HFQ Official Snippet #8

I believe we have textev that all aerial vehicles are forbidden mortals until the CoGA repeals its ban.

L
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Hi, Lyonheart.

Well, this isn't the ban that would be really smart for Langhorne & Co. It's too hard to mantain: the hot air gallons is pretty easly to build. And if some ban could be broken lightly and without consequenses... It would be smart thing to not impose that ban at all.

And after all, we could always say that the airships didn't fly. They gloat; they are simply the good, godly old-fashioned ships, that build to gloat not in water by also in air

Additionally, having that balloon floating above the convoy would give the raiders a pretty good idea of where it was.

Howdy all,

I must be getting old.

I was trying to get to sleep when I remembered I wanted to focus attention on this tidbit.

SNIPPED 4 BREVITY

Which was why well over half of Sir Domnyk Staynair’s warships were now tied down in commerce protection and convoy duties. There was a very good reason he’d sent Payter Shain to wipe out Gulf of Jahras’ privateer bases — hopefully for good, although Rock Point was far from confident they wouldn’t rebuild quickly if the pressure was ever taken off again — but that left thousands upon thousands of miles of additional coastline, especially along the stretch between Traykhos and Shairn. Scores of fleet, weatherly schooners were swarming out to sea, and the situation was growing steadily more serious. Just six days ago, although Rock Point hadn’t yet received official word, over a dozen of those cruisers — half of them navy ships, not just privateers, and acting with far better coordination than he cared to think about — had swamped a convoy from Tellesberg to Siddar City. The outnumbered escort had managed to prevent any of the half dozen troopships under its care from being seriously damaged and had actually sunk two of the raiders, but no less than six cargo ships had been cut out despite all they could accomplish. One of the escorting schooners had been destroyed, as well, and two others — and one of the three defending galleons — had been damaged.[/quote]


So six cargo ships potentially filled with Charisian technological secrets have been captured.

Were they just sunk after butchering the crews?

Or are they trying to get them back to Desnar?

We had textev in MTaT and LaMA that a commerce raiding schooner could become rich capturing a cargo galleon and getting it back to Desnar or Howard, though there was no mention of any actually accomplishing it.

Because its so tough getting them back to Desnar, were they just sunk, or are the cargoes that critical, particularly as technical bonanzas for Desnar and the Go4?

Can they be intercepted by HMS Eraystor?

Rock Point could tell them where to search first thanks to the SNARC's, and even the tea clippers only averaged a 100-120 miles per day from China, so coaling at Tarot and Jahras Bay might enable the Eraystor to catch up.

If interception isn't possible and the tech too valuable to let into Desnar's hands, the SNARC's could ignite or explode the vulnerable cargo, but that's a last resort.

I'm surprised the ramifications of this haven't been already discussed with Cayleb and Merlin.

Is letting Desnar get its hands on such tech acceptable to Merlin and the inner circle?

Will some in the inner circle start to order SNARC's to destroy other captured ships, if Merlin won't?

The initial KH VII's steam and sail design seems more needed now as a cargo ship, although it might also serve as an escort with just 6" breech loading guns.

I await your wisdom.

L

Is letting Desnar get its hands on such tech acceptable to Merlin and the inner circle?

Will some in the inner circle start to order SNARC's to destroy other captured ships, if Merlin won't?

Well, the Merlin's point is to make progress, not to try to stop it.

This current war would be over long before such tech would be usefull for any Charis enemy.

And if some Charis enemy make a good use of this tech AFTER the current war... well, it's pretty good, because it would give Charisian another boost and stimulus to try to outdo the current tech!

Merlin, as i recall, made it clear: he wouldn't interfer with ANY technological improvements even invented by the Charisian enemies. IF the charisian enemies would be able to overtake the Charis in therms of technological progress (hovewer unlikely it would be), so... it would mean that the Merlin's goal is fulfilled.

Hi Lyonheart,

As I think about this, it seem to me that Charis needs to focus more on the readily available low tech solutions rather than looking for a silver bullet that not only is not curently available at least in sufficient quantity, but also more expensive.

So maybe its time to start diverting manpower back to the navy. Manpower is no longer a big issue on the mainland with the army having over 300,000 men in place now and the RSA having even more than that by spring. The issue in Siddarmark is arming what Siddarmark can recruit and Siddarmark is incteasing its own manufactories fairly quickly.

I see three things Charis can do.

1. Rearm those galleons captured in the Makovian sea and Ithyria for convoy duty. Maybe divert a small portion of Housmyn's cannon production for that.

2. Purchase or build as many schooners as possible to flood the area where the raiders are coming from and for convoy duty.

3. Arm the intended victims to make it as expensive as possible for predators who come calling.

Larger numbers of hulls should also make reinforcements available for Admiral Shain to use for burning out bases and shipyards.

Don

Dilandu wrote:Merlin, as i recall, made it clear: he wouldn't interfer with ANY technological improvements even invented by the Charisian enemies. IF the charisian enemies would be able to overtake the Charis in therms of technological progress (hovewer unlikely it would be), so... it would mean that the Merlin's goal is fulfilled.

Insofar that it doesn't interfere with his plan to break the CoGA.

Hm, at least part of the problem may be solved by converting a number of galleons to the combined sail-steam propulsion. It would cost them a fair number of guns, of course, but with a shell guns, the number of artillery is no more so important.

This converted screw galleons would be sufficient for blocade and escort functions. And by their screws, they would be still effective against enemy sail galleons. And Charis probably would be able to have much more of them, that by building the new iron steamships.

Dilandu wrote:Hm, at least part of the problem may be solved by converting a number of galleons to the combined sail-steam propulsion. It would cost them a fair number of guns, of course, but with a shell guns, the number of artillery is no more so important.

This converted screw galleons would be sufficient for blocade and escort functions. And by their screws, they would be still effective against enemy sail galleons. And Charis probably would be able to have much more of them, that by building the new iron steamships.

Wasn't there a post about how much rolled steel/iron Charis could produce which was significantly higher than what the forumites believed was the case?

Building wooden ships has it's own problems, like getting wood that's not green.

Joat42 wrote:Wasn't there a post about how much rolled steel/iron Charis could produce which was significantly higher than what the forumites believed was the case?

Building wooden ships has it's own problems, like getting wood that's not green.

Not building. Converting the existing ships.

And actually, in Charis situation wooden hulls much more preferable. You could repair woodn hull in Tarot, or Chisholm or Corisand. To repair the iron hull, you would be forsed to transport the damaged ship all the way to Charis metropoly.

Dilandu wrote:

Joat42 wrote:Wasn't there a post about how much rolled steel/iron Charis could produce which was significantly higher than what the forumites believed was the case?

Building wooden ships has it's own problems, like getting wood that's not green.

Not building. Converting the existing ships.

And actually, in Charis situation wooden hulls much more preferable. You could repair wooden hull in Tarot, or Chisholm or Corisande. To repair the iron hull, you would be forced to transport the damaged ship all the way to Charis metropolis.

Ah, converting; that would be a bit easier yes. It all hinges on how they have allocated the production of steam-engines I guess.

Unless RFC has some other nefarious plan up his sleeve which will make the conversions unnecessary.

I want to thank RFC/MWW for honoring my humble request to post a snippet on 8 October. I requested that date because of its link to SGT York's exploits during WWI and its many other links to important naval events. Now please pardon me while I mentally give myself 39 lashes for not checking back last night to see if anything was posted. (I normally check this site during my lunch hour.)