Bruships: A Special - Questions/What If's till the Bru runs out? (3)

Invincible still has enough 12-inch firepower, but a stronger Russian armored cruiser would put pressure on Germany not to be visibly outpaced.

She could use her formidable family authority to remove or restrain Wilhelm II, protecting the liberal-monarchical European order she and Albert hoped to build.

Germany likely repeats something like the Franco-Prussian War, while the German navy loses status to the army even if it claims deterrent credit.

Having the weather gauge generally means being windward of the enemy, with wind and weather helping speed and control of the battle's pace.

The argument is that aircraft and carriers made battleships less worth funding, even though battleships could still be useful in narrower roles.

He says the cruisers were not simply forbidden to attack; fuel, numbers, and viability limited any action, while Malta's position would have been very tight.

An armoured carrier with a worked-up air group might instead have shown the limits of land-based bombers attacking defended warships.

Britain would gain overwhelming strength in the Atlantic and Mediterranean and could shift American carriers toward the Far East, though crews and political compensation would be decisive details.

A quick tour of lettered Royal Navy forces links hunting groups, Dakar, Arctic convoy covers, Harpoon, Mers el-Kebir, and British Pacific Fleet task-force numbering.

No; Cowan would probably go ashore, and Cossack being under Sherbrooke instead is jokingly called a saving grace for the Germans.

Germany would face a huge pro-British country from the beginning of both world wars, with dominion status changing the path of industrialisation rather than preventing it.

Only a much larger 12:10:7-style ratio makes it plausible, giving Britain enough capital ships and carriers for Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Indian Ocean fleets.

Yes in principle, provided the aircraft remains serviceable; Graf Spee's aircraft illustrates how quickly the concept fails when the scout plane breaks down.

Its cruisers might join either American forces to the south or the British Eastern Fleet, potentially adding useful strength at Coral Sea or Midway.

A follow-up to the treaty-fleet counterfactual favors long-range Renown- and Queen Elizabeth-type ships for the Indian Ocean rather than simply sending the oldest battleships east.

Britain and the United States begin major construction programs, Germany loses its place in the naval ranking, and the supposed secret is undermined by the industrial footprint required to build the ships.

He points to Germany, mainly because a submarine-heavy force makes accidental losses harder to absorb and more dangerous for the crew.

American designers would exploit the extra beam, producing proportionally wider ships without the same canal constraint.

No, but he was probably the only leading Conservative political figure who could run the country at that moment.

The US fleet could mobilize and put to sea, creating a possible carrier or surface battle whose outcome would depend heavily on who found whom first.

They would help in niche commando and difficult-terrain landings, but cost and complexity would prevent them replacing mass-produced conventional landing craft.

He chooses the Indian Ocean Raid, where Somerville's strike force might have caught the Japanese carriers at night and inflicted a major reversal.

Churchill might stay for the sake of heroism, Fisher and Jellicoe would seek a solution, Sims would try to repair the ship, and Beatty remains impossible to predict.

There are many candidates, with Captain Sherbrooke and the captain of HMS Glowworm offered as immediate examples.

Oil is the better choice because it stores efficiently and avoids coal dust choking the cave, while a habitable interior should keep it warm enough to pump.

German forces would face a costly cold-weather and guerrilla campaign while Norwegian troops gained a friendly refuge and source of support.

Napoleon might never take control of France, but the political situation would probably still produce another dominant ruler.

Japan might still exceed the limit to gain an advantage, but Britain could use the extra displacement to produce much more capable County- or Town-type cruisers.

Probably, and perhaps faster, because war redirects research toward making pre-war technologies practical rather than exploring a wider range of new ideas.

Probably not, because the ship's transverse bulkheads did not extend high enough to stop water spilling progressively from one compartment into the next.

American forces begin building up on the Western Front much earlier, confronting Germany with overwhelming Allied manpower in 1915 and 1916.

Probably not if Britain had retained a battalion-sized garrison backed by aircraft and artillery, because the invasion would require far more force and carry much greater risk.

Not really; it is usually described within the hunt for Bismarck or simply as the sinking of Bismarck.

Aircraft and ships would have to route around neutral territory, while Dutch access through surrounding minefields would create an exceptionally difficult operating problem.

Peacetime risk aversion and ego rewarded exact obedience, leaving officers less prepared to challenge a dangerous order or exercise independent judgment.

Sweden had no assurance of outside support, Norway did not ask it to enter, the two countries carried historical baggage, and economic interests also favored caution.

He likely becomes a very senior participant in the Revolt of the Admirals and an earlier counterpart to the institutional influence later exercised by Arleigh Burke.

Because death cannot be confirmed without reliable evidence such as a recovered body, so the accurate administrative status remains missing.

A major fleet battle could still occur, but the additional American battle squadron would deepen Germany's numerical disadvantage and potentially increase its losses.

Edward of Woodstock was Edward III's son and a leading Hundred Years' War commander, remembered for Crécy, campaigns in Gascony, and his victory at Poitiers.

It was not essential and added multinational-command complexity, but newer American ships could release older British units for useful work in secondary theaters.

