SW: Super Star Destroyers, a potential use?

The Executor has a length of 19 kilomters. Well over ten times the length of a normal Imperator class star destroyer. By far the largest ship in all of Star Wars, excluding the death stars which were battlestations. there is never anything as large as them shown in the whole of the movies. And yet it does not carry larger weapons than the smaller ships, simply many more of them. Thus the Executor is simply a normal star destroyer, but at a much larger scale. Therefore it is safe to assume that the ship is not meant to battle other ships of her size, if they exist.

Some have put out the idea that the ship was built as a instrument of fear to cower entire planets in line. But this is just stupid. I mean why send just one massive ship into a star system when an entire fleet of dozens of kilometer and a half regular star destroyers could be built instead. And furthermore even if you assume that the ship was built to terrorize the galaxy she is ultimately just one ship. And there are many millions of worlds in the galaxy. You would never be able to put down every revolt. Meaning you would send regular star destroyers anyway.

But what if the Executor had another function? One that would justify the ships tremendous size? 

For starters the ship is plenty large enough to host a rather large army aboard. Perhaps she could be a planetary assault ship? But then if she was built for planetary invasion why does Darth Vader make her his flagship? And why is she commanding the Imperial fleet at the battle of Endor if her holds are loaded with troops?

Then some think she might be a carrier intended for fleet defense. And that makes a certain amount of sense. Until you consider that you never see the numbers of fighter around the ship that would justify it. She should be able to carry several thousand TIE fighters, but when you consider that a normal star destroyer already carries seventy fighter, more than enough to cover itself and a fair sizedsquadron it begins to loose credibility.

And that is pretty much it for the ship. She is not meant as an instrument of fear (Any more than any other warship) nor is she meant as a planetary assault ship. Ditto for being a carrier. But then why build the ship? Well the simple answer is that George Lucas wanted Darth Vader to have a distinctive ship for the Empire Strikes Back, and wanted it to be more terrifying than any ship shown before. But what about the in universe explanation?  Well I think I have an idea for that. And it involves communications. 

You see in Star Wars there exists a think called the halo net which acts like the internet in our world. You repeatedly see characters use small handheld devices to speak to others on distant planets. You see it most notably in the Empire Strikes Back, phantom menace, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. In order to communicate over such distances there exist Hyperspace relay stations which take signals and beam them through hyperspace to other stations. These stations form a vast network and allow near instantaneous communications through much of the core regions of the galaxy.

However the farther from the core you get the less dense the number of relay stations. And less and less systems are tied to the galactic communications network. Imperial garrisons become more and more isolated from eachother. Unable to call for help in the event of a mass uprising. And it becomes more difficult for the empire to govern as there developed a lag in communication. This is especially true of systems like Tatoonine which appears largely free of any sort of Imperial occupation force.

The amount of hyper relays you would need to build to connect the whole galaxy would be to expensive for even the empire. So what is to  be done? Well what if the Executors are built so massive because they hold a full size hyper relay to allow someone like a Grand Admiral to communicate with the rest of the galaxy? The executor of course!

Think about it for a minute. With a ship that size fitting a few reactors and power feeds should still leave plenty of room for a huge crew and massive amounts of starfighters. Plus in the movies there is plenty of evidence for this. When the Imperial fleet is chasing the Millennium falcon through the Hoth system asteroid belt the ship must leave the belt in order to get a clear transmission. We know for a fact that Hoth is really isolated (Hence no hyper relay stations) and that the Emperor rarely leaves Corusant, meaning that is probably where he is.

The ship then leaves the belt and Darth Vader has a chat with his master before the ship departs for Bespin with the rest of the fleet. In no other scene do you see something like this happen (Though in the phantom menace transmissions are recieved from Naboo, meaning some hyper relay must be in the system) meaning the ship must have a hyper relay.

A truly unfortunate name. The story of the Porters

David Dixon Porter was an American naval officer serving on the side of Union forces during the American civil war. Before that his father, also David Porter, had been an officer in the navy during the war of 1812. The US navy in its wisdom decided to honor these two distinguished members of their ranks with the naming of a brand new torpedo boat after them.

