[4][HELL] Balkan Hell (Play as Italy, 1900 start, manual build, very large fleets)
[1][HELL] Central Hell (Play as Austria-Hungary, 1900 start, manual build, very large fleets)
[3][HELL] Junker Hell (Play as Germany, 1900 start, manual build, large fleets)
[2][HELL] Global Hell (Play as France, 1900 start, manual build, large fleets)
And how is this run cursed?
[1][CURSE] Curse of exercise (I must conduct a fleet exercise after every update (no less frequent than once a decade), with ships voted on by the readers, and I must support athleticism where possible)
[2][CURSE] Curse of Gemini (Where possible, I will have all guns in twin turrets (and never greater), and all my ships will be built in pairs)
[4][CURSE] Curse of speed (I must always have the fastest ship afloat in every category, and I must always prioritize athleticism and winning races in events)
[3][CURSE] Curse of novelty (I may never refit a ship, and I must design a ship incorporating major technological developments as soon as I discover them)
[5]CURSE] Curse of the dilettante (I may not build more than one unit of any ship class except destroyers and corvettes (though I may tweak designs), and I must agree with political leadership's every whim)
THE K.U.K KRIEGSMARINE WILL BE TRAINED AND WILL BE TRAINED WELL.
SO SAYS THE KAISER!
also we better hope to not loose the middle u for a more unfortunate abbreviation.
would be embarrassing
[2][HELL] Balkan Hell (Play as Italy, 1900 start, manual build, very large fleets)
[1][HELL] Central Hell (Play as Austria-Hungary, 1900 start, manual build, very large fleets)
[3][HELL] Junker Hell (Play as Germany, 1900 start, manual build, large fleets)
[4][HELL] Global Hell (Play as France, 1900 start, manual build, large fleets)
[5][CURSE] Curse of exercise (I must conduct a fleet exercise after every update (no less frequent than once a decade), with ships voted on by the readers, and I must support athleticism where possible)
[4][CURSE] Curse of Gemini (Where possible, I will have all guns in twin turrets (and never greater), and all my ships will be built in pairs)
[3][CURSE] Curse of speed (I must always have the fastest ship afloat in every category, and I must always prioritize athleticism and winning races in events)
[2][CURSE] Curse of novelty (I may never refit a ship, and I must design a ship incorporating major technological developments as soon as I discover them)
[1][CURSE] Curse of the dilettante (I may not build more than one unit of any ship class except destroyers and corvettes (though I may tweak designs), and I must agree with political leadership's every whim)
Huh. Well, that's awkward...
Okay then, I'll tally this manually.
Balkan Hell (Play as Italy, 1900 start, manual build, very large fleets) - 1 first-preference, 3 second-preference, 1 third-preference, 1 fourth-preference = 1*3+3*2+1*1+1*0=10 Central Hell (Play as Austria-Hungary, 1900 start, manual build, very large fleets) - 4 first-preference, 1 second-preference, 1 fourth-preference = 4*3+1*2+0*1+1*0=14
Junker Hell (Play as Germany, 1900 start, manual build, large fleets) - 1 first-preference, 4 third-preference, 1 fourth-preference = 1*3+4*1+1*0=7 Global Hell (Play as France, 1900 start, manual build, large fleets) - 0 first-preference, 1 second-preference, 1 third-preference, 4 fourth-preference = 0+2+1+0=3
[CURSE] Curse of exercise (I must conduct a fleet exercise after every update (no less frequent than once a decade), with ships voted on by the readers, and I must support athleticism where possible) - 2 first preference, 4 fifth preference = 2*4+4*0 = 8
[CURSE] Curse of Gemini (Where possible, I will have all guns in twin turrets (and never greater), and all my ships will be built in pairs) - 2 second-preference, one third-preference, three fourth-preference = 2*3+1*2+3*1=11 [CURSE] Curse of speed (I must always have the fastest ship afloat in every category, and I must always prioritize athleticism and winning races in events) - 1 first-preference, 2 second-preference, 2 third-preference, 2 fourth-preference = 1*4+2*3+2*2+2*1=16
[CURSE] Curse of novelty (I may never refit a ship, and I must design a ship incorporating major technological developments as soon as I discover them) - 1 first-preference, 2 second-preference, 1 third-preference, 1 fourth-preference, 1 fifth-preference = 1*4+2*3+1*2+1*1+1*0=13
[CURSE] Curse of the dilettante (I may not build more than one unit of any ship class except destroyers and corvettes (though I may tweak designs), and I must agree with political leadership's every whim) - 2 first-preference, 2 third-preference, 1 fourth-preference, 1 fifth-preference = 2*4+2*2+1*1+1*0 = 13
Feel free to argue about preference-based voting systems; this one feels the easiest to calculate manually.
