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Post by rockyr on Dec 5, 2011 8:58:10 GMT -5
I have worked out the stats for US pre-dread monitors, but am at a loss for calculating point value. Any suggestions? I am also unsure of the armor, but given the amounts 12 looks right, although I fear for not having accounted for out-of-date steel production. Opinions?
I penalized the monitors as unstable gun platforms too low to the water by moving their firing phase to flotilla
Hull 15 Speed 2 (3 for Monadnock) Armor 12 Move Battleship Shoot Flotilla Command Crew Flagship Y[ ] N[ ] Main Battery Layout Size G/T Num Turrets Arcs 10” 2 1 F/P/S 10” 2 1 A/P/S - - - - Secondary Battery Layout Size G/T Num Turrets Arcs 4” 1 1 P 4” 1 1 S Gun Data Weapon S M L Pen DMG 10” 8 16 24 4 4 4” 2 4 6 0 1
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shigure
Commander
IJN Shigure
Posts: 356
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Post by shigure on Dec 5, 2011 22:03:59 GMT -5
The following website shows the USS Monadnock (BM-3), a monitor of the Amphitrite class, crossing the Pacific Ocean during the Spanish-American War. As you can see, even in a light sea condition the ship has her decks awash. It is a tribute to her captain and crew that she was able to make the crossing. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphitrite_class_monitorSo I would venture to say that they would only be useful for shore bombardment or in a very light sea state in a sheltered harbor. Due to low freeboard they would be extremely hard to hit, especially on the side armor as most of it was under water. So you would want to make it hard for them to be hit. On the minus side the low freeboard also means the main battery director(s) are also low limiting the maximum effective range. I would imagine the cruisers Olympia and Brooklyn with their higher freeboard would have been more effective at longer ranges than the monitors. I doubt Admiral Dewey would have attached any of the Monitors to his battleline as they were too slow. Most likely they would have been anchored or restricted to a small area with a few escorts with small quick firing guns to ward off any torpedo attacks. If you decide to use the monitors let us know how the battle turns out.
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Post by ckosacranoid on Dec 6, 2011 1:58:33 GMT -5
might have to try these out soon. cool idea....
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Post by rockyr on Dec 6, 2011 6:43:18 GMT -5
I had not considered the range/visibility aspect. I have to go look at visibility at sea distances from height charts. If the sight distances merit it, removing long range from the monitors may be the best solution - retaining the impact but reducing the reach.
Is the low silhouette of the monitor equal to a 10% die roll modifier? Perhaps. Conversely, does that change create a kind of "stealth battleship" in game terms? Or, does the unique target mean more hits would be on a monitor's deck compared to other targets, or that the turrets take a disproportionate percentage of hits, and thus take more damage or more critical damage? Does the target and the effect balance out in game terms? In the spirit of NT, I will first playtest without any special rules.
Certainly, as pointed out, monitors are poor line of battle vessels. Manila Bay does seem an ideal place for them. What if there was a viable enemy fleet operating there as well? I will let you know how the games go as I build all the warships in the Philippines, as well as those that might have been (notable additions to Manila By: Monadnock, Monterey, Charleston; Princess de Astoras, Peyalo, and maybe the Carlos V).
I am also looking at a flotilla approach for gunboats smaller than 1000 tons (no torpedoes, though).
How about the points for monitors? Any formula?
R
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shigure
Commander
IJN Shigure
Posts: 356
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Post by shigure on Dec 6, 2011 22:52:03 GMT -5
I like your proposed mods. The only other item that occurred to me was that if a hull armor was penetrated, you would have to automatically roll for flooding, due to the low freeboard. Let us know how the playtest turns out, without and with mods.
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Post by rockyr on Dec 7, 2011 11:01:19 GMT -5
Studying other ships more, 12 armor is too high for monitors.
10 is more reasonable given the amounts and the technology.
For points, about 85 looks like the ball park.
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