Shipbucket

Havik (ex-Talakmau) – battleship/carrier:
When the outbreak of World War I cut off the supply of heavy guns built by Krupp of Germany being shipped to Nusantara, two members of the Rinjani class of battleships were still under construction: Talakmau and Sindoro. While the latter was broken up on the slipways, a different fate awaited the former – in 1915 the decision was made to complete Talakmau as a hybrid battleship/aircraft carrier.
Rechristened KNS Havik, the new ship commissioned in mid-1918. She retained her two forward 343mm twin turrets, but was completely rebuilt behind the after superstructure, receiving a “flying off” deck and hangers below that. Something of a compromise, Havik originally could carry only twelve aircraft (plus four additional with deck parks). Her first complement of aircraft was surplus Sopwith 2F.1 Camels purchased from Great Britain.

During 1925 the ship received a modest rebuild – gaining a tripod foremast similar to her half-sisters and trading in her Camels for newer Gloster Nightjars – also purchased from the UK.

A more extensive rebuild occurred during 1927-28 and consisted of the removal of the amidships heavy turret and barbette, the deletion of the after conning tower, and the extension of the flight-deck around the aft funnel to the base of the fore funnel. This allowed additional aircraft to be carried – although the extra planes were stowed in deck parks as the existing hangers remained unchanged. Havik’s air-group at this point consisted of 12 Gloster Nightjars, 12 Curtiss F8C-4 Falcon fighter-bombers, and 4 Boeing TB’s (production versions of the XTB torpedo bomber). This roster was not entirely successful as the TB’s took up significant deck space and were too large to be stowed in the hangers. Soon the planes were reduced to only two aboard or were landed completely.

Never considered completely successful, Havik did provide valuable service as Nusantara’s first carrier and in training the first generations of naval aviators. Her inherent limitations quickly became apparent after her second reconstruction and she was also being rapidly outpaced by evolving aircraft technology and could not field modern aircraft. Thus the decision was made to convert the ship into a full-deck carrier with a capacity of 36 planes, a new island superstructure, expanded hangers, elevators, and a steam catapult.
This ambitious plan was begun in April of 1933 and wasn’t completed until September of 1935. When she re-commissioned Havik looked like a different ship – her battleship hull with its heavy belt armor and remaining casemate guns the only obvious clues to her origins. Her expanded air-group included 16 Vought F3U fighters (production XF3U’s), 12 Boeing BFB-2 fighter-bombers (production XBFB-1’s), and 8 Boeing TB’s – which were replaced within two years by Royer TAR’s. These advanced torpedo-bombers were license-built copies of the Vought XSB3U prototype produced by Royer Vliegtuigmaatschappij (Royer Aircraft Company), Nusantara’s first indigenous aircraft manufacturer founded in 1936 by expatriate American and Vought aeronautical engineer Eugene Royer. Royer had originally come over with a group of engineers from the US to oversee the assembly of the Vought O5U floatplanes purchased in 1935 as battleship and cruiser scouts. He decided to stay; later becoming a citizen and marrying a Javanese woman named Gendis Irodikromo, but still maintained strong ties with his former employer even after founding his own company. This would pay off during the coming conflict with Japan and also spark the beginning of Nusantara’s unique aircraft industry.

When war broke out between Japan and Nusantara in July of 1941 as part of the widening global conflict later known as WWII, Havik was Nusantara’s only operational aircraft carrier (the two Torenvalk class fleet carriers were still several months from commissioning) and immediately saw combat – her Kneijnsberg J2K (license-built Bell XFL Airabonita) fighters managed to shoot down several incoming bombers bound for the Surabaya Naval Base before being destroyed by escorting Japanese Zeros. After returning to base Havik received ten 37mm AA guns (based on the license-built 37mm Browning M4 used by the J2k) as well as the most advanced naval fighter in Nusantara’s inventory – the Staatsluchtvaart J1S (based on the Grumman XF5F Skyrocket).
As the conflict worn on and more carriers entered service, Havik was increasingly used as a transport – ferrying aircraft to remote Nusantaran bases as well as to allied nations – particularly Siam and Nationalist China but was continuously updated – by the beginning of 1944 she carried British-supplied Type 273 surface search, Type 277Q height-finding, and Type 281 air-search radars as well as 4 twin Bofors and 12 single Oerlikon AA guns. Her air-group when operating as a front-line carrier consisted of 16 J1S fighters, 12 Royer ZD1R (license-built Vought SB2U Vindicator) dive-bombers, and 8 Royer T5R (license-built Vought XTBU-1 Sea Wolf) torpedo-bombers.

On August 28, 1944, Havik and her destroyer escort were returning to Nusantara after ferrying aircraft to Siam when a Japanese submarine – the I-36 – slipped past the destroyers and fired a spread of torpedoes, two of which struck the carrier. At first the ship’s sturdy construction (benefit of her battleship origins) appeared to mitigate the damage – although severe flooding occurred. Several hours later, however, the carrier was rocked by two massive explosions caused by a build-up of aviation gas fumes from damaged storage tanks and fuel lines, capsized and sank.

Havik’s wreck was discovered in 1998 at a depth of around 900 meters. The site has since been designated a war grave. Her name lives on however, in the modern NRS Havik (ACG-12) – one of the Republic of Nusantara’s newest aviation cruisers.

In class: (1) Havik (ex-Talakmau)

Built: 1915-1918

In commission: 1918-1944

Displacement: 19,840 ts normal, 20,780 ts full load

Dimensions: Length (o/a) 176.8m, length (w/l) 175.0m, flight-deck width 30m, beam 28.0m, draft 8.5m

Propulsion: 3-shaft, 3 x SKR direct-drive turbines, 14 x SKR mixed oil and coal-fired boilers; 35,900 shp

Performance: 25.0 knots

Range: 10,000 nm at 10 knots

Armor: Krupp cemented armor. Belt 305mm tapering to 170mm ends, deck 50-70mm, main turrets 200-330mm, main barbettes 305mm, casemates 80-170mm, torpedo bulkhead 40mm, forward conning tower 330mm, aft conning tower 170mm

Aircraft: 12 (16 w/deck parks)

Armament: 4 (2 x 2) Krupp 34.3cm SK L/45, 10 x Krupp 15cm SK L/45, 4 x Krupp 7.5cm SK L/50

Crew: 1,050

After 1933-1935 conversion to full-deck carrier

Displacement: 19,450 ts normal, 20,040 ts full load

Dimensions: Length (o/a) 176.8m, length (w/l) 175.0m, flight-deck width 30m, beam 28.0m, draft 8.5m

Propulsion: 3-shaft, 3 x SKR direct-drive turbines, 12 x HeV oil-fired boilers; 35,900 shp

Performance: 25.5 knots

Range: 10,000 nm at 10 knots

Armor: Krupp cemented armor. Belt 305mm tapering to 170mm ends, deck 50-70mm, casemates 80-170mm, torpedo bulkhead 40mm

Aircraft: 36 (50 w/deck parks)

Armament: 4 x Krupp 15cm SK L/45, 8 x NB 102mm/45 Mk I

Crew: 1,100

Cheers!
Stealthjester

A quite entertaining AU. Quite a bit to look forward to, as WWII approaches.