Shipbucket

Yeah, its back, I have resurrected the Dracan Commonwealth.


Dracan Commonwealth

Map:


A former British colony, the Dracan Commonwealth declared its independence in 1947 at the same time as India, to avoid heavy conflict with Great Britain. The flag has the major star formation for the constellation Hydra but the Dutch explorers that discovered the Islands Called them the Dracan Islands because they saw the constellation and decided the Hydran Islands didn't have quite the right ring to it (I like dragons ). Britain started to colonize the islands about the same time that they colonized Australia, but for the rich soil which produced Tea, cotton and other imported plants as well as indigenous fruits that are common in Malaysia. There were very few indigenous peoples, mostly Malaysians. The Irish, Scotch, Welsh and English were the first to colonize and the Dutch came later but not as prolific. Colonial Troops served valiantly during the Zulu and Boer Wars. Dracan troops also served along side troops of Great Britain during WW1. Some units served on the western front, and others served with ANZAC forces in Galipoli. After WW1, in 1919, the Colony of Dracan was granted Commonwealth status and oil was discovered on several of the Islands. During WW2, the Dracan Commonwealth was poorly armed to deal with the Japanese war machine and received as much aid as Great Britain could provide, but it was not enough. Australia and the US provided much more aid and the Dutch forces in exile from Malaysia also contributed what little they had left. After WW2, as I stated before, the DC declared their Independence. The declaration was not well met in Parliament, but GB did not feel it worth fighting for. After their independence the UN invited the DC to join, the DC joined with enthusiasm. During the cold war era, the DC troops were involved in the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and The Malaysian Emergencies. After the cold war era, Troops were involved in the First Gulf War, Somalia and Peacekeeping in Bosnia. The DC joined the US in the War on Terror. And committed troops to Afghanistan and Iraq, as of today there are only a token amount in both country. There are also Small Air and Naval Skirmishes between DC and Malaysia.

Military:


The Army and Marines, after the independence, still used a mix of US and British equipment, in the late 50's they officially switched to the FN FAL. Dracan Commonwealth Arms, the country's National Arms Developer, developed the DC-58, a licensed version of the SA-58. Armor has been British since the development of the Centurion. The Current MBT and IFV are the Challenger and Warrior respectively, the scout role being taken up by the FV Scimitar. DC is currently in talks with the US about obtaining the Stryker IFV.


The Navy used many different vessels since its inception. Before it became a Commonwealth, the Royal Navy was the only naval force for the Dracan Island Colonies. After the DC became a commonwealth, the navy consisted mostly of destroyers, frigates and a few cruisers. In 1938 the development of Pocket Cruisers and Pocket Battleships, allowed for some serious firepower in the commonwealth. During WW2 the Lend-lease program saved the DC from the Japanese. The RN leased quite a few submarines during the war, and the US leased a bunch of the old S boats. After WW2 the US Navy sold 2 Essex Class Carriers to the DC after its Independence. The DCN mostly uses US naval vessels the rest are made in country, some are license built foreign designs, and some are home designs. The DCN has gone with home designed and built submarines, starting with the Barracuda class diesel submarine, designed from the German Type XXI U-boat, which culminated into the Shark class SSK. In the 1980's US Navy assisted with the development of nuclear submarines, finally culminating in the Mako-class Nuclear Attack Submarine. The DCN bought 1 Nimitz Class Nuclear Carrier in 1985, retiring the Essex class carriers to training duties. The Naval Air Service uses FA-18s and has since 1985.


The Air Force was as brand new as the RFC. They used the same aircraft as the RFC/RAF till 1941. Then the US stepped in with the Lend Lease program and by the time of the Independence the DCAF was using entirely only US licence built Aircraft. They currently are using F-16s as the primary fighter and the AV-8 Harrier for ground attack.

