My design for the Meteor (my Ger/DM/1913 specification)

I had named my design for a fast destroyer-minelayer Meteor, after the real German minelayer. I had originally called it that Ger/ML/1913, but Ger/DM/1913 seems more appropriate. My nominal displacement target was 1,600 tons, but I have a note that more realistically raised that to 1,850 tons. That allows for a stronger hull and improved seakeeping. It still relies upon the lightest weight machinery possible. The dimensions were specified as 350ft x 36ft, with no draft listed. The speed target was 35 knots, while I had hoped for more, at least a year or so later. It seems not to be reaonable, at least when using Springsharp and requiring both hull strength and adequate seakeeping ability. This is the Springsharp report:

Ger/DM/1913 (Meteor), Germany Destroyer-Minelayer laid down 1913 (Engine 1950)

Displacement:
 1,723 t light; 1,771 t standard; 1,850 t normal; 1,914 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
 350.77 ft / 350.00 ft x 36.00 ft x 17.00 ft (normal load)
 106.91 m / 106.68 m x 10.97 m  x 5.18 m

Armament:
      2 - 6.00" / 152 mm guns in single mounts, 108.00lbs / 48.99kg shells, 1913 Model
   Quick firing guns in deck mounts with hoists
   on centreline ends, evenly spread
 Weight of broadside 216 lbs / 98 kg
 Shells per gun, main battery: 90

Machinery:
 Oil fired boilers, steam turbines, 
 Direct drive, 2 shafts, 49,596 shp / 36,998 Kw = 35.00 kts
 Range 2,100nm at 14.00 kts
 Bunker at max displacement = 143 tons

Complement:
 140 - 183

Cost:
 £0.229 million / $0.916 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
 Armament: 27 tons, 1.5 %
 Machinery: 906 tons, 49.0 %
 Hull, fittings & equipment: 540 tons, 29.2 %
 Fuel, ammunition & stores: 127 tons, 6.9 %
 Miscellaneous weights: 250 tons, 13.5 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
 Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
   410 lbs / 186 Kg = 3.8 x 6.0 " / 152 mm shells or 0.3 torpedoes
 Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.12
 Metacentric height 1.3 ft / 0.4 m
 Roll period: 13.1 seconds
 Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 55 %
   - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.30
 Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.09

Hull form characteristics:
 Hull has rise forward of midbreak
 Block coefficient: 0.302
 Length to Beam Ratio: 9.72 : 1
 'Natural speed' for length: 18.71 kts
 Power going to wave formation at top speed: 64 %
 Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
 Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 2.00 degrees
 Stern overhang: 0.00 ft / 0.00 m
 Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
    - Stem:  22.00 ft / 6.71 m
    - Forecastle (20 %): 20.00 ft / 6.10 m
    - Mid (34 %):  20.00 ft / 6.10 m (12.00 ft / 3.66 m aft of break)
    - Quarterdeck (15 %): 12.00 ft / 3.66 m
    - Stern:  12.00 ft / 3.66 m
    - Average freeboard: 14.88 ft / 4.54 m

Ship space, strength and comments:
 Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 183.3 %
  - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 150.3 %
 Waterplane Area: 8,048 Square feet or 748 Square metres
 Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 65 %
 Structure weight / hull surface area: 35 lbs/sq ft or 169 Kg/sq metre
 Hull strength (Relative):
  - Cross-sectional: 0.44
  - Longitudinal: 2.42
  - Overall: 0.52
 Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is cramped
 Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent

The Ger/DD/1914 design

It is sort of marginal, but the Ger/DD/1914 design does work in Springsharp. It will work with heavier machinery than I am using, but I thought that such a small ship needed very lightweight machinery. I suspect that with a real ship, that less power would be required. I had originally estimated that 18,000 SHP would do the job, based on example ships. The desired displacement was 900 tons and the dimensions were 265ft x 27ft. The armament was 2-4in QF guns and 6-21in TT with 20 mines. The speed was 32 knots with a bunkerage of 200 tons. This is the Springsharp report:

Ger/DD/1914, Germany Destroyer laid down 1914 (Engine 1935)

Displacement:
 763 t light; 787 t standard; 900 t normal; 990 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
 267.77 ft / 265.00 ft x 27.00 ft x 10.50 ft (normal load)
 81.62 m / 80.77 m x 8.23 m  x 3.20 m

Armament:
      2 - 4.00" / 102 mm guns in single mounts, 32.00lbs / 14.51kg shells, 1914 Model
   Quick firing guns in deck mounts with hoists
   on centreline ends, evenly spread
 Weight of broadside 64 lbs / 29 kg
 Shells per gun, main battery: 180
 6 - 21.0" / 533.4 mm above water torpedoes

Machinery:
 Oil fired boilers, steam turbines, 
 Direct drive, 2 shafts, 27,168 shp / 20,267 Kw = 32.00 kts
 Range 3,750nm at 15.00 kts
 Bunker at max displacement = 203 tons

Complement:
 81 - 106

Cost:
 £0.127 million / $0.509 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
 Armament: 8 tons, 0.9 %
 Machinery: 475 tons, 52.8 %
 Hull, fittings & equipment: 260 tons, 28.9 %
 Fuel, ammunition & stores: 137 tons, 15.2 %
 Miscellaneous weights: 20 tons, 2.2 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
 Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
   227 lbs / 103 Kg = 7.1 x 4.0 " / 102 mm shells or 0.2 torpedoes
 Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.28
 Metacentric height 1.1 ft / 0.3 m
 Roll period: 10.9 seconds
 Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 51 %
   - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.21
 Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.02

Hull form characteristics:
 Hull has rise forward of midbreak
 Block coefficient: 0.419
 Length to Beam Ratio: 9.81 : 1
 'Natural speed' for length: 16.28 kts
 Power going to wave formation at top speed: 72 %
 Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
 Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 2.00 degrees
 Stern overhang: 2.00 ft / 0.61 m
 Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
    - Stem:  22.00 ft / 6.71 m
    - Forecastle (20 %): 20.00 ft / 6.10 m
    - Mid (23 %):  20.00 ft / 6.10 m (12.00 ft / 3.66 m aft of break)
    - Quarterdeck (15 %): 12.00 ft / 3.66 m
    - Stern:  12.00 ft / 3.66 m
    - Average freeboard: 14.00 ft / 4.27 m

Ship space, strength and comments:
 Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 179.7 %
  - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 54.7 %
 Waterplane Area: 4,458 Square feet or 414 Square metres
 Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 55 %
 Structure weight / hull surface area: 25 lbs/sq ft or 120 Kg/sq metre
 Hull strength (Relative):
  - Cross-sectional: 0.42
  - Longitudinal: 3.53
  - Overall: 0.52
 Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is cramped
 Room for accommodation and workspaces is cramped

Another shot at the Ger/DL/1914 design

I was able to make the Ger/DL/1914 design work fairly easily. I found, though, that very minor changes could make the design fail. What I have is a tightly balanced specification that achieved what I had desired, back in 1971. I wanted a destroyer of 1,250 tons displacement, with dimensions 320ft x 33ft, with a speed of 32 knots, and armed with 4-4in QF guns, 6-21in TT, and 30 mines. I had hoped that 25,000 SHP would provide sufficient power and that 250 tons of fuel would give an acceptable range. This is the Springsharp report:

Ger/DL/1914, Germany Destroyer Leader laid down 1914 (Engine 1927)

Displacement:
 1,072 t light; 1,110 t standard; 1,250 t normal; 1,362 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
 322.73 ft / 320.00 ft x 33.00 ft x 10.50 ft (normal load)
 98.37 m / 97.54 m x 10.06 m  x 3.20 m