Rivals would invest in anti-submarine forces, while contemporary technology would limit what Germany's specialization could achieve against a balanced response.

It did both: the Type VII family was produced in great numbers, while later innovation drew heavily on concepts the Dutch had already developed.

Claims about the best World War II artillery collapse unless the comparison specifies weapon type, calibre, and role.

The Ottoman Empire would disrupt the most powers by threatening Suez and changing its relations with Russia, Austria-Hungary, Italy, France, Britain, Germany, and the United States; Brazil would produce the funniest American reaction.

Yes; he backed those organisations, along with the SBS and other special forces, even though he was not their originator.

It may delay the formal conflict, but Britain and the United States are already fighting Japan together and an American-German confrontation remains likely.

They pushed availability harder, but the practical cycle still worked out to roughly thirds because ships and crews still needed preparation and maintenance.

The need arises from additional independent formations, task groups, major decisions, and procurement responsibilities rather than a fixed number of hulls.

Germany loses ships and elite troops, Allied confidence rises, Norway remains an Allied base, and northern air and convoy routes put new pressure on Germany.

Britain would fall back on the Observer Corps, visual range finding, and acoustic listening systems, though none would match radar's warning quality.

Brazil contained pro-Axis factions, but its government as a whole cooperated more closely with Britain during both world wars.

Britain avoids Arctic and Persian supply routes in World War II and probably has no reason for the Dardanelles campaign in World War I, freeing ships and resources for other theaters.

Britain fought at Copenhagen in 1801 and again in 1807; Nelson was involved in the first action and Wellington in the second expedition.

Probably; Stalin would likely still order the attack, but stronger Finnish naval resistance would make the Soviet advance even less successful.

French battleships and other ships would add valuable Mediterranean mass and free British units such as Hood for overdue refit work.

Britain's navy and Italy's Mediterranean position put France under severe pressure, with French colonies and naval forces vulnerable while Prussian and Italian armies engage the continental coalition.

Japanese forces would operate at the edge of their logistics while British and American fleets gained an opportunity to combine from the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

No; Britain could rely on Gibraltar to close the western entrance when necessary instead of treating the sea as the route to its eastern empire.

German casualties would rise in clashes with Matilda columns and their effective 2-pounder guns, though British operational performance might remain much the same.

Earlier trade, technology transfer, infrastructure maintenance, and domestic industrialisation could have made China a major power by the 1920s or 1930s.

He gives Richelieu a slight advantage because it can fire all eight 15-inch guns while presenting a smaller target and has stronger deck and turret protection.

Rotation could improve reputations and performance, but Britain lacked the same depth because it had to staff commands across many theaters rather than concentrate on the Pacific.

Propeller torque made many aircraft easier to roll right, and rightward movement was also more natural for pilots, so starboard placement supported predictable avoidance behavior.

It creates an overwhelming technological lead, but the United States still has to finance the fleet and sustain its industrial and taxation base while other powers race to learn from it.

Britain could resume a rolling program in the 1920s and 1930s, producing more postwar designs than Nelson and Rodney, while poorer powers would struggle with the cost.

Perhaps another two and a half to three years, because the United States would first need to build a much larger fleet.

They would gain more hulls for convoy and distributed tasks, but smaller hangars would sharply limit air groups as aircraft grew.

Surface combatants might perform about the same, but unarmored American carriers would be more vulnerable to the punishment British carriers absorbed.

The fuel and efficiency tradeoffs change at ship scale, where conventional boilers make more sense than systems optimized for cars.

Choose among the various Soviet, German, and Japanese super-battleship proposals whose infrastructure, energy, and industrial requirements made construction unrealistic.

Once Britain was established there it was extremely difficult to remove, and Napoleon compounded the problem by failing to recognize Gibraltar's strategic value.

There might be more direct wars because the threat of mutual assured destruction restrained disputes between the largest powers.

The charge is treated as overstated, given Churchill's willingness to lead from the front and his record of avoiding needless losses among his troops.

Not for long; hits to the unarmored flight deck could reach aviation fuel and hangar-support spaces despite the strength inherited from the original hull.

Yes, because a towed array can be lost or damaged and the ship needs an independent backup sensor during operations.

The central deck was armored across the ship and broadly from the forward lift to the aft lift, including protected spaces alongside the lifts, while the extreme ends were not.

The Norwegian campaign, because better coordination could prevent the carrier from operating alone and correct several avoidable command failures.

Their presence could draw more Eastern Fleet units forward and give Admiral Phillips a flagship large enough to coordinate British, Dutch, American, and Australian staffs.

Divers should contact the responsible government, especially for a registered war grave, both to learn the legal rules and to help monitor safety, damage, and looting.

Japanese Zeros would face a much faster, tougher, and more heavily armed opponent, greatly increasing their losses once American pilots developed suitable tactics.

Potentially, because they could provide fast carrier escort and overwhelm heavy cruisers, though a Kongo-class opponent would remain a more demanding fight.

It is a demanding search that requires an appropriate support vessel and effective imaging sonar.

A less political general runs the Southwest Pacific, while Nimitz gains far more authority and might become supreme commander for the entire Pacific theater.

