WesWorld

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Originally posted by Hrolf Hakonson

Another option for Persia might be one of the Brazilian BCs: they're a lot newer than the SAE ships (and they're to a Filipino design, so keeping things in the SATSUMA family). Of course, they'd need to be refloated first....

Quoted

Originally posted by Hrolf Hakonson
What I don't know is what good some 14" guns would do Persia. They couldn't be mounted on the old SAE BCs, except possibly in single mounts, they're a lot bigger than the ships original 11" guns.

Quoted

Originally posted by Vukovlad
With no player or caretaker for Brazil its hard to know what the price would be. Tonnage is a problem for Persia...

Quoted

Originally posted by Vukovlad

Quoted

Originally posted by Hrolf Hakonson
What I don't know is what good some 14" guns would do Persia. They couldn't be mounted on the old SAE BCs, except possibly in single mounts, they're a lot bigger than the ships original 11" guns.

Well the 14" could be very good at persuading people to stay away from Persian waters...

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Within soon, the combat turned more and more onesided, as gun after gun fell silent on the Argentine side. MORENO had all her guns , still, but no directors, and was beginning to loose speed, as she had been hit in the engines, and was also taking on water. RIVADAVIA's both aft main turrets were silenced, and she'd lost several secondaries as well. Of the large armoured cruisers, one was burning badly midships, and was loosing speed, and the other had lost guns. At this point Admiral Gumerry hoisted the signal "ALL SHIPS COURSE 335 MAKE SMOKE", followed by the signal "EXECUTE". At once the Argentine ships turned to starboard, and thick clouds of black smoke billowed from their funnels, soon obscuring all the vessels from view.

Later reviews of the battle, and interviews with bridge survivors, indicate that Admiral Gumerry had in mind to save as many Argentine sailors as possible. It is believed he felt that turning the whole fleet away would not save it, and that a ship would have to sacrifice itself to let the others survive. It is generally clear that the two armoured cruisers would not be an impediment of note to the Normarchian fleet, but naval historians believe that it would probably have been wiser to sacrifice MORENO, as she seemed to be worse off in terms of speed, but better off as far as armament was concerned. It is likely, however, that Admiral Gumerry would not accept ordering others to sacrifice themselves for him.

As the remnants of the force turned away, RIVADAVIA increased speed and turned towards the Normarchian line on a course perpendicular to the Normarchian course. This caused the Normarchian firecontrol directors to loose the range for a while, and they were initially unable to regain it; their efforts were also hampered a bit by all five ships firing at the same target, with shellsplashes obscuring each other.

The Argentine ship sped on, speed rising and guns blazing, though somewhat inneffectively - it had itself had its gunnery affected by the course- and speed-change. It did regain the range more quickly, even if it was hampered by having fewer guns available, and scored a hit - DRISTIGHETEN suddenly had an entire flat of 11cm casemates blown up and on fire. Seeing this, Vice Admiral Sparre released the outer screen for a torpedoattack.

Having stayed a few thousand yards to starboard of the Normarchian line, the screen, minus the damaged cruiser and two damaged destroyers, turned starboard, and increased speed towards the Argentine vessel. As they got within 9,000 yards, RIVADAVIA's secondaries began getting close to hitting, and the Normarchian ships began zig-zagging. Having only the gunnery of a single ship to worry about, the run in was fairly easy for the light forces, and their own guns replies in spirited fashion. Nevertheless, as the distance decreased, the Argentine ship did score the odd hit - one 15cm caused a destroyer to suffer a magazine explosion and sink, and there were other hits on the ships.

For all that, the Normarchian light ships had moved in closer and closer until they got to 2,000 yards distance - then they turned away and launched their torpedoes. Between them, they were able to present 46 torpedoes in their broadsides (the large light cruisers have two triple mounts on either beam for a broadside of six per ship, the Tampere-class two twins on either beam for a broadside of four per ship, and the destroyers two triples on the centreline for a broadside of six per ship), The torpedoes were spread in a pattern of about 45 degrees opening, and the torpedoes moved in at 35 knots. It took less than two minutes for the torpedoes to reach their target area.

The RIVADAVIA had maneuvered as best she could to avoid the torpedoes. She almost succeeded - only a single torpedo hit her. It hit on the starboard side, even further aft than the aft main guns, in an area where it was uncertain whether she'd have any effect at all. At first it didn't look like much happened at all - the Argentine ship seemed to continue turning. Then, after a few minutes, it was noticed that the ship appeared to slow and seemed lower in the water by the stern, and that it clearly had lost steering.

Sensing easy prey, the Normarchian cruisers turned around for another torpedoattack. Closing in on the RIVADAVIA, they launched another 16 torpedoes from 2000 yards. Unable to effectively evade, the Argentine ship was hit by another two torpedoes, both near amidships on the starboard side. Quickly the ship took on a list to starboard, and any pretence of keeping up the fight was given up. As teh Normarchian battleline ceased firing, the argentine shp rolled over to its side, and the Normarchian cruisers and destroyers began picking up survivors - Admiral Gumerry was not among them.

With the RIVADAVIA sinking, the Normarchian battlefleet was free to pursue the Argentine ships - but in a decision which would spark consternation at home, Vice Admiral Sparre declined to offer pursuit. Instead he gathered his fleet, and sailed back to Río Gallegos, and organised the evacuation from that harbour. Within five days the ships again arrived at the Falklands to take on coal, and set sail for more homely waters again.

Vice Admiral Sparre defended his decision, noting that pursuing into the dense smoke left by the Argentine vessels would leave his fleet vulnerable to torpedo-attacks, and that the fleet had too low stocks of ammunition left to warrant reckless pursuit. However, at home it was felt that he had failed to fully achieve the main aim of Force Brand - the complete destruction of the Argentine fleet - and this was what essentially stopped his career dead. Having been re-assigned to the naval supply office the following year, he retired by 1925.

***

Following their retreat, the Argentine ships made for the general safety of the shoreline and Puerto Deseado. The armoured cruisers did not have any leaks of note, and managed to put out fires. The MORENO was worse off, though. She had numerous leaks, both in the hull's skin and in internal bulkheads, and the crew's efforts were not able to completely stem the flooding. Ever so slowly the bow settled deeper, and as she came close to the port it was realised that she was now too deep to be able to enter the port.

In a last attempt to save her, it was decided to beach her - the course was set for an area in the fjord known to have flat sand bottom, and some shelter from the effects of storms. She reached the area, but sinking faster and faster she settled deeper than planned, and her upper deck was awash when she sat on the bottom. The lighter ships had already offloaded many crewmembers, and went on to take off the rest. With this, it was clear that also the MORENO was a loss of the war.