NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC-Yeah, after another NS break, I came up with a new setting. Feel free to join in with Crimson skies/WWII type tech
IC-
Kaiser Wilhem Hunde paced the hardwood floors of his office, the dark green walls covered with paintings of the early days of the nation, back when things were simple.
"So it's true then, Mr. Kauffhen?"
"Ja, I'm afraid it is. With our reliance on fossil fuels, our dwindling in country reserves will be expended in about 20 years at our current rate of consumption. With this, we will have no alternative but to get on our knees with foreign corporations, or go back to the dark ages."
The Kaiser looked at a map laid over the oaken table, marked with the vital Northern Archipegalo and it's deposits. Positions of fleets, both Zepplin and Naval, were indicated with markers adorned with the statistics.
"Well then, we have no choice. Commence fleet movements and wipe out the sepratist strongholds left over from the exodus of '34."
"It shall be done. Commencing Operation Orca."

OOC-Bump before I get started.

OOC I will be Russia.

ooc: may I be Japan

OOC-You people don't get it. This isn't WWII. This is during that time period, but with NS nations. I am a WWII tech nation, look at Iansisle and Walmington on Sea for other examples. But notice the use of the word kaiser. For those of you who didn't learn history, Germany did not have a kaiser during WWII. They had Hitler. But I am not Germany, and this is not WWII. What I mean by Steamtech/WWII tech/Crimson Skies tech, is stuff like this-
www.luft46.com
http://crimsonskies-universe.com/universe/index.htm
I'll be posting maps and such shortly.

Can I be France? Oh, nevermind, I surrender.

Can I be France? Oh, nevermind, I surrender.
OOC-Jesus, learn to read. All of you.

OOC-Map
http://gameboard2002.hypermart.net/uploads/hdkmap.jpg
Music-Ride of the Valkyries (Because that's what's going in my head as I write this.)
IC-
The pilots scrambled like ants to their craft, small H.P75 KF-101s with their entenbaum design, forward swept, double engined KF-98s, and the huge six engined Ta 400 bombers. The smaller craft bore green gray camoflauge, while the huge Ta 400 bore gray-silver paint as they ascended to the high altitudes they operated at. The dawn skies over the normally calm morning at the fringes of the HDK islands were dotted with the sinister outlines of warplanes, in such numbers that had not been seen since the sepratist uprising. Warships and zepplins, their grey hulls slicing through wave and wind, passed through the seas, leaving the crews of regular shipping to look on in awe. Droning filled the air as the HDK war machine rolled towards battle.

The farmer, riding his horse drawn cart down the coasts to the fish market, looked to the south as he heard the droning. Such sounds on the scantly-populated island could only mean one thing. He began turning around towards the village center, hoping to get home before the storm hit. Bells and fires sprung up as defense forces were called to their ancient guns. Then all hell broke loose.

The canard noses of the first wave, KF-101 fighters, began to dip as their counterrotating propellers drove them to 450mph. A crump noise, then another, came to his ears as small puffs of smoke began to appear in midair.
"Flak, Flak. Coming from Hill 383, permission to engage, over?"
"Roger, permission granted."
The pilot took a deep breath as his gunsights lined onto the small area of outcropping that sprouted fire in turn with the smoke, and squeezed the trigger for his 4 30mm cannon. The aircraft rumbled as the tracer rounds zipped towards the outcropping, rock shattering and dust kicking into the air. As he came closer, the wings spat fire as four smaller caliber machine gun ripped into the position. He pulled up and banked, watching his wingmen rip into the area. Smoke and fire appeared, and no more fire came from the gun. The armada continued on.

The man stared blankly at the passing aircraft in a way only death allows. He was pale, and his lower body-what was left of it-was sprawled over the scraggly ground between the two large rocks. An old 2cm Flakvierling, left over from the days HDK occupied the islands, sat in ruin, it's own rounds detonating in flame. He would never hear the sound of the whistling 18' shells, sounds that brought the bravest to their knees in horror.