Thing is, Austria-Hungary always starts at a budgetary disadvantage against Italy (who you nearly always end up at war with in short order), and having to build the fastest ships possible hampers it even more. I could beat my head against the wall... but instead, I will go with the second-place contender for the type of hell.
Stay tuned for Balkan Hell/Curse of Speed, coming soon to a thread near you!
So, to start, I'm manually building my fleet.
Having played a few 1900 games before, I have some idea of the speed benchmarks I need to hit to have the fastest ships:
Battleship -- 20 knots, check (thanks in part to short range)
Destroyer -- 30 knots... not check, as I start out only able to build 300-ton destroyers, topping out around 28 knots
Corvette -- 21 knots, check
Having hit as many of the main benchmarks as I could, I know I can't afford to build a fleet consisting entirely of such ships, so instead the majority of my battleships are ratherslower, at 17 knots. Similarly, my main armored cruiser force can only make 20 knots (but has rather better armament), and my protected cruisers mostly hit 22 knots, armed with 4" or 6" guns.
The first battle is a messy affair for the Regia Marina, though we were pretty badly outnumbered. A coastal raid goes rather better, while a cruiser action sees me sink my first enemy cruisers. With a tight blockade, I am able to afford occasional losses, even bad ones like this and later this. I successfully defend a convoy in spring 1901, but I'm feeling like I could use more protected cruisers; I develop this design, with longer-ranged 5" guns and harder-hitting 4" guns thanks to the vagaries of gun quality.
In May, Marco Polo fails to sink an Austrian raider, but she does enough damage to force the raider into internment. A few months later, and our generals decide they can win the war on the ground... only for the offensive to turn into a bloody stalemate. Another convoy defense, and meanwhile, I slowly realize my destroyers kinda suck. Yet another convoy defense. Most battles of this war are cruiser actions or convoy battles, in part because the Austrians, knowing their fleet's massively outgunned, refuse to engage in anything bigger.
Technical improvements lead to a better mixed-battery battleship design, and when the generals try to talk the PM into funding another push up the Isonzo, I'm there to remind him that their credibility is low. An Austrian force mauls my own in a night battle in June 1902, though we prevent them from destroying their bombardment target. And a month later, Austria sues for peace. I could claim Dalmatia, but instead, I settle on reparations alone.
In keeping with the curse of speed, I decide that gunnery competitions count as athleticism, despite a shaky budgetary situation postwar. I also decide that two of my best officers dueling is bad... but not worth firing them over.
While I install pro-Italian governments in Greece, Albania, and Morocco, the US takes over more of the Caribbean... and Britain ushers in a new age. Awkwardly, their 20-knot dreadnought is faster than my 19-knot dreadnought under construction, forcing me to order a new design (with a better turret arrangement, thankfully).
The invention of turbines (and the Navy League collecting 50 million lira for a new battleship) lets me lay down a fast battlecruiser (for the early 1900s), and with tensions high with Russia, France [allied to Britain], and Austria, I decide to not go underhanded. And yet, a few months later, Italy goes to war with Austria again, after the Austrians issue an ultimatum to us.
With the previous save unfortunately not migrating correctly to the latest version of RTW3, I've decided to try an entirely different run:
Century of Hell (USA, 1900, considerable tech variation, larger fleets)/Curse of Procurement Nightmares (Must have 50% of tonnage be built in foreign yards where possible. Submarines do count as domestic tonnage).
If I'm gonna go to spreadsheet hell, let's go to spreadsheet HELL, right?
So. My starting fleet has four foreign-built battleships (the German-built Michigans, with good armament, armor, and decent speed, and the smaller British-built New Jerseys, a little weaker (less-powerful secondary battery, less armor) but still at 18 knots)... but everything else is domestic, as are all my new construction. So right away, I need 134,800 tons of foreign ships, which means a lot of new construction... but my starting budget doesn't align with that at the outset. I have no clear initial rivals, either, so let's invest in increasing our own dock size (mostly so we can service our larger battleships) and see how things develop.
