[ezaircon4jc]

They sank my ship. I don't know how I feel about it...

[JJ 911SC]

Me too, a while back... My first ship back in 1976,

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...reef-1.3021329

[Llarry]

During the run up to World War II in the 1930s, the various navies eyed each other's latest warships with interest and undertook designs to counter potential adversaries.

A prime example in the U.S. Navy was the Alaska class large cruiser (CB) design. The CBs were considerably larger than heavy cruisers (CAs) which were armed with 8-inch (203mm) main guns. The CBs were armed with new 12-inch (305mm) main guns. The 1940 Navy planned to build six large cruisers, naming them after U.S. territories: in the end only three ships were begun and only two completed. During the final year of the war, the USS Alaska (CB 1) and the USS Guam (CB 2) saw action in protecting carrier task groups in the Pacific.

Like other Navy warships of the period, the CBs had large numbers of smaller-caliber guns as well: 5-inch dual purpose (anti-surface or anti-aircraft) mounts, 40mm Bofors AA mounts and 20mm lighter AA guns. Unlike U.S. Navy battleships and other cruiser classes of the era, the aircraft catapults and hangars were amidships rather than at the stern.

The third ship of the class, Hawaii (CB 3) was suspended at war's end and never completed. Hawaii's active sisters, Alaska and Guam, did not serve in the active Navy for long after WWII ended. In the end, the taxpayers did not get much return on their investment.

The Alaska-class is often erroneously dubbed a battlecruiser. A battlecruiser is a large warship with battleship armament but relatively light armor and capable of high speed -- the U.S. Navy never built a battlecruiser and the Alaska class, despite its great size, did not quite measure up to battleship armament standards.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska-class_cruiser

[Llarry]

Originally Posted by Llarry

A prime example in the U.S. Navy was the Alaska class large cruiser (CB) design. The CBs were considerably larger than heavy cruisers (CAs) which were armed with 8-inch (203mm) main guns. The CBs were armed with new 12-inch (305mm) main guns.

Another way to compare the ships was tonnage. The Iowa class battleships (BBs) had a full-load displacement of 60,000 tons, the Alaska class large cruisers (CBs) displaced 32,000 tons at full load and the late-war Navy heavy cruisers (CAs) displaced 17,000 tons at full load.

[Lady Jane]

[Llarry]

A bit off-topic, but in the early 20th century, as the U.S. took over the Philippines, they also established defensive measures.

Manila Bay is huge and the entry to the bay is wide. On the northern side is the island of Corregidor, which was fortified. But that left quite a gap to the south. There was, however, a small rocky island that filled the gap to the south and U.S. Army Coastal Artillery fortified that island and named it Fort Drum. It was well-protected from artillery and built of heavy reinforced concrete (20-foot-thick steel-reinforced concrete on top!) in the shape of a ship, leading to the nickname of the "concrete battleship."

For Drum had two armored turrets with four 14-inch coastal defense guns, as well as smaller guns. A tall lattice mast, similar to that on Navy battleships of the era, provided surveillance and fire control.

When Japanese forces assaulted the Philippines in 1941, Fort Drum fought back. As Japan took surrounding areas, the fort was subject to heavy bombardment. It was not until the surrender of the last U.S. forces holding out on Corregidor well into 1942 that Fort Drum surrendered to Japan as well.

When I lived in the Philippines in 1965-66, Fort Drum was always an item of interest on boat rides in Manila Bay. To my knowledge, the gun turrets survive to this day, though the tall mast is no longer present.

[Lady Jane]