Tax rate: 35%
Population: 13,158,934
GDP: $507,000,000,000
GovBdgt: $177,450,000,000
Administration: 5%
Social Welfare: 10%
Healthcare: 10%
Education: 10%
Dept. of Defense: 15%
Army: 20%
Air Force: 30%
Navy: 30%
Marines: 20%
Law & Order: 10%
Law Enforcement (Federal and Local): 65%
Judicial: 35%
Environment: 7.5%
Infrastructure/Public Trans: 10%
Roads: 25%
Public Trans: 25%
Gov Buildings: 25%
Public Utilities: 25%
Science & Tech: 7.5%
Dept. of Commerce: 7.5%
Customs and Revenue Service
Commonwealth Coast Guard
Social Equality: 7.5%

Religion(s):
No State Religion
Catholic: 40%
Church of England: 30%
Protestants: 13%
Buddhist: 10%
Islam: 6%
Other: 1%

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"It is better to type nothing and be assumed an ass, than to type something and remove all doubt." - Me

Okay, Time for Critiques, I have finished My RN/RDN/RCN/RAN Fast Battlecruiser (Fast is a relative term but she has a max speed of 31 knots, I used SpringSharp, and it is in the green). The Dominion class "fast" battlecruisers were designed as a augment to the KGV battleships and as a counter to German and Japanese designs currently in use or being built. The 8 vessels were built by several different shipbuilders, all using the same Admiralty plans, and due to the recent discovery of Oil in and around the Dracan Islands, Great Britain had a easy cash flow. The design featured 9 15" guns mounted in 3 turrets, instead of 8 guns mounted in 4 like the Admiralty class's HMS Hood. Armor maxed out at 13,061 tons. And armor was 13" thick in places.

Dominion Class BCs:
HMS Dominion
HMS Dreadnought
HMAS Dauntless
HMAS Defender
HMCS Dependable
HMCS Daedalus
HMDS Dracan
HMDS Defiant

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"It is better to type nothing and be assumed an ass, than to type something and remove all doubt." - Me

awesome man! You know I'm going to be adding the red ensign to this beauty...

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When Britain first, at Heaven's command
Arose from out the azure main;
This was the charter of the land,
And guardian angels sang this strain:

"Rule, Britannia! rule the waves:
"Britons never will be slaves."

I would be disappointed if you didn't make the HMCS Dependable and HMCS Daedalus, Russ.

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"It is better to type nothing and be assumed an ass, than to type something and remove all doubt." - Me

Sorry to Hijack your thread but here they are.

_________________
When Britain first, at Heaven's command
Arose from out the azure main;
This was the charter of the land,
And guardian angels sang this strain:

"Rule, Britannia! rule the waves:
"Britons never will be slaves."

Maple-leaf-Warrior
Why two colors for the Mapleleaf on the funnel?
nighthunter
I like those ships

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Thank you Kim for the crest

"Never fear to try on something new. Remember that the Titanic was built by professionals, and the Ark by an amateur"

Apart from the usual critique: that you couldn't support a fleet this size from such a small nation - It is a very impressive drawing - congratulations The only concern's I'd raise is that firstly you could have some problems retreiving the floatplane with the catapult and crane set so high; and secondly the aft 'organ grinder' seems to be in an awkward position for a good arc of fire (not that it would matter, as they were not that useful in operation).

Novice, I guess just a way to distinguise the two.

_________________
When Britain first, at Heaven's command
Arose from out the azure main;
This was the charter of the land,
And guardian angels sang this strain:

"Rule, Britannia! rule the waves:
"Britons never will be slaves."

Most of the Naval vessels the DC has at this point, 1939, are supplied by the Royal Navy. There are only 2 of these Battlecruisers in the RDN, as well as 2 Cruisers, and the rest of the ships are support and small vessels, Destroyers, Corvettes, and Mine layers and Sweepers, as well as a small submarine fleet of 3 submarines, all S class. But as war with Japan looms they will receive Lend-lease help from the US and Australia. By the by, there is a large population on these islands, as there is oil and plenty of space for farming as well. So having the Men and women to support this kind of Fleet. Oh, and in the Java Sea, in early 1942, the HMDS Dracan is Heavily damaged helping the Combined fleet attempt to escape, and is towed home by a Dutch destroyer.
PB, the aft Pom-Pom or Quad two pounders are stationed outboard, not directly behind Turret 3, so as to afford them a decent field of fire, and will be replaced after 1942 with 40mm guns. Your help would be greatly appreciated in this as I don't know which 40 mm the Brits and Australians used on vessels, and the 12.7 quads will get replaced by 20mm duals. I would be honored if you would do the RAN version including modernizing them through the war. Russ, you too for your Canadian vessels!

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"It is better to type nothing and be assumed an ass, than to type something and remove all doubt." - Me

"There are also Small Air and Naval Skirmishes between DC and Malaysia."

You must mean Indonesia. Good drawings though.