Admiral Van Gunthe watched the shores of the island rise up as his ships guns pounded it into submission. His old ears were not bothered by the thunder, but after the volley he gave out the order to cease fire. The droning of the aircraft over the guns of the battleship Kaiser Wilhelm Guterst, and the scene of devastation settled in on the crew. Ancient costal fortifications were now nothing but dust and craters, pristine beaches scarred by the barrage. Over the towns, small Zepplin gunboats roamed, the cackling of their machine guns silencing any resistance. The great mass of Zepplins seemed to loom over the islands like stormclouds, performing patrol, or landing troops. A large carrier Zepplin extended a hook for a Hollehund fighterbomber, one of it's engines smoking with a marred wing. The Hollehund attached as a second descended to the tail, and the engines quieted as the plane was lifted into the bay. Landing craft began to land on shore, adding more soldiers, and even long range artillery. The first rim islands were broken.

"Has the Kaiser gone insane?" Prime Minister Richard Vertung of the Sepratists looked over the reports by scouts. One photo, taken by a recconissance plane, showed a horde of zepplins and warships descending on the rims of the disputed islands.
"Whether or not he is sane is besides the point. What we do know is that we need help. Our Zepplin and aircraft have still not caught up with the Hundes, but our surface fleet should be able to fight. Now do we know their objective?" The Chief of Defense was not in a good mood, having been awaken by an emergency messenger from bed at 5:00.
"It's the oil. It has to be. With their shortages, they're bound to be seizing the disputed territories for the oil, which have remained untapped. And next will be our fields, which we've barely even begun to exploit."
"They know they'll have trouble. Most likely, they're going to be looking for, at the very least, to the rights to the deposits. They haven't really had a lot of intrest in Unionism anyway."
"Then it's settled. Tell Von Lucknerr to mobilize his fleets to the South Rim, and step up air patrols. Now, if you excuse me, I'll have a telegram to make."
[To-All nations of the world]
[From-The Sepratist States of Hunde des Krieges]
[In these times, the IFS of HDK has decided to seize disputed territories for their oil deposits. Our intelligence shows the amounts of warships, zepplins, and aeroplanes is far to much for only these small islands. We believe that they will soon set their sights on our larger deposits. Our nation was founded on the more peaceful principles of HDK, and wish to make do by agriculture and trade, not the war and industrialism part of our Declaration adpoted by the IFSHDK. We ask for your assistance in this brewing conflict,
Sincerely,
Richard Vertung,
Prime Minister of the Sepratist States of Hunde Des Krieges

OOC-Bump for others...

The sepratist reconissance/skirmish aircraft, two M210 Ravens, were painted dark blue to match the waves they now skimmed over. The islands they moved through were supposedly patrolled by the Industrialists, but with no RADAR in the area, it was safe to try and fly low through the valleys and canyons. A heavy fog hung over the area past the islands, one that would obscure the Sepratist aircraft from visual identification.

And one that would not allow the two Ravens to see the Zepplin Cavelle, of the HDK 2nd Zepplin Armada, 5th Recconissance Squadron. The Cavelle was fairly old, but had been upgraded with the new engines, the kind that featured counterotating pusher and counterotating puller propellers. The Cavelle also had a new RADAR system that was used to warn them of bombers, but with the terrain the Zepplin was unlikely to locate anything. The craft also featured a underhanging 3cm 4 barrelled flak gun, along with 6 Dual .50 caliber machine gun mounts. Captain Hans Gorsten and a Lieutenant stood on the observation platform under the bridge, looking over the foggy scene, the occasional green peak penentrating the low hanging gray.
"Goddamnit, no way to tell what's going on here... Too much fog. It'll be a cold day in hell before I give my trust to the damn meteorologists."
"Well Captain, I doubt the Seppies will be flying in this. They can't get a good shot at our ships."
Like a punishment from the gods, the young Lieutenant caught the two dark shapes moving through one of the higher island valleys.
"I'll be damned..."
"TWO FIGHTERS AT 1'O CLOCK, they look like Ravens, get that belly Flak going!"
As if on cue, the quick paced thud of the guns came to life, bluish tracers zipping down to meet the valleys and fill them with shrapnel. The two Ravens banked out, seeking shelter from a ridgeline as they armed their rockets. The AP rockets they packed for ships wouldn't do much to the large helium balloon of the Zepplin, but one well lined shot to a nacelle would be their end.

