Quote:
Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b
I would guess a mix -- near shore, with all the bays and inlets and such, a brown water navy would be appropriate. But from what I've seen on Discovery Channel, Science Channel, Smithsonian Channel, etc, the rest of the Great Lakes are more like a small ocean in currents, water conditions, and especially, weather. That's where larger ships would be best. (I don't think they'd put a carrier on the Great Lakes, though -- you couldn't get them there in the first place, and at least early in the war, aircraft from shore bases could probably respond faster. Well, maybe a small destroyer or frigate with a helicopter deck...)
I haven't been to the Great Lakes since I was a baby, so those who live there, please comment?
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I have sailed Lake Erie REGULARLY since I was 14. I have sailed ALL of the Great Lakes at least once. They are like inland seas with both tides and currents. In fact, during the Battle of Lake Erie (the War of 1812), the Brigg Niagra could only cross the sandbar to Presque Isle Bay at high tide in the morning and evening. Lake Superior is SO DEEP that the lake's temp rarely exceeds 60 degrees in late August and 50 degrees is more common. These cold lake temps are due to her latitude and her depth (1,330ft). It is the reason it is said that "Gittchi Goommie (Indian phonetic pronunciation) never gives up her dead." The rivers also create currents that run through the lakes. You will encounter 4 to 6 knot currents in various places on the great lakes. The most common locations being on the Niagra River near NY and Ontario heading towards the falls, the ST. Clair River from Lake Huron to Lake ST. Clair and in the ST. Lawrence Seaway proper.
Lake Erie is the shallowest lake (210ft at its deepest) and Lake Superior is the deepest lake (1,330ft at its deepest). Truly large ocean-going ships need to stick to established channels to avoid groundings. The area of Lake ST. Claire is the shallowest portion (with an 8.2m channel) with most of this VERY LARGE lake being only about 10 feet deep. Lake Superior is the easiest to navigate with an AVERAGE DEPTH of 210ft.
The real limiter would be the Drafts of the locks and channels. A Perry Class Frigate has a draft of 6.7m (21.8ft) and could sail in the locks/canals. A Burke Class Destroyer (draft of 9.3m/30.3ft) would ground and so would a Tico Class Cruiser (draft of 10.2m/33.2ft). It should be noted that this is the reason the Navy deployed the Cyclone Class PCs to The Gulf. There were MANY locations were US Navy ships COULD NOT SAIL in The Gulf. The PCs (with their 2.3m/7.5ft drafts) can go places no other US ship (including the Perrys) could go.
The biggest ports are Cleveland OH, Chicago ILL, and Duluth MN. Both Cleveland and Chicago receive both bulk cargo AND containers. Duluth receives mostly bulk cargo. There are also LARGE railheads in Chicago that can be used to move cargo inland. Cleveland, Erie, and Buffalo all have a few (2 to 4) rail lines which service their ports. Duluth has a railhead as well but it is mostly dedicated to bulk hauling (complete with a car dumper right at the port. Duluth is HUGE. I recommend YouTubing or Googling the port so you can see just how big it is. Chicago is undoubtedly the busiest port for all cargo types though. This port handles not only foreign cargo but also low-priority domestic cargos heading to the Eastern Seaboard from the heartland. It IS cheaper to ship items on a freighter than to send them by rail (or truck)... IF there is no deadline for delivery. Steel, flour, grain, and low-cost domestic goods are the normal cargo types.
In an affront to the name of this thread, I'd suggest that the Great Lakes are just a continuation of the shipping that can come up the "Mighty Miss." The Mississippi connects to the Great Lakes and ships CAN transfer to one or the other. They can do this by entering the Chicago Sanitary & Ship Canal, a 28 mile/45km long shipping lane that connects to the Mighty Miss. This canal is 62m/202ft wide and 24ft/7.3m deep and located just West of Chicago's downtown. They can also link to the CS&S Canal from the 16 mile/26km long CAL-SAG Channel near the South Side of Chicago.
It should also be noted that The Ohio River joins the Mighty Miss and expands the potential river traffic all the way to Pittsburgh PA (and up to 30 miles North of her).