"Ship cannot be identified as any legal type" error

[Jades]

Consider the Courageous class as well - Fisher called them 'Large Light Cruisers'.

He was attempting to con the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who had banned the construction of anything bigger than Light Cruiser in 1915.

[EvanJones]

It's that 8.5" belt that is doing you in. Go to 7.5 and it will classify as a CA.

However, what you say is also true: 8.5"armor DOES work for 17kt CAs. So it's not as simple as it seems.

[Jades]

We need to remember that the designation CA covers both Armoured Cruiser and Heavy Cruiser, the limitations on which change over time. I had a nasty shock on my Austria-Hungary save when a pair of my 8,600t Light Cruisers managed to intercept the Italian Heavy Cruiser Trento in 1962. My poor ships didn't last long, if I'd realised what it was earlier I would have had them run away at maximum revolutions!

CA_Trento_R1964.png (17.78 KiB) Viewed 72 times

Picture shows it after they rebuilt it in 1964. They laid it down in 1950, and commissioned it in 1957. 16 ten inch guns. 7" Belt Armour. Luckily they only have one of them.

My save's up to August 1973, the British have introduced their answer to that ship. Laid down January 1971, commissioned August 1973. They're building another two. Again, it has a 7" belt.

CA_Suffolk_1973.png (14.43 KiB) Viewed 72 times

I eventually managed to get the Auto Designer to generate a version of it and could bump the Belt up to 7.5" but for 8" and above it wanted to change it to a Battle Cruiser.

No such limitations for the Germans, however, who did somehow manage to build this with an 8" Belt. Laid down October 1961, Commissioned August 1964. Rebuilt April 1965.

CA_Hansa_R1965.png (18.16 KiB) Viewed 72 times

I suppose it's possible that the game is lying to me about that one, I think not everything our agents report about ships is correct?

I would love to build one of my own but I'm Austria-Hungary and I really need to build some more Carriers and Light Cruisers, when I'm not being ordered to build yet more Destroyers.

[WLRoo]

You are correct that there is a degree of inaccuracy in spies reports.

AFAIK, the only time you see reliable data on the enemy is when you check the ships involved in a combat.

P.S DDGs are your friend here.

[Jades]

P.S DDGs are your friend here.

Ah, so you've met my Comrade the Naval Secretary then? He likes them too!

AH_Navy_Feb75.png (36.05 KiB) Viewed 54 times

[Jades]

"What Destroyers doing?"

Last_CA.png (138.14 KiB) Viewed 47 times

I now have no Heavy Cruisers.

On the bright side, while checking what Italy is up to, I noticed that Trento was actually one of a class of three. My fleet had sunk the first one, San Giusto, and the Germans got the other one.

ITA_CA_San_Giusto.png (18.34 KiB) Viewed 47 times

Not indestructible then. It can't sink 40 Destroyers in one battle.

[Jades]

November 1977. Problem solved!

Trento_Scrapped.png (5.24 KiB) Viewed 43 times

I'll have a look through my other saves to see if there were any other large CAs built that were different from the ones I've posted already.