Post by weedsrock2 on Feb 4, 2018 1:53:00 GMT
So we will do a "triple-header" this week since the nominated submarines represent one from each of Allied, Axis, and the Neutral powers.
This slot started out with yet another Gato/Balao class, but the team was having great difficulty coming up with something new. There was a desire for a lower cost sub, but that could really only be done with a coastal sub. That meant either another "sugar boat" or the Mackerel & Marlin duo. There was discussion over whether a "sugar boat" should/would require the "Worn Out Boat" SA. Was that a class defining SA or not? The Mackerel/Marlin seemed like a good way to go. They were the only modern coastal submarines the USN built. Essentially a smaller Gato class design, they were considered excellent boats, but the USN decided it preferred to build the fleet boats and could use them for coastal defense if that became necessary. Why build Ford Escapes when you can afford Expeditions? So the USN gets a more "classical" coastal 3/2/1 torp and 3/5/2 armor small sub. Note the class limit will be two. The two subs were slightly different as they were essentially prototypes built to the same specifications, but not enough to matter. Mackerel's engagement with a U-boat gave us an opportunity to give it a unique SA for a sub.
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Japan's submarine force was very badly used by the IJN in WWII. "Wasted" on bad doctrine would be a better way to put it. However, a few IJN sub skippers were lucky enough to get a chance to show their skill despite consistently poor deployment orders. The skill and daring shown by the captain and crew of I-168 was as good as any during the war. The boat managed to evade a destroyer screen to get a good shot at the USS Yorktown, sink a destroyer as well in the bargain, and then escape through a very angry and determined counter-attack by the USN. With a now severely damaged submarine, they managed to survive a harrowing and long voyage back to a friendly base. We did check the records and discovered I-168 still had conventional torpedoes at the time of the attack on USS Yorktown. This gave us an opportunity to make a sub that has a different profile from the other very similar IJN fleet boats already in the game.
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We introduced Spain in Deck D and decided to work on a more rounded fleet by adding a submarine. As with the other Spanish units, the flavor is related to activity during the Spanish Civil War more than directly to WWII.
This slot started out with yet another Gato/Balao class, but the team was having great difficulty coming up with something new. There was a desire for a lower cost sub, but that could really only be done with a coastal sub. That meant either another "sugar boat" or the Mackerel & Marlin duo. There was discussion over whether a "sugar boat" should/would require the "Worn Out Boat" SA. Was that a class defining SA or not? The Mackerel/Marlin seemed like a good way to go. They were the only modern coastal submarines the USN built. Essentially a smaller Gato class design, they were considered excellent boats, but the USN decided it preferred to build the fleet boats and could use them for coastal defense if that became necessary. Why build Ford Escapes when you can afford Expeditions? So the USN gets a more "classical" coastal 3/2/1 torp and 3/5/2 armor small sub. Note the class limit will be two. The two subs were slightly different as they were essentially prototypes built to the same specifications, but not enough to matter. Mackerel's engagement with a U-boat gave us an opportunity to give it a unique SA for a sub.
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Japan's submarine force was very badly used by the IJN in WWII. "Wasted" on bad doctrine would be a better way to put it. However, a few IJN sub skippers were lucky enough to get a chance to show their skill despite consistently poor deployment orders. The skill and daring shown by the captain and crew of I-168 was as good as any during the war. The boat managed to evade a destroyer screen to get a good shot at the USS Yorktown, sink a destroyer as well in the bargain, and then escape through a very angry and determined counter-attack by the USN. With a now severely damaged submarine, they managed to survive a harrowing and long voyage back to a friendly base. We did check the records and discovered I-168 still had conventional torpedoes at the time of the attack on USS Yorktown. This gave us an opportunity to make a sub that has a different profile from the other very similar IJN fleet boats already in the game.
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We introduced Spain in Deck D and decided to work on a more rounded fleet by adding a submarine. As with the other Spanish units, the flavor is related to activity during the Spanish Civil War more than directly to WWII.