The USS David Porter, Torpedo Boat Number 6, was completed in 1896, and five years later was commissioned into the United States navy. She was small and poorly armed. Carrying only a few torpedoes. It was with one of these weapons that the Porter almost sank the Armored Cruiser New York while on  routine harbor duty.

Fortunately the torpedo missed the New York and instead ran out of power and sank. The ships captain was severely reprimanded for his efforts, but beyond that nothing else came of it. Future ships named Porter would consider her career quite lucky in comparison to theirs.

The second ship to be named USS David porter (DD59) was a ship of the Tucker class. Commissioned in 1916 she saw some service during the great war but was scrapped soon afterwards in compliance with the 1921 Washington Naval Treaty. By far she was the luckiest of the bunch.

The Third Porter (DD 356) was where things really got going. She was a flotilla leader of the Porter class. She was more a light cruiser than a destroyer with her eight five inch guns in four twin turrets. She was one of seven ships in her class. Seven of them would survive the war.

Upon the outbreak of war the Porter was stationed in Pearl Harbor Hawaii. However when the Japanese attacked she was at sea with the carrier fleet (The Japanese target) and so escaped damage or loss (A rare streak of luck) 

After the attack she was deployed with the ships of Task Force 16 after serving some months in convoy duty. It was with the task force that she fought in the battle of the Santa Cruz islands where she protected the carriers Enterprise and Hornet from waves of Japanese bombers.

When a Avenger torpedo bomber went down the Porter maneuvered to save the crew. Only for the torpedo from the downed aircraft to sink the ship. The survivors were rescued by the USS Shaw, a survivor of Pearl Harbor.

After the heroic loss of the ship the USN commissioned a brand new ship of the Fletcher class to serve as the next Porter. The DD 579 was commissioned in 1942 and immediately got herself into trouble when while on maneuvers with the home fleet she accidentally fired a torpedo spread at the battleship USS Iowa. A ship which at that moment was carrying President Roosevelt, the secretary of state, and many of the top military leaders of the US armed forces. The Iowa saw the torpedoes coming and avoided them, saving the lives of many people.

Porter was ordered to the docks where her entire crew was arrested and interrogated as part of an investigation to see whether or not the torpedo launch was an accident, or an assassination attempt. The investigators found nothing and the Porter, minus her captain, was sent to Alaska to assist in the repulsion of the Japanese invasion force, and lay low for a little bit. While on station the Porter gave fire support to ground forces, using her guns to hit Japanese positions inland.

During one such exercise the ship got her directions mixed up and wound up firing at the army command center and setting it on fire. The smoke had not yet cleared by the time the Porter received orders to  head to the Philippines.

It was during heavy fighting around the island of Okinawa that the Porter would see her last action. The ship was serving as an anti-aircraft battery shooting down waves of Japanese Kamikaze planes attempting to disrupt the US marine landings. 

A Kate Torpedo bomber made a run for the Porter, only for accurate fire from the ship to bring the plane down. However the Kate continued on its trajectory for the ship, now more torpedo than missile, and impacted against the ships hull. Tearing a great gash in the side of the ship and causing her to sink. 

The US would commission yet another Porter, also of the Fletcher class. The DD 800 saw limited service during the war before she was placed into mothballs. She was brought out of retirement briefly during the Korean war where she was used for AA duties. And then back into storage she went until she was scrapped in 1974. Out of 30 years the ship would spend only four in active service as a ship of the US navy.

The fifth and most recent ship to be named Porter is the DDG 78, a ship of the Arleigh Burke class she is most well known for colliding with the Japanese merchant ship the Otowasan in 2012. The accident left the ship with a new captain and large sent in her hull. She is still in service and heaven help those who

Following the end of the first world war large numbers of Australian and British veterans moved to western Australia and took up farming in isolated communities inland from the large cities.

