: >Interesting to note that none of the US BBs were sunk by the bombs.

: Also Prinz Eugen sustained very little damage. German ships were
: like today's Mercedes cars: ugly but tough :-)

      Erh, maybe my taste is a little off but I thought the German cruisers
      were really good looking ships. The Prinz Eugen looked like a smaller
      version of the Bismarck with sleek lines and a wonderful angled bow.

I believe the Ganguts were the ugliest ships ever built...

German: "Efficient-looking". Neither ugly nor particularly stylish.
Businesslike appearance matched by functional utility. Like M-B
cars.

Italian: Like their sports cars, ships are sleek and fast, but
fragile.

Japanese: Often weird-looking, yet they worked.

a) 1 Iwo Jima class LPH (now decommissioned)
  airwing of:
   6 AH1 Cobra
   6 asw helo of your choice, dipping sonar prefered
   2 utility helo of your choice
   ? assault helo/troop carriers

b) 2 Charles F. Adams Class DDG (now decommissioned)
OR 2 Kidd Class DDG (if you can pry them from the USN) better choice !

c) 6 FFG-7
   w/ 2 asw helo of choice
   you don't need the towed sonar but the Sams could be handy :)

d) 4 SS
   the UK Oberon class may be the best SS avalable.
   Kilo's might be ok but think of spares and longevity. :)

e) 3 large FAC, as flotilla leaders
   i don't have a preference, something around 600 to 1000 tons
   isreali Saar V class ? the helo is nice for scouting.

f) 9 FAC, armed w/ Harpoons
   really have no particular class of ship in mind here,
   just need to be fast AND reliable !

g) 5 mine hunters/sweeps,
   check out the UK (can't think of the class name)

Naval Air:

h) 1 VP sqn. w/ 6 P-3c or Atlantic II or Nimrod
   for ocean patrol,ASW,EW

i) 1 Attack Helo sqn w/ 6 AH-1

j) 2 ASW helo sqn. w/ 12 (i like the) SH-60

just my theory :)

: with my choices i have tried to stick to ships recently decommissioned and
: should be in  good repair.

The problem is that the USN likes to demilitarize ships when striking
them, so they usually aren't serviceable.

: a) 1 Iwo Jima class LPH (now decommissioned)

Of the decommissioned ships, 3 have been demilitarized and are
useless, the other is going to the US Army.  The remaining ships
will be in service for a few more years.

: b) 2 Charles F. Adams Class DDG (now decommissioned)

All stripped, most sold for scrap.  None serviceable.

: OR 2 Kidd Class DDG (if you can pry them from the USN) better choice !

I somehow doubt the Navy would give these up.

Well yes, it is more complicated.  The present government got in on a
platform which included nixing large military "boondoggles" (like replacing
the 30 year old naval helicopter fleet).  They also caused no end of trouble
when the previous gov't floated a "trial balloon" about buying a nuke or 2
"to protect Canadian sovereignty in the far north" about 7? years ago or so.

It's a little hard now to go to out and buy necessary hardware as it makes
them look like fools...better to let a few helicopter pilots die and let
the USN patrol the Arctic, right?

Lastly, the submarine force is in the news now in a rather negative light:  
a skipper is being court martialed for, among other things, inserting a
cigar up a Royal Navy (UK) officer's ass who was sleeping things off
in the wardroom after a particularly drunken party on board. Apparently
the captain treated his crew about the same for 2 years that we know about.  
This doesn't help really even though it ought to be side issue, of course.

Hope this helps...

John Garland
jgarl...@kean.ucs.mun.ca