WW2 Nimitz post "The Final Countdown"

[Joe C-P]

If you haven't seen it, the movie has USS Nimitz end up off Hawaii on December 7, a few things happen but no history changes, then she comes back to her present.
What if she didn't?  I'm thinking a year on, most of the jets and helos have to be scavenged to keep a few going, the modern guided weapons are used up.
Plot point #1 - no nuclear weapons aboard, because that would end the war in scant months.

Decision #1 - new name.  Can't have her named after a not-yet-famous admiral, so thinking possibly taking the name "Arizona" or "Pearl Harbor" as a rallying cry.  Any other ideas?

Plot point #2 - aviation fuel.  How long would it take to duplicate with 1940s tech?
Plot point #3 - one ship can't end the war, even if they manage to sink the Pearl Harbor carriers and most escorts.  Philippines, Wake Island, Formosa, Malasia - where is Japan halted?

Such a simple idea brings on so many questions!

[Old Wombat]

P.1: Hmm, OK, I guess ... Maybe ... However, the use of nukes to halt the Asia-Pacific war before it got fully under weigh, before the extreme hate for Japan kicked in*, could see an interesting post-war change & a much faster resolution to the Euro-African theatres. Russia was still on the retreat, while the British were just about to turn the tide in Africa. Australian forces wouldn't have been pulled out of Africa, Singapore wouldn't have sucked tens of thousands of Commonwealth troops into the meat-grinder of Japanese PoW camps. The US would not have needed to use as many troops in the Asia-Pacific region & had more (including Marines) to send to Africa & Europe

D.1: A new name is going to be difficult, especially if you don't want the 1941/2 Americans to know her "real" name. Almost everything on the ship carries her name from the ship, herself, to the aircraft, to various plaques throughout & all of her official documents.

P.2: Jets use high-grade kerosene, kerosene was common in the 1940's, purifying it would be the most difficult bit.

P.3: The Japanese military was halted at two places for several reasons. Primarily New Guinea, along the Kokoda Track, & Guadalcanal. These two battles sucked in more troops than the Japanese military could afford &, due to the naval losses in the Coral Sea & at Midway, were pushed to the absolute limit to support.

The quality of munitions is going to be your biggest issue. Even the 20mm shells used in the M61 Vulcan cannon are far superior to anything made during WW2, requiring much finer tolerances & better quality materials.



[*: Yes, Japan had angered the US with its "unprovoked" & "undeclared" attack but very few Europeans had been subjected to Japanese atrocities & the very real hate that that generated had not grown into being.]

[Joe C-P]

I came up with the right name - Reprisal.  Former US ship, was going to be CV-35, and the word has the appropriate connotation without recalling the attack specifically.
Yes, renaming a ship isn't quite so simple as repainting her stern, but I'm not actually doing all that paperwork, I'm just building a model.   

Good point about the ammunition.  The F-14s won't have much to shoot after the first few battles, while the A-6s and A-7s can be adapted to carry WW2 iron bombs, even the S-3s.  Can they fly slow enough to launch WW2 era torpedos?

I'm thinking she sinks the Pearl Harbor attack carriers plus some of their escorts and the picket submarines, then meets up with a group of cruisers and destroyers to go rescue Wake Island, to be followed by the slower transports and BBs, then on to the Philippines to reduce the invasion fleet there.  Thus Japan is slowed, stopped earlier in their advance with the loss of many of their carriers.  There are still plenty of land-based air units, though, so Japan can dig in and consolidate their advances, while Nimitz/Reprisal will run out of 1980's weaponry and her aircraft will run out of spare parts and fuel.

Maybe I'm overthinking the back story.    Just say "Nimitz never went back to 1980, had to adapt to 1940s tech, check out my model."

[tigercat]

They'll need to retrofit 1940s AA at some point once ammo runs low

[Old Wombat]

You could also run a serious number of WW2 aircraft from her decks, too. Possibly/Probably more than any two of the later Essex class carriers (which weren't in existence in 1941/2).

