Post by nagato01 on Jun 4, 2017 12:25:25 GMT
This was something that was nagging at me lately, so I decided to make a thread on it.
"What if HMS Hood served with Admiral Cunningham in the Mediterranean at Alexandria?"
Now I know that Hood was stationed with Force H for some time, but Force H never really did too much battle with the Italian navy, that went to Cunningham at Alexandria. Interestingly enough for a little while prewar Hood served as Cunningham's flagship in the Mediterranean.
Having Hood in Cunningham's task force would have posed one big problem, that being that Hood's top speed of 31 knots. The modified Queen Elizabeth's (QE, Valiant, Warspite) could only do a top speed of 23 knots, with Barham and Malaya being able to make 24, and the Royal Sovereign class being hopelessly slow at probably 21 knots at BEST. Cunningham would have to entirely replace his battleships, as in a battle they would have been likely separated and that would cause big problems.
The only ships that could keep pace with Hood in the RN as of 1940 were Repulse and Renown, with the latter being in Force H at the time with the former being part of the Home Fleet. At the end of 1940, the KGV was ready for service, but it is safe to say that the RN would have been unwilling to give this brand new ship to the Mediterranean.
So let's assume that Cunningham has at least Hood and Repulse (The RN would have been reluctant to give Renown above all, as she was needed for the fast task group of Force H). How might these ships have served in battle against the Italians (I.E. battles like Calabria, Matapan)? Hood and Repulse would have been (given what I've learned about the true speed of Italian warships) faster than any battleship the Italians could bring to action. Hood and Repulse combined could bring 14 15 inch guns, and while that isn't a lot, I think it would still be enough to do major damage. So if you look at a battle like Calabria and say hypothetically the British chased the Italians through the smoke, they MAY have been able to use their superior speed to keep with the Cesare and Covour, possibly sinking one of the two.
Having Hood and Repulse in the Med. would also allow the British to react faster to changes such as for instance the Italian fleet coming out of port.
Finally if Hood survived the war (I would hope that) she may have been preserved. Unfortunately though, I don't see this as likely as even the famous Warspite met her end with the breakers.
What are your thoughts? What do you guys think a fast Med. battlefleet might have looked like?
"What if HMS Hood served with Admiral Cunningham in the Mediterranean at Alexandria?"
Now I know that Hood was stationed with Force H for some time, but Force H never really did too much battle with the Italian navy, that went to Cunningham at Alexandria. Interestingly enough for a little while prewar Hood served as Cunningham's flagship in the Mediterranean.
Having Hood in Cunningham's task force would have posed one big problem, that being that Hood's top speed of 31 knots. The modified Queen Elizabeth's (QE, Valiant, Warspite) could only do a top speed of 23 knots, with Barham and Malaya being able to make 24, and the Royal Sovereign class being hopelessly slow at probably 21 knots at BEST. Cunningham would have to entirely replace his battleships, as in a battle they would have been likely separated and that would cause big problems.
The only ships that could keep pace with Hood in the RN as of 1940 were Repulse and Renown, with the latter being in Force H at the time with the former being part of the Home Fleet. At the end of 1940, the KGV was ready for service, but it is safe to say that the RN would have been unwilling to give this brand new ship to the Mediterranean.
So let's assume that Cunningham has at least Hood and Repulse (The RN would have been reluctant to give Renown above all, as she was needed for the fast task group of Force H). How might these ships have served in battle against the Italians (I.E. battles like Calabria, Matapan)? Hood and Repulse would have been (given what I've learned about the true speed of Italian warships) faster than any battleship the Italians could bring to action. Hood and Repulse combined could bring 14 15 inch guns, and while that isn't a lot, I think it would still be enough to do major damage. So if you look at a battle like Calabria and say hypothetically the British chased the Italians through the smoke, they MAY have been able to use their superior speed to keep with the Cesare and Covour, possibly sinking one of the two.
Having Hood and Repulse in the Med. would also allow the British to react faster to changes such as for instance the Italian fleet coming out of port.
Finally if Hood survived the war (I would hope that) she may have been preserved. Unfortunately though, I don't see this as likely as even the famous Warspite met her end with the breakers.
What are your thoughts? What do you guys think a fast Med. battlefleet might have looked like?