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"Obsolete SDs" Waste not...

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Re: "Obsolete SDs" Waste not...
Post by munroburton   » Sun Oct 02, 2016 8:01 pm

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Location: Scotland

The tech disparity wasn't as great back then. The People's Navy in 1905 had way more operational experience than the SLN in 1920 and were able to design their latest classes accordingly. The combat paradigm they were designed for was still valid.
Manticore’s Gift-class superdreadnought
(Note: Specification reflects base class only)
Mass: 7,187,250 tons
Acceleration: 417.5 G (4.094 kps²)
Broadside: 36M, 12L, 12G, 28CM, 24PD

Scientist-class
Mass: 6,800,000
Acceleration: 422G
Broadside: 32M, 24L, 26G, 16CM, 32PD


Textev gives launcher cycle times for the ex-PN SDs as ~20 seconds. The Sollies have 35-second cycle times on their newest launchers and 45 seconds on their older ones.
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Re: "Obsolete SDs" Waste not...
Post by Jonathan_S   » Sun Oct 02, 2016 8:25 pm

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munroburton wrote:The tech disparity wasn't as great back then. The People's Navy in 1905 had way more operational experience than the SLN in 1920 and were able to design their latest classes accordingly. The combat paradigm they were designed for was still valid.
Manticore’s Gift-class superdreadnought
(Note: Specification reflects base class only)
Mass: 7,187,250 tons
Acceleration: 417.5 G (4.094 kps²)
Broadside: 36M, 12L, 12G, 28CM, 24PD

Scientist-class
Mass: 6,800,000
Acceleration: 422G
Broadside: 32M, 24L, 26G, 16CM, 32PD


Textev gives launcher cycle times for the ex-PN SDs as ~20 seconds. The Sollies have 35-second cycle times on their newest launchers and 45 seconds on their older ones.

And there wasn't a stockpile of superior wallets mothballed in reserve, and Manticire was still fairly early in their yard expansions, (and Grayson was still building their yards) so couldn't afford to divert capability to equip Grayson with wallers.
So with a more militarily comparable design they let Grayson take the costs of refitting the, for service. But the refits were relatively minor; mostly just repairs and a gut and replace of the ECM equipment. IIRC all the missile mounts, cm tubes, PDLCs, and sensor were retained (except for destroyed ones that had to be replaced)

Grayson was just lucky that the threat environment was such that these more difficult to maintain ships were still capable combat units (and that Manticore was in a temporary production bottleneck that meant they had significant numbers of trained and experienced officers and crew that there weren't yet RMN ships for. (So it wasn't a real reduction of their military capability to loan them all the Grayson the help them gain the experience needed to effectively use their new SDs; not to mention simply fill their manning tables until more GSN personnel could be trained and seasoned)


And hey, if some world wants to take the Scientists on an as is basis, without RMN support, training, or personnel I'm happy to let them try. I tend to think the environment has changed enough that that world would be better off looking to other options; but that's their funeral.
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Re: "Obsolete SDs" Waste not...
Post by Theemile   » Sun Oct 02, 2016 10:07 pm

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Posts: 5242
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munroburton wrote:The tech disparity wasn't as great back then. The People's Navy in 1905 had way more operational experience than the SLN in 1920 and were able to design their latest classes accordingly. The combat paradigm they were designed for was still valid.
Manticore’s Gift-class superdreadnought
(Note: Specification reflects base class only)
Mass: 7,187,250 tons
Acceleration: 417.5 G (4.094 kps²)
Broadside: 36M, 12L, 12G, 28CM, 24PD

Scientist-class
Mass: 6,800,000
Acceleration: 422G
Broadside: 32M, 24L, 26G, 16CM, 32PD


Textev gives launcher cycle times for the ex-PN SDs as ~20 seconds. The Sollies have 35-second cycle times on their newest launchers and 45 seconds on their older ones.


JonathanS wrote:And there wasn't a stockpile of superior wallets mothballed in reserve, and Manticire was still fairly early in their yard expansions, (and Grayson was still building their yards) so couldn't afford to divert capability to equip Grayson with wallers.
So with a more militarily comparable design they let Grayson take the costs of refitting the, for service. But the refits were relatively minor; mostly just repairs and a gut and replace of the ECM equipment. IIRC all the missile mounts, cm tubes, PDLCs, and sensor were retained (except for destroyed ones that had to be replaced)

Grayson was just lucky that the threat environment was such that these more difficult to maintain ships were still capable combat units (and that Manticore was in a temporary production bottleneck that meant they had significant numbers of trained and experienced officers and crew that there weren't yet RMN ships for. (So it wasn't a real reduction of their military capability to loan them all the Grayson the help them gain the experience needed to effectively use their new SDs; not to mention simply fill their manning tables until more GSN personnel could be trained and seasoned)


And hey, if some world wants to take the Scientists on an as is basis, without RMN support, training, or personnel I'm happy to let them try. I tend to think the environment has changed enough that that world would be better off looking to other options; but that's their funeral.


