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Armed Merchant Cruisers


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#1 Kevin Nielson

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Posted 05 November 2012 - 01:20 AM

Hi, does anyone have any idea what kind of armor the AMC would have? They would have used passenger liners, they would have good compartmentation and damaged control and with the sheer size of the ship, I was thinking CL/SC or SC/-. Also would they have any kind of DCT or would their fire control be local.

#2 Phil Callcott

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Posted 05 November 2012 - 02:09 PM

Hi Kevin,

British AMC in WWII, armour - none.

Unused stowage filled with empty oil drums to aid flotation.

Fire contol - local, think submarine deck gun, but with command a long way away on the bridge, as was the ammo store, with poorly trained crews manning obsolecent 6" guns left over from WWI.

The only advantages being that the AMC would be more stable and the guns mounted higher.

Regards Phil

#3 Cpt M

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Posted 05 November 2012 - 10:29 PM

Hi, does anyone have any idea what kind of armor the AMC would have? They would have used passenger liners, they would have good compartmentation and damaged control and with the sheer size of the ship, I was thinking CL/SC or SC/-. Also would they have any kind of DCT or would their fire control be local.

Phil pretty much hit it straight on. AMCs are just fat (and sometimes, not so fat) merchants with guns. Their armor would be nil, so for damage they would be on the AC-AV column. As for fire control, would be local control (even the German raiders had, at most, just a rangefinder on the bridge and nothing more). About the only thing they have going for them is they would have a pretty fair number of hull boxes, given their size.

#4 Robert Bishop

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Posted 06 November 2012 - 06:08 PM

Kevin,

Related to what Phil and Coastal said: The larger merchants, especially, used as AMCs would be able to maintain a higher cruising speed in rough seas than a smaller ship and they would have fairly good range (fuel storage) for patrolling.

-Rob

#5 Darren Burnside

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Posted 07 November 2012 - 05:46 PM

question on the AMC's , would they carry troops and cargo ?
or run empty due to the guns ?

#6 Cpt M

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Posted 07 November 2012 - 07:50 PM

question on the AMC's , would they carry troops and cargo ?
or run empty due to the guns ?

Almost always they would be empty since they're operational patrol warships (as opposed to cargo/transports going from point A to point B).

#7 Phil Callcott

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Posted 08 November 2012 - 07:02 AM

In WWII German AMC were equipped for commerce raiding.

As such they would be at sea for considerable periods of time, having to carry large stocks of food, fuel and ammo with little chance of resupply except that which they could capture from their victims.

Germany did not use passenger liners for raiding as they were too well known from pre-war publicity to approach victims without recognition. They fitted out anonymous, “typical”, 10 knot merchantmen, flying a flag of convenience with dummy funnels, deckhouses, etc to disguise their appearance with armament hidden behind drop down screens.

The British on the other hand chose to convert 15 knot passenger liners into AMC for patrol and convoy escort duties. Liners had better speed as a short passage time was a selling point in peacetime. Their armament was not concealed.
As ex-passenger carriers they were ill equipped to handle cargo, spare hull stowage being filled with empty oil drums to increase flotation; in game terms this means additional hull boxes.

By 1943 the AMC concept was acknowledged to be a failure and surviving British vessels were converted into troopships to help carry the thousands of US troops entering the North African, Italian and European Theatres of Operation.

Regards Phil

#8 Darren Burnside

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Posted 09 November 2012 - 01:24 PM

thank you for the information.




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