As most warships seems to be built around the concept of broadside weights and thus, battle lines are built along the idea from ancient days of great ships meeting across from each other but for a small nation with an equally small navy can't compete in a line verse line exchange. Thus, wanting to spread disorder and chaos in tradition lines by a single unit, a radical idea came across the ship designers of the Confederation, a battle line breacher. Meant to pick out the center of a line, the ship would drive as fast as possible for the center, understandably weathering wiltering fire. The reinforced prow, brought back with the submerged torpedo tubes to add hell with the near ramming (or heck, if possible, actually try for a glancing ramming hit across the bow or stern of a ship) maneuver, would hopefully absorb the attack.
Needless to say, only the most hearty and fearless men with no allusions of the future would be asked to crew such a ship. But, since I was toying with the idea... like the high speed freighter... wouldn't mind an oppinion or two or six. Oh, by the way, the bridge is set far back much like Rodney and Nelson were... and having to work within the constraints of the limited technology and gun sizes available or will soon be available to the Confederation.
Forgive the very poor MS Paint side profile of the ship... it was the only thing I could do with what little time I had to help visualize the ship. Any advice to refine or improve it would be greatly appreciated... heck, it it is just junk, I will also be not insulted to hear those oppinions.
BCS Mane (Lunar), Baltic Confederation Battleship laid down 1907 (Engine 1909)
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t251/Khymerion/Lunar.jpg
Displacement:
28,780 t light; 30,051 t standard; 32,500 t normal; 34,460 t full load
Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
720.00 ft / 720.00 ft x 90.00 ft x 30.00 ft (normal load)
219.46 m / 219.46 m x 27.43 m x 9.14 m
Armament:
2 - 12.00" / 305 mm guns (1x2 guns), 864.00lbs / 391.90kg shells, 1907 Model
Breech loading guns in a turret (on a barbette)
on centreline forward
4 - 12.00" / 305 mm guns (2x2 guns), 864.00lbs / 391.90kg shells, 1907 Model
Breech loading guns in turrets (on barbettes)
on centreline, all amidships, 1 raised mount - superfiring
8 - 6.00" / 152 mm guns in single mounts, 108.00lbs / 48.99kg shells, 1907 Model
Quick firing guns in casemate mounts
on side, all amidships
8 guns in hull casemates - Limited use in heavy seas
22 - 4.10" / 104 mm guns in single mounts, 34.46lbs / 15.63kg shells, 1907 Model
Quick firing guns in casemate mounts
on side, evenly spread, 10 raised mounts
12 guns in hull casemates - Limited use in heavy seas
4 - 12.00" / 305 mm guns in single mounts, 864.00lbs / 391.90kg shells, 1907 Model
Breech loading guns in casemate mounts
on bow with limited arc
Weight of broadside 10,262 lbs / 4,655 kg
Shells per gun, main battery: 100
8 - 21.0" / 533.4 mm submerged torpedo tubes
Armour:
- Belts: Width (max) Length (avg) Height (avg)
Main: 16.0" / 406 mm 468.00 ft / 142.65 m 12.00 ft / 3.66 m
Ends: 16.0" / 406 mm 251.98 ft / 76.80 m 12.00 ft / 3.66 m
Upper: 12.0" / 305 mm 468.00 ft / 142.65 m 8.00 ft / 2.44 m
Main Belt covers 100 % of normal length
- Torpedo Bulkhead:
1.00" / 25 mm 468.00 ft / 142.65 m 28.00 ft / 8.53 m
- Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
Main: 16.0" / 406 mm 14.0" / 356 mm 16.0" / 406 mm
2nd: 16.0" / 406 mm 14.0" / 356 mm 16.0" / 406 mm
3rd: 16.0" / 406 mm - 9.00" / 229 mm
4th: 16.0" / 406 mm - 9.00" / 229 mm
5th: 16.0" / 406 mm - 9.00" / 229 mm
- Armour deck: 2.00" / 51 mm, Conning tower: 16.00" / 406 mm
Machinery:
Coal and oil fired boilers, steam turbines,
Direct drive, 4 shafts, 47,993 shp / 35,803 Kw = 23.00 kts
Range 8,000nm at 11.00 kts
Bunker at max displacement = 4,409 tons (80% coal)
Complement:
1,209 - 1,573
Cost:
£2.414 million / $9.657 million
Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