Armament:
      4 - 4.00" / 102 mm guns in single mounts, 32.00lbs / 14.51kg shells, 1914 Model
   Quick firing guns in deck mounts with hoists
   on centreline, evenly spread
   Aft Main mounts separated by engine room
 Weight of broadside 128 lbs / 58 kg
 Shells per gun, main battery: 180
 6 - 21.0" / 533.4 mm above water torpedoes

Machinery:
 Oil fired boilers, steam turbines, 
 Direct drive, 2 shafts, 29,368 shp / 21,908 Kw = 32.00 kts
 Range 3,600nm at 15.00 kts
 Bunker at max displacement = 252 tons

Complement:
 104 - 136

Cost:
 £0.180 million / $0.722 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
 Armament: 16 tons, 1.3 %
 Machinery: 649 tons, 51.9 %
 Hull, fittings & equipment: 378 tons, 30.2 %
 Fuel, ammunition & stores: 178 tons, 14.2 %
 Miscellaneous weights: 30 tons, 2.4 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
 Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
   370 lbs / 168 Kg = 11.6 x 4.0 " / 102 mm shells or 0.3 torpedoes
 Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.44
 Metacentric height 1.8 ft / 0.5 m
 Roll period: 10.4 seconds
 Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 57 %
   - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.20
 Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.13

Hull form characteristics:
 Hull has rise forward of midbreak
 Block coefficient: 0.395
 Length to Beam Ratio: 9.70 : 1
 'Natural speed' for length: 17.89 kts
 Power going to wave formation at top speed: 67 %
 Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
 Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 2.00 degrees
 Stern overhang: 2.00 ft / 0.61 m
 Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
    - Stem:  21.00 ft / 6.40 m
    - Forecastle (20 %): 21.00 ft / 6.40 m
    - Mid (20 %):  21.00 ft / 6.40 m (13.00 ft / 3.96 m aft of break)
    - Quarterdeck (15 %): 13.00 ft / 3.96 m
    - Stern:  13.00 ft / 3.96 m
    - Average freeboard: 14.60 ft / 4.45 m

Ship space, strength and comments:
 Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 180.1 %
  - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 93.9 %
 Waterplane Area: 6,481 Square feet or 602 Square metres
 Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 62 %
 Structure weight / hull surface area: 29 lbs/sq ft or 144 Kg/sq metre
 Hull strength (Relative):
  - Cross-sectional: 0.47
  - Longitudinal: 2.14
  - Overall: 0.55
 Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is cramped
 Room for accommodation and workspaces is adequate

An alternative design for the GB/CB/1905 battlecruisers

This would have been a good alternative design for the GB/CB/1905 battlecruisers. I had proposed this, but my friend Cliff had opted for the 4-gun ship, instead, with lighter armor. He wanted to produce a radical ship that might make very high speeds by forcing the engineering plant. This version has 6-12in and 9-6in QF guns. Two twin turrets are forward, with one superfiring, and one is far aft. One 6in gun is superfiring over the aft 12in turret. The machinery is protected by a 6in belt, while the magazines have 4in side armor. The turrets have 10in faces while the barbettes are 8in. The speed is designed for 33 knots, although this requires light weight machinery. This is the Springsharp report:

GB/CB/1905 Alternative Design, Great Britain Battlecruiser laid down 1905 (Engine 1917)

Displacement:
 22,517 t light; 23,297 t standard; 25,000 t normal; 26,362 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
 770.00 ft / 770.00 ft x 85.00 ft x 27.00 ft (normal load)
 234.70 m / 234.70 m x 25.91 m  x 8.23 m

Armament:
      6 - 12.00" / 305 mm guns (3x2 guns), 864.00lbs / 391.90kg shells, 1905 Model
   Breech loading guns in turrets (on barbettes)
   on centreline ends, majority forward, 1 raised mount - superfiring
      8 - 6.00" / 152 mm guns in single mounts, 108.00lbs / 48.99kg shells, 1905 Model
   Quick firing guns in deck mounts with hoists
   on side ends, evenly spread
      1 - 6.00" / 152 mm guns in single mounts, 108.00lbs / 48.99kg shells, 1905 Model
   Quick firing gun in deck mount 
   on centreline aft, 1 raised gun
 Weight of broadside 6,156 lbs / 2,792 kg
 Shells per gun, main battery: 80

Armour:
   - Belts:  Width (max) Length (avg)  Height (avg)
 Main: 6.00" / 152 mm 300.00 ft / 91.44 m 16.00 ft / 4.88 m
 Ends: 4.00" / 102 mm 170.00 ft / 51.82 m 16.00 ft / 4.88 m
   300.00 ft / 91.44 m Unarmoured ends
   Main Belt covers 60 % of normal length
   Main belt does not fully cover magazines and engineering spaces

   - Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
 Main: 10.0" / 254 mm 4.00" / 102 mm  8.00" / 203 mm
 2nd: 2.00" / 51 mm       -         -
 3rd: 2.00" / 51 mm       -         -

   - Armour deck: 3.00" / 76 mm, Conning tower: 10.00" / 254 mm

Machinery:
 Oil fired boilers, steam turbines, 
 Direct drive, 4 shafts, 153,243 shp / 114,319 Kw = 33.00 kts
 Range 6,000nm at 15.00 kts
 Bunker at max displacement = 3,065 tons

Complement:
 993 - 1,292

Cost:
 £2.221 million / $8.884 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
 Armament: 770 tons, 3.1 %
 Armour: 5,563 tons, 22.3 %
    - Belts: 1,739 tons, 7.0 %
    - Torpedo bulkhead: 0 tons, 0.0 %
    - Armament: 1,231 tons, 4.9 %
    - Armour Deck: 2,410 tons, 9.6 %
    - Conning Tower: 184 tons, 0.7 %
 Machinery: 5,617 tons, 22.5 %
 Hull, fittings & equipment: 10,566 tons, 42.3 %
 Fuel, ammunition & stores: 2,483 tons, 9.9 %
 Miscellaneous weights: 0 tons, 0.0 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
 Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
   32,325 lbs / 14,662 Kg = 37.4 x 12.0 " / 305 mm shells or 2.6 torpedoes
 Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.15
 Metacentric height 5.1 ft / 1.5 m
 Roll period: 15.8 seconds
 Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 64 %
   - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.60
 Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.28

Hull form characteristics:
 Hull has rise forward of midbreak
 Block coefficient: 0.495
 Length to Beam Ratio: 9.06 : 1
 'Natural speed' for length: 27.75 kts
 Power going to wave formation at top speed: 52 %
 Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
 Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): -2.00 degrees
 Stern overhang: -2.00 ft / -0.61 m
 Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
    - Stem:  32.00 ft / 9.75 m
    - Forecastle (20 %): 28.00 ft / 8.53 m
    - Mid (73 %):  28.00 ft / 8.53 m (20.00 ft / 6.10 m aft of break)
    - Quarterdeck (15 %): 20.00 ft / 6.10 m
    - Stern:  20.00 ft / 6.10 m
    - Average freeboard: 26.16 ft / 7.97 m

Ship space, strength and comments:
 Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 96.0 %
  - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 220.9 %
 Waterplane Area: 43,416 Square feet or 4,033 Square metres
 Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 109 %
 Structure weight / hull surface area: 156 lbs/sq ft or 763 Kg/sq metre
 Hull strength (Relative):
  - Cross-sectional: 0.97
  - Longitudinal: 1.39
  - Overall: 1.00
 Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is adequate
 Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent
 Good seaboat, rides out heavy weather easily