When the price of wheat rose rapidly during the late twenties many of these farmers began to increase the amount of the grain they planted. With the onset of the great depression in 1929 many of the farmers were then promised heavy government subsidies if they continued to grow wheat. And so for the next few years the farmers planted, farmed and harvested wheat which no one bought and with no government money to show for their efforts.

You may be asking where the Emu come into our little story. In fact some of you may be wondering just what an Emu is. Well I can tell you both. The Emu is a large flightless bird native to Australia. These birds migrate inland from the coast for breeding season during the summer. Just when the wheat crop is ready to be harvested.

Well in 1932 over twenty thousand of these birds made the journey. And right smack dab in the middle of their path was the lush fields of wheat planted and all ready to be harvested by the farmers.

The Emu being birds and not people they did the inconsiderate thing and trampled all over the farmers crops. The farmers were understandably incensed at the behavior of the birds and demanded that the government take some action to solve the problem. A few men even went to the territorial governor and asked that machine guns be put at their disposal to fight the birds. The governor, knowing the effectiveness of machine guns in the first world war agreed and several thousand rounds of ammunition and a few lewis machine guns were put at the disposal of the ex soldiers.

What then followed was a month of utter hilarity in which several men were wounded due to friendly fire, tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition were expended across most of western Australia. And not a single Emu was confirmed killed. Thats right your ears did not deceive you, not one of the big birds was killed despite major effort on the part of hundreds of men.

Starting in the fifties the United States and the Soviet Union became involved in a great race to land the first man on the moon. The two great superpowers both committed vast sums of money on their programs, huge efforts, and the pride of their nation were similarly devoted to the race. When the United States won the race with Apollo eleven no one thought it would be the end. Surely a new race would begin to settle the moon. Or perhaps the next race would be one for the first manned mission to mars? No one thought that Apollo was the end of the race. Not when the government and science fiction authors had spent a decade or more telling how the solar system would soon be opened up to mankind.

      

Yet that is what happened. Following the end of Apollo NASA`s budget was cut and all realistic thought of further manned exploration ceased as the space race rapidly wound down. Having accomplished their aim of putting a man on the moon the USA did not want to put further money into the project. And the Soviet Union, humiliated by their inability to win the race to the moon were not at all keen at the idea of kicking of yet another costly race to put men temporarily onto another world. Not when the same funds could be put into the production of tanks, airplanes, submarines and ICBMs.

Since then space agencies have turned their efforts elsewhere. Now the only manned missions to space are near orbital missions to space stations such as the International Space Station. And the only way scientists explore the solar system is through the use of unmanned probes. While no doubt these missions have greatly expanded our knowledge of space they do lack the appeal of manned missions. 

But why in the forty or so years since the end of the space race has no further missions such as Apollo been launched? Well a simple answer is cost. It is incredibly expensive to send something as heavy as a manned spacecraft into orbit. Several thousand dollars per kilo. Thus for any further progress to be made in space we need to bring the cost down significantly. And that I believe is how the next space race will develop. 

In the following posts I intend to write a history of the future of space travel. Starting with the race to establish cheap earth to orbit vehicles. 

Sail sighted.

"sail sighted off the port bow!"

"sail off the port bow!"

"Mister Roberts?"

"Yes captain?"

"Do you have an identity for the sail?'

"Mister Biggs says it is definitely a ship, but that's all that he can make out at this distance."

"Does she have much of a press of canvas?"

"Only rigged for light airs sir. Nothing more, looks like she is in no hurry."

"To which direction is she headed mister Roberts?"

"To the east sir. To the east."

"Mister Roberts I am coming up!"

"Are you sure that is wise sir?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing sir! I was only curious if the crows nest was the place a captain would be most needed."

"You let me worry about where I shall be of the most use. You content yourself with doing your job."
"Yes captain."

"Mister Roberts?"

"Yes captain?"

"Move out of the way please."

"Right away sir!"

>>>

"Mister Biggs?"

"Yes Cap`tn?''