Armament: 1,283 tons, 3.9 %
Armour: 14,012 tons, 43.1 %
- Belts: 7,540 tons, 23.2 %
- Torpedo bulkhead: 485 tons, 1.5 %
- Armament: 3,907 tons, 12.0 %
- Armour Deck: 1,729 tons, 5.3 %
- Conning Tower: 351 tons, 1.1 %
Machinery: 2,353 tons, 7.2 %
Hull, fittings & equipment: 10,698 tons, 32.9 %
Fuel, ammunition & stores: 3,720 tons, 11.4 %
Miscellaneous weights: 435 tons, 1.3 %
Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
51,288 lbs / 23,264 Kg = 59.4 x 12.0 " / 305 mm shells or 7.9 torpedoes
Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.09
Metacentric height 5.0 ft / 1.5 m
Roll period: 16.9 seconds
Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 71 %
- Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.45
Seaboat quality (Average = 1.00): 1.22
Hull form characteristics:
Hull has a flush deck
Block coefficient: 0.585
Length to Beam Ratio: 8.00 : 1
'Natural speed' for length: 26.83 kts
Power going to wave formation at top speed: 40 %
Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 58
Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): -20.00 degrees
Stern overhang: 0.00 ft / 0.00 m
Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
- Stem: 19.00 ft / 5.79 m
- Forecastle (30 %): 19.00 ft / 5.79 m
- Mid (70 %): 19.00 ft / 5.79 m
- Quarterdeck (15 %): 19.00 ft / 5.79 m
- Stern: 19.00 ft / 5.79 m
- Average freeboard: 19.00 ft / 5.79 m
Ship tends to be wet forward
Ship space, strength and comments:
Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 75.3 %
- Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 139.9 %
Waterplane Area: 46,739 Square feet or 4,342 Square metres
Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 110 %
Structure weight / hull surface area: 161 lbs/sq ft or 787 Kg/sq metre
Hull strength (Relative):
- Cross-sectional: 1.01
- Longitudinal: 0.99
- Overall: 1.00
Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is excellent
Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent
Ship has slow, easy roll, a good, steady gun platform
Good seaboat, rides out heavy weather easily
One word: torpedoes.
At 20kts it takes 7-8 min to cross the 5ky distance between the battlelines, during which the ship would be in range of enemy torpedoes. Take four ships, each firing 2 fish every minute = 50+ torpedoes.
Like I said, horrible idea... was just toying with the idea... idea bad. Good... now I can move on with my life.
Edit: Wait, couldn't the fact that it is not presenting her side to the approaching torpedoes like a traditional battleship make the torpedoes a bit harder to target upon the ship at full speed or is this an idea best saved till a much more refined engine system is developed?
I think my initial response would be that you can build two "normal" battleships with 3x2 armament for virtually the same cost. However, there's no reason (to me, anyway) that you shouldn't tinker with an all-forward armament if you want.
Another wacky idea you might find interesting is the notion of a "torpedo cruiser" with heavy armor and heaps of tubes. I think it was something the Russians cooked up but never bothered to build. It might be an interesting "line-breaker".
Edit: turning to face torpedos reduces the odds of a hit if they all come from one direction. However, the enemy will probably have destroyers or cruisers coming out to try and take this tub out with attacks oblique to the battleline.
Well if you want weird yet functional (perhaps), I has this set for Wesworld (after a fashion) and just modified it for an earlier date. Not much cheaper than Luna, but with a lot more 12 inch guns.
Samwise will charge in where none dear go. With all main guns able to be fired ahead, heavy armor all around the belt and torpedoes on its own to leave as gifts, the Samwise should be able to pierce enemy formations. (Samwise is counting on the general poor ability shown by torpedoes in hitting targets, especially targets with a smaller profile (bow on shots).