The Ger/BB/1915 CDV design study had to grow

When I tried calculating the Ger/BB/1915 CDV design study in Springsharp, I found that my original estimate for displacement was too low by a large margin. I had a standard displacment of only 25,000 tons, and the final design had to be 35,000 tons normal displacement. The ship was part of a fascination that we had in the early 1970's with the coast defense and 2nd and 3rd Class battleships from the latter 19th and early 20th century. This one is extreme, as it has 4-18in (180 ton) guns in twin turrets. The secondary armament is 16-4in QF guns in twin mounts. This is the Springsharp report:

Ger/BB/1915 CDV design study, Germany Coast Defense Battleship laid down 1915 (Engine 1937)

Displacement:
 32,554 t light; 34,279 t standard; 35,000 t normal; 35,577 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
 650.42 ft / 650.00 ft x 118.00 ft x 25.00 ft (normal load)
 198.25 m / 198.12 m x 35.97 m  x 7.62 m

Armament:
      4 - 18.00" / 457 mm guns in single mounts, 2,916.00lbs / 1,322.68kg shells, 1915 Model
   Breech loading guns in turrets (on barbettes)
   on centreline ends, evenly spread
      16 - 4.00" / 102 mm guns (8x2 guns), 32.00lbs / 14.51kg shells, 1915 Model
   Quick firing guns in deck mounts with hoists
   on side, all amidships
 Weight of broadside 12,176 lbs / 5,523 kg
 Shells per gun, main battery: 150
 4 - 23.6" / 599.44 mm above water torpedoes

Armour:
   - Belts:  Width (max) Length (avg)  Height (avg)
 Main: 10.0" / 254 mm 375.00 ft / 114.30 m 17.00 ft / 5.18 m
 Ends: Unarmoured
   Main Belt covers 89 % of normal length

   - Torpedo Bulkhead:
  2.00" / 51 mm 375.00 ft / 114.30 m 24.00 ft / 7.32 m

   - Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
 Main: 10.0" / 254 mm 10.0" / 254 mm  10.0" / 254 mm

   - Armour deck: 10.00" / 254 mm

Machinery:
 Oil fired boilers, steam turbines, 
 Geared drive, 4 shafts, 90,473 shp / 67,493 Kw = 26.00 kts
 Range 3,600nm at 12.00 kts
 Bunker at max displacement = 1,298 tons

Complement:
 1,279 - 1,663

Cost:
 £4.028 million / $16.110 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
 Armament: 1,522 tons, 4.3 %
 Armour: 16,050 tons, 45.9 %
    - Belts: 2,940 tons, 8.4 %
    - Torpedo bulkhead: 666 tons, 1.9 %
    - Armament: 1,685 tons, 4.8 %
    - Armour Deck: 10,759 tons, 30.7 %
    - Conning Tower: 0 tons, 0.0 %
 Machinery: 2,508 tons, 7.2 %
 Hull, fittings & equipment: 12,474 tons, 35.6 %
 Fuel, ammunition & stores: 2,446 tons, 7.0 %
 Miscellaneous weights: 0 tons, 0.0 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
 Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
   70,111 lbs / 31,802 Kg = 24.0 x 18.0 " / 457 mm shells or 13.0 torpedoes
 Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.41
 Metacentric height 11.6 ft / 3.5 m
 Roll period: 14.5 seconds
 Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 52 %
   - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.21
 Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.04

Hull form characteristics:
 Hull has a flush deck
 Block coefficient: 0.639
 Length to Beam Ratio: 5.51 : 1
 'Natural speed' for length: 25.50 kts
 Power going to wave formation at top speed: 54 %
 Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
 Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 1.00 degrees
 Stern overhang: -2.00 ft / -0.61 m
 Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
    - Stem:  24.00 ft / 7.32 m
    - Forecastle (20 %): 20.00 ft / 6.10 m
    - Mid (50 %):  20.00 ft / 6.10 m
    - Quarterdeck (15 %): 20.00 ft / 6.10 m
    - Stern:  20.00 ft / 6.10 m
    - Average freeboard: 20.32 ft / 6.19 m
 Ship tends to be wet forward

Ship space, strength and comments:
 Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 69.5 %
  - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 165.4 %
 Waterplane Area: 58,158 Square feet or 5,403 Square metres
 Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 105 %
 Structure weight / hull surface area: 173 lbs/sq ft or 846 Kg/sq metre
 Hull strength (Relative):
  - Cross-sectional: 0.98
  - Longitudinal: 1.31
  - Overall: 1.00
 Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is excellent
 Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent

The "short" German Ger/BB/1915 design is rather bizarre

The salient feature of the Ger/BB/1915 Short design is the abnormally deep draft. The draft, at 42.7ft is too deep, really, but that is what was planned. The drawing has dimesions and displacement, but is otherwise bereft of detail. I have taken another run at estimating characteristics and doing a Springsharp design. This is a 65,000 ton ship of only 700ft length, but with 9-18in and 24-5in guns. I assumed an armor basis of 18in. I suspect that I did not realize, back in 1971, that a decent speed might be achievable. The short length was a drastic weight-saving measure, and it seems to have worked. This is the Springsharp report:

Ger/BB/1915 short, Germany Battleship laid down 1915

Displacement:
 55,547 t light; 58,093 t standard; 65,000 t normal; 70,525 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
 702.62 ft / 700.00 ft x 120.00 ft x 42.70 ft (normal load)
 214.16 m / 213.36 m x 36.58 m  x 13.01 m

Armament:
      9 - 18.00" / 457 mm guns (3x3 guns), 2,916.00lbs / 1,322.68kg shells, 1915 Model
   Breech loading guns in turrets (on barbettes)
   on centreline ends, majority forward, 1 raised mount - superfiring
      24 - 5.00" / 127 mm guns (12x2 guns), 62.50lbs / 28.35kg shells, 1915 Model
   Quick firing guns in turrets (on barbettes)
   on side, all amidships, 4 raised mounts - superfiring
 Weight of broadside 27,744 lbs / 12,584 kg
 Shells per gun, main battery: 80

Armour:
   - Belts:  Width (max) Length (avg)  Height (avg)
 Main: 18.0" / 457 mm 425.00 ft / 129.54 m 17.00 ft / 5.18 m
 Ends: Unarmoured
   Main Belt covers 93 % of normal length

   - Torpedo Bulkhead:
  4.00" / 102 mm 425.00 ft / 129.54 m 40.00 ft / 12.19 m

   - Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
 Main: 18.0" / 457 mm 12.0" / 305 mm  18.0" / 457 mm
 2nd: 5.00" / 127 mm 5.00" / 127 mm  5.00" / 127 mm

   - Armour deck: 8.00" / 203 mm, Conning tower: 18.00" / 457 mm

Machinery:
 Oil fired boilers, steam turbines, 
 Geared drive, 4 shafts, 143,768 shp / 107,251 Kw = 27.00 kts
 Range 8,500nm at 18.00 kts
 Bunker at max displacement = 12,432 tons

Complement:
 2,035 - 2,646

Cost:
 £8.174 million / $32.696 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
 Armament: 3,468 tons, 5.3 %
 Armour: 24,965 tons, 38.4 %
    - Belts: 5,867 tons, 9.0 %
    - Torpedo bulkhead: 2,516 tons, 3.9 %
    - Armament: 6,568 tons, 10.1 %
    - Armour Deck: 9,387 tons, 14.4 %
    - Conning Tower: 627 tons, 1.0 %
 Machinery: 5,446 tons, 8.4 %
 Hull, fittings & equipment: 21,668 tons, 33.3 %
 Fuel, ammunition & stores: 9,453 tons, 14.5 %
 Miscellaneous weights: 0 tons, 0.0 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
 Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
   84,351 lbs / 38,261 Kg = 28.9 x 18.0 " / 457 mm shells or 14.7 torpedoes
 Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.03
 Metacentric height 7.0 ft / 2.1 m
 Roll period: 19.1 seconds
 Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 56 %
   - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.72
 Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.11

