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The Japanese torpedoes were particularly hazardous. The oxygen could intensify fires if it leaked from fragments.Yeah sure, any kind of explosive ordinance was dangerous to carry when under fire. US and RN and German ships carried torpedoes too.
This assumes perfect weather, which it often wasn't.With the Japanese advantages in detection, they could spot enemy (including RN) ships early and engage them from beyond the maximum range of the British vessels (guns or torpedoes)
Easy there, fella. It's only Thursday night.Warspite rules! Yamato drools!
Ultimately we cannot come close to a realistic result without taking the context into account, and removing the US removes the context, and makes it very hard to supply a new realistic one.
The 70 cruiser requirement can be traced back to 1924 but Friedman notes "Unfortunately no credible explanation has survived, but at times it was stated that twenty-five were for the fleet and forty-five to protect trade". He then deduces from various documents, statements etc that it would look something like this:-The RN had wanted 70 cruisers in the early 30's. They didn't get them due to treaties and lack of money. I believe that was just to counter the Japanese and provide for whatever else may have been going on. In the early 30's Germany was not a real threat, so that the British were looking at numbers to counter Japan with Japan timing the out break of war to have the most ships ready for combat and the RN having the normal number undergoing refit/repair and using some cruisers for trade protection even in the Atlantic while fighting the Japanese.
German and Italian building programs changed the desired numbers as they also became more belligerent.
Japanese (and many others) used search lights at times and the use of star shells was wide spread. Some navies (including the RN) sometimes fitted dedicated star shell guns.
On the contrary.Japan bypasses the Philippines while still invading Malaya, Burma, capturing Singapore, and threatening Australia. There, problem solved.
Japan attacked in Dec 1941 precisely because it seemed that the Axis was winning and the RN had suffered massive losses. So we have two possible scenarios here, one where the RN has been terribly bled and the British Empire and Commonwealth (BEC) is engaged in a life and death struggle in the ETO/MTO or one where the the BEC has not gone to war in the ETO/MTO and the RN has been free to expand as per it's prewar plans and the BEC could devote it's entire resources to fighting Japan.On the contrary.
If you can bypass the Philipines, then why not bypass the British holdings and go directly for the oil in Dutch East India? That's what you need for the main show in China. While an empire can never really get too much empire, Japan would probably have preferred to wait with trhe co-prosperity thing untill China was brought to heel. And why on earth would you threaten Australia?
And if the US is not putting an embargo on the oil, why not just buy it? Or do we 'just' assume that they bypass a hostile USA?
I'd love to playtest the IJN vs RN board game, but fitting it into history would be a nightmare.
Of course we also have to add the Dutch and French naval strength as well, if the IJN is occupy and/or target those nations FE possessions.RN planning in May 1939 for a war in the Far East in 1942, without a war against Germany & Italy, showed the following proposed dispositions (note that the cruiser figure is for those capable of carrying aircraft only):-
Home waters - 9 capital ships , 13 cruisers, Formidable, Illustrious, Victorious with Furious as the training carrier
Trincomalee - 5 cruisers, Courageous (in a trade protection role with 24 aircraft), Albatross
Singapore (Hong Kong in peace) - 12 capital ships , 15 cruisers, Ark Royal, Indomitable, Implacable, Indefatigable with Glorious (in a trade protection role with 24 aircraft)
Esquimalt, Canada - 3 cruisers
Kingston, Jamaica - Hermes
Simonstown, South Africa - 2 cruisers
New Zealand - 2 cruisers
Total - 21 capital ships, 40 cruisers, 11 carriers, 1 seaplane carrier
A few months later for a simultaneous war against Germany & Japan in March 1944 the capital ship distribution was expected to be
Home - 2x1939 Lion class, 5xKGV, 3xbattlecruiser
Singapore - 2x1938 Lion class, 2xNelrod, 5xQE, 3xR class
Total - 22
This to fight a supposed IJN in 1944 of 4xnew battleship, 2x new battlecruiser, 2xNagato, 2xFuso, 2xIse & 4xKomgo = 16 capital ships. They were not expecting the new battleship to be the size of Yamato.
On the contrary.
If you can bypass the Philipines, then why not bypass the British holdings and go directly for the oil in Dutch East India? That's what you need for the main show in China. While an empire can never really get too much empire, Japan would probably have preferred to wait with trhe co-prosperity thing untill China was brought to heel. And why on earth would you threaten Australia?
And if the US is not putting an embargo on the oil, why not just buy it? Or do we 'just' assume that they bypass a hostile USA?
I'd love to playtest the IJN vs RN board game, but fitting it into history would be a nightmare.