputed because of her poor seakeeping, while the Marceau half-sisters receive credit for developing the same broad design approach more successfully.

Yes. It was useful initially, but rapid advances in missile technology and changing circumstances soon overtook it.

No comparable Japanese recovery system is identified, although incomplete reading is acknowledged. Allied examples show a willingness to risk ships to recover trained aircrew.

Possibly; knowing assistance was coming could have encouraged a different damage-control decision instead of a run for shore that aggravated flooding.

They may use different aircraft, but once the drones are large and numerous enough the support ship effectively recreates the aircraft-carrier model.

Yes, in this assessment. A British yard could attempt the design without a tonnage limit, but armour coverage and cost would remain serious constraints.

It could be substantially redesigned, but the prediction is that it would still be presented as part of the Mark 41 family to help secure funding.

Anti-tank missiles and FPV drones encourage new protective systems, including jammers, cages, and active defence, while some defensive capabilities remain undisclosed.

An attack alongside Pearl Harbor is estimated to add roughly one or two years to the war. Catching a capital ship inside the locks could maximise the disruption, although the eventual outcome is expected to remain the same.

Military horses and surviving steam railways complicate claims that a new technology completely eliminates its predecessor.

Lighter vehicles with tank-sized guns trade protection for a better fit with particular force requirements, while guided weapons carry logistical demands of their own.

A smart-sail proposal suggests that wind assistance could reduce merchant-ship propulsion costs, although the recalled saving remains uncertain.

Complete visibility is considered unlikely in the foreseeable future. Sensors face countermeasures, and an ocean model precise enough to expose every disturbance remains a distant prospect.

Extensive vertical-launch capacity and 16-inch guns, either taken from the Iowas or built new.

A hypothetical British Warspite combines Harpoon and Tomahawk missiles with 14-inch guns selected for the scenario's available barrels and trained crews.

The evidence convinced those involved, but governments avoided publicly accusing Italy because they feared the consequences for the strategic balance and their rearmament programmes.

Type 23 frigates still carry them. Helicopter delivery is preferred for a distant contact because firing a short-range torpedo from the ship means the submarine has already approached dangerously close.

Possibly, but ammunition commonality is the main case for it; adapting useful rounds to the existing 4.5-inch system may cost less than replacing the mount, handling equipment, and magazine.

Early carrier experience had already established the differences from airfield landings. The Corsair raised a particular operating and training problem, for which British long-nosed fighter experience was useful.

Mines had the greater effect in World War I. Torpedoes probably had greater effect in World War II, when they were used more extensively, although mines still caused important losses.

Define the drone mission first. Rotary-wing UAVs need no catapult, and a destroyer accompanying a carrier may be better served by aircraft launched from the carrier.

Forward basing remains the best available approach, but it needs adequate funding, enough personnel for crew rotations, and relief from excessive administrative work.

Specialist writers can free officers for command duties, while reviewing each form tests whether the paperwork is necessary and assigned to the right person.

Separate departmental responsibilities limited the First Sea Lord's authority over colleagues on the Admiralty board.

Arm the crew with modern portable weapons and fit light cannon or heavy machine guns that the wooden hull can support without overloading it.

Their designation followed US classification practice rather than their gun calibre. Later reorganisation and NATO harmonisation brought the frigate label into wider use.

Yes. Their cost and prominence as national assets make political reactions unavoidable.

An early home supply could encourage oil firing and a faster Dreadnought, with a speculative 24-knot version raising the performance standard for rival navies.

He was a strong early-war choice and difficult to replace. His later adaptation and staff work are more open to criticism, although suitable alternatives were already heavily committed.

Yes, it can matter for ships near their stability limits, though designers normally account for changing weights in their calculations.

Observers could again outrank pilots or command squadrons, as they already can in naval helicopter units. Their mission role and the pilot's flying responsibilities would still form a partnership.

One choice is Zubian, assembled from the surviving portions of two destroyers after one lost its bow and the other its stern.

It combined high explosive power with stability. Useful historical sources include NavWeaps, Gannon, Baxter, and Bureau of Ordnance material, although details of related modern warheads remain difficult to establish publicly.

Labrador retrievers were selectively bred in Britain from St John's water dogs imported from Newfoundland.

Gradual refinement dominated: practical experience produced successful types such as the 74-gun ship and supplied the knowledge needed for later theoretical advances.

Handler control makes military dogs useful for patrol, searches, and covert alerts while reducing the danger to friendly personnel.

Cold War deterrence made direct naval gunfire or missile combat an obvious step into open war, so states preferred lower-level and more deniable pressure.

Probably an offshore patrol vessel, sloop, or corvette in the broad role now associated with the River class.

Norway has already been responding, and a future announcement could disclose preparations made earlier; no specific new installation is identified.

Equip it with numerous deck-sweeping guns, especially carronades. Gatling guns are too late for the assumed Napoleonic setting.

The larger gun brings modest gains in shell size and range. It is more attractive when moving up from 14 or 15 inches than when replacing an established 16-inch system.

They were a useful addition to an amphibious assault because they could put armour ashore early. Weather and launch decisions shaped their Normandy reputation, and later use was mainly in river crossings.

If land-based steam development continued, fleets would remain closer to late-Napoleonic practice until powerful internal-combustion engines appeared. Reduced naval demand would probably delay that machinery.

A side lift could improve hangar capacity. An angled deck would be less necessary while barriers could reliably stop the slower landing aircraft.

It depends on operating practice. A massed strike needs the rear deck for aircraft awaiting launch, and an angled deck does not eliminate that space requirement.

Usually to raise aircraft towards the catapult, although hangar stowage could make the forward lift useful for lowering aircraft as well.