Hull form characteristics:
 Hull has rise forward of midbreak
 Block coefficient: 0.634
 Length to Beam Ratio: 5.83 : 1
 'Natural speed' for length: 26.46 kts
 Power going to wave formation at top speed: 56 %
 Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
 Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 5.00 degrees
 Stern overhang: -1.00 ft / -0.30 m
 Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
    - Stem:  30.00 ft / 9.14 m
    - Forecastle (20 %): 28.00 ft / 8.53 m
    - Mid (67 %):  28.00 ft / 8.53 m (20.00 ft / 6.10 m aft of break)
    - Quarterdeck (15 %): 20.00 ft / 6.10 m
    - Stern:  20.00 ft / 6.10 m
    - Average freeboard: 25.52 ft / 7.78 m

Ship space, strength and comments:
 Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 80.7 %
  - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 153.1 %
 Waterplane Area: 63,424 Square feet or 5,892 Square metres
 Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 102 %
 Structure weight / hull surface area: 239 lbs/sq ft or 1,166 Kg/sq metre
 Hull strength (Relative):
  - Cross-sectional: 0.92
  - Longitudinal: 2.07
  - Overall: 1.00
 Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is excellent
 Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent

The very large German battleship design works well in Springsharp

My very large German battleship design, which I am calling Ger/BB/1921 large, that I drew back in 1971, works quite well in Springsharp. I was able to upgrade the armor and range, as there was spare hull strength. The armament is 9-50cm (slightly more than 19.75in) and 16-6in QF guns. I had planned to have 19.75in guns, but 50cm seems reasonable. The armor basis is 19in. The ship was to be 105,000 tons with a speed of 31 knots. That works along with machinery of the same date as the ship design (1921):

Ger/BB/1921 Large, Germany Battleship laid down 1921

Displacement:
 93,250 t light; 96,965 t standard; 105,000 t normal; 111,428 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
 1,088.73 ft / 1,085.00 ft x 140.00 ft x 39.00 ft (normal load)
 331.84 m / 330.71 m x 42.67 m  x 11.89 m

Armament:
      9 - 19.69" / 500 mm guns (3x3 guns), 3,813.98lbs / 1,729.99kg shells, 1921 Model
   Breech loading guns in turrets (on barbettes)
   on centreline ends, majority forward, 1 raised mount - superfiring
      16 - 6.00" / 152 mm guns (8x2 guns), 108.00lbs / 48.99kg shells, 1921 Model
   Quick firing guns in turrets (on barbettes)
   on side, all amidships, 4 raised mounts - superfiring
 Weight of broadside 36,054 lbs / 16,354 kg
 Shells per gun, main battery: 80

Armour:
   - Belts:  Width (max) Length (avg)  Height (avg)
 Main: 19.0" / 483 mm 720.00 ft / 219.46 m 17.00 ft / 5.18 m
 Ends: Unarmoured
   Main Belt covers 102 % of normal length

   - Torpedo Bulkhead:
  4.00" / 102 mm 720.00 ft / 219.46 m 37.00 ft / 11.28 m

   - Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
 Main: 21.0" / 533 mm 12.0" / 305 mm  20.0" / 508 mm
 2nd: 6.00" / 152 mm 6.00" / 152 mm  6.00" / 152 mm

   - Armour deck: 8.00" / 203 mm, Conning tower: 20.00" / 508 mm

Machinery:
 Oil fired boilers, steam turbines, 
 Geared drive, 4 shafts, 277,853 shp / 207,279 Kw = 31.00 kts
 Range 8,900nm at 18.00 kts
 Bunker at max displacement = 14,463 tons

Complement:
 2,916 - 3,791

Cost:
 £21.354 million / $85.414 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
 Armament: 4,507 tons, 4.3 %
 Armour: 39,752 tons, 37.9 %
    - Belts: 9,939 tons, 9.5 %
    - Torpedo bulkhead: 3,943 tons, 3.8 %
    - Armament: 8,155 tons, 7.8 %
    - Armour Deck: 16,757 tons, 16.0 %
    - Conning Tower: 959 tons, 0.9 %
 Machinery: 9,568 tons, 9.1 %
 Hull, fittings & equipment: 39,423 tons, 37.5 %
 Fuel, ammunition & stores: 11,750 tons, 11.2 %
 Miscellaneous weights: 0 tons, 0.0 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
 Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
   168,304 lbs / 76,341 Kg = 44.1 x 19.7 " / 500 mm shells or 32.6 torpedoes
 Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.18
 Metacentric height 11.3 ft / 3.5 m
 Roll period: 17.5 seconds
 Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 65 %
   - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.49
 Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.31

Hull form characteristics:
 Hull has a flush deck
 Block coefficient: 0.620
 Length to Beam Ratio: 7.75 : 1
 'Natural speed' for length: 32.94 kts
 Power going to wave formation at top speed: 46 %
 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:  33.00 ft / 10.06 m
    - Forecastle (20 %): 27.00 ft / 8.23 m
    - Mid (50 %):  27.00 ft / 8.23 m
    - Quarterdeck (15 %): 27.00 ft / 8.23 m
    - Stern:  27.00 ft / 8.23 m
    - Average freeboard: 27.48 ft / 8.38 m
 Ship tends to be wet forward

Ship space, strength and comments:
 Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 72.4 %
  - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 199.7 %
 Waterplane Area: 113,223 Square feet or 10,519 Square metres
 Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 111 %
 Structure weight / hull surface area: 260 lbs/sq ft or 1,272 Kg/sq metre
 Hull strength (Relative):
  - Cross-sectional: 1.03
  - Longitudinal: 0.99
  - Overall: 1.00
 Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is excellent
 Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent
 Good seaboat, rides out heavy weather easily

My friend Cliff had this concept for a lightly armed battleship

My friend Cliff liked exploring the fringes of warship design. One concept that he had was for a battleship armed with two triple 12in turrets and having relatively thick armor (in this case, 14in). I have an annotated pencil sketch for what I think may have been considered for construction starting in 1909. It could have been earlier, but I have my doubts. I don't have speed data, but with Springsharp, I found that we had underspecified the armor and had too low a freeboard. The design tends to be wet forward, according to Springsharp. This is the report:

Battleship design study, Great Britain Battleship laid down 1909

Displacement:
 23,511 t light; 24,366 t standard; 29,000 t normal; 32,707 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
 620.00 ft / 620.00 ft x 100.00 ft x 27.70 ft (normal load)
 188.98 m / 188.98 m x 30.48 m  x 8.44 m

Armament:
      6 - 12.00" / 305 mm guns (2x3 guns), 864.00lbs / 391.90kg shells, 1909 Model
   Breech loading guns in turrets (on barbettes)
   on centreline ends, evenly spread
      8 - 6.00" / 152 mm guns in single mounts, 108.00lbs / 48.99kg shells, 1909 Model
   Quick firing guns in casemate mounts 
   on side, evenly spread, 4 raised mounts
 Weight of broadside 6,048 lbs / 2,743 kg
 Shells per gun, main battery: 80

Armour:
   - Belts:  Width (max) Length (avg)  Height (avg)
 Main: 14.0" / 356 mm 410.00 ft / 124.97 m 17.00 ft / 5.18 m
 Ends: 4.00" / 102 mm 210.00 ft / 64.01 m 17.00 ft / 5.18 m
   Main Belt covers 102 % of normal length