David ( the author) has even commented on this and specifically said that the situation in 1920 is not the same as it was in 1905. Everyone was using variations of the same theme in 1905, since then the Manty tech advantage has made its construction quite different than the galactic "standard", and every other independant combatant in the Havenite sector wars have developed their own path.

My previous signature was from that post, quoting David saying that the SLN SDs were useless.
******
RFC said "refitting a Beowulfan SD to Manticoran standards would be just as difficult as refitting a standard SLN SD to those standards. In other words, it would be cheaper and faster to build new ships."
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Re: "Obsolete SDs" Waste not...
Post by MaxxQ   » Mon Oct 03, 2016 1:21 am

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Theemile wrote:David ( the author) has even commented on this and specifically said that the situation in 1920 is not the same as it was in 1905. Everyone was using variations of the same theme in 1905, since then the Manty tech advantage has made its construction quite different than the galactic "standard", and every other independant combatant in the Havenite sector wars have developed their own path.

My previous signature was from that post, quoting David saying that the SLN SDs were useless.


RedBaron wrote:TO ALL YOU LAZY PEOPLE WHO KEEP MAKING EXCUSES WHY THE SOLLY SD'S CAN'T/SHOULDN'T BE REFITTED....

Why were the Peep Wallers refitted by Grayson then instead of just being shoved into their sun?


Saying something can't be done, or that there's no point trying, only shows your own lack of intelligence.


I guess that means you are calling the author of this series lazy and that he lacks intelligence.

No one here has said that any modifications hertofore proposed for the SLN wallers CAN'T be done, or that there's no point to it. What most of us have been saying is that it is IMPRACTICAL to do anything like that. Grayson and Manticore are both trying to rebuild their infrastructure to build their OWN ships. They don't have the time, money, yard space, or manpower to waste modifying these tubs. They don't even have the manpower to ferry them elsewhere to get worked on by someone else.
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Re: "Obsolete SDs" Waste not...
Post by munroburton   » Mon Oct 03, 2016 6:18 am

munroburton
Admiral

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Location: Scotland

One additional point - the PRN had a lot of BBs in service. Relatively modern SDs are absolute murder on any older BBs, as Fourth Yeltsin and the other battles leading up to Trevor's Star showed.

The SLN doesn't seem to have much variation in its battle wall. There might be preceding classes of SDs in the Reserve as well as DNs, but none of those will be reactivated.

That leaves FF's ships - which are in a reverse situation to the PRH's BBs, being newer builds and with more up to date technology than Battle Fleet. We already know FF's ships are hopeless against their RMN "equivalents". But they would perform better against Solly-built SDs than any other GA units, which there are plenty of. More than enough to cover immediate committments.

It's ten years down the road they need to be worrying about - by then, everyone else will have caught up to the new combat paradigm. The answer to that isn't century-old collections of scrap metal.
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Re: "Obsolete SDs" Waste not...
Post by Duckk   » Mon Oct 03, 2016 7:23 am

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Posts: 4200
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RedBaron wrote:TO ALL YOU LAZY PEOPLE WHO KEEP MAKING EXCUSES WHY THE SOLLY SD'S CAN'T/SHOULDN'T BE REFITTED....

Why were the Peep Wallers refitted by Grayson then instead of just being shoved into their sun?


Saying something can't be done, or that there's no point trying, only shows your own lack of intelligence.


That's uncalled for. Discuss the merits of the topic with a modicum of decorum, or earn a vacation from the board.
-------------------------
Shields at 50%, taunting at 100%! - Tom Pope
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Re: "Obsolete SDs" Waste not...
Post by Vince   » Mon Oct 03, 2016 7:51 am

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Theemile wrote:David ( the author) has even commented on this and specifically said that the situation in 1920 is not the same as it was in 1905. Everyone was using variations of the same theme in 1905, since then the Manty tech advantage has made its construction quite different than the galactic "standard", and every other independant combatant in the Havenite sector wars have developed their own path.

My previous signature was from that post, quoting David saying that the SLN SDs were useless.
RedBaron wrote:TO ALL YOU LAZY PEOPLE WHO KEEP MAKING EXCUSES WHY THE SOLLY SD'S CAN'T/SHOULDN'T BE REFITTED....

Why were the Peep Wallers refitted by Grayson then instead of just being shoved into their sun?


Saying something can't be done, or that there's no point trying, only shows your own lack of intelligence.
MaxxQ wrote:I guess that means you are calling the author of this series lazy and that he lacks intelligence.

No one here has said that any modifications hertofore proposed for the SLN wallers CAN'T be done, or that there's no point to it. What most of us have been saying is that it is IMPRACTICAL to do anything like that. Grayson and Manticore are both trying to rebuild their infrastructure to build their OWN ships. They don't have the time, money, yard space, or manpower to waste modifying these tubs. They don't even have the manpower to ferry them elsewhere to get worked on by someone else.

