Hypothetical: The Navy drafted you in WWII.

[Rain Man]

I found a database of major American WWII ships the other day and pulled it into Excel. Then I found information on crew sizes. Now I have a simple simulator.

So if you were drafted into the Navy in World War II and were assigned to a large ship (e.g., submarine, destroyer, cruiser, or larger), I can now randomly assign you to a ship. Report in this thread to get your assignment.

I'll tell you your ship, and then it's up to you to look it up and see where it went and what happened to it. If the ship took casualties, let me know how many were killed and wounded and I'll do a random draw to see if you would have survived.


As for me, I would have been one of 700 sailors aboard:

Juneau** Atlanta-class Light Cruiser**

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Juneau_(CL-52)

That's not really a good thing. I hung out with a nice set of five brothers from Iowa, the Sullivans, but we saw some bad things.

We launched early in 1942 and did some early runs in the Atlantic and Caribbean before heading to the Pacific Theater. Right out of the gate in the Pacific we had to rescue sailors from an aircraft carrier that sank from a sub attack, and then we headed to Guadalcanal.

Our task force fought off four attacks from the Japanese, one of which took down another aircraft carrier.

Then another big Japanese group attacked, and we took a torpedo. We headed off toward Vanuatu for repairs, running with two other damaged ships, when we were attacked again by a Japanese sub. We took another torpedo which blew the ship to smithereens and we sank in 20 seconds.

The other two ships assumed there were no survivors and took off running. In actuality, 100 of the crew survived the sinking, but only about 10 survived the next eight days until rescue aircraft found them.

Based on a random dice roll, I went down with the ship, so my naval career ended late in 1942. I hope America won.

[rico]

SIR!!! REPORTING FOR DUTY, SIR!!!!!

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by rico

SIR!!! REPORTING FOR DUTY, SIR!!!!!

Uncle Sam is putting you on a solid midwestern ship.

Milwaukee** Omaha-class Light Cruiser**

[Fire Me Boy!]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Uncle Sam is putting you on a solid midwestern ship.



Milwaukee**Omaha-class Light Cruiser**

Too fat.

[cmh6476]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

You were on the California, which apparently took 100 dead and 62 wounded at Pearl Harbor, and then one dead and nine wounded at Saipan, and then 44 dead and 155 wounded by kamikazes in the Philippines invasion. Let's see how you did:

Pearl Harbor: Unscathed
Saipan: Unscathed
Philippines: Unscathed

[rico]

Milwaukee**Omaha-class Light Cruiser**

USS Milwaukee (CL-5) was an Omaha-class light cruiser built for the United States Navy during the 1920s. The ship spent most of her early career assigned to the Asiatic and Battle Fleets. In 1941 she was assigned to the Neutrality Patrol until she was refitted in New York in late 1941. She escorted a troop convoy to the Pacific in early 1942 before returning to the South Atlantic where she patrolled for German commerce raiders and blockade runners. In November, she intercepted one of the latter ships, but it scuttled itself before it could be captured. In 1944 she was temporarily transferred to the Soviet Navy and commissioned as Murmansk. The ship was returned by the Soviets in 1949 and sold for scrap in December.

World War II South Atlantic Milwaukee, commanded by Captain Forrest B. Royal, was being overhauled in the Brooklyn Navy Yard when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December. The ship escorted a convoy to the Caribbean from New York on 31 December and then escorted eight troop transports from the Panama Canal to the Society Islands. She rejoined the South Atlantic Patrol Force upon her return and spend the next two years making patrols between Brazil and the African coast. On 19 May she received an SOS from the Brazilian cargo ship SS Commandante Lyra, which had been torpedoed by the Italian submarine Barbarigo off the coast of Brazil. Milwaukee found the freighter abandoned, burning, and listing to port. She rescued 25 survivors from their lifeboats, including the ship's master. Reinforced by the cruiser's sister Omaha and the destroyer McDougal, the fires were brought under control, cargo was jettisoned to lighten the ship, and Commandante Lyra was towed to Fortaleza, Brazil.