   - Torpedo Bulkhead:
  2.00" / 51 mm 410.00 ft / 124.97 m 26.00 ft / 7.92 m

   - Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
 Main: 14.0" / 356 mm 8.00" / 203 mm  14.0" / 356 mm
 2nd: 6.00" / 152 mm 6.00" / 152 mm  6.00" / 152 mm

   - Armour deck: 3.50" / 89 mm, Conning tower: 14.00" / 356 mm

Machinery:
 Oil fired boilers, steam turbines, 
 Direct drive, 4 shafts, 66,369 shp / 49,511 Kw = 25.00 kts
 Range 7,000nm at 18.00 kts
 Bunker at max displacement = 8,341 tons

Complement:
 1,110 - 1,444

Cost:
 £1.880 million / $7.521 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
 Armament: 756 tons, 2.6 %
 Armour: 10,395 tons, 35.8 %
    - Belts: 4,794 tons, 16.5 %
    - Torpedo bulkhead: 789 tons, 2.7 %
    - Armament: 1,616 tons, 5.6 %
    - Armour Deck: 2,912 tons, 10.0 %
    - Conning Tower: 285 tons, 1.0 %
 Machinery: 3,017 tons, 10.4 %
 Hull, fittings & equipment: 9,343 tons, 32.2 %
 Fuel, ammunition & stores: 5,489 tons, 18.9 %
 Miscellaneous weights: 0 tons, 0.0 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
 Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
   61,447 lbs / 27,872 Kg = 71.1 x 12.0 " / 305 mm shells or 11.3 torpedoes
 Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.35
 Metacentric height 8.5 ft / 2.6 m
 Roll period: 14.4 seconds
 Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 70 %
   - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.22
 Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.41

Hull form characteristics:
 Hull has a flush deck
 Block coefficient: 0.591
 Length to Beam Ratio: 6.20 : 1
 'Natural speed' for length: 24.90 kts
 Power going to wave formation at top speed: 51 %
 Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
 Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 0.00 degrees
 Stern overhang: -2.00 ft / -0.61 m
 Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
    - Stem:  24.00 ft / 7.32 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: 22.16 ft / 6.75 m
 Ship tends to be wet forward

Ship space, strength and comments:
 Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 67.6 %
  - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 169.8 %
 Waterplane Area: 44,966 Square feet or 4,177 Square metres
 Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 129 %
 Structure weight / hull surface area: 151 lbs/sq ft or 739 Kg/sq metre
 Hull strength (Relative):
  - Cross-sectional: 0.95
  - Longitudinal: 1.54
  - 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

My Ger/CB/1915 design study doesn't work without changes

To make my Hood-looking German battlecruiser design study for a Ger/CB/1915 class, I had to increase the displacement and draft to achieve adequate structural strenght. I also had to decrease freeboard, oddly enough, to reduce weight. I also was not able to achieve the 16,650 tons of protection of that I had wanted. The armor basis is 12in, which is adequate, but it suffers from having been originally a 9in armor basis that had a thicker belt added. Instead of four twin turrets, this design has three triple turrets. Otherwise, it resembles the Hood. This is the Springsharp report:

Ger/CB/1915 design study, Enter country Enter ship type laid down 1915 (Engine 1927)

Displacement:
 42,889 t light; 44,780 t standard; 46,800 t normal; 48,416 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
 851.12 ft / 850.00 ft x 110.00 ft x 32.00 ft (normal load)
 259.42 m / 259.08 m x 33.53 m  x 9.75 m

Armament:
      9 - 16.50" / 419 mm guns (3x3 guns), 2,246.06lbs / 1,018.80kg shells, 1915 Model
   Breech loading guns in turrets (on barbettes)
   on centreline ends, majority forward
      10 - 6.00" / 152 mm guns in single mounts, 108.00lbs / 48.99kg shells, 1915 Model
   Quick firing guns in deck mounts with hoists
   on side, all amidships, 2 raised mounts - superfiring
 Weight of broadside 21,295 lbs / 9,659 kg
 Shells per gun, main battery: 80

Armour:
   - Belts:  Width (max) Length (avg)  Height (avg)
 Main: 12.0" / 305 mm 480.00 ft / 146.30 m 9.00 ft / 2.74 m
 Ends: Unarmoured
 Upper: 12.0" / 305 mm 480.00 ft / 146.30 m 8.00 ft / 2.44 m
   Main Belt covers 87 % of normal length
   Main belt does not fully cover magazines and engineering spaces

   - Torpedo Bulkhead:
  2.00" / 51 mm 480.00 ft / 146.30 m 28.00 ft / 8.53 m

   - Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
 Main: 10.0" / 254 mm 7.00" / 178 mm  10.0" / 254 mm
 2nd: 2.00" / 51 mm       -         -

   - Armour deck: 4.00" / 102 mm, Conning tower: 10.00" / 254 mm

Machinery:
 Oil fired boilers, steam turbines, 
 Geared drive, 4 shafts, 227,396 shp / 169,638 Kw = 33.00 kts
 Range 5,600nm at 15.00 kts
 Bunker at max displacement = 3,636 tons

Complement:
 1,590 - 2,068

Cost:
 £6.897 million / $27.590 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
 Armament: 2,662 tons, 5.7 %
 Armour: 13,108 tons, 28.0 %
    - Belts: 4,306 tons, 9.2 %
    - Torpedo bulkhead: 995 tons, 2.1 %
    - Armament: 2,710 tons, 5.8 %
    - Armour Deck: 4,817 tons, 10.3 %
    - Conning Tower: 280 tons, 0.6 %
 Machinery: 7,178 tons, 15.3 %
 Hull, fittings & equipment: 19,942 tons, 42.6 %
 Fuel, ammunition & stores: 3,911 tons, 8.4 %
 Miscellaneous weights: 0 tons, 0.0 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
 Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
   56,408 lbs / 25,586 Kg = 25.1 x 16.5 " / 419 mm shells or 6.9 torpedoes
 Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.17
 Metacentric height 7.7 ft / 2.4 m
 Roll period: 16.6 seconds
 Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 56 %
   - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.66
 Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.11

Hull form characteristics:
 Hull has rise forward of midbreak
 Block coefficient: 0.547
 Length to Beam Ratio: 7.73 : 1
 'Natural speed' for length: 29.15 kts
 Power going to wave formation at top speed: 54 %
 Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
 Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 2.00 degrees
 Stern overhang: -2.00 ft / -0.61 m
 Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
    - Stem:  32.00 ft / 9.75 m
    - Forecastle (20 %): 29.00 ft / 8.84 m
    - Mid (64 %):  29.00 ft / 8.84 m (21.00 ft / 6.40 m aft of break)
    - Quarterdeck (15 %): 21.00 ft / 6.40 m
    - Stern:  21.00 ft / 6.40 m
    - Average freeboard: 26.36 ft / 8.03 m
 Ship tends to be wet forward

Ship space, strength and comments:
 Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 112.4 %
  - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 206.0 %
 Waterplane Area: 65,098 Square feet or 6,048 Square metres
 Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 96 %
 Structure weight / hull surface area: 215 lbs/sq ft or 1,052 Kg/sq metre
 Hull strength (Relative):
  - Cross-sectional: 0.97
  - Longitudinal: 1.36
  - Overall: 1.00
 Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is cramped
 Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent

The Ger/CL/1914 design now works quite nicely

I just tried the Ger/CL/1914 design in Springsharp, and using the methods that I learned from The Red Admiral from WesWorld, I was able to create what seems to be a reasonable design. This is a weight comparison between my 1971 design and what Springsharp produced:

             Original      Springsharp
Machinery:   1,335 tons    1,676 tons
Hull:        1,500 tons    1,038 tons
Protection:  110 tons      222 tons
Oil Fuel:    700 tons      694 tons (max. bunker)

This is the complete Springsharp report:

Ger/CL/1914, Germany Light Cruiser laid down 1914 (Engine 1917)

Displacement:
 3,006 t light; 3,140 t standard; 3,500 t normal; 3,788 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
 431.87 ft / 430.00 ft x 40.00 ft x 16.00 ft (normal load)
 131.63 m / 131.06 m x 12.19 m  x 4.88 m

Armament:
      3 - 5.00" / 127 mm guns in single mounts, 62.50lbs / 28.35kg shells, 1914 Model
   Quick firing guns in deck mounts with hoists
   on centreline ends, majority aft, 1 raised mount aft
      6 - 5.00" / 127 mm guns in single mounts, 62.50lbs / 28.35kg shells, 1914 Model
   Quick firing guns in deck mounts with hoists
   on side, evenly spread
 Weight of broadside 563 lbs / 255 kg
 Shells per gun, main battery: 180
 4 - 21.0" / 533.4 mm above water torpedoes

Armour:

   - Armour deck: 1.00" / 25 mm, Conning tower: 4.00" / 102 mm

Machinery:
 Oil fired boilers, steam turbines, 
 Geared drive, 2 shafts, 48,865 shp / 36,453 Kw = 32.00 kts
 Range 4,200nm at 15.00 kts
 Bunker at max displacement = 648 tons

Complement:
 226 - 295

Cost:
 £0.508 million / $2.031 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
 Armament: 70 tons, 2.0 %
 Armour: 222 tons, 6.3 %
    - Belts: 0 tons, 0.0 %
    - Torpedo bulkhead: 0 tons, 0.0 %
    - Armament: 0 tons, 0.0 %
    - Armour Deck: 202 tons, 5.8 %
    - Conning Tower: 20 tons, 0.6 %
 Machinery: 1,676 tons, 47.9 %
 Hull, fittings & equipment: 1,038 tons, 29.7 %
 Fuel, ammunition & stores: 494 tons, 14.1 %
 Miscellaneous weights: 0 tons, 0.0 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
 Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
   1,151 lbs / 522 Kg = 18.4 x 5.0 " / 127 mm shells or 0.4 torpedoes
 Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.39
 Metacentric height 2.3 ft / 0.7 m
 Roll period: 11.2 seconds
 Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 66 %
   - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.47
 Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.31

Hull form characteristics:
 Hull has rise forward of midbreak
 Block coefficient: 0.445
 Length to Beam Ratio: 10.75 : 1
 'Natural speed' for length: 20.74 kts
 Power going to wave formation at top speed: 61 %
 Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
 Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 2.00 degrees
 Stern overhang: 1.00 ft / 0.30 m
 Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
    - Stem:  25.00 ft / 7.62 m
    - Forecastle (20 %): 22.00 ft / 6.71 m
    - Mid (34 %):  22.00 ft / 6.71 m (14.00 ft / 4.27 m aft of break)
    - Quarterdeck (15 %): 14.00 ft / 4.27 m
    - Stern:  14.00 ft / 4.27 m
    - Average freeboard: 16.96 ft / 5.17 m

Ship space, strength and comments:
 Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 170.6 %
  - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 121.6 %
 Waterplane Area: 10,928 Square feet or 1,015 Square metres
 Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 80 %
 Structure weight / hull surface area: 48 lbs/sq ft or 232 Kg/sq metre
 Hull strength (Relative):
  - Cross-sectional: 0.61
  - Longitudinal: 1.79
  - Overall: 0.67
 Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is cramped
 Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent
 Good seaboat, rides out heavy weather easily

My revision to the Ger/CB/1912 battlecruiser design

I have a page with some specifics about the Ger/CB/1912 battlecruiser. There is a nice photo of one of these ships:

This is the Springsharp report for the revised design. Like other recent designs, this relies heavily on lightweight machinery:

Ger/CB/1912, Germany Battlecruiser laid down 1912 (Engine 1931)

Displacement:
 35,442 t light; 36,728 t standard; 39,559 t normal; 41,824 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
 822.00 ft / 820.00 ft x 105.00 ft x 29.40 ft (normal load)
 250.55 m / 249.94 m x 32.00 m  x 8.96 m

Armament:
     6 - 15.00" / 381 mm guns (2x3 guns), 1,687.50lbs / 765.44kg shells, 1912 Model
   Breech loading guns in turrets (on barbettes)
   on centreline, all forward, 1 raised mount - superfiring
     8 - 6.00" / 152 mm guns in single mounts, 108.00lbs / 48.99kg shells, 1912 Model
   Quick firing guns in deck mounts with hoists
   on centreline, all amidships
 Weight of broadside 10,989 lbs / 4,985 kg
 Shells per gun, main battery: 80

Armour:
  - Belts:  Width (max) Length (avg)  Height (avg)
 Main: 6.00" / 152 mm 630.00 ft / 192.02 m 17.00 ft / 5.18 m
 Ends: Unarmoured
   Main Belt covers 118 % of normal length

  - Torpedo Bulkhead:
  2.00" / 51 mm 630.00 ft / 192.02 m 28.00 ft / 8.53 m

  - Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
 Main: 9.00" / 229 mm 7.00" / 178 mm  9.00" / 229 mm
 2nd: 2.00" / 51 mm       -         -

  - Armour deck: 5.00" / 127 mm, Conning tower: 9.00" / 229 mm

Machinery:
 Oil fired boilers, steam turbines,
 Direct drive, 4 shafts, 207,899 shp / 155,093 Kw = 33.00 kts
 Range 6,250nm at 18.00 kts
 Bunker at max displacement = 5,096 tons

Complement:
 1,402 - 1,823

Cost:
 £3.265 million / $13.059 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
 Armament: 1,374 tons, 3.5 %
 Armour: 11,529 tons, 29.1 %
    - Belts: 2,659 tons, 6.7 %
    - Torpedo bulkhead: 1,305 tons, 3.3 %
    - Armament: 1,797 tons, 4.5 %
    - Armour Deck: 5,542 tons, 14.0 %
    - Conning Tower: 225 tons, 0.6 %
 Machinery: 6,217 tons, 15.7 %
 Hull, fittings & equipment: 16,322 tons, 41.3 %
 Fuel, ammunition & stores: 4,117 tons, 10.4 %
 Miscellaneous weights: 0 tons, 0.0 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
 Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
   61,718 lbs / 27,995 Kg = 36.6 x 15.0 " / 381 mm shells or 8.8 torpedoes
 Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.20
 Metacentric height 7.6 ft / 2.3 m
 Roll period: 16.0 seconds
 Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 61 %
   - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.50
 Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.22

Hull form characteristics:
 Hull has rise forward of midbreak
 Block coefficient: 0.547
 Length to Beam Ratio: 7.81 : 1
 'Natural speed' for length: 28.64 kts
 Power going to wave formation at top speed: 54 %
 Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
 Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 0.00 degrees
 Stern overhang: 2.00 ft / 0.61 m
 Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
    - Stem:  34.00 ft / 10.36 m
    - Forecastle (20 %): 30.00 ft / 9.14 m
    - Mid (67 %):  30.00 ft / 9.14 m (22.00 ft / 6.71 m aft of break)
    - Quarterdeck (15 %): 22.00 ft / 6.71 m
    - Stern:  22.00 ft / 6.71 m
    - Average freeboard: 27.68 ft / 8.44 m