Samwise
Rohan Battleship laid down 1909
Displacement:
24,866 t light; 26,101 t standard; 27,500 t normal; 28,510 t full load
Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
550.00 ft / 540.00 ft x 104.00 ft x 27.00 ft (normal load)
167.64 m / 164.59 m x 31.70 m x 8.23 m
Armament:
6 - 12.00" / 305 mm guns (2x3 guns), 926.00lbs / 420.03kg shells, 1909 Model
Breech loading guns in turrets (on barbettes)
on centreline, all forward, 1 raised mount - superfiring
4 - 12.00" / 305 mm guns (2x2 guns), 926.00lbs / 420.03kg shells, 1909 Model
Breech loading guns in turrets (on barbettes)
on side, all amidships
12 - 4.50" / 114 mm guns in single mounts, 45.56lbs / 20.67kg shells, 1909 Model
Quick firing guns in casemate mounts
on side, all aft
8 - 1.50" / 38.1 mm guns in single mounts, 1.69lbs / 0.77kg shells, 1909 Model
Quick firing guns in deck mounts
on side, evenly spread, all raised mounts
8 - 0.75" / 19.1 mm guns in single mounts, 0.21lbs / 0.10kg shells, 1909 Model
Machine guns in deck mounts
on side, evenly spread, all raised mounts
Weight of broadside 9,822 lbs / 4,455 kg
Shells per gun, main battery: 120
2 - 16.0" / 406.4 mm above water torpedoes, 6 - 16.0" / 406.4 mm submerged torpedo tubes
Armour:
- Belts: Width (max) Length (avg) Height (avg)
Main: 14.0" / 356 mm 355.00 ft / 108.20 m 12.00 ft / 3.66 m
Ends: 14.0" / 356 mm 185.00 ft / 56.39 m 12.00 ft / 3.66 m
Upper: 14.0" / 356 mm 355.00 ft / 108.20 m 9.00 ft / 2.74 m
Main Belt covers 101 % of normal length
- Torpedo Bulkhead:
2.00" / 51 mm 355.00 ft / 108.20 m 27.00 ft / 8.23 m
- Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
Main: 14.0" / 356 mm 7.00" / 178 mm 14.0" / 356 mm
2nd: 14.0" / 356 mm 7.00" / 178 mm 14.0" / 356 mm
3rd: 7.00" / 178 mm - -
4th: 0.50" / 13 mm - -
- Armour deck: 2.00" / 51 mm, Conning tower: 14.00" / 356 mm
Machinery:
Oil fired boilers, steam turbines,
Direct drive, 4 shafts, 48,000 shp / 35,808 Kw = 22.68 kts
Range 8,000nm at 10.00 kts (Bunkerage = 2,519 tons)
Complement:
1,067 - 1,388
Cost:
£2.142 million / $8.568 million
Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
Armament: 1,150 tons, 4.2 %
Armour: 11,228 tons, 40.8 %
- Belts: 5,829 tons, 21.2 %
- Torpedo bulkhead: 709 tons, 2.6 %
- Armament: 2,870 tons, 10.4 %
- Armour Deck: 1,544 tons, 5.6 %
- Conning Tower: 276 tons, 1.0 %
Machinery: 2,182 tons, 7.9 %
Hull, fittings & equipment: 10,246 tons, 37.3 %
Fuel, ammunition & stores: 2,634 tons, 9.6 %
Miscellaneous weights: 60 tons, 0.2 %
Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
35,895 lbs / 16,282 Kg = 41.5 x 12.0 " / 305 mm shells or 5.8 torpedoes
Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.08
Metacentric height 6.2 ft / 1.9 m
Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 70 %
- Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.45
Seaboat quality (Average = 1.00): 1.24
Hull form characteristics:
Hull has a flush deck
Block coefficient: 0.635
Length to Beam Ratio: 5.19 : 1
'Natural speed' for length: 23.24 kts
Power going to wave formation at top speed: 53 %
Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 57
Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 21.04 degrees
Stern overhang: 0.00 ft / 0.00 m
Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
- Stem: 26.00 ft / 7.92 m
- Forecastle (20 %): 22.00 ft / 6.71 m
- Mid (50 %): 22.00 ft / 6.71 m
- Quarterdeck (15 %): 22.00 ft / 6.71 m
- Stern: 22.00 ft / 6.71 m
- Average freeboard: 22.32 ft / 6.80 m
Ship space, strength and comments:
Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 77.8 %
- Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 161.6 %
Waterplane Area: 41,730 Square feet or 3,877 Square metres
Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 111 %
Structure weight / hull surface area: 182 lbs/sq ft or 887 Kg/sq metre
Hull strength (Relative):
- Cross-sectional: 0.93
- Longitudinal: 2.01
- Overall: 1.00
Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is excellent
Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent
Ship has slow, easy roll, a good, steady gun platform
Good seaboat, rides out heavy weather easily
That would work better...but with five turrets forwards/amidships, I think she'd really dig in by the bow.
That was kinda the reason I went with the three very spaced apart centerlined turrets (I don't really have the technology to do much better currently) but the Luna carries the same number of 12" guns (curses to the lack of a better gun, forcing me to think like this), just with the four on the bow locked forward, rather than on a turret. But I like what the Samwise does on a smaller hull (not the behemoth that Luna would sit in at), covering almost all the same capabilities. Perhaps with an increase in the number of secondary weapons (at the slightly lower armor value) could serve as a deterent to the flanking destroyers.