"Use my glass and tell me what you can make out of the sail."

"oh no sir! I could not use such a fine glass as yours sir!"

"Come now mister Biggs your eyes are very much superior to my own. As is my glass superior to yours. By mating them together I feel we shall greatly increase the clarity with which you can determine the identity of the ship."

"Yes sir."

"Come now mister Biggs you are not required to treat my glass as a sacred object!"

"Yes sir!"

>>>

"What do you see mister Biggs? Can you determine the ships identity?"

"Mister Biggs the captain had asked you a question and it will not do for you to leave him unanswered"

"Nosir it would not."

"Well then are you going to answer the captain?"

"I am sir."

"Then do it for all love!"
"I can make out the ship sir. She looks to be only a small trader. Most likely one of ours rather than a Frenchman. Riding low in the water she is to."

"And she is heading to the east?"

"Yes captain that she is."

"Well then nothing we can do but move on then is there. Hope for richer pickings on our next stop."

"Yes sir!"

"Carry on then the both of you."

"Yes sir!" 

Alternate battle of Waterloo

Waterloo. Alternate outcome.

Following the August 11th 1814 treaty of Fontainebleau Napoleon abdicated the French throne and was exiled to Elba. The former French emperor did not stay on the tiny island forever though and on February 26th 1815 managed to escape and return to France.
Following his return to Paris Napoleon proclaimed himself as Emperor once more and hastily prepared and army of men to fight for his throne. He sent this army, under his personal command of course, to the Dutch occupied country of Belgium with the intent of defeating any force sent against him.
In OTL the following battle of Waterloo ended in a crushing defeat for Napoleon, and his final abdication of the French throne. Following the battle he was captured and sent off to the small island of Saint Helena.
But what if that was not the case? What if instead of suffering a massive defeat at Waterloo Napoleon manages to win the battle and smash the armies arrayed against him? Here is one possible scenario.

Ligny, 16th of June 1815.

In our time line this was the last battle which Napoleon won before Waterloo. And in this version of events it is the same. Napoleon manages to smash the Prussian army in the battle and send them packing to the British army.

The key difference in this time line however is the death of the Prussian general Blucher (He nearly died in our time line when his horse was shot and fell on him) during the height of the battle. With no leader the Prussian army collapses and retreats in disarray towards General Wellington and his ninety thousand Anglo-Dutch troops.

The defeat at Ligny makes Wellingtons position at Quatre Bras untenable and he chooses to move to a pre scouted position overlooking the town of Waterloo, the gateway to Brussels. Meanwhile Napoleon dispatches Field Marshal Ney to defeat what is left of the Prussian army, which he does in a brief but vicious battle. This means that unlike our time line Wellington does not receive a steady stream of fresh Prussian troops to replace lost or tired units.

On the 18th of June Napoleon engages wellington in a series of brutal forward attacks which significantly weaken the Anglo-Dutch armies center. Only the fall of night saves them from defeat and allows them to redeploy troops from the flanks to fill in the gaps.

The next morning sees Napoleon make the first of six charges into the re-enforced Anglo-Dutch line. Wellingtons army manages to survive five of the attacks an inflict heavy losses on the French. But on the sixth charge the French break through and overwhelm the exhausted English center. 

Wellington attempts to organize a counter attack to shore up his position and re-establish the center, but a cannon fires a ball which kills him.

With no leader the center of the army collapses quickly and is split into two separate parts with the French in the middle. Here Napoleon sends in what little reserves he has left to break the flanks of the Anglo-Dutch army. By the end of the day this is accomplished and Waterloo is in Napoleons hands.

In total over thirty thousand English and Dutch troops are killed. fifty thousand Prussians are killed, and the French loose over forty thousand men.

Aftermath.

Following the battle the leaders of Europe are stunned. Two of the finest Generals they had are dead. Most of the Prussian army in annihilated, and the French appear to be stronger than ever. Napoleon is once again Emperor of the French and holds southern Belgium. He appears to be on the cusp of waging another massive invasion of Europe and plunging the continent into another period of brutal warfare.