Ship space, strength and comments:
 Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 95.4 %
  - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 226.2 %
 Waterplane Area: 59,918 Square feet or 5,567 Square metres
 Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 113 %
 Structure weight / hull surface area: 189 lbs/sq ft or 923 Kg/sq metre
 Hull strength (Relative):
  - Cross-sectional: 0.95
  - Longitudinal: 1.49
  - Overall: 1.00
 Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is adequate
 Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent
 Good seaboat, rides out heavy weather easily

The GB/DD/1906 depends on lighter machinery

I was able to make the less detailed design for the GB/DD/1906 destroyer work by having lighter machinery. This was the ship that my friend Cliff planned to produce in numbers for his fleet in our game. The ship would have 2-88mm (20pdr) guns and 2-21in TT (in anachronistic fashion). The only length specified in what has survived was 265ft and the displacement was the low 800 tons. This is the Springsharp report:

GB/DD/1906, Great Britain Enter ship type laid down 1906 (Engine 1921)

Displacement:
 690 t light; 709 t standard; 800 t normal; 873 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
 265.77 ft / 265.00 ft x 27.00 ft x 9.00 ft (normal load)
 81.01 m / 80.77 m x 8.23 m  x 2.74 m

Armament:
      2 - 3.46" / 88.0 mm guns in single mounts, 20.00lbs / 9.07kg shells, 1906 Model
   Breech loading guns in deck mounts with hoists
   on centreline ends, evenly spread
 Weight of broadside 40 lbs / 18 kg
 Shells per gun, main battery: 150
 2 - 21.0" / 533.4 mm above water torpedoes

Machinery:
 Oil fired boilers, steam turbines, 
 Direct drive, 2 shafts, 25,466 shp / 18,998 Kw = 32.00 kts
 Range 2,800nm at 15.00 kts
 Bunker at max displacement = 164 tons

Complement:
 74 - 97

Cost:
 £0.091 million / $0.363 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
 Armament: 5 tons, 0.6 %
 Machinery: 445 tons, 55.6 %
 Hull, fittings & equipment: 240 tons, 30.0 %
 Fuel, ammunition & stores: 110 tons, 13.8 %
 Miscellaneous weights: 0 tons, 0.0 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
 Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
   216 lbs / 98 Kg = 10.4 x 3.5 " / 88 mm shells or 0.2 torpedoes
 Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.42
 Metacentric height 1.3 ft / 0.4 m
 Roll period: 10.0 seconds
 Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 54 %
   - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.13
 Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.08

Hull form characteristics:
 Hull has rise forward of midbreak
 Block coefficient: 0.435
 Length to Beam Ratio: 9.81 : 1
 'Natural speed' for length: 16.28 kts
 Power going to wave formation at top speed: 72 %
 Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
 Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 2.00 degrees
 Stern overhang: 0.00 ft / 0.00 m
 Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
    - Stem:  22.00 ft / 6.71 m
    - Forecastle (20 %): 20.00 ft / 6.10 m
    - Mid (27 %):  20.00 ft / 6.10 m (12.00 ft / 3.66 m aft of break)
    - Quarterdeck (15 %): 12.00 ft / 3.66 m
    - Stern:  12.00 ft / 3.66 m
    - Average freeboard: 14.32 ft / 4.36 m

Ship space, strength and comments:
 Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 184.4 %
  - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 120.5 %
 Waterplane Area: 4,509 Square feet or 419 Square metres
 Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 45 %
 Structure weight / hull surface area: 23 lbs/sq ft or 110 Kg/sq metre
 Hull strength (Relative):
  - Cross-sectional: 0.40
  - Longitudinal: 3.58
  - Overall: 0.50
 Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is cramped
 Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent

The GB/DL/1906 redesigned

My friend Cliff's design for a large destroyer or destroyer leader armed with 88mm guns and having a speed of 32 knots works quite nicely, now that I understand better how to use Springsharp. I had originally expected to have to use a much later date for the machinery, and found that wasn't necessary. The dimensions, displacement, armament, and speed are what were originally planned. This is the Springsharp report:

GB/DL/1906, Great Britain Destroyer Leader laid down 1906 (Engine 1917)

Displacement:
 1,023 t light; 1,054 t standard; 1,200 t normal; 1,317 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
 326.77 ft / 326.00 ft x 30.00 ft x 9.00 ft (normal load)
 99.60 m / 99.36 m x 9.14 m  x 2.74 m

Armament:
      4 - 3.46" / 88.0 mm guns in single mounts, 20.00lbs / 9.07kg shells, 1906 Model
   Breech loading guns in deck mounts with hoists
   on centreline ends, evenly spread, 2 raised mounts - superfiring
 Weight of broadside 80 lbs / 36 kg
 Shells per gun, main battery: 150
 2 - 21.0" / 533.4 mm above water torpedoes

Machinery:
 Oil fired boilers, steam turbines, 
 Direct drive, 2 shafts, 29,369 shp / 21,909 Kw = 32.00 kts
 Range 3,200nm at 15.00 kts
 Bunker at max displacement = 263 tons

Complement:
 101 - 132

Cost:
 £0.138 million / $0.554 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
 Armament: 10 tons, 0.9 %
 Machinery: 671 tons, 55.9 %
 Hull, fittings & equipment: 342 tons, 28.5 %
 Fuel, ammunition & stores: 177 tons, 14.7 %
 Miscellaneous weights: 0 tons, 0.0 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
 Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
   330 lbs / 150 Kg = 15.9 x 3.5 " / 88 mm shells or 0.2 torpedoes
 Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.51
 Metacentric height 1.7 ft / 0.5 m
 Roll period: 9.8 seconds
 Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 57 %
   - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.18
 Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.15

Hull form characteristics:
 Hull has rise forward of midbreak
 Block coefficient: 0.477
 Length to Beam Ratio: 10.87 : 1
 'Natural speed' for length: 18.06 kts
 Power going to wave formation at top speed: 68 %
 Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
 Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 2.00 degrees
 Stern overhang: 0.00 ft / 0.00 m
 Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
    - Stem:  22.00 ft / 6.71 m
    - Forecastle (20 %): 20.00 ft / 6.10 m
    - Mid (28 %):  20.00 ft / 6.10 m (12.00 ft / 3.66 m aft of break)
    - Quarterdeck (15 %): 12.00 ft / 3.66 m
    - Stern:  12.00 ft / 3.66 m
    - Average freeboard: 14.40 ft / 4.39 m

Ship space, strength and comments:
 Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 187.0 %
  - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 134.3 %
 Waterplane Area: 6,384 Square feet or 593 Square metres
 Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 54 %
 Structure weight / hull surface area: 26 lbs/sq ft or 127 Kg/sq metre
 Hull strength (Relative):
  - Cross-sectional: 0.45
  - Longitudinal: 1.93
  - Overall: 0.53
 Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is cramped
 Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent

"New Age" design for the Ger/CB/1905 battlecruiser

This is based on my 18 July 1973 drawing and design for the Ger/CB/1905. I wanted to keep to the specifications contained there and only extrapolate as needed. I had looked at higher speeds, up to 32 and 33 knots. The basic characteristics remained the same. I had to up the machinery year to achieve the weights originally specified:

Hull:        8,070 tons
Machinery:   3,000 tons
Protection:  5,895 tons
Armament:      515 tons
Misc:        1,520 tons
Oil Fuel:    3,500 tons

Total:      21,500 tons full load

This is the Springsharp report:

Ger/CB/1905, Germany Battlecruiser laid down 1905 (Engine 1930)

Displacement:
 16,710 t light; 17,265 t standard; 19,000 t normal; 20,388 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
 700.00 ft / 700.00 ft x 80.00 ft x 24.40 ft (normal load)
 213.36 m / 213.36 m x 24.38 m  x 7.44 m