Heh...Well, if this was a Rohan design there would be four turrets, the two centerline would be triple turrets. Two forward, two amidships and all the casemates aft. If one wanted to be cleaver (which I was not trying to be) one could stagger the amidship turrets for cross deck fire...thereby having ten guns forward aand on either broadside....and if you work the aft structure right, four heavy guns aft (though only two for most of the after arcs).
I assume that the 4.5" can be replaced with 6" and the armor belt reduced to 12" or maybe just some parts of the armored sectors.
Another option is to use the centerline for main batteries and try something funky like superimposed wing turrets of a ligher caliber (8" probably) so you can have 6 main guns plus 8 heavy secondary guns forward on a charge.
You know....I missed that you had four more 12" guns mounted low in casemates in the bow of the ship. The is truely different. O don't know if that would work for what you have in mind, but that is a different way to get 10 guns forward than what I had in mind.
On the torpedo thought...how many ships actually carried that many torpedoes and could reload them that fast...especially battleships with underwater tubes? I can see 8 fish, maybe 16....but 50+?
Quote from: P³D on April 18, 2007, 06:50:22 PM
One word: torpedoes.
At 20kts it takes 7-8 min to cross the 5ky distance between the battlelines, during which the ship would be in range of enemy torpedoes. Take four ships, each firing 2 fish every minute = 50+ torpedoes.
In this era torpedoes are quite overvalued (but i get a feeling people here have gotten taken in by the sales pitch). Even in ideal circumstances we are looking at a hit percentage of around 10%, and the number of functioning hits is lower then that.
If we take ww1 one as a guide, the number of times a manoeuvring warship was hit by torpedoes from another surface ship can almost be counted on one hand.
From gaming experiance (yes I know that's not always accurate and it depends on the system being played) torpedoes are really, really hard to get to hit anything that is moving, and expecially if it is moving towards you (as you have such a thin target to hit) While it might be easier to predict the vessels path if it is charging, actually hitting it the problem. In some systems its hit or miss based on luck, other's it's predicting where your enemy will be (then hit or dud, or value of damage). But when a torpedo hits full on, generally its bad for whoever is receiving...but in most systems (Seekrieg, General Quarters 3, and Fire when Ready), you can have maybe two dozen torpedoes launched from warships and maybe get one hit. In others (Genreal Quarters 2) you can fire 7 torpedo spreads with destroyers and hit almost every time (if you are lucky that is...I was and so the Italy were...the French and British were not. I didn't sink any of them, but crippled them enough so they, the British Battlecruisers and French Armored Cruisers, would not escape the Italian and Austrian Battleships.)
The 8 tubes that Luna carried would almost be mounted on the fore, as a final closing weapon, just to add insult to injury... so to speak. At most, the ship would only carry perhaps 16 torpedoes in a ready position, 8 in tube, 8 for a potential reload after the first pass is long completed, with an additional 8 in storage in the magazine for later use. Due to the nature of the ship, need for too many more is not a concern. It is understood that the hit percentage is low, which is why they would reserved for when the name plate on the ship could almost be read, not as a long ranged weapon. As for the 4 forward guns, well... it ws the only thing that I could think of to get more forward firing weapons without wing turrets or true superfiring capability.
And as for how I envisioned it being deployed, I was a bit misleading. I was only meaning the fact that numbers prevented multiple battleships from operating together a good deal of time, not that she would go without escorts all together. It might be invisioned or called a battleship destroyer, much like the heavy gunboats that many field in the role of torpedoboat destroyers, than a traditional line battleship.
Quote from: Ithekro on April 19, 2007, 01:04:48 AM
From gaming experiance (yes I know that's not always accurate and it depends on the system being played) torpedoes are really, really hard to get to hit anything that is moving, and expecially if it is moving towards you (as you have such a thin target to hit) While it might be easier to predict the vessels path if it is charging, actually hitting it the problem. In some systems its hit or miss based on luck, other's it's predicting where your enemy will be (then hit or dud, or value of damage). But when a torpedo hits full on, generally its bad for whoever is receiving...but in most systems (Seekrieg, General Quarters 3, and Fire when Ready), you can have maybe two dozen torpedoes launched from warships and maybe get one hit. In others (Genreal Quarters 2) you can fire 7 torpedo spreads with destroyers and hit almost every time (if you are lucky that is...I was and so the Italy were...the French and British were not. I didn't sink any of them, but crippled them enough so they, the British Battlecruisers and French Armored Cruisers, would not escape the Italian and Austrian Battleships.)