A few months in, and the Russians want us to sell them early radios, which gives me a bit of seed cash for new designs/construction and which spreads technologies so that my foreign-built ships can be as good as my domestic ships. I look around at comparable ships, and the French have a fast, well-armed large armored cruiser, able to outrun and/or outgun anything I have. So I design a ship to counter her, matching her speed and belt, but armed with more potent British 8" and 7" guns. Her price tag is... unfortunate, but expected, and I lay the first unit down in July, and the second only in October, after a brief bout of corruption. 26600 tons down, 108200 to go!
By October 1900, Russia is looking a bit feisty, and while my new Brooklyns can match their best cruisers, I could use a few more battleships. With France looking friendlier at the moment, I tweak the domestic North Carolina-class into a French-built Colorado-class, and order 3 in December thanks to Italy wanting radios too. 69200 tons down (once the ships complete), 39000 to go!
1901, and I have no new foreign tonnage. That will change this year, though, thanks to new German-built (for the better 3" guns) destroyers; I order a 6-ship division in February, another 3000 tons down.
Also, with tensions still fairly low, it finally occurs to me that I can put the battleline in reserve to save money, which helps me finance the design of a new Italian-built armored cruiser, relying heavily on good 8" guns, in May. Just a month later, Japan tries (and fails) to seize part of Korea as a protectorate, and I officially have a rival now!
Time to establish a Pacific Fleet -- I send four battleships, a group of light cruisers, and 22 destroyers to escort the entire squadron, around South America, making their new homeport in San Francisco. (Too bad my destroyers are very unsuited for a long-distance journey, and that the Panama Canal is yet to be completed). In October, meanwhile, elements of the Norwegian government ask for American support, and who am I to say no? Unfortunately, Europe is not fond of America's interference in their affairs. Still, a base in European waters is a base in European waters... if I can keep it. (Spoilers in the image).
In January 1902, with an Austro-Italian war just getting underway, the President demands more battleships... and I may be forced to build American -- due to tensions abroad, I can only order new designs from Austrian or Italian yards, and I suspect they'd be liable to be seized due to the war.
After agreeing to technological cooperation with Japan (for breathing space and to further the spread of technology to foreign powers, in case we do reach calmer relations), I do ultimately buy American, laying down three Washington-class battleships and setting me back on my goal of 50% foreign-built ships. I also develop a new class of medium-range destroyers without cramped quarters, built in the USA, and prove my moral cowardice for this run.
But for now, all I can do is wait for the war to end or for relations to cool off. I focus on building up bases abroad, lose my Norwegian protectorate in the face of local resistance, and lay down 5 subs, setting me even further back. After permitting sale of American-built ships in South America, but telling our shipbuilders to not supply ships for a regional war, I am finally able to build in British or French yards again in February 1903.
I develop design plans for a brand new type of armored cruiser, one faster than any ship in my fleet, yet as well armed as my battleships and almost as well protected. A battle-cruiser, if you will (albeit without steams turbines, or more than four main guns, so maybe you won't). In June, I lay down two Bon Homme Richard-class 'battle-cruisers'... in British yards, and one more in August.
Awkwardly, a month later, the US and British governments get into a crisis over our respective empires, and I recommend we back down. I start easing tensions at home as well as abroad, and in early 1904, things are relatively calm, especially once the Italian-Austrian war ends (with Dalmatia falling under Italian control). I order a new British-built protected cruiser in July, as fast as the BHRs, and two more in November, when my Washington-class battleships commission. (There's a bit of controversy over the captain selected for the USS Alabama, in an event I don't think I've seen before).
I also start refitting ships with Central Firing, the latest and greatest fire control system of 1904, weigh in on some foreign policy shenanigans, decide not to be entirely corrupt, and plan a ship that truly could dread nought, with six turrets and an 8-gun broadside (but no turbines yet)...
And then an American dignitary is assassinated by an anarchist, allegedly with help from the French government. I weigh my options, review the fleet numbers... and recommend an ultimatum be issued. France refuses, and we go to war!
Total US tonnage in early 1905: 395,400 tons [including five 800-ton submarines] (+73,800 tons under construction)
Foreign-built USN tonnage in early 1905: 115,000 tons (+70,200 tons under construction in the UK)
Curse: not met yet.