And even Admiral Kingsford, the acting Chief of Naval Operations of the SLN, has said that the reserve of SLN SDs are totally useless, in the new combat environment:
A Rising Thunder, Chapter 31 wrote:“Mr. Permanent Senior Undersecretary,” Kingsford said flatly, “any ‘additional fleet actions’ could only be one-sided massacres. Even assuming what Harrington said to Filareta in the recordings they’ve sent us represents a full statement of their capabilities, without holding any nasty tactical surprises in reserve, we simply can’t match them at this time. There probably hasn’t been this great an imbalance in combat power since the introduction of the machine-gun put an end to massed infantry assaults.
Kolokoltsov’s eyes widened, despite himself, at the frankness of that response. It was refreshingly—and utterly—different from anything Rajampet had ever said.
“It’s really that bad?” he asked, curious to see how far are Kingsford would go.
“It’s probably worse than that, frankly, especially with Haven added to the equation,” the acting CNO said unflinchingly. “For all intents and purposes, the Reserve has just become several billion tons of scrap material. The superdreadnoughts we have mothballed are the wrong ships for this war, and I don’t see any way the existing hulls could be refitted to turn them into effective combatants.
Boldface and underlined text is my emphasis.

If even the SLN--the navy with the most of these units (both in active status and in the reserve), as well as the navy that understands them the best and is best equipped with the knowledge, manpower, materials and equipment to refit them--is not willing to modernize them (considered a waste of money) and considers them unfit for use as they currently exist (both active and reserve units) in the new combat environment, they might just be right.

I realize that the SLN is considered primarily as a collection of idiots by most of the characters in the Honorverse in a position to properly judge it, but we (the readers) have seen a few individuals with functional brains, albeit mostly in lower level positions--which doesn't apply to Kingsford, he seems to be one of the very few exceptions to that rule by both possessing a functional brain (and willing to actually use it, when provided with information that doesn't fit into the preconceived notions of the SLN status quo) as well as being in a position to actually implement decisions (at the top of the SLN ranks).
-------------------------------------------------------------
History does not repeat itself so much as it echoes.
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Re: "Obsolete SDs" Waste not...
Post by George J. Smith   » Mon Oct 03, 2016 2:43 pm

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snipped for brevity

Vince wrote:I realize that the SLN is considered primarily as a collection of idiots by most of the characters in the Honorverse in a position to properly judge it, but we (the readers) have seen a few individuals with functional brains, albeit mostly in lower level positions--which doesn't apply to Kingsford, he seems to be one of the very few exceptions to that rule by both possessing a functional brain (and willing to actually use it, when provided with information that doesn't fit into the preconceived notions of the SLN status quo) as well as being in a position to actually implement decisions (at the top of the SLN ranks).


Seems to me that Kingsford might be in line for an "accident".
.
T&R
GJS

A man should live forever, or die in the attempt
Spider Robinson Callahan's Crosstime Saloon (1977) A voice is heard in Ramah
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Re: "Obsolete SDs" Waste not...
Post by saber964   » Mon Oct 03, 2016 4:31 pm

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Admiral

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A good analogy for the differences between the SLN and RMN is the difference between the USN's first generation battleship and it's last generation battleship. Namely the South Carolina class and the Iowa class. The SLN is represented by the South Carolina and the RMN is represented by the Iowa class.

South Carolina class
Tonnage 20000 tn
Speed 18.5 kn
Guns 12in/45 max elevation 15 degrees max range 18-22,000 yds
The improvement in range was due to better propellant.
Shell weight 870 lbs both AP and HE

Iowa class
Tonnage 58,000 tn
Speed 33 in
Guns 16 in/50 max elevation 45 degrees max range 42,000 yds
Shell Weight 2700lbs AP 1900lbs HC

I won't go into armor as SC's armor was two generations old and centered on belt armor and had no effective resistance to Iowa's guns at any type of range.
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Re: "Obsolete SDs" Waste not...
Post by cthia   » Tue Oct 04, 2016 6:06 am

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Duckk wrote:
RedBaron wrote:TO ALL YOU LAZY PEOPLE WHO KEEP MAKING EXCUSES WHY THE SOLLY SD'S CAN'T/SHOULDN'T BE REFITTED....

Why were the Peep Wallers refitted by Grayson then instead of just being shoved into their sun?


Saying something can't be done, or that there's no point trying, only shows your own lack of intelligence.


That's uncalled for. Discuss the merits of the topic with a modicum of decorum, or earn a vacation from the board.

Purely as a scientific observation, your idea of "modicum of decorum" seems to be very varied. it would be great if it was applied "across the board" and consistent. His post is child's play compared to what I've witnessed. Heck, where was the moderator when rabid fans were literally calling the author a cheat? It's a foregone conclusion where you were in the "God Exists" thread, until those same select few decided to ask the thread be closed.

It "appears" that a select niche is covered by a protection clause. Probably given out at Honor Cons. I suppose the dreaded human element strikes again.

Purely as a scientific observation, you see.

Son, your mother says I have to hang you. Personally I don't think this is a capital offense. But if I don't hang you, she's gonna hang me and frankly, I'm not the one in trouble. —cthia's father. Incident in ? Axiom of Common Sense
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