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.

[Kaepernick]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Long Island** Long Island-class Escort Carrier**

An escort carrier. I presume those are smaller.

Yeah, escort carriers were half the length and a third the weight (displacement) of the Essex and Independence class flattops.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by 505 Chief

Ready to die fighting, sir!

You get a big ship with big guns, named after a big state.

Nevada** Nevada-class Battleship**

[ShortRoundChief]

I'm throwing my draft card at you right now.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by GloryDayz

OK Mr. Detailer.... I'll extend, but only for another tour as the weaps on the billy boat...

You get to see the fish from underneath.

Gurnard** Gato-class Submarine**

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by alanm

OK Kevin. But first shouldn't you get me out of the Army Air Corps. I've been a Captain on a lost B-17 for most of the war so far.

You'll find your way eventually.


Here's an interesting one for you. You'll have to research this.

Sanborn** Haskell-class Attack Transport**

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by NJChiefsFan

I'm ready to fight some of them Germans, sir.

The only Navy cruiser that served fried ravioli.

St. Louis** Saint Louis-class Light Cruiser**

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by trndobrd

If joining the Navy will get out of this German POW camp. Let's do it.

You're still in the camp, but you're dreaming of life aboard ship.

Pensacola** Pensacola-class Heavy Cruiser**

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Kaepernick

Ensign Pulver requesting permission to board, Sir!

Now what the hell is this about no movie tonight?

Maybe you would have gotten a USO concert from Springsteen's grandfather.

New Jersey** Iowa-class Battleship**

[Chiefs4TheWin]

I'm in! Lemme know!

Edit: messed up the theme!

Reporting for duty sir!

[Kaepernick]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

What's the difference between the classes? I've seen at least three different classes.

North Carolina Class -- 3500 Tons, 2 were built, 12 each 14" guns

South Dakota Class -- 35,000 Tons, 4 were built, 9 each 16" guns

Iowa Class -- 45,000 Tons, 6 were built, 9 each 16" guns

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Kaepernick

I take it none of us will pull submarine duty? I was hoping I might have torpedoed a few thousand tons of Jap scrap metal.

I am guessing this is surface ships only, not the Silent Service.


I am guessing no Patrol Torpedo boats either. We are not expendable. Warships only?

We have tons of submarines in the pool, but since they had small crews they're less likely to get drawn relative to the massive surface ships. One of my learnings from this exercise is just how big those ships were.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Kaepernick

I'm not entirely sure how many Nazis the US Navy killed. My recollection is that the British Navy had things pretty well tied up in the Atlantic and Mediterranean while almost all US ships operated in the Pacific Theater of war.

Did a US naval vessel ever tangle with the Germans or Italians?

I think there were some, but they were generally taking out U-boats and not surface combatants. Someone earlier in the thread was on a ship that sank a German ship and a Japanese ship, which I bet was really unusual.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Dartgod

Hook me up.

Monterey** Independence-class Light Carrier**

You got one of the storm ships. Take your dramamine.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by J Diddy

I'm throwing my draft card at you right now.

Louisville** Northampton-class Heavy Cruiser**

You got a real slugger of a ship.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Chiefs4TheWin

I'm in! Lemme know!

Hornet (Essex-class)** Essex-class Aircraft Carrier**

Just to clarify, you got the second Hornet, not the one in the Doolittle raid.