OOC-Bump...

The Valkyrie was the pride of the 2nd Zepplin Armada, and served as both flagship and battleship. Modified rocket pods, full of weapons based on the Soviet 'Stalin Organs', sat in rotating turrets, while machine guns and flak cannon poked out of the extended cockpit and cargo hold. A bay held small aircraft, radio guided weapons, bombs, even torpedos. When surrounded by echelons of Scout Zepplins to coordinate it's strikes, the Valkyrie was a fearsome weapon indeed. She now hovered with 2 Gunboat Zepplin over the Northern Rim of the Unaligned territories, her RADAR seeking planes and her eyes seeking ships. The morning fog began to clear, and with it came reports of conflict. A scout Zepplin to the east had encountered a strike group, similar to the ones used for ship hunting. However, at these ranges it was doubtful the fuel sucking Ravens of the Sepratists could operate without a carrier. And wherever carriers were, there were escorts.

The Sepratist BattleCruiser Ter Luckner was an old design, dating back to the times when the IFS and Sepratists were one under the Kaiser. The Ter Luckner featured 16' guns and an array of smaller arms, but for today's mission the gray ship was to use them for purposes not intended by the designers.
"Captain Venwell, we've picked up a Zepplin Group, something big. Might even be a flagship."
Venwell was older than the ship, and had defected to the Sepratist Territories with it. His bald head was capped in a fur hat with the Sepratist Navy emblem on it.
"Bring around Turret #2 to that direction. Tell the crew to prepare for that special firing drill we've worked on."
The Lieutenant snapped off a salute and a "Yessir", and dissapeared back into the bridge. The modified two 16' turret swung around towards the outline of the Zepplin as it emerged from the clouds. The fact it's guns were not roaring or it's escorts flying was a good thing. The guns raised as crewmen used a modified sight to target the Zepplin's cockpit and cargo bay, where any ammunition or some fuel would be stored. The gun crews were very smart and skilled, they'd have to be to take down a Zepplin.
"FIRE!"
The cannons belched as the long range rounds sped towards the Zepplin.

"What was that?" The crewman leaned on his dual machine gun mount seeing the flash in the distance, and a rumble shortly after. A screeching howl filled the air.
"Oh, mein Gott."
The first shell went high, slamming through the compartments storing the Helium that kept the Zepplin aloft. The craft wallowed, but would still fly as it began to descend to compensate for the air loss. The huge shell exited a few feet over the engine nacelle, and by luck alone not destroying it. The second shell, however, plowed right through the cargo bay, detonating bombs and rockets as it went. The Zepplin buckled as the explosion ripped through it's body, igniting the hull. Another two shot volley hit the ship, this time striking an engine nacelle, setting it ablaze. The lost engine combined with the other damages sent the Zepplin descending at a rate all to fast for the occupants. Parachutes began to appear, but the job of the battlecruiser was not yet done, with two more volleys annihilating the Gunboats. It was the first ship to Zepplin kill ever for the Sepratists, and not the last.

The Cavelle was fairing much better, all four of the AP rockets missing the Zepplin completely. But the two fighters charged on, preparing to open up on the Zepplin with guns. The flak began to bark again, sending one wing of an aircraft into flames as it spun madly out of control. As the remaining Raven drew closer, it's guns puncturing the ballons and the hull, the chatter of .50 guns joined in as the Cavelle fought for survival. Another flak round scored a hit, taking off most of the nose. The aircraft, without it's canards, went into a barrell roll, but the wounded pilot was determined to make his kill. Death embraced him as the two craft burst into flames, tangled in a mess that brought the flying machines hurtling to their graves in the cold ocean.

