Buba
A total creep
Premise:
- ISOT to Mussolini on 1.I.1934
- for the aggrandizement of Italy/destruction of USSR he will play on Hitler's side mid 1940 to mid 1942 or so, hence RM vs. RN clash inevitable.
The All New Duce decides that for his two year war against the RN he can have either the five rebuilds, or the four newbuilds - both not both.
As an incurable shiteating cheapskate the SI wonders if the rebuilds are "good enough" to fight the refurbished antiques the RN will send to the Med (he has some knowledge of WWII at sea). The Italian rustbuckets are faster (so, if necessary - "Bravely brave Sir Robbin .... ") than the QE's and their 32cm cannon are still a threat to the British oldies. Yet at the end of the day these ships are old, underprotected, and rebuilt at signficant cost ....
Hence four Roma (or Vittorio Venetto) ships might be better, as these can go toe to toe with the RN's newest, let alone the WWI vintage clunkers. I imagine that with no rebuilding going on in parallel there will be money to complete all four by mid 1940 (six years to build a ship, really?).
Of course, the Roma's would differ slightly from OTL - e.g. no 90mm wunderwaffe AA but a boring, mundane battery of 10/12x2x100mm in nonstabilised mounts, no 152mm secondaries but either more AA or working 135mm DP?, a normal TDS ...
The rebuilds would also differ slightly, e.g. better AA.
So, my questions:
- what were the total costs of the rebuilds and of the four Roma's?
- if rebuilds cheaper by a worthwhile margin, would these be good enough for the planned OTL WWII renactment?
3rd option:
What about a cheapskate newbuild variant (roughly along the lines of Netherlander Project 1047 or Dunquerque, slightly slower, smaller and cheaper than the German "Twins") reusing guns and turrets from the WWI ships - four ships, c.27K tons, 28-30kn, 3x3x32cm (rebored 12" as in OTL) and either 16-20x100mmAA or 12-16x135mmDP, c.25cm belt (inclined) and turret faces. Worthwhile - i.e. GOOD ENOUGH - compared to the Roma's?
Here the benefit - shared with the OTL rebuilds - would be political - i.e. the British and French imperialists getting less excited over Italian armaments built to protect the Fatherland as part of Italy's Struggle for Peace ...
- ISOT to Mussolini on 1.I.1934
- for the aggrandizement of Italy/destruction of USSR he will play on Hitler's side mid 1940 to mid 1942 or so, hence RM vs. RN clash inevitable.
The All New Duce decides that for his two year war against the RN he can have either the five rebuilds, or the four newbuilds - both not both.
As an incurable shiteating cheapskate the SI wonders if the rebuilds are "good enough" to fight the refurbished antiques the RN will send to the Med (he has some knowledge of WWII at sea). The Italian rustbuckets are faster (so, if necessary - "Bravely brave Sir Robbin .... ") than the QE's and their 32cm cannon are still a threat to the British oldies. Yet at the end of the day these ships are old, underprotected, and rebuilt at signficant cost ....
Hence four Roma (or Vittorio Venetto) ships might be better, as these can go toe to toe with the RN's newest, let alone the WWI vintage clunkers. I imagine that with no rebuilding going on in parallel there will be money to complete all four by mid 1940 (six years to build a ship, really?).
Of course, the Roma's would differ slightly from OTL - e.g. no 90mm wunderwaffe AA but a boring, mundane battery of 10/12x2x100mm in nonstabilised mounts, no 152mm secondaries but either more AA or working 135mm DP?, a normal TDS ...
The rebuilds would also differ slightly, e.g. better AA.
So, my questions:
- what were the total costs of the rebuilds and of the four Roma's?
- if rebuilds cheaper by a worthwhile margin, would these be good enough for the planned OTL WWII renactment?
3rd option:
What about a cheapskate newbuild variant (roughly along the lines of Netherlander Project 1047 or Dunquerque, slightly slower, smaller and cheaper than the German "Twins") reusing guns and turrets from the WWI ships - four ships, c.27K tons, 28-30kn, 3x3x32cm (rebored 12" as in OTL) and either 16-20x100mmAA or 12-16x135mmDP, c.25cm belt (inclined) and turret faces. Worthwhile - i.e. GOOD ENOUGH - compared to the Roma's?
Here the benefit - shared with the OTL rebuilds - would be political - i.e. the British and French imperialists getting less excited over Italian armaments built to protect the Fatherland as part of Italy's Struggle for Peace ...
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