To be honest, i have not played many naval wargames, but in many i have looked at there is a tendency to overvalue torpedoes.
And hitting a charging ship is very hard, as there is a good chance that the torpedo will simply bounce off at such a low impact angle (firing at a target moving away is even harder).
But one advantage is of course that you force the enemy to manoeuvre in response to the torpedo attack, and that might be very valuable if you of example what to disengage you main battlelina.
Quote from: khymerion on April 18, 2007, 05:42:15 PM
4 - 12.00" / 305 mm guns in single mounts, 864.00lbs / 391.90kg shells, 1907 Model
Breech loading guns in casemate mounts
on bow with limited arc
You know that casamete mounts are not powered, i feel sorry for the people loading 400kg shells by hand?
Also, i think you should raise the freeboard aft deck, or calculate the extra eight of the double-height barbarette as well as making both raised, as at the moment, springsharp only consider the centre turret to be mounted above the deck.
Hmmmmm... more holes in the program that I didn't realize...
We may know that torpedoes are somewhat over-valued at this time, but our respective nations may not have an accurate grasp of their capabilities. You'd probably get a faction in your navy that wrote them off as wastes of space, and another faction that couldn't get enough of them. Your design philosophy would depend upon which faction controlled the decision-making process.
Thinking out loud, those 12" fixed guns might be better simmed as a quad turret with no side/top armor. That'll give you the loading machinery and associated weight. Alternately, maybe an open turret with barbette or something?
Well... I don't get the joy of having quad turret anything and most likely would get chewed on for even thinking it. I also want the afford the crews maximum protection considering the insane job this would bring them and I don't have the technology nor the superior guns and mounts to do anything more impressive. While I would love to have an open barbette, that doesn't exactly scream protection, considering the wall of lead that will be pitched at them during the final closing moments that the ship will experience. I know I should refine it more but having to play within the very very hard rules means I gotta cut some corners somewhere... wish there was a way to just put the mechanisms that go into a turrent and make them work on the large scale for the forward castemated 12" guns.
Then add some miscellaneous weight to represent it. Unfortunately, I can't tell you how much to add...
One solution is to forgo all deck armor, and only armor the ends ,upper belt and front of the turrets. But to avoid golden twinkies, the barbettes as well
The close range this ship will fight won't allow for deck penetration.
Quote from: maddox on April 19, 2007, 08:12:35 AM
One solution is to forgo all deck armor, and only armor the ends ,upper belt and front of the turrets. But to avoid golden twinkies, the barbettes as well
The close range this ship will fight won't allow for deck penetration.
Maybe no deck hits as such, but you still want some deck protection to stop splinter and force from shells that penetrate the belts or detonate above them from reaching the magazines and engineering spaces.
This monster has only 8 305 mm guns, all bearing the forward arc.
400mm armor for the ends and upper belt, and yes, even a bit of deck armor.
The large battery of 152mm guns will cause havoc and soft kills alls over
The 10 casemated 104's are an aftertought to have at least an token effort agains enemy torpedo attacks.
And it's cheaper...
Berserker, Baltic Confederation Battleship destroyer laid down 1907 (Engine 1909)
Displacement:
22.032 t light; 23.339 t standard; 24.104 t normal; 24.716 t full load
Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
639,76 ft / 639,76 ft x 104,99 ft x 22,31 ft (normal load)
195,00 m / 195,00 m x 32,00 m x 6,80 m
Armament:
4 - 12,01" / 305 mm guns (2x2 guns), 865,70lbs / 392,68kg shells, 1907 Model
Breech loading guns in turrets (on barbettes)
on side, all forward
4 - 12,01" / 305 mm guns (2x2 guns), 865,70lbs / 392,68kg shells, 1907 Model
Breech loading guns in turrets (on barbettes)
on side, all amidships
18 - 5,98" / 152 mm guns in single mounts, 107,15lbs / 48,60kg shells, 1907 Model
Breech loading guns in casemate mounts
on side, all forward
10 guns in hull casemates - Limited use in heavy seas
10 - 4,09" / 104 mm guns in single mounts, 34,32lbs / 15,57kg shells, 1907 Model
Quick firing guns in casemate mounts