"Killed. This ship must be killed."
War Minister Kauffman was red with fury, not only did he down the pride of the 2nd Armada, but this cruiser killed his brother, who was commanding it.
"I will relay that, sir, but it appears to be part of a carrier battle group, and we can't divert to many aircraft from attacking it."
"God damnit, just get the strike squadrons working on it, or use radio guided rockets, or just get the Ta 400s and CARPET BOMB the damn thing. I don't care how it's done, but that ship must be dead."
"Good, because all I can guaruntee is a few Strike Squadrons."
"Oh, and put a 10,000 Mark bounty on the Ter Luckner, to whoever sinks it."
"It will be done."
OOC-This has been a glorified bump

(Canard piston-engine aircraft with 4 30mm nose-mounted cannon? Almost sounds like a Shinden as long used by my other nation state before they grudgingly embraced the super-sonic age.
That sounds like a heck of a battlecruiser- even if, as I'm supposing, you mean 16" (inch) guns rather than 16' (foot) ;) Our two classes of battleship only have 15" and 15.5" guns (that's just a comment, not a criticism, understand!)
I wonder, do you have an approximate real-world reference for your nation/s, geographically speaking?)

In Walmington a few listeners caught the Empire Service late broadcast's reference to a possible renewal of Fascist warmongering, prompting some to give up and retire to bed, and others to break out their shotguns.

Great Walmington is reportedly considering dispatch of a RWN vessel to the contested region in observation of developments.

(Which is why I ask about location, since I've got my fleets posted at various points about the empire, from the north Atlantic to the Indian Ocean)

OOC-
Yep, my KF-101 H.P75 is based off the German H.P75 prototype
http://www.luft46.com/henschel/hsp75.html
I love all those crazy German designs.
And yes, I mean 16". The Ter Luckner incorporates 2 turrets, each with 2 16" guns. The Ter Luckner also has numerous 5" and AA guns, part of the old design philosphy used by the HDK, which was have a few big guns to deal with big ships, and hit everything else with small stuff.
Location- I'm not sure. It's got Greece like terrain thing, but it's colder than the Mediterranean. So, If the atlantic was much, much, much wider, it'd be in the center, on the same level as Europe.

(ooc:Ah, Luft46.. it was so hard to keep from stealing half the projects detailed there at the height of the war with Der Kriegsmarine et al.

Mh, yeah, I was afraid you'd not fit too well into a real-world like geography, WoS sits roughly west of Ireland and south of Iceland, so I'll just suspend disbelief for a bit and assume you're closer to our home and north west African ports than the Cape Colonies or Ceyloba (Sri Lanka) and so on.)

As Walmington began to take notice of events in HundeStadt it was decided to dispatch the heavy cruiser HMWS Triumphal, recently returned from station in Ceyloba, towards the region.

Captain Nummersmith plus eleven-hundred set out from Southend at an easy 12 knots while Great Walmington sent to the two combatant nations offering some degree of arbitration.

"Mein Kaiser? There's something I need to speak to you about."
The Kaiser sat in his office, looking over the pages of battle reports.
"Who is this?"
"This is Captain Jelsh of the 239th Air Squadron, Recconissance."
The Kaiser frowned, looking at the closed door that the Captain stood behind.
"Why wasn't this report radioed in? Why aren't the normal procedures being used?"
"Mein Kaiser, this was deemed to important to transmit over the radio, the Sepratists may not know of it yet."
"Well, come in then."
"Danke."
The uniformed officer walked in, and sat in a chair as the Kaiser gestured towards it.
"Well, on one of our patrols, there was a slight navigational error, and we came out of this fog, and bam, the radar on our lead plane picks up this cruiser. So the man gets out the spotting scope, and looks over the Sepratist cruiser profiles. It doesn't match any of them. So we turn off the radar, and get the hell back to the islands."
"So if it isn't them, who is it?"
"Ach, we don't really know. We think intel is looking over our photos, but it could be Iansisle, Walmington on Sea, any of the other seafaring nations."
"Well, thank you for your report, Captain, you are dismissed."
The officer nodded, rose to his feet, and snapped off a salute before leaving the room.

Not a post likely to drive the thread on, I'll be back later for that, but I thought it couldn't hurt to post the details of HMWS Triumphal's specification so you know what's sailing towards your waters and whether or not its worthy of special attention.

