General Discussion thread.

[Bernard Woolley]

Bernard,

As of D+29, just what are the five US carriers off Norway up to? Are air raids on Kola on the table?

They’re supporting NATO ground forces in Northern Norway and Finland at the moment. The Striking Fleet would need to replenish its stocks of Tomahawks before hitting the Kola again.

How inaccurate were you? Close is generally good enough in a lot of situations where you’re trying to get the other guy to keep his head down or run away.

I didn’t see the target on that occasion, but AFAIK, I was in the general area.

[jemhouston]

Where would Strike Fleet go to reload, the UK?

[Bernard Woolley]

It could probably reload in Norwegian ports and fjords. The UK would be a rear base for it.

[Jotun]

It could probably reload in Norwegian ports and fjords. The UK would be a rear base for it.

The fjords Bastion would be an ideal place for doing that. A physically secure area, both militarily and weather-wise, close enough to land and still close enough to be able to lend a hand to the troops in the northern theatre.

When NATO starts the liberation of Zealand, would a carrier be detached or just a suitable mix of planes from all five to operate from airfields in Denmark, Norway and Sweden? The North Sea including the Skagerrak isn‘t particularly well suited to carrier operations.

[Belushi TD]

I would think that a single carrier wouldn't be sufficient to provide top cover and a suitably large strike force at the same time, particularly in the North Sea.

Ok, you're not near any WARPAC land, so you have some warning of approaching strikes, unlike WWII in the same area, but I would still think you'd need at least two carriers and maybe more.

How much extra flight time do you get from launching from a carrier in the North Sea as opposed to launching from England? Or, for that matter, from Norway? I understand that Norwegian airfields suffer from proximity to Soviet and WARPAC airbases as well, but you now have both Sweden and Finland in the mix. I also understand that there are limitations as to how many planes one can base from a single airfield, and Norway may be pushing those limits.

Either way, I would think that a carrier(s) in the North Sea would only be a thing if you were doing a max effort kind of strike, and it would be a very temporary thing.

Belushi TD

[Johnnie Lyle]

Why send a carrier to the restricted waters of the North Sea when the target is almost completely surrounded by NATO air bases?

[James1978]

The fjords Bastion would be an ideal place for doing that. A physically secure area, both militarily and weather-wise, close enough to land and still close enough to be able to lend a hand to the troops in the northern theatre.

When NATO starts the liberation of Zealand, would a carrier be detached or just a suitable mix of planes from all five to operate from airfields in Denmark, Norway and Sweden? The North Sea including the Skagerrak isn‘t particularly well suited to carrier operations.

I need to get the Norway wartime ORBATS reposted, but five US carriers plus what the RONAF, RAF, USAF, and USMC have landbased in northern Norway is plenty for defensive operations now that the Soviets have been ejected from Norway and Sweden has joined the war.

Detaching a carrier squadron to a land base is possible, but somewhat difficult. When the air wing embarks before a deployment, a couple tractor trailers for each squadron pull up pier side carrying all their tool, gear, parts, etc. and it takes about a day load. That's a lot of COD sorties to get the, off.

How much extra flight time do you get from launching from a carrier in the North Sea as opposed to launching from England? Or, for that matter, from Norway? I understand that Norwegian airfields suffer from proximity to Soviet and WARPAC airbases as well, but you now have both Sweden and Finland in the mix. I also understand that there are limitations as to how many planes one can base from a single airfield, and Norway may be pushing those limits.

The bases in Denmark are pretty full.

There are plenty of runways in southern Norway, but ramp space let alone room for dispersal is another matter.

Same story in southern Sweden. Plenty or runways, not so much with ramp space.

Honestly, if NATO wants more TACAIR forward, it's probably easier to move squadrons forward from UK or French bases to southern Sweden. It's a lot easier to move a squadron by C-130 and C-17 than by C-2. But even that's going to be limited by space.

[Jotun]

Thanks for the answer, I didn't really know, that's why I asked.

[James1978]

I came across this on YouTube. Any thoughts on if the concept might have gone somewhere in TLWverse in some form or another?

[Matt Wiser]

Weren't there several Soviet divisions in the 'Stans which had a Mountain Warfare mission? These guys might be from one of those.

[Bernard Woolley]

Does look like the Soviets decided the division wasn’t worth it.

[Bernard Woolley]

I seem to have returned to quite a bit of stuff being posted! I was only gone for four days, guys!

[Jotun]

I seem to have returned to quite a bit of stuff being posted! I was only gone for four days, guys!

We overcompensated. See it as a compliment