dunmunro wrote:I don't think that it is a given that if a rebuilt Hood or Renown would be sunk in place of Repulse. Either ship would have much more AA power and far superior UW protection and subdivision.
I never implied that
Repulse would not be sunk; reconstructed or not,
Hood goes to the Far East with her and
Prince of Wales (still a more modern ship, any way you add it up) likely stays in the west.
Repulse is old, but no RN big-gunned ship is faster except her sister,
Renown.
Repulse was sent to Singapore not because of her marvellous AA capability (she was among the poorest-armed of RN capital ships in that regard), but because of her high speed and 15-inch guns. A discussion of the Far East question pivots, with a modernised
Hood, on the distinct possibility that two
battlecruisers go.
Repulse is almost certainly in the mix, no matter what other capital ships are available. I doubt that any of the KGVs are spared from
Bismarck and/or
Tirpitz watch.
Think Churchillian for a moment....he wanted a "visual impact" force to be sent to Singapore, one with enough teeth to make Japan think twice about any designs on Malaya. What better showing could possibly have been made than with what was, arguably, the world's most famous capital ship, fairly fresh from a reconstruction and with plenty of speed and firepower, in consort with another fast capital ship (probably
Repulse) and a carrier?
Prince of Wales, I think, would not be the choice.
It's purely what-if of course, but I think
Hood still gets the worst of endings for her 20-year-old hull at the hands of the indifferent Japanese, who were clearly unafraid of a small flotilla of British warships in that theater of operations. Sorry if this is taking the thread off course...
Interesting subject!
[quote="dunmunro"]I don't think that it is a given that if a rebuilt Hood or Renown would be sunk in place of Repulse. Either ship would have much more AA power and far superior UW protection and subdivision.[/quote]
I never implied that [i]Repulse[/i] would not be sunk; reconstructed or not, [i]Hood[/i] goes to the Far East with her and [i]Prince of Wales[/i] (still a more modern ship, any way you add it up) likely stays in the west.
[i]Repulse[/i] is old, but no RN big-gunned ship is faster except her sister, [i]Renown[/i]. [i]Repulse[/i] was sent to Singapore not because of her marvellous AA capability (she was among the poorest-armed of RN capital ships in that regard), but because of her high speed and 15-inch guns. A discussion of the Far East question pivots, with a modernised [i]Hood[/i], on the distinct possibility that two [u]battlecruisers[/u] go. [i]Repulse[/i] is almost certainly in the mix, no matter what other capital ships are available. I doubt that any of the KGVs are spared from [i]Bismarck[/i] and/or [i]Tirpitz[/i] watch.
Think Churchillian for a moment....he wanted a "visual impact" force to be sent to Singapore, one with enough teeth to make Japan think twice about any designs on Malaya. What better showing could possibly have been made than with what was, arguably, the world's most famous capital ship, fairly fresh from a reconstruction and with plenty of speed and firepower, in consort with another fast capital ship (probably [i]Repulse[/i]) and a carrier?
[i]Prince of Wales[/i], I think, would not be the choice.
It's purely what-if of course, but I think [i]Hood[/i] still gets the worst of endings for her 20-year-old hull at the hands of the indifferent Japanese, who were clearly unafraid of a small flotilla of British warships in that theater of operations. Sorry if this is taking the thread off course...
Interesting subject!
