Now if this topic has already been made, nothing came up in my searches, and I
searched every possibility for such a thing as I could, and all I could find was a
sentence about a CV owa hybrid, which would be a little above the tier I'm thinking
of here.
*Everyone* knows that the IJN has the CV Ise, a hybrid CV/BB, and possibly TW.
And for a long time, people have been wanting a CV like this for each nation,
especially since the recent temporary spikes in CV wars due to the July 4th event.
Now I know that several CV/BB hybrids have been suggested before, but I believe
that this would be the best option: the Alaska CV conversion remodel.
Now, for a little history, which I'm kind of unclear of myself. As I understand it, the
US sort of had a CV crisis after the Battle of the Coral Sea, what with the Lexy being
sunk and the Saratoga in for repairs, and not many Essexes being in commision, the
USN was looking for ships to convert. There was the Baltimore, Cleveland, Alaska,
among others. But the Alaska stood out because it was similar to the Essex in many
way, but blah blah blah, Cleveland got chosen instead -> Independence, and
Baltimore -> Saipan, which is not in the game, and I didn't find that in any searches
either.
While the Alaska was never actually turned into a CV, and only 2 were built
anyways, I think it'd be a good candidate because:
1. It's similar to the Essex.
2. It's currently very crappy.
3. It's a BB1, just like the Ise, so as not to make it overpowered.
4. It's crappy.
5. It's gigantic and could use some fixing, so why not turn it into a CV?
6. It's an underpowered BB, so it's crappy.
7. The taking off of 1 gun won't be too bad, not that its firepower was all that great
anyways.
8. It has low firepower:size ratio, making it crappy.
9. It might have actually existed, although probably not in the form I'm talking about,
being a flattop instead, but I like it more this way anyways, so too bad!
10. Did I mention that right now, it's crappy?
Now as mentioned before in the list, if it had actually undergone conversion, it would
probably have become a flattop. However, things didn't progress far enough for
plans to be drawn up, so I'm just gonna "assume" that it was gonna be a hybrid.
Since it is very large, it would make a better aircraft carrier than certain tiny
CVs that somehow serve as runways for giant cargo planes *cough*Oyodo*cough*.
And also, since it only has one rear gun, the removal of it would give it still 2/3 the
firepower, therfore not nerfing its firepower so much that it basically becomes a
normal CV, and it would certainly be fun(ner) to drive.
Allowing the Alaska to remodel into a US hyrid BB/CV would add another aspect to
US BB play,
and would also be quite amusing. It would turn the US's crappier BB1 into an
acceptable and perhaps enjoyable ship. And while it would require a CV crew, many
US BB beginners have already gone CV. And for those who haven't, it would
encourage them to try out a BB before getting too sunken into a BB. Besides, the
Ise did it! And as for a name, Alaska would work for me, but you'd need to use
another date or something. You could also use Hawaii, or the name of one of the
other 4 Alaskas.
So now, enjoy some pretty pictures and such:
A side by side comparison between my crude MS-Paint-skin-grafted CV Alaska model
and the current CB Alaska model:
And the CV Alaska stat board thingy:
Oh, and did I mention that this will decrapify the Alaska :)?