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.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Amnorix

Ensign Amnorix reporting for duty SIR!

Anzio** Casablanca-class Escort Carrier**

I'm really curious why these are called "Casablanca-class". Why was the first ship named after Casablanca?

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Steron

Reporting for duty. (heh heh, I said duty)

Crevalle** Balao-class Submarine**


This was apparently one of the bigger submarines with an 82-man crew. I'm sure it was quite spacious and comfortable.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Graystoke

Sign me up.
Btw I am only 17. But my Mom says its ok.

We'll look the other way. Because we need you on the ...

Boston** Baltimore-class Heavy Cruiser**


This is clearly an American League East ship that is a designated hitter.

[98 SR20]

Sign me up.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Pennywise

Let's go

Hey! Ho! Let's go! To the ...

Tuscaloosa** New Orleans-class Heavy Cruiser**


A New Orleans class? Not sure we've seen one of those yet.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by MagicHef

Yes, please.

Petrof Bay** Casablanca-class Escort Carrier**


I don't know. That sounds more like a Soviet lend-lease ship. I want to know more about it.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by dingleberry

To late to get assigned?

Not as long as a single Jap is standing. You're on the ...

Copahee** Bogue-class Escort Carrier**


Okay, that's a new one. I haven't seen a Bogue-class yet.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by 98 SR20

Sign me up.

Croaker** Gato-class Submarine**


That really seems like an unlucky name for a warship. Whose idea was that? I hope you have a good experience on it.

[Chief Roundup]

Reporting for duty, Sir.

[Amnorix]

I'm waiting to see if anyone gets assigned to the Indianapolis.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by Amnorix

I'm waiting to see if anyone gets assigned to the Indianapolis.

See #20.

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I am agog. This ship was in WWI, survived Pearl Harbor, helped with landings in Normandy and the Mediterranean, and then added Okinawa and Iwo Jima to the mix? And then it survived a nuclear bomb? That may be the best story yet.

If you were Forrest Gump or a time traveler, this is the ship to be aboard.

No doubt. I was blown away by the history of that ship. That has to be incredibly rare.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Chief Roundup

Reporting for duty, Sir.

Yorktown (Yorktown-class)** Yorktown-class Aircraft Carrier**

At some point we can have a Yorktown reunion. I think you're at least the third crew member there.

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Anzio** Casablanca-class Escort Carrier**

I'm really curious why these are called "Casablanca-class". Why was the first ship named after Casablanca?

My initial thought was that they were developed in '43 and named after the Casablanca Conference. Nope, they were developed starting in late '42, and the first ship was named the Casablanca after a sea battle there. Specifically, the naval battle clearing the way for American amphibious landings in North Africa.

During that battle, our Navy proudly sunk one Nazi sub and nine FRENCH ships and damaged many others. This was Vichy France, of course, and the very complicated relationship between the French Navy, the British Navy, and the Germans.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_Battle_of_Casablanca


The class itself was a boxy, ugly escort carrier, nicknamed "Kaiser's Coffins", after the name of the shipyard that made them off -- Kaiser Shipyards -- specifically their shipyard in Vancouver, Washington.

Casablanca Class Pics:

USS Sargent Bay:



The hideous thing you have ordered me to report to, USS Anzio:



USS Kasaan Bay:





The Casablanca class was the most numerous of the escort carriers. The US built 151 carriers during the war, and 1/3rd of them were of the Casablanca class. Of the 50 built, 5 were lost during the war to enemy action.

The ship was hideously slow. 20 knots being its best speed. This was due in large part to its uniflow engine, necessitated by gear shortages in the United States due to wartime constraints. This pathetic speed limited its post-war usefulness, and most ships were scrapped for salvage at some point after the war.

That covers the class. Next post will be my ship, the USS Anzio (nee Coral Sea).

[Old Dog]

Originally Posted by 505 Chief

No doubt. I was blown away by the history of that ship. That has to be incredibly rare.

If you look even further: (from Wiki)
As a result, she was assigned to be a target ship for the first Bikini atomic experiments (Operation Crossroads) of July 1946.[1] The experiment consisted of detonating two atomic bombs to test their effectiveness against ships.[86] Nevada was designated "ground zero"[87] for the first test, codenamed 'Able', which used an air-dropped weapon; as such, she was painted an "ugly"[88] reddish-orange to help the bombardier's aim. However, even with the high visibility color scheme, the bomb fell about 1,700 yd (1,600 m) off-target, exploding above the attack transport Gilliam instead.[88]
Nevada also survived the second test—'Baker', a detonation some 90 ft (27 m) below the surface of the water — but she was damaged and extremely radioactive.[55] Nevada was then towed to Pearl Harbor and decommissioned on 29 August 1946.[1]

After she was thoroughly examined at Pearl Harbor, her final sortie came on 31 July 1948, when Iowa and two other vessels[n] used Nevada as a gunnery target for practice.[4][70] The three ships did not sink Nevada, so she was given a coup de grâce with an aerial torpedo hit amidships