Rear Admiral O. M. Read assumed command of Cruiser Division 2 in October and hoisted his flag aboard Milwaukee. On 21 November, Milwaukee, her sister Cincinnati and the destroyer Somers intercepted the German blockade runner Anneliese Essberger. When Somers had closed to 4 miles (3.5 nmi; 6.4 km), the German ship scuttled herself to prevent capture. Milwaukee rescued 62 of the ship's crew. On 2 May 1943, while the ship was under repair at Recife, her crew helped to fight a fire on the oil tanker SS Livingston Roe. Milwaukee and Omaha collided on 31 May off the coast of Brazil, although the extent of the damage is not known. The ship sailed for the Brooklyn Navy Yard on 8 February 1944, preparatory to her temporary transfer to the Soviet Union in lieu of Italian ships allotted after the Italian surrender that could not be delivered. She escorted a convoy to Belfast, Northern Ireland on 8 March before forming part of the escort of Convoy JW 58 during her voyage to Murmansk beginning on 29 March.

[GloucesterChief]

Seems it was much better being on a sub then a surface ship. Training in Florida and Panama. Ports of call in the Philippines and Oz. Not many deaths.

[Delaney37]

USS Ticonderoga aka Big T.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Tic...ga_%28CV-14%29

USS Ticonderoga (CV/CVA/CVS-14) was one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during World War II for the United States Navy. The ship was the fourth US Navy ship to bear the name, and was named for the capture of Fort Ticonderoga in the American Revolutionary War. Ticonderoga was commissioned in May 1944, and served in several campaigns in the Pacific Theater of Operations, earning five battle stars. Decommissioned shortly after the end of the war, she was modernized and recommissioned in the early 1950s as an attack carrier (CVA), and then eventually became an antisubmarine carrier (CVS). She was recommissioned too late to participate in the Korean War, but was very active in the Vietnam War, earning three Navy Unit Commendations, one Meritorious Unit Commendation, and 12 battle stars.

Ticonderoga differed somewhat from the earlier Essex-class ships in that she was 16 ft (4.9 m) longer to accommodate bow-mounted anti-aircraft guns. Most subsequent Essex-class carriers were completed to this "long-hull" design and are considered by some authorities[who?] to be a separate class, the Ticonderoga class.

Ticonderoga was decommissioned in 1973 and sold for scrap in 1975.


She had a long and colorful career. She survived two kamikaze attacks in the Philippine campaign, two typhoons including Typhoon Cobra. She received 5 battle stars for WWII and 12 for Vietnam. She was involved in the Gulf of Tonkin. She dispatched F-8 Crusaders to cover the USS Maddox when it came under fire and continued to launch strikes during the Vietnam War.
She recovered Apollo 16 and 17 along with Skylab before she was finally scrapped.

[Delaney37]

One of the pics I've liked best so far.
The carriers are (from front to back): USS Wasp (CV-18), USS Yorktown (CV-10), USS Hornet (CV-12), USS Hancock (CV-19) and USS Ticonderoga (CV-14).
Wasp, Yorktown and Ticonderoga are all painted in camouflage Measure 33, Design 10a.
Photographed from a USS Ticonderoga plane.

Link to more pics of the Big T..

http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/14.htm

[Misplaced_Chiefs_Fan]

I thought I was still stuck on a B-17. When did I get assigned to the Navy?

[driver2]

My uncle Alva was in the Navy before and during WWII aboard the Balch.
He wouldn't talk about it. Must have seen some $hit. As an Army guy I never
had to much use for the Navy, but those guys in WWII had big ones.

[otherstar]

Originally Posted by otherstar

Ahoy, ahoy! Reporting for duty!

Did I get missed?

[J Diddy]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

So did the Louisville get credit for half a kill? I don't think they should get half credit.



You survived, but it was really close.

Here's the footage of it.

http://youtu.be/eFPb4XMuJWc

[bevischief]

Originally Posted by otherstar

Did I get missed?

Lot's room on the battleships.

[GloryDayz]

Originally Posted by otherstar

Did I get missed?

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by otherstar

Did I get missed?

Uh-oh. It's bound to happen when you're drafting 500,000 people. You just stay there in on Hotel Street in Honolulu for a bit and when I get back to my computer I will give you an assignment.