However that does not happen. Rather Napoleon sends ambassadors to Britain, Prussia, Austria and Russia with a request of peace. This unexpected move on the emperors part (Napoleon was a warmonger at heart)  confuses the Allies so much that they pause and choose to listen to any peace deals Napoleon might offer.

Eventually the treaty of Amsterdam is signed which gives France all of the French speaking portions of Belgium and recognizes Napoleon Bonaparte as Emperor of France. Peace finally settles on Europe and everyone breaths a sigh of relief, even if confusion still reigns as to why Napoleon had offered peace in the first place.

What no one outside of France will know for quite some time though is that Napoleon is no longer the sole ruler of France. Following the victory at Waterloo a number of prominent army officials step forward and force Napoleon to give some of his power to a democratically elected Assembly which will elect a President to co-rule the empire. Napoleon does not like it, but with the only alternative being another exile he accepts and signs the French Constitution.

Meanwhile abroad the British decide to maintain a close eye on the French by supporting the Dutch and Prussians. Prussia remains a major power on the continent while the Dutch become a naval power once again. This is done in the hopes that if Napoleon should wish to declare war once more he would fight only the Prusso-Dutch and not the British, leaving them free to run the largest empire in world history.

France remains a European power, who`s only foreign ally is the United States, Many of the colonies claimed by France in the late nineteenth century are claimed by either the Dutch, or the British and a series of wars break out in the 1860`s and 80`s between the Anglo-Dutch, Prussian alliance and the Franco-Americans when the US splits into two nations following a rebellion over states rights (OTL Civil war only with less emphasis on slavery).

Stranger people of History. Bazooka Charlie.

The second world war is filled with interesting characters from Winston Churchill to cocaine addict Herman Goering, who led Germanies air force in the war. But all of these people, Churchill especially, pale in comparison to major Charles Carpenter. A man known to history as Bazooka Charlie.
The good major was a pilot attached to the first bombardment division of the United States Army. He was not a combat pilot who flew missions in iconic aircraft like P-51 Mustang fighters or B-17 flying fortresses. Rather Charlie flew a l-4 Grasshopper observation plane named Rosie the Rocketeer. That may sound like a weird name for and airplane that has no armament, but we will get to that later in the story.
Now Charlies job was to act as an airborne artillery observer. Basically he flew around and watched were artillery shells landed and reported it to the gunners for correction. Overall not the most exiting job to have during the biggest armed conflict in human history.
However Charlie did not let that stop him. One day he realized that during his flying he saw quite a number of German tanks, tanks he could not kill because he had no guns on his plane. He had an idea however and with the help of an ordinance technician he fitted six Bazooka rocket launchers on his planes wings (Hence the name).
Well from then on whenever Charlie saw anything moving he shot at it. Proved to be a good shot to. At the end of the war he could claim several armored cars destroyed, a number of regular trucks. And six tanks, two of which were Tiger tanks.
Bazooka Charlie did not limit his "heroics" to the air however and during a German attack commandeered a M-4 Sherman tank and went at them. He shot at several enemy tanks and soldiers, but the highlight of the battle was when he fired on a friendly Sherman tank equipped with a bulldozer blade. Fortunately for everyone the tank was not destroyed and only lost its blade.
When the battle was over Charlie was arrested and threatened with a court-martial for not only shooting at a friendly tank, but stealing a tank to shoot with in the first place.
The court-martial did not stick however as he was the personal pilot of the commander of the 4th armored division and a favorite of US General Patton. Instead he was given a medal and promoted to colonel. His medals were the Bronze star and Airmedal with oak cluster.
Well when the war ended Charlie was kicked out of the army and went home back in the states. He got a job which required him to ride a train from one side of town to the other. On his way home everyday he would throw his bag out the window just before the train reached the station. After a while of this going on someone finally found the nerve to ask him why he did it. He said "Well my house is just over there and I don't want to carry my bag".