Second, as this is a USA game, I'd like to offer you a choice to offer additional torments with each update:
[ ][RFP] Add an additional curse
[ ][RFP] Add additional stipulations to the Curse of Foreign Procurement each decade I do not meet its current terms
[ ][RFP] Unnecessary, the curse is going to be challenging/interesting enough
Write in ideas for curses (can affect any aspect of gameplay) or stipulations (must affect where my ships are built in some way) below:
[ ][CURSE] Write-in
[ ][STIPULATION] Write-in
[ ][RFP] Add an additional curse
[ ][RFP] Add additional stipulations to the Curse of Foreign Procurement each decade I do not meet its current terms
[ ][RFP] Unnecessary, the curse is going to be challenging/interesting enough
Write in ideas for curses (can affect any aspect of gameplay) or stipulations (must affect where my ships are built in some way) below:
[ ][CURSE] Write-in
[ ][STIPULATION] Write-in
My first moves: the Atlantic Fleet heads south to the Caribbean in preparation for an invasion of the French-occupied Antilles, while the Pacific Fleet (less its short-ranged destroyers) makes for the American-occupied Philippines, to contest the South China Sea from ships based out of French-occupied Vietnam. The Navy League raises $50 million from private donors and presents it to me in the opening month of the war with a requirement for me to build a new battleship -- very convenient given the new war, and almost enough to pay for the new Nevada-class dreadnought battleship being developed. Two months into the war, I reassign my subs to fleet support (for what limited good they'll do) -- while Britain is on great terms with me for now, they are allied with Japan, and the last thing I need is a war with multiple opponents.
The invasion of the Antilles goes in without interference from the French navy, content for now to wage commerce war... and to mobilize their Atlantic Fleet to West African waters, perhaps to make for Southeast Asia?
Instead, on July 28, 1905, French cruisers and destroyers, led by the Sully, one of the Amiral Charner-class ships that sparked my first new design, confront the Philadelphia off Guadaloupe, directly escorted by three destroyers and supported by two Colorado-class battleships, and the first real shots are fired in anger. Philadelphia initially is worse for wear, taking five medium-caliber hits and being set on fire... but the Sully cannot take on actual battleships, and the French squadron retreats into port.
The French Atlantic fleet seems to have split -- the battleline heading for Southern Africa, while the cruiser force makes for embattled Guadaloupe. A month later, reports put the French battleships in Madagascar, and a sizable portion of the cruisers at Dakar; I elect to split off my newest battleships, escorted by my longer-ranged destroyers and the cruiser Brooklyn, to follow the French squadron around Africa.
Domestically, the initial enthusiasm has rapidly (and rightfully, tbh) waned, and a September battle on a misty night off the Florida Keys sees me lose the armored cruiser Tacoma to a flash fire sparked by a shell from the cruiser Sully. In November, two of my older light cruisers retire in the face of a Chanzy-class cruiser, a cousin of the Charner class, evading her safely but leaving her free to raid.
The year also sees me order British-built destroyers, the Wilkes classs:
December 1905 brings a convoy defense mission in the Caribbean... at night, with my battleships and cruisers struggling to find the French after brief glimpses at twilight. We lose one division of the convoy... but the other two-thirds arrive safely. This, apparently, impresses Britain enough to join us ...though not as allies, as I discover when I send a small squadron into European waters. Just co-belligerents.
April 1906 sees France try to negotiate their way out of the war, particularly in light of our troops withdrawing from embattled Guadaloupe. In May, having built quite a bit of foreign tonnage, I design a new battle-cruiser, this one with an armament entirely consisting of main-caliber guns, to be built locally.
May also sees another convoy defense mission in the Caribbean, and despite my protected cruisers and destroyers being woefully outgunned, we sink the armored cruiser Desaix and successfully protect the convoy (at a serious cost). We once again invade Guadaloupe... and this time, we seize France's final Caribbean holdings. Not long after, peace negotiations succeed; we take over administration of a French-occupied Chinese port in Southeast Asia and secure a slight measure of reparations, and the war ends (even for Britain, not interested in further war).
I design a new battleship, this time in German yards -- despite the bellicose reputation of the German government, their battleship designs look superior to the British. Meanwhile, with orders in American shipyards drying up, a delegation of industrialists threatens that some might have to close up shop.
To forestall this risk, I design another fast protected cruiser, the San Diego, to be laid down in American yards. I narrowly miss out on having the first true dreadnought in the eyes of the world, with Germany taking that prize; in August 1907, I back a pro-US coup in Panama for nebulous strategic reasons.
I also design a new battle-cruiser for American yards, looking for higher speed and 12" guns... but the design isn't ready in time, and the industrialists close a shipyard, reducing my dock size by 500 tons in early 1908. 1908 is a peaceful year, with nothing much eventful going on; 1909 sees one of my Birminghams collide with an ocean liner, which is rather embarrassing all around. I continue my stance of not backing American industry, this time angering the steel barons.
