In 1971, I produced a design study for a fast, heavily armed battlecruiser

I thought that I would try a design study for what I had conceived back in 1971. It was a fast, heavily armed battlecruiser. I have a pencil drawing, some specifications, and a partial weight list. The primary problem was that the ship was too narrow for the armament and machinery. I had to increase the beam from 90ft to 107ft and the displacement ballooned from an unrealistic 32,000 tons to a more plausible 40,256 tons, standard. The length was kept at 787.5ft. The draft also increased to increase strength by giving a greater hull depth. The armament was the bizarre 6-18in/45 guns in two triple turrets forward and 16-5in QF guns in single mounts with shields. The original speed was not specified. The only notation was that the designed power was 210,000 SHP. The machinery was intended to be 40 SHP/ton of machinery. This design has 32.56 SHP/ton, which is "pushing it". We can guess the designed speed, as the fantasy speed-length ratio was 1.42. That would equate to a speed of 40 knots, which was beyond the realm of possibility in so short a ship. This is the Springsharp report:

Heavily armed fast battlecruiser, Great Britain Battlecruiser laid down 1916 (Engine 1929)

Displacement:
 38,497 t light; 40,256 t standard; 42,663 t normal; 44,589 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
 789.44 ft / 787.50 ft x 107.00 ft x 33.00 ft (normal load)
 240.62 m / 240.03 m x 32.61 m  x 10.06 m

Armament:
      6 - 18.00" / 457 mm guns (2x3 guns), 3,200.00lbs / 1,451.50kg shells, 1916 Model
   Breech loading guns in turrets (on barbettes)
   on centreline, all forward, 1 raised mount - superfiring
      16 - 5.00" / 127 mm guns in single mounts, 62.00lbs / 28.12kg shells, 1916 Model
   Quick firing guns in deck mounts with hoists
   on side, all amidships, 4 raised mounts - superfiring
 Weight of broadside 20,192 lbs / 9,159 kg
 Shells per gun, main battery: 80

Armour:
   - Belts:  Width (max) Length (avg)  Height (avg)
 Main: 9.00" / 229 mm 565.00 ft / 172.21 m 17.00 ft / 5.18 m
 Ends: Unarmoured
   Main Belt covers 110 % of normal length
   Main belt does not fully cover magazines and engineering spaces

   - Torpedo Bulkhead:
  2.00" / 51 mm 565.00 ft / 172.21 m 28.00 ft / 8.53 m

   - Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
 Main: 9.00" / 229 mm 6.00" / 152 mm  9.00" / 229 mm
 2nd: 2.00" / 51 mm       -         -

   - Armour deck: 3.00" / 76 mm, Conning tower: 9.00" / 229 mm

Machinery:
 Oil fired boilers, steam turbines, 
 Geared drive, 4 shafts, 221,414 shp / 165,175 Kw = 33.00 kts
 Range 7,500nm at 15.00 kts
 Bunker at max displacement = 4,332 tons

Complement:
 1,483 - 1,929

Cost:
 £6.941 million / $27.763 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
 Armament: 2,312 tons, 5.4 %
 Armour: 10,367 tons, 24.3 %
    - Belts: 3,638 tons, 8.5 %
    - Torpedo bulkhead: 1,171 tons, 2.7 %
    - Armament: 2,097 tons, 4.9 %
    - Armour Deck: 3,224 tons, 7.6 %
    - Conning Tower: 237 tons, 0.6 %
 Machinery: 6,800 tons, 15.9 %
 Hull, fittings & equipment: 19,018 tons, 44.6 %
 Fuel, ammunition & stores: 4,166 tons, 9.8 %
 Miscellaneous weights: 0 tons, 0.0 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
 Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
   49,184 lbs / 22,309 Kg = 16.9 x 18.0 " / 457 mm shells or 6.4 torpedoes
 Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.14
 Metacentric height 7.1 ft / 2.2 m
 Roll period: 16.9 seconds
 Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 52 %
   - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.77
 Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.04

Hull form characteristics:
 Hull has rise forward of midbreak
 Block coefficient: 0.537
 Length to Beam Ratio: 7.36 : 1
 'Natural speed' for length: 28.06 kts
 Power going to wave formation at top speed: 57 %
 Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
 Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 3.00 degrees
 Stern overhang: -2.00 ft / -0.61 m
 Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
    - Stem:  37.00 ft / 11.28 m
    - Forecastle (20 %): 28.00 ft / 8.53 m
    - Mid (67 %):  28.00 ft / 8.53 m (19.00 ft / 5.79 m aft of break)
    - Quarterdeck (15 %): 19.00 ft / 5.79 m
    - Stern:  19.00 ft / 5.79 m
    - Average freeboard: 25.75 ft / 7.85 m

Ship space, strength and comments:
 Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 113.3 %
  - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 190.3 %
 Waterplane Area: 58,095 Square feet or 5,397 Square metres
 Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 100 %
 Structure weight / hull surface area: 227 lbs/sq ft or 1,106 Kg/sq metre
 Hull strength (Relative):
  - Cross-sectional: 0.94
  - Longitudinal: 1.74
  - Overall: 1.00
 Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is cramped
 Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent