Bruships 195: Naval History Questions Answered Live...

Their employment and the overall war would change little, but improved fire control and anti-aircraft capability would make them much more lethal in individual engagements.

They could break up and damage air formations at unusually long range, although they probably would not save Dorsetshire and Cornwall.

Yes; icing, frozen machinery, lack of deck storage, poor flying conditions, and violent ship motion all made small-carrier operations difficult.

The stern appears to have snagged during a sideways launch while the bow kept moving, causing the ship to roll and sustain damage.

A battery explosion is judged the most likely explanation, but the available evidence does not establish the cause.

Possible roles for North Korea's larger combatants include extending offshore protection, supporting missile submarines, and resisting amphibious attack.

A dense advertised weapon fit sits on a compact hull whose missile packing, propulsion, range, and real performance were still unproven.

Possibly, but the idea remains speculative and could reflect an aspiration rather than an available capability.

The objection is budgetary: a frigate-like fit risks having patrol ships counted against the frigate force, while lighter guns are considered a possible upgrade.

The new caliber would delay American ships and provoke a wider gun-caliber competition rather than a simple like-for-like British response.

A heavier gun could bring a longer hull and more machinery, while barrel wear and the timing of small-tube boilers would influence the design.

Obtaining help from Austria-Hungary is suggested as the quickest route, but an unlikely choice. Domestic development would be slow and expensive enough to end Germany's competitive involvement in the race.

Possibly, but the lighter forces would lack the competitive heavy ships around which they were expected to operate.

That depends on the next American step. The historical proposal is also disputed, with three twin 18-inch turrets and four triple 15-inch turrets offered as competing reconstructions.

The treaty system and subsequent building programmes would change so extensively that Yamato would be a fundamentally different design.

Yes, with reservations about some judgments and recognition that a broad naval history cannot cover everything.

Its close association with Royal Navy use at the jack staff made Union Jack the familiar popular name, even though Union Flag is the formal term.

The design could theoretically be lengthened and given more machinery, but an early Italian challenge might instead justify extra F3-type ships. A later treaty-compliant Italian programme would come after Nelson and Rodney were already too far advanced.

They might ask, but the projected outcomes differ. American funding remains uncertain, Japan's claim is judged weaker, and France would have a direct need to respond to Italy.

The assessment applies to the whole French shipbuilding industry.

Its capabilities need to be judged in operation. Frigate, or possibly corvette, is proposed as a better description of its range and intended role.

Beatty would become a heroic martyr, replacement ships would gain urgency, and Royal Navy leadership and postwar treaty policy could develop differently.

Yes, a vehicle of roughly torpedo size is considered plausible. The difficult part is safely recovering it after operations involving explosives in salt water.

Mines that escape their moorings can spread beyond the intended area and threaten friendly ports and fishing vessels.

It is a massive automation-led response to labor shortages, and the purpose-built Kaiser yards are a closer historical analogy than Harland and Wolff.

Usually one at a time during a controlled prosecution, but a ship under attack or engaging at long range may fire multiple weapons, often with a short interval.

Tiger's survival could free Hood for a major refit and strengthen the wider fast-capital-ship force, changing both the battle and the pursuit of Bismarck.

Chatfield favored Iron Duke's gunnery associations and stability as a training platform, even though Tiger offered greater potential for a later combat reconstruction.

The cost of raising and dismantling the wreck outweighed the likely benefit.

The target would be devastated on a vastly greater scale, the B-29 would probably be lost, and the unexplained yield difference would complicate assessment of both attacks.

The tentative answer is 40 mm, after excluding grouped recoilless rifles and Gatling-type barrels from the definition.

The American ships remained centered on fleet torpedo attack, whereas the British types prioritized guns for fighting and clearing enemy destroyers.

Yes. Its layout still gave torpedoes priority, despite a gun battery that made it unusually heavily armed for a destroyer.

The fastest liners could outrun a submarine's attempt to reach an attack position; slower troopships normally sailed in fast convoys.

A liner could sustain more than thirty knots across an ocean, while a warship designed to cruise slowly and sprint for battle could damage its machinery trying to match that schedule.

A variable-pitch propeller failure or fouling is plausible, but the accident report is needed before drawing a conclusion.

Technical data and small quantities of special material could support Japanese prototypes, but they could not replace the industrial capacity and resources needed for strategic effect.

A final verdict is premature, but their all-round frigate role offers a possible connection with the succeeding Bergamini FREMM family.

Liners had different sustained, trial and emergency speeds, with fuel economy and machinery life determining which could be used routinely.

Geography would point to familiar Alaskan base locations, but the fleet would likely be modest and largely shaped by Canadian investment.

Germany expected an invasion, but Allied control of its British agent network helped deceive it about when and where the attack would fall.

It could sometimes exceed normal speed temporarily, but only by consuming engineering margin and accepting close monitoring, damage, and later repair.