on side, evenly spread, all raised mounts
Weight of broadside 9.198 lbs / 4.172 kg
Shells per gun, main battery: 150
8 - 21,0" / 533,4 mm submerged torpedo tubes
Armour:
- Belts: Width (max) Length (avg) Height (avg)
Main: 3,94" / 100 mm 324,80 ft / 99,00 m 12,86 ft / 3,92 m
Ends: 15,7" / 400 mm 265,72 ft / 80,99 m 12,86 ft / 3,92 m
49,25 ft / 15,01 m Unarmoured ends
Upper: 11,8" / 300 mm 324,80 ft / 99,00 m 8,01 ft / 2,44 m
Main Belt covers 78% of normal length
- Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
Main: 15,7" / 400 mm 3,94" / 100 mm 15,7" / 400 mm
2nd: 11,8" / 300 mm 3,94" / 100 mm 11,8" / 300 mm
3rd: 11,8" / 300 mm 0,79" / 20 mm 0,79" / 20 mm
4th: 1,97" / 50 mm - -
- Armour deck: 1,97" / 50 mm, Conning tower: 13,78" / 350 mm
Machinery:
Coal fired boilers, steam turbines,
Direct drive, 4 shafts, 42.941 shp / 32.034 Kw = 23,00 kts
Range 3.000nm at 10,00 kts
Bunker at max displacement = 1.377 tons (100% coal)
Complement:
966 - 1.257
Cost:
£2,037 million / $8,150 million
Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
Armament: 1.150 tons, 4,8%
Armour: 8.715 tons, 36,2%
- Belts: 4.195 tons, 17,4%
- Torpedo bulkhead: 0 tons, 0,0%
- Armament: 2.544 tons, 10,6%
- Armour Deck: 1.728 tons, 7,2%
- Conning Tower: 248 tons, 1,0%
Machinery: 2.147 tons, 8,9%
Hull, fittings & equipment: 9.971 tons, 41,4%
Fuel, ammunition & stores: 2.072 tons, 8,6%
Miscellaneous weights: 50 tons, 0,2%
Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
41.818 lbs / 18.969 Kg = 48,3 x 12,0 " / 305 mm shells or 4,3 torpedoes
Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1,35
Metacentric height 9,2 ft / 2,8 m
Roll period: 14,5 seconds
Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 54 %
- Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0,22
Seaboat quality (Average = 1.00): 1,09
Hull form characteristics:
Hull has rise aft of midbreak, low quarterdeck
Block coefficient: 0,563
Length to Beam Ratio: 6,09 : 1
'Natural speed' for length: 25,29 kts
Power going to wave formation at top speed: 44 %
Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): -8,00 degrees
Stern overhang: 0,00 ft / 0,00 m
Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
- Stem: 19,69 ft / 6,00 m
- Forecastle (30%): 16,40 ft / 5,00 m
- Mid (50%): 16,40 ft / 5,00 m (22,97 ft / 7,00 m aft of break)
- Quarterdeck (30%): 16,99 ft / 5,18 m (22,97 ft / 7,00 m before break)
- Stern: 16,99 ft / 5,18 m
- Average freeboard: 18,29 ft / 5,57 m
Ship tends to be wet forward
Ship space, strength and comments:
Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 70,4%
- Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 184,2%
Waterplane Area: 47.450 Square feet or 4.408 Square metres
Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 108%
Structure weight / hull surface area: 168 lbs/sq ft or 820 Kg/sq metre
Hull strength (Relative):
- Cross-sectional: 0,99
- Longitudinal: 1,02
- Overall: 1,00
Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is excellent
Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent
The main problem will be when you are passing through the battleline (assuming it suvives the approach), at that range the ships on either of your broadsides will have a nice ship of your profile at point blank range (might be too close for main battery hits on the main belt, but I don't know that for sure...though it would be their end on fire verses you broadsides then). The Samwise with 6 inch secondaries should be able to rip into their end armor at that range (the 4.5 inch might even be able to do that on some ships at less than 1,000 yards), and if you could split fire your main batteries you'd have five guns per braodside. With the French more normal twin turrets you'd have four guns per broadside, which should outgun or equal most ships end on fire.
You cannot armor your ship to the extent that it would be invulnerable to point-blank shots.
True, but also if you are charging a line of battleships with only a few of these, the ships at the end or there cruiser support can pull off and engage you on the broadside at range, at which point the French ship's thin 4" main belt could prove to be a problem.
Well... now that I have heard all of these ideas, I would have to say it is a novel idea but till better guns are developed (and thus removing the need for such a ship)... this project will be relished on the "it will look good in a pulp fiction book" category of material, next to Mr. Vern's or Mr. Wells' recent books.
It will be counted among such unfeasible inventions like submarines and heavier-than-air aircrafts.