Making her a carrier task group in a single ship.

[tigercat]

Think if the size of the Doolittle raid that would be possible

[PR19_Kit]

Think if the size of the Doolittle raid that would be possible

They could probably fly B-29s off there, let alone B-25s! 

[Old Wombat]

Think if the size of the Doolittle raid that would be possible

They could probably fly B-29s off there, let alone B-25s! 

Fully laden & be able to take them back on, too ... Well, the B-25's, anyway.

[NARSES2]

Making her a carrier task group in a single ship.

But if she gets sunk ? Most of your air support is gone with the loss of one ship.

They'll need to retrofit 1940s AA at some point once ammo runs low

Could her 1980's era radar and ranging technology be adapted to the 40's era guns ?

[Old Wombat]

Making her a carrier task group in a single ship.

But if she gets sunk ? Most of your air support is gone with the loss of one ship.

Yes, but her radar guided AAA & her ASW assets would make mincemeat of anything that came close enough to launch/fire a torpedo or drop a bomb.

[PR19_Kit]

Not to mention the CAP of 2-3 squadrons worth of F-14s up there!

[tigercat]

How many aircraft is her defenses  optimised to fight ?

I read a what if book where the Argentines overwhelmed the Falklands task force  with Vought Corsairs partly due to fact modern airforces haven't got resources for double to triple figure numbers of attacking aircraft  and therefore  couldn't handle the numbers

Always wondered if it was complete rubbish or contained an element of truth .

[buzzbomb]

What if she didn't?  I'm thinking a year on, most of the jets and helos have to be scavenged to keep a few going, the modern guided weapons are used up.

Such a simple idea brings on so many questions!

The Novel Series Axis of Time by John Birmingham https://www.goodreads.com/series/40839-axis-of-time
provides a very good starting point to see one take of all those sort of questions. Although in this book series several ships are transported back.

There is a good example of what happens when a modern ship exhausts all its munitions it can still be very effectively used as a Command and Control complex due to it's extensive Sensor systems.
What happens to the carrier in the books series would exactly map what would happen to the Nimitz post Final Countdown for my couple of cents worth.

[zenrat]

Apart from everything else any helicopters onboard are going to be very interesting to 1941 aeronautical engineers.  A big leap forward in rotorcraft technology.

Would the Nimitz crew place themselves completely under 1941 UN Navy command? 
Would (presumably) Admiral Halsey not want someone he knew and trusted in command of this new wonder weapon?

[Joe C-P]

One of the biggest issues is maintaining the modern aircraft.  Parts would not be readily available, so after a few weeks action cannabilization would have to start.
Also, the stock of smart/guided weapons is fixed, so after sinking the Pearl Harbor attack fleet, I see her sailing with Enterprise and a cruiser/destroyer escort to relieve Wake and Guam, maybe the Philippines, sinking more IJN ships, but then the modern weapons and the jet fuel run out.

F-14s, as Old Wombat pointed out, need 1980s shells, and once the Phoenix, Sparrows, and Sidewinders are used their best use is command and control with their advanced radar.  I think I may leave them off, since they are high maintenance, could work as land-based long-range patrol.
A-7s have older 20mm guns so they can function as fighter/bombers.
A-6s of multiple types share some common parts.  EA-6s' electronics don't have much use, I believe they can carry bombs in place of the EW pods.
E-2s are invaluable!
SH-3s could be replaced by floatplanes for plane guard and SAR.
S-3s would run out of torps but can also carry bombs and depth charges.
RF-8s - aboard or on land?

I'm wondering if the Nimitz catapults and arrestor wires can be adjusted for WW2 planes?  Given the E-2s and C-2s I expect so.
Some aviation fuel tanks will have to be used for WW2 high octane fuel.
Lots of Wildcats, Avengers, maybe B-25/PBJs, and Kingfishers.

Definitely going to add sponsons with 5" and 40mm!  The BPDMS will run out of Sea Sparrows eventually.