It would ask questions but probably accept an anti-Japanese explanation and seek access, because one drydock was not evidence of a threatening British fleet base.

Scharnhorst and Gneisenau at the outbreak of World War II are one choice, with the aim of preserving Glorious; alternatives include Bismarck's launch, the Russo-Japanese War, and Jutland.

The Australian Matilda Hedgehog is a concrete example of adaptation for land use. Japanese depth-charge employment against landings is recalled uncertainly, and no example of torpedoes fired at troops is identified.

It was an emergency expedient whose unexpected appearance reinforced German fears that Britain had secret shipyards and unknown warships.

It could materially improve coordination and local defenses, even if the Allies had few additional forces to commit.

A stronger Far Eastern command could bring experienced air leaders and earlier preparation for jungle fighting, although the proposed organization remains disputed.

Even a modest fighter detachment could matter to Force Z, while Indian repair facilities could keep useful ships within reach of the Far East.

Regional air defense and refit capacity would improve, and Australia might build heavily armed screening cruisers while supporting more capable ships for Force Z.

Seventy-degree elevation allowed Australian County-class cruisers to fire their eight-inch guns at aircraft, a capability that surprised an American observer in the recalled episode.

Ramming could be a last resort, and a small ship could survive a collision with a larger one. HMS Spitfire and Nassau at Jutland provide the example, but no frequency is established.

It could create a faster, extensively rebuilt ship with three triple 15-inch turrets, while influencing later Queen Elizabeth and King George V-class choices.

They were useful and frequently relevant in World War I, but surviving casemates saw comparatively little use in World War II.

It is judged closer to a frigate, or arguably a corvette when its range and capabilities are considered.

Local radio-controlled reconnaissance would be useful, and an armed anti-submarine drone is proposed; the expected Allied advantage is producing workable equipment in much larger numbers.

A disagreement over Panzer IV and Panther reliability separates problems caused by design changes from those caused by damaged industry and inadequate maintenance.

Modern guns are judged better across those measures because metallurgy, barrel design, explosives, and shell design have advanced substantially.

A common 5.25-inch armament for postwar British cruisers, destroyers, and frigates raises a hypothetical question about an American response.

Probably not: an assessment or limited repair fits the reported time better, while comparable complete coppering jobs took at least a week.

It could be useful as a helicopter and anti-submarine carrier with drones, while any fixed-wing role would depend on acquiring suitable aircraft.

The comparison is rejected here because Hawkins and the Counties were conceived as large light cruisers whose later treaty classification did not change their original design role.

Easier controls do not remove the consequences of failure or the difficulty of judging hazards in three dimensions.

Yes; County-class examples are reported, along with photographs of Canarias at high elevation.

Broadly a two-deck ship of fifty to sixty guns, already losing its place in the battle lines of the major navies.

The lineage begins in World War I with liner conversions such as Argus and continues through the interwar period before settling into the escort-carrier role.

Brown's technical work receives a strong recommendation alongside specific criticisms of its interwar coverage and an explicitly unverified family anecdote.

The North Atlantic, because an ocean-going freighter is built to expect severe weather, while a Great Lakes ship may be less prepared for the lake's worst storms.

The replies disagree over the word 'rushed', but agree that the B-29 attempted a difficult technological leap while moving rapidly into mass production and service.

They would be useful air-defense ships, with their value rising sharply if an invasion of Japan extended the war and produced much heavier kamikaze losses.

The assessment of a prolonged war includes catastrophic invasion casualties and the mass starvation expected from a sustained blockade.

Yes, although the older cruisers would probably be placed in reserve rather than scrapped immediately.

Numerous Italian 76 mm mounts, supplemented by as many five-inch guns as practical.

Anglesey is the preferred answer because of its sheltered strategic position and infrastructure, with Skye as an alternative.

Teak is dense, hydrophobic, and exceptionally durable, though costly and hard on tools; its marine longevity made it especially valuable in warships.

As soon as possible, given the age of the ships and the much older design assumptions behind many of them.

Normally no. Battle honours appear on boards, while exterior decoration more often consists of informal mottos, emblems, or other crew artwork.

They would be used more often and would be more dangerous.

Their radar-directed 4.5-inch and 40 mm guns would be devastating to Axis aircraft in the Mediterranean.

Some are recalled as serving into the 1950s and 1960s, although the specific examples are uncertain.

Probably not by enough to matter; discovery, damage, and the enemy's ability to summon reinforcements leave any isolated surface raider with very few options.

The fictional scenario is approached through conversation and the honourable service histories of both ships, with the imagined symptoms interpreted as trauma and dissociation.

The former tender remained a useful ship after its original aviation role declined, while seaplanes themselves retained ocean rescue value until other aircraft could replace them.

Yes. There were few suitable airfields, while small inlets offered comparatively calm water for take-off and landing.

The former seaplane tender provided a hull for VLS and Aegis trials associated with later American surface combatants.