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Sunday 7 March 2010

Even more Interwar 'What Ifs?'

I have managed to recreate the drawings of the modernised Brazilian and Argentinian battleships that I 'designed' some years ago for a game about a naval arms race set in 1930s South America.

In my version of the South American arms race, the Brazilians decided to have their two battleships, MINAS GERAIS and SAO PAULO rebuilt and modernised by the British.

The resulting ships looked like smaller versions of HMS WARSPITE. During the modernisation both ships 'lost' two twin 12-inch gun turrets, had their reciprocating steam engines replaced steam turbines (with a resulting increase in speed), and their anti-aircraft armament enhanced.

The Argentinians had two American-built Dreadnoughts, MORENO and RIVADAVIA, but turned to the Italians when they wanted them rebuilt.

As a result the ships ended up resembling a longer version of the CAVOUR. These reconstructions were the most extensive of any carried out. The ships were given new bows, new steam turbine engines and boilers (which increased their speed), and had an improved underwater protection system designed by Pugliese.

In the process the ships also 'lost' two twin 12-inch turrets and their original secondary armament, but this allowed three twin 6-inch turrets and two twin 3.5-inch anti-aircraft guns to be fitted on each beam. Twin catapults and spotter aircraft were also now carried.

2 comments:

  1. Bob,

    I'm thinking about trying some battles using the naval rules in Table Top Battles. There is a craft store near me that sells wooden sailing ship kits with the ship measuring 2" by 4" (exactly what TTB recommends); and comes complete with masts, spars, sails, paints and a brush for the ridiculous price of $1 USD--about 60 pence for you chaps! Just too much to resist.

    I can see some changes are necessary; e.g. lengthen the gun range to 2-3 squares and decrease musket fire to 1 square, but otherwise they look very playable. Have you tried the rules yourself, or do you know anyone who has?

    Best regards,

    Chris

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  2. Chris J,

    I have not tried them (and I don't know anyone who has), but they do seem very suited to small scale battles between sailing ships and early ironclads.

    I think that your ideas about changing the weapon ranges make a lot of sense ... and if you can get some really cheap models to try them out, even better!

    Good luck and all the best,

    Bob

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