A King George V would transform naval development through its machinery, power generation, aircraft, and other technologies that contemporary industry could eventually reproduce.

Similar hunting forces searched for her, but Deutschland withdrew before they could locate and engage her.

The ships were capable large cruisers, but by 1944 the surface threat to carrier groups had faded; they would have been far more valuable in 1940-42.

Surface actions resembling a larger Dogger Bank would occur around the world, with fast gun forces searching for and engaging one another.

Probably not; he would have reasons to join operations against Japan and might pursue greater gains in China instead.

Games and public collaboration matter when they draw more people into studying history and recognising its recurring mistakes.

The Axis might lack an immediate means to resume expansion, but the Allies would not accept an unresolved war that left the hostile regimes undefeated.

Battlefield victory can arrive quickly, while creating durable institutions and infrastructure is a separate, much longer undertaking.

He expects a much heavier ship with 15- or 16-inch guns, probably twelve weapons in four triple turrets, plus the speed, armor, and range the treaty design had to trade away.

Large cruisers, because their 12-inch weapons were cruiser-scale by 1944 and did not match contemporary 15-, 16-, and 18-inch battleship armament.

STOVL preserved compatibility with F-35Bs, Harriers, and future amphibious flight decks, giving Britain more interchangeable decks and better strategic availability.

Probably only a couple of additional weeks, although surviving bombers could still damage Japanese logistical areas.

A fleet-on-fleet contest would be close in several categories, but a global war creates different geographic dilemmas and ultimately favors American industrial capacity.

Only through a rapid surprise attack at dawn or dusk that disrupted Japanese rangefinding; otherwise the Japanese force held overwhelming superiority.

Build sixty first, then reassess whether the fleet requires more.

She was due extensive refit work but was not completely worn out, and the fatal result still depended on an exceptionally unlucky hit.

In this 2021 answer, not as an invasion threat to Britain itself, but potentially as a challenge to the maritime order, overseas territories, allies, and treaty partners that British policy supports.

They could exploit the exemption by using pre-dreadnought-like ships to dominate the role otherwise assigned to heavy cruisers.

No; the Allies would likely defeat Japan first and then turn against the Soviet Union, with the extended war probably bringing another nuclear attack.

Siberia offered oil and other resources, while striking north appeared to avoid the immediate war with the much stronger British and American powers that a southern advance risked.

He would start emergency construction of Arethusa- and Town-class cruisers, Dido-type ships, and carriers around 1936-37, while enlarging the Dido hull for better margins.

It was renewed; the decisive change came later when the naval-treaty settlement brought the alliance to an end.

The choice followed the expected operational role: inclined armor suited a ship expected to trade fire in the battle line, while running engagements favored other arrangements.

The design was viable, but after the war it could no longer serve as the fleet's centerpiece because carriers had taken that role.

Yes if enough specialist ships could be built, though Dido remained a sound concept that mainly needed a somewhat larger hull.

Sound planning assumes an opponent is broadly equal, with strengths and weaknesses that may differ from one's own.

The fire ships sent against the Spanish Armada, because a competent anchored fleet should have been able to intercept and tow them clear.

Japanese planning expected victory in the decisive battle to end the war, leaving little concept of a prolonged conflict afterward.

They will matter, but mass production and guidance remain difficult; even a very fast weapon must predict or update a moving ship's position during several minutes of flight.

Internal tubes support reloads and larger magazines, while external capsules add drag, noise, and additional structural penetrations or weak points.

The limiting architecture is often the internal arrangement of machinery, electrical generation, distribution, and growth margins rather than the outer hull shape alone.

A discussion of hypersonic warfare broadens into missile-magazine depth, the loss of at-sea VLS reloads, and post-Cold War assumptions about short naval engagements.

If it does, the efficient route is to adapt the ballistic-missile submarine hull already in production rather than create a separate design.

Ballistic-missile submarines sit outside the battle line but qualify as capital ships because they exert strategic influence at the level of states.

It depends on the navy and mission; ships near home may carry less, while units deploying with a task group into the Indian Ocean and South China Sea are likely fully loaded.

Probably, like every major power, because developing a countermeasure requires understanding the weapon whether or not the program is publicly acknowledged.

It is a compact launch installation that manages launch forces, provides missile data and electrical interfaces, and monitors weapon status.

Additional battleships could deliver enormous firepower, but without a ground offensive into North Vietnam the strategic purpose of sustained bombardment remains unclear.

A reflection on hypersonic weapons argues that studying war and maintaining credible forces help leaders understand the consequences when politics fails.

A first-rate modern combatant can plausibly carry about 140 to 160 missiles before the arsenal-ship label becomes more appropriate.

Taxes must be paid because evidence-led government needs revenue to preserve national institutions and support essential workers and services.

Baseline health care supports productivity, family security, crisis response, and employers while leaving room to debate how the system is administered.

Roughly a 20,000- to 35,000-ton missile warship resembling the Kirov class in scale and strategic weight.

It is not yet necessary in his view, but extensive automation could eventually make UBI simpler and more sensible than a complicated benefits system.