Thiaria: Reboot

Garlicdesign

Posted: May 10th, 2015, 7:53 pm

Posts: 1071
Joined: December 26th, 2012, 9:36 am
Location: Germany

Hello Again

Continuing Thiarian Fleet Carriers:

1.3. Andraimeide-Class

The ship that was eventually to become LT Chros Deisceart (Gaelic: Southern Cross) started its existence as the planned third unit of the 14.500-ton Realtbhuion-class. By the time the first two were building, the navy demanded additional improvements, particularly more aircraft capacity, better AA armament and better seaworthiness, and construction of the third ship was placed on hold in 1937 to prepare an enlargened design. As funding in FY 1937 and 1938 was eaten up by the Athartha-class battleships, the Thiarians took their time and created an essentially new ship. Displacement was increased to 21.000 tons, with nine meters more length at cwl and one meter more beam (draught remained the same). Total length increased even more due to the provision of a British-style hurricane bow, drastically improving seakeeping abilities. A third shaft was added, and engine power increased to 120.000 hp for a speed of 31.5 knots. One of the three elevators was deleted to increase usable hangar space; the other two elevators were strengthened and enlargened. The catapult was increased in power and lengthened by a third, enabling it to handle seven-ton airplanes. Flight operations were simplified by adding two more arrestor wires. The island was heightened by a deck, providing additional space for C3I facilities and for light flak. The 130mm DP main guns were replaced with 100mm L/60 twins, which were less effective against surface targets, but much better against airplanes, having twice the ROF and twice the rotation and elevation speed of the 130mm DP mounts. Only two (rather than four) AA directors were fitted, as it was deemed very unlikely that more than two high-flying formations would ever have to be engaged simultaneously. The number of 37mm quad mounts was doubled from four to eight, giving these carriers the best medium AA suite of all Axis capital ships in the entire second world war. Tertiary AA was provided by 22 twin mounts for the powerful 20mm Hispano-Suiza HS.404 cannon. With the larger hangar, these ships could embark four full squadrons; initially, the TO&E called for one squadron each of long-range fighters, short-range fighters, torpedo bombers and dive bombers. Funding for the new carrier was provided by the 1939 budget, and she was laid down in July that year at the Nuatearman naval yard, which had already built the Realtbhuion and could be considered experienced in carrier construction. When Great Britain declared war in January 1940, one of the first emergency measures of the Thiarian government was ordering another ship of this type at the CSCA, a private yard with a long-established reputation of building very fast. Both ships were built with maximum priority and achieved very respectable building times. Chros Deisceart was launched in June 1941 after 22 months on stocks and commissioned in January 1943 after a total building time of 41 months. The second ship, which received the name LT Andraimeide (Gaelic: Andromeda), was even faster. She was laid down in March 1940, launched in November 1941 and commissioned in July 1943. At the time of commissioning, the Thiarians had already discontinued basing twin seated long-range fighters on fleet carriers, and they put to sea with 32 T6A fighters, 16 F5N torpedo bombers and 16 of the already obsolescent F6C dive-bombers.

LT Andraimeide 1943
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Chros Deisceart had her combat debut at the battle of Faoigabhar in May 1943; although her crew was still green, she acquitted herself spectacularly well. Her planes accounted for the escort carrier HMS Attacker (a bomb and a torpedo) and damaged the battleship HMS Drake so badly with four torpedoes that she was immobilized and later finished off by the Thiarian destroyers LT Rachtmhar and LT Ruisciuil. Through dumb luck, she remained undamaged as the Brazilian submarine Tamoyo ambushed the Thiarian fleet on the return leg and missed her with six fish. The battle of Faoigabhar had been the last offensive sweep of the Thiarian fleet during the war; when LT Andraimeide joined the fleet in July 1943, the Thiarians were busy providing protection for their too few remaining transports supplying their army in Brazil and flying ground support missions against the ever-increasing US-supplied air power on the other side of the Brazilian front. In October 1943, Chros Deisceart exchanged her decrepit F6C dive bombers with the brand new F7S, at that time the most potent naval dive bomber worldwide, as powerful as the SB2C Helldiver and much more docile to fly. Realtbhuion followed in December, but Andraimeide never had the opportunity. Both carriers took part in the aerial battle against a British fleet trying to bring an amphibious invasion force into the rear of Thiaria's army in Brazil and managed to turn them back; it was the last strategic victory for the Thiarian fleet. After several convoy escort missions to keep New Portugal supplied, both carriers took part in the battle of Anfa Caolas on April 20th, 1944. Realtbhuion's planes targeted the Brazilian light carrier Patria and dispatched her relatively effortlessly; Chros Deisceart's planes took on the huge USS Constellation and set her ablaze, forcing her to retreat; Andraimeide's planes were sent after USS Ranger and failed to locate her. While they were off, planes from Constellation and Ranger attacked the Thiarian fleet in strength, prioritizing Chros Deisceart and Andraimeide. Chros Deisceart absorbed two torpedoes and three bombs, but survived; Andraimeide was hit by one torpedo and seven bombs and soon burned from one end to the other. All three Thiarian carriers set to retreat, and might have made it if the undamaged USS Ranger would not have launched another strike, which scored another four bomb hits on Andraimeide, eventually sinking her. Despite this overdose of damage, she proved very resilient; of her crew of 1.600, more than half could be rescued. Chros Deisceart made port with 2.000 tons of water in her and both lifts disabled and was immediately docked for repairs; Nuatearman at that time was still out of range of allied bombers. She was available again in July 1944, when Thiaria's situation had further deteriorated; the picture shows her in her final guise.

LT Chros Deisceart 1944
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When the Murchada government started to crumble, she remained loyal to the premier; unlike most other major warships, her crew stayed loyal till the bitter end and scuttled her on October 11th when most of the rest of the fleet was leaving Noyalo for joining the rebels in An Trionaid. The scuttling was not thorough, and she sank on an even keel in shallow water. She could be raised with relatively little effort in 1947 and had to be handed over to Brazil under armistice conditions. Although the Americans considered her only good enough for scrapping, the Brazilians refurbished her and commissioned her as the Minas Gerais in 1955; she served Brazil's navy for more than thirty years and fought in two military conflicts against her erstwhile builders.

Greetings
GD

Last edited by Garlicdesign on April 22nd, 2016, 8:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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