Instead, I order a fast German protected cruiser -- or rather, a light cruiser, with a better protection scheme and a five-gun broadside on six turrets. Still, 1909 is also an uneventful year, for the most part, and in January 1910, it's time to do some math.
Total tonnage: 559,900 tons of warships (including 10 submarines) [+52,500 tons building]
Foreign-built tonnage: 295,300 tons [+32,200 tons building]
Curse: met for 1910
Hurrah! And I didn't even have to scrap any ships!
A decent chunk of my fleet has gotten old... including a sizable number of destroyers. I develop a new minesweeping destroyer to replace them, the Winslow-class:
I start scrapping some of the old ships in February, including 14 destroyers, 1 protected cruiser, 3 armored cruisers, and a pre-dreadnought battleship. Another pre-dreadnought is expended as a target ship, while Spain and Austria each buy outdated armored cruisers in February and May, and in July, Austria and Italy buy a pre-dreadnought and another protected cruiser, respectively. All this is in preparation for a brand new battleship class, the 14"-gunned California class, featuring a heavy armor belt, moderately heavy deck armor, and oil-fired turbines.
The summer of 1910 sees Austria and Italy go to war again, and with Europe caught up in the drama of another war on the Continent, I try to get away with establishing a protectorate over Iceland -- but Britain acts faster. The next month, the Naval Secretary blames it on our aging cruiser force and insists we build 8 new cruisers; I oblige him, developing a new lower-cost but high-speed cruiser, the Vicksburg-class, named for Civil War battles.
In 1911, perhaps thanks to our speedy cruiser USS Amsterdam, we establish a protectorate over Celebes, helping the islanders overthrow Dutch colonial rule in favor of our 'indirect' control. We're the good guys, right? We also start building giant flying gasbags, commonly called 'air-ships', to provide reconnaissance from a whole new perspective -- the sky! And to round out the year, I design a new battlecruiser, this time from a French yard, of no less than 29,600 tons displacement.
The world's fleets at the end of 1911.
***
Well, then, stipulations it is! And I'm glad to see such a warm welcome back to this thread.
Scheduled vote count started by Jenny on May 21, 2024 at 2:16 PM, finished with 8 posts and 7 votes.
[X][RFP] Add additional stipulations to the Curse of Foreign Procurement each decade I do not meet its current terms
A few months into 1912, and money's looking a bit tight, especially when I decide to buy Austrian submarine tech. The world is a bit too quiet for the USN's budget to be particularly high... so I take advantage of an opportunity to further expand into Southeast Asia. And with the development of Director fire control, I find that my existing battlecruisers could use some upgrading, even if it's rather costly:
A golf tournament, of all things, brings down a US Navy officer's career... and with tension with usual shipbuilding partners a bit high, I decide to build a local battleship design:
She's smaller than some of her foreign cousins, but she packs a punch with those 14" guns.
By May 1914, I notice that Britain has commissioned a new armored cruiser, despite battlecruisers being well-established at present... and I start contemplating building one of my own, to counter it. I go to the Italians for help, and come back with the Pittsburgh class:
German-American relations have become pretty close in this game, and while Germany is a bellicose power, I decide they'd make a powerful ally. This predictably annoys the British, and some careful diplomacy is needed. In June 1915, Italy and Austria go to war yet again; spoilers, this one ends a bit differently. Later on, in 1916, the Danish Virgin Islands become untenable for Denmark... and American forces 'restore order', despite the Navy recommending against it (for tension reasons). Russia and Japan go to war later still... but ultimately, the situation shifts due to something else: a Japanese invasion of Korea, and the enraged American governmental response.
Time for war! And for math:
Total tonnage: 598,600 tons (including 16 coastal subs and 9 medium-range subs) [+95,800 tons building]
Foreign-built tonnage: 376,400 tons [+83,300 tons building]
Curse: met for 1917
Dock size lost from lack of orders: 1,000 tons
***
Short update. Felt like the right stopping point.
It feels rather harsh to be going to war with Japan here, when they're already fighting Russia, and when the US is just as imperial (if not more so) as Japan in this game. And from a gameplay perspective, I want it to be interesting to watch; I worry that it might not be (especially since I've managed to overtake every other world power in budget and total tonnage, just 17 years into the game).
Consequently, a new vote -- what are my goals for this war, and perhaps for this game as a whole?
