Tarazed Aquilae
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Posted - 2009.05.07 04:38:00 -
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HereÆs (from memory) more or less what happened in real lifeà
Nations spent a fortune building battleships. These battleships were large, had powerful engines, thick armor, massive guns, and cost enough to bankrupt a small nation. The naval arms race was placing such an economic strain on many large nations that treaties were signed to limit the number and size of battleships.
A new weapon was developed in the late 1800s, the torpedo. This weapon had the potential to sink a battleship. Of course a single hit might not actually sink a battleship. But, even if it didnÆt sink, a single torpedo hit could make the ship return to port for expensive and time consuming repairs. This was actually better than a kill in a short war since it removed a naval asset and tied up workers and facilities for months. And multiple hits would sink a battleship.
So, the torpedo boat was developed. These were small craft that werenÆt capable of extended operations at sea. A torpedo boat wouldnÆt be any threat to a battleship sailing in the ocean. But a battleship fleet that came in close to shore (to shell a town or blockade a port) faced the constant threat that a swarm of torpedo boats would emerge from their hiding places and attack.
And this led to the development of the ôtorpedo boat destroyer.ö (now just called a ôdestroyerö) These ships were intended to be large enough to travel the oceans with a battleship fleet and protect the battleships from torpedo boats.
Destroyers were mostly unarmored ships with a fair number of small (3ö-5ö or so) guns. They were also given some torpedoes to make them a threat to larger ships.
Then the submarine was developed. The destroyer was then given the job (and the tools) to detect and defend against submarines. This meant sonar and depth charges were added.
Then airplanes became effective naval weapons. So the destroyerÆs guns were modified to allow them to fire flak shells and were given numerous smaller antiaircraft guns. They acted as the first line of AA defense for a fleet.
And then missiles were developed, so the destroyers gained missile systems to shoot down incoming anti-ship missiles.
But all this ability meant that the destroyer had to steadily grow larger. As I understand it, today there is no real size difference between a destroyer and a cruiser.
In many ways, minus the torpedoes, the Eve destroyer mirrors the early destroyers. However there really arenÆt any torpedo boats for them to fight. Frigates are close but a frigate can only tackle a battleship, it canÆt realistically kill one. (WeÆre talking fleet action here, not some guy in a poorly fitted megathron who gets caught in a belt by a frigate with a lot of spare time)
Giving the destroyer some anti stealth, anti drone, and anti missile, abilities would go a long way to making them more useful. Still, they are just cheap T1 ships. Maybe we need another tier of destroyer, new ships having more slots, expanded roles, and better defenses.
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