HMWS Triumphal, Chaspot Class Heavy Cruiser-

Dimensions:
Length (overall): 667’5”
Beam (overall): 74’9”
Draft: 24’6” mean
Displacement (full): 18,804 tons

Crew: 1,109

Power and Performance:
Engine: four Wychwood boilers (oil fired)
Horsepower: 112,000
Shafts: 4
Max Speed: 32.4 knots
Range: 6,900nm at 12 knots, 4,700nm at 22 knots

Armour:
Belt: 7” steel
Deck: 2.5” –3.75” steel
Bulkheads: 4.25” –6.55” steel
Main Turrets: 2.5” –8.7” steel
Conning Tower: 4” –6.7” steel

Armament:
Main: Nine 8” guns (three turrets, two fore, one aft)
Secondary: Six 4” guns (2x2, 2x1); four 21” torpedo, above water
Anti Aircraft: Eight 2pdr guns, twenty 2x20mm guns, twelve .55” machineguns

Aircraft: Two, catapult launch (Wasp III float-biplane).

Radar:
Air Search: Walmington Model A MkI
Surface Search: Walmington Model B MkII
Fire Control: Walmington Model D MkI

Notes: The Walmingtonian 8”/56 gun fires a 320lb shell to 32,680 yards at two rounds per minute.

The Chaspot Class contained four vessels, and is considered almost obsolescent since the advent of the lighter Wayne Class, especially in terms of anti-aircraft armament. Its fire-control radar is one generation behind the best Walmington has to offer, making it fairly average (Walmington's best is generally considered rather above average).

All right, I'm done boring you with that. Time for some tea, methinks.

OOC-Got the post on the sighting, only a rough picture from far away by a lost recon aircraft. Now I know you mentioned arbitrations, but have you sent them out, or are you going to write them out later?

ooc:Well, if either/both nations have international communications means, then they'll have been sent telegrams or whatever else, offering neutral setting (possibly the cruiser) for a none violent resolution.

Of course WoS is largely ignorant of the reality of the situation, which is partly why Triumphal is on her way to the area, but speculation about Fascist expansionism after we've just recently been fighting the Afrika Corps is enough to make us want a resolution. I suspect HDK is less than entirely interested, mind.

((Depending the level of sophistication of your naval intelligence, you'd probably know for sure that was a Walmy ship...the Chaspot is fairly unique as heavy cruisers go. Iansislean heavy cruisers, the Shield class being the prime example, comes in at about 13,000 tons and has a more traditional 4x2 turret layout for 8 8" guns. Our light cruisers, well, they do have a 3x3 turret arrangment, but they hardly displace 8,000 tons.

This was mainly a tag to keep an eye on the situation. Carry on!))

ooc:Heh, yes, the Chaspots are rather monstrous, which is why only four exist. WoS got a bit carried away when it quite suddenly joined the post-Dreadnought age :) I think the Wayners are a little more sane. Still, it's sort of cool to think of our vessels as being so identifiable.. some of them at least.. no doubt the Godfreys have been mistaken by amature eyes for mighty Hood when visiting British waters. Ooh, rambling! 'scuse me!

OOC-The HDK States have been relatively isolated since the Sepratist movement of 1934 when the Kaiser's family got someone as Prime Minister, and returned to the old systems, while the democratic supporters moved north and declared a Taiwan-like existence. During the movement, and sudden lack of natural resources on both sides, HDK states focused inwards on domestic problems. Really, we've never used our naval intelligence all that much beyond keeping up with each other's ships and Zeps.
IC-
IFSHDK response to Arbitrations
We are merely reclaiming the oil fields lost in the disputed zones during the 1934 Exodus. It was not us who have wanted war with the Sepratist States, it was their attacks on the 2nd Zepplin Armada in our territory that started this war. We had no intention to fight them before now.
SSHDK respone
The neutral farmers and miners of the disputed territories have been attacked, and we have responded. We have had quite a good relationship with many of them, and trade deals have been going on. We will not stand to see the imperialists to the south become delusional and attack us, maybe even the Sepratist States.