HMLS Valondambo (BB-1907)

Lemurian Navy Page

The Royal Navy King Edward the 7th class battleships were also rated as semi-dreadnoughts due to the secondary 9.2" guns that were fitted in turrets at the corners of the superstructure citadel. This gave the ships of the class 12", 9.2" and 6" guns whose splashes at long ranges could be mistaken for each other. A nightmare for the rangefinders and directors. The Dreadnought was started after this class was laid down and completed before the last of this class was finished. At one stroke eight brand new battleships were obsolete. The Lemurian Navy had, as usual, received the plans for the K.E. VII class with the usual demand "Build as many as possible".

The Lemurian designers did not like the design and figured they could do better. They had the single 12" turrets designed for the Matsiatra class coast defence ships. Fitted with the same 12" as the main twin turrets, they would replace the single 9.2". While this design could be classed as an 'all big gun' battleship, the Dreadnought was completed a year or so before the Valondambo. It would be another five years before Lemuria's first Dreadnought joined the fleet. Going from the 12" to 6" secondary guns, the spotters had no problem with differentiating the fall of shot between the guns. This was made easier in 1912-13 when a simple director was fitted on the bridge for the 12" which was followed with another director on the afterbridge for the 6", but could also be use for the 12" if the one on the bridge had been knocked out. By the end of the war two 3" AA had been added.

So I now have two pre-Dreadnought battleships with a reasonable armament that are definitely going to be obsolete at the end of World War One. The normal progress would be as training ships for a few years then a transformation to Area Defence Vessels. That would give Lemuria four single 12" in turrets and two twin 12" turrets. If they could source another two twin 12" (from other Commonwealth navies) they could produce another battlecruiser as an improved Andriananjavonana class ship. The four single 12" I am undecided on. I could do two monitors with a 12" fore and aft, or else just put them into coast defence shore positions around the Palk Straight. Still, I like to design ships so I feel another couple of drawings might appear in the future.



Through all of the Commonwealth countries, there must be at least a dozen Area Defence Vessels to use around the world. I have been looking at maps as to where these valuable ships might be placed. Not only having their own aircraft for local defence they were also base ships for the big flying boats that would do the long range observation and ASW tasks. Lets see places I can find for Lemuria's pair. One of the earliest destinations is the Cocos - Keeling Islands which helps guard the entrances into the Indian Ocean from Asia. The other major placement area, early in the war, is St Paul Island which sits on the Perth to South Africa trade route. A major part of the route from Australia to Europe via the west coast of Africa.



The Andriama was ordered to Saint Paul on the outbreak of war. The thinking was that Australia would send troops to Europe and North Africa via the trade route that passed by Saint Paul. With aircraft out of Perth and from Durban, the Andriama was used to fill the gap in between. Long ranged flying boats based on Saint Paul worked well in this. The Valondambo was used to escort Lemurian troops to North Africa, which took care of 1939 and a bit of 1940. The escort work continued with trips from Trincomalee to Singapore and Darwin, escorting convoys both ways. Being able to provide local air cover around the convoys was a great help. The Valondambo was always going to be sent to Cocos-Keeling if an Asian war broke out. The Valondambo took up its war station and initiated air coverage out to the passages through the Dutch East Indies keeping a watch for submarines and merchant raiders. 1st March 1942, Nagumo's carrier force bursts through the Sunda Strait and into the Indian Ocean. Darwin is hit hard with a lot of shipping losses. A dozen bombers with fighters turned up at the Cocos-Keeling Islands. Catching the Valondambo in harbour and sinking it.

January 1941, the raider Kormorant knew there was a depot ship based at St Paul as a base for the long range flying boats. The Kormorant's Kapitan decided he should be able to make a run at the depot ship from the south and be in position to make an overnight run into range of St Paul, arriving with the dawn. The Kapitan missed by five minutes. The way St Paul is configured, the big flying boats take off to the south and then turn east or west to their patrol areas. The Kormorant was spotted while still outside its weapons range. The Kapitan ordered his two Arado's to be put overboard so they could take off and help with the battle against the two Short Singapore flying boats that were now lining up to attack him. The Short Singapore's were armed with depth charges, which when set to minimum setting would blast the side of Kormorant in. The Kormorant's Arado's had taken off and were turning to intercept the Singapore's when the lookouts advised more aircraft were coming out from the island. Two Swordfish and a Fletcher Cormorant (Atlantean Floatplane type) which were the Island's dawn patrol, came into sight of the Kormorant. The Kormorant plowed on toward the island confident its aircraft could handle the Allied aircraft. The Kapitan really wanted to sink the depot ship and so take out the flying boat support, freeing the trade route for the Kormorant to attack the shipping going past. The Andriama had been caught on the hop. Its crew had been launching aircraft for the dawn patrol when the call came that the raider was getting very close. The Andriama went to red alert with all of the guns to be manned. The masthead lookout on the Kormorant gave a report that froze the Kapitan's blood. "Sir, there is capital ships fighting top in the harbour". As far as the Kapitan knew there was no major warships within a thousand kilometers of him. The Kormorant was just coming into the 15,000 yard range that his old 5.9" guns had. The Kapitan decided to open fire and see what happened. He had three 5.9" on each broadside and would zig zag closer so that both side could take turns at firing. Back to the air. If the two Arado's could win the air war then they would be able to spot for the Kormorant's guns. But it was five to two. Then the odds got worse as the last fighter launched by the Andriama came out to join the battle, a Blackburn Roc floatplane. The Arado commander decided it was the Singapore's that would be the greatest danger to his ship and they had to go. But the Singapore's proved to be tough adversaries with machine guns sprouting fore and aft, and the pilots knew how to fly so that they could cover each other. Both Singapore's are damaged and pull out of the fight, returning to the island. One Arado had been damaged but had to stay in the fight. The Cormorant and Roc now attacked the Arados, losing the Roc but shooting down both Arado's. The Swordfish now became the spotters to the Andriama's fall of shot. On the bridge of the Kormorant, all eyes went to the three great splashes, as large shells fell in line but just short of the ship. The Kapitan ordered 'open fire' but his director could not see a ship to fire on as the land curved around to conceal it. The Kormorant would have to alter course to the north east to open up the harbour to see the ship firing at it. Another set of splashes, this time even nearer, splinters hitting the ship and killing crew in exposed positions. The Kapitan had to make a quick decision, go on against an adversary that looked like it was superior to his ship or withdraw. Neither option was very palatable. Retreat would not help, the Kormorant would have aircraft following it everywhere it went. And when the superior ship came out and ran the Kormorant down, it would be sunk. No, the Kapitan decided it would be better to press on and catch the Allied ship in harbour where it would not be able to dodge the Kormorant's guns.

30 seconds later, the Kapitan's options were reduced to nothing. A 12" shell hit took away all options. Exploding in the engine room the Kormorant lost all power and came to a stop. The Kapitan bent over and kissed his arse goodbye. Thirty second later two more shell hits sealed the Kormorant's fate. One opened the side of the ship to the sea the other set off the aft 5.9" magazine, blasting the aft part of the ship apart. On receiving the results of those hits from the Swordfish, the Andriama ceased fire and sent its landing craft out to help the survivors.

The Andriama survived the war and returned to Lemuria. The nearly forty year old ship was had it. The crew was paid off and the ship sold to the breakers yard.
 

The Royal Navy King Edward VII class had the awkward 9.2" guns in the wing positions. The 12" Lemuria put there worked much better.

Lemurian Navy Page