[ ][GOAL] Island Campaigns -- cement my dominance over Southeast Asia by successfully invading/liberating the Japanese-occupied islands of Formosa and/or Hainan.
[ ][GOAL] Liberate Korea -- fight Japan (in as many wars as necessary) until I either collapse their government or otherwise force them to give up at least Northern Korea (a 5-value territory).
[ ][GOAL] Anti-British Action -- drag Britain into the war if possible and fight them (in as many wars as necessary) until I collapse their government or otherwise force them to give up at least Morocco and Iceland (the territories they've seized since 1900; combined value of 6).
[x][GOAL] Liberate Korea -- fight Japan (in as many wars as necessary) until I either collapse their government or otherwise force them to give up at least Northern Korea (a 5-value territory).
[x][GOAL] Liberate Korea -- fight Japan (in as many wars as necessary) until I either collapse their government or otherwise force them to give up at least Northern Korea (a 5-value territory).
The war begins with the Pacific Fleet steaming towards Southeast Asia, with the battleships Arizona and Ohio and the battlecruisers Lexington, Constitution, and Constellation forming the core of the force. The first actual battle is in late March, with the battlecruisers engaging a Japanese BC and a destroyer squadron then sinking the BC Kitami with torpedoes:
The RN sends a sizable force to Canadian ports, making it very obvious that they intend to intervene; they also form an alliance with France. Even so, the invasion of Hainan goes in without naval interference... until July, when a chunk of the IJN battleline confronts American forces. It... doesn't go well for Japan, with most of their capital ships battered by my own before being torpedoed by my destroyer force:
Germany enters the war, and I secure Hainan and invade Formosa, but it's only a few months more before Britain enters the war against us. France follows after a skirmish off Malaya:
While the RN and the Atlantic Fleet jockey about the Caribbean, our ships never again come to blows, particularly as the German and Russian fleets attempt to establish a blockade of Britain and France. With wartime budgets, I reason that I could use a new battlecruiser, and ask the Germans to tinker with the Constitution-class design:
But in March 1918, after just over a year of war, what might have been the largest conflict yet seen comes to an end, with the British conceding Iceland and Morocco. Post-war cuts briefly spark a budgetary crisis... but scrapping my last pre-dreadnoughts, one of my proto-battlecruisers, curtailing the wartime submarine building program, and putting the battleline and heavy cruiser force in reserve rather quickly resolves the issue.
I also order a seaplane carrier from the Spanish, largely out of curiosity:
But when it comes time to developing my own purpose-built 'aircraft carrier', I wind up keeping it in-house, despite the lack of an effective American dual-purpose gun:
I also develop a domestic battleship design -- which had started as a battlecruiser project, and is thus faster than the Yorktown-class BC I ultimately laid down in a German yard. The Ticonderoga may have a few less barrels than potential competitors, but her good armor and impressive speed should make her effective:
It's January 1920, and you know what that means: time for math!
Total USN tonnage: 600,100 tons (including 9 coastal subs, 19 medium-range and minelaying subs, and 1 long-range sub) [+88,400 tons building]
Foreign-built tonnage: 371,000 tons [+72,400 tons building]
Curse: met for 1920
Dock size lost from lack of orders: 1,500 tons
It also means time for a new protectorate over Norway, and for the Naval Secretary to 'suggest' we build new capital ships -- they wind up being a Yorktown and another Ticonderoga. In the summer, we establish a protectorate over Venezuela as well; Germany ends the alliance not long after. Japanese-American relations, though, have shifted dramatically, and we even order new destroyer leaders from Japanese shipyards:
1921 is spent wrangling my budget (because poor me, I had to build several new capital ships, and expand bases in Iceland, Norway, and Formosa)... and ultimately, it's not until 1922 that I begin converting the Ranger, the one proto-battlecruiser I'd yet to refit or scrap, into a "large" aircraft carrier:
Okay, 'large' is relative, but it's still useful. (See also the aircraft of my developing air corps... and Franco-American tensions yet again spiking. At least my spies are good at their job... though not quite good enough to predict that the French would soon go hardline militarist). I go back to the Italians to request an improved version of the Cincinnati class:
The fleets of the world, the ships under construction for the USN, and the aircraft of the USN, as of October 1923.
***
I'll be real, I've forgotten how fast America can get powerful, and how much money gets tossed at me. Still, there may yet be tension -- the Brits remain allied with the French (for now), and in combination they may pose a real threat. And France going fash (for the first time that I've ever seen in RTW3, as far as I recall) does give me an ambition.