Armament:
      4 - 12.00" / 305 mm guns (2x2 guns), 864.00lbs / 391.90kg shells, 1905 Model
   Breech loading guns in turrets (on barbettes)
   on centreline ends, evenly spread
      12 - 4.00" / 102 mm guns in single mounts, 32.00lbs / 14.51kg shells, 1905 Model
   Quick firing guns in casemate mounts 
   on side, all amidships
 Weight of broadside 3,840 lbs / 1,742 kg
 Shells per gun, main battery: 80

Armour:
   - Belts:  Width (max) Length (avg)  Height (avg)
 Main: 4.00" / 102 mm 380.00 ft / 115.82 m 17.00 ft / 5.18 m
 Ends: Unarmoured
   Main Belt covers 84 % of normal length
   Main belt does not fully cover magazines and engineering spaces

   - Torpedo Bulkhead:
  2.00" / 51 mm 380.00 ft / 115.82 m 24.00 ft / 7.32 m

   - Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
 Main: 9.00" / 229 mm 7.00" / 178 mm  6.00" / 152 mm
 2nd: 2.00" / 51 mm 2.00" / 51 mm  2.00" / 51 mm

   - Armour deck: 3.00" / 76 mm, Conning tower: 6.00" / 152 mm

Machinery:
 Oil fired boilers, steam turbines, 
 Direct drive, 4 shafts, 118,806 shp / 88,629 Kw = 32.00 kts
 Range 6,000nm at 18.00 kts
 Bunker at max displacement = 3,123 tons

Complement:
 808 - 1,051

Cost:
 £1.492 million / $5.968 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
 Armament: 480 tons, 2.5 %
 Armour: 4,663 tons, 24.5 %
    - Belts: 1,124 tons, 5.9 %
    - Torpedo bulkhead: 675 tons, 3.6 %
    - Armament: 726 tons, 3.8 %
    - Armour Deck: 2,046 tons, 10.8 %
    - Conning Tower: 92 tons, 0.5 %
 Machinery: 3,600 tons, 18.9 %
 Hull, fittings & equipment: 7,967 tons, 41.9 %
 Fuel, ammunition & stores: 2,290 tons, 12.1 %
 Miscellaneous weights: 0 tons, 0.0 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
 Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
   31,989 lbs / 14,510 Kg = 37.0 x 12.0 " / 305 mm shells or 4.4 torpedoes
 Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.22
 Metacentric height 5.1 ft / 1.6 m
 Roll period: 14.8 seconds
 Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 73 %
   - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.43
 Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.46

Hull form characteristics:
 Hull has rise forward of midbreak
 Block coefficient: 0.487
 Length to Beam Ratio: 8.75 : 1
 'Natural speed' for length: 26.46 kts
 Power going to wave formation at top speed: 53 %
 Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
 Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): -2.00 degrees
 Stern overhang: -1.00 ft / -0.30 m
 Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
    - Stem:  33.00 ft / 10.06 m
    - Forecastle (20 %): 29.00 ft / 8.84 m
    - Mid (64 %):  29.00 ft / 8.84 m (21.00 ft / 6.40 m aft of break)
    - Quarterdeck (15 %): 21.00 ft / 6.40 m
    - Stern:  21.00 ft / 6.40 m
    - Average freeboard: 26.44 ft / 8.06 m

Ship space, strength and comments:
 Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 107.7 %
  - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 229.6 %
 Waterplane Area: 36,866 Square feet or 3,425 Square metres
 Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 121 %
 Structure weight / hull surface area: 137 lbs/sq ft or 669 Kg/sq metre
 Hull strength (Relative):
  - Cross-sectional: 0.95
  - Longitudinal: 1.67
  - Overall: 1.00
 Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is adequate
 Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent
 Ship has slow, easy roll, a good, steady gun platform
 Good seaboat, rides out heavy weather easily

Another attempt at the Super Fast Battlecruiser

My drawing of the Super Fast Battlecruiser for the British is dated 18 July 1973. I had recently finished redesigning my earlier ships and thought that I would experiment with what was possible for a similarly armed battlecruiser. All these ships were armed with two twin turrets and a secondary armament. The sole goal was to reach the highest speed. The idea was to use 40SHP/ton machinery. I had always known that very high power machinery with a light weight would be needed. The speed goals were fanciful: 52 knots. Even my scaled back goal of 46.54 knots was out of reach. Seakeeping is the greatest problem. The hull strength is overly high, but if any of the other factors are increased, the seakeeping falls below 1.0. This is my working Springsharp report. It shows what can be done rather easily, if you allow for using light weight machinery. It is within the displacement and dimensions, except the freeboard and draft were increased to achieve the necessary seakeeping ability:

Super Fast Battlecruiser, Great Britain Battlecruiser laid down 1918 (Engine 1950)

Displacement:
 31,118 t light; 32,195 t standard; 33,500 t normal; 34,544 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
 800.00 ft / 800.00 ft x 85.00 ft x 33.00 ft (normal load)
 243.84 m / 243.84 m x 25.91 m  x 10.06 m

Armament:
      4 - 17.00" / 432 mm guns (2x2 guns), 2,456.50lbs / 1,114.25kg shells, 1918 Model
   Breech loading guns in turrets (on barbettes)
   on centreline ends, evenly spread
      4 - 4.00" / 102 mm guns (2x2 guns), 32.00lbs / 14.51kg shells, 1918 Model
   Quick firing guns in deck mounts with hoists
   on centreline ends, evenly spread, all raised mounts - superfiring
      12 - 4.00" / 102 mm guns (6x2 guns), 32.00lbs / 14.51kg shells, 1918 Model
   Quick firing guns in deck mounts with hoists
   on side, evenly spread
 Weight of broadside 10,338 lbs / 4,689 kg
 Shells per gun, main battery: 70

Armour:
   - Belts:  Width (max) Length (avg)  Height (avg)
 Main: 8.00" / 203 mm 420.00 ft / 128.02 m 9.00 ft / 2.74 m
 Ends: Unarmoured
 Upper: 5.00" / 127 mm 230.00 ft / 70.10 m 8.00 ft / 2.44 m
   Main Belt covers 81 % of normal length
   Main belt does not fully cover magazines and engineering spaces

   - Torpedo Bulkhead:
  1.50" / 38 mm 420.00 ft / 128.02 m 27.00 ft / 8.23 m

   - Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
 Main: 8.00" / 203 mm 5.00" / 127 mm  8.00" / 203 mm
 2nd: 2.00" / 51 mm       -         -
 3rd: 2.00" / 51 mm       -         -

   - Armour deck: 2.00" / 51 mm, Conning tower: 5.00" / 127 mm

Machinery:
 Oil fired boilers, steam turbines, 
 Geared drive, 6 shafts, 321,949 shp / 240,174 Kw = 38.00 kts
 Range 5,400nm at 15.00 kts
 Bunker at max displacement = 2,349 tons

Complement:
 1,237 - 1,609

Cost:
 £6.506 million / $26.023 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
 Armament: 1,292 tons, 3.9 %
 Armour: 5,536 tons, 16.5 %
    - Belts: 1,772 tons, 5.3 %
    - Torpedo bulkhead: 629 tons, 1.9 %
    - Armament: 1,311 tons, 3.9 %
    - Armour Deck: 1,711 tons, 5.1 %
    - Conning Tower: 112 tons, 0.3 %
 Machinery: 7,702 tons, 23.0 %
 Hull, fittings & equipment: 16,587 tons, 49.5 %
 Fuel, ammunition & stores: 2,382 tons, 7.1 %
 Miscellaneous weights: 0 tons, 0.0 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
 Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
   35,149 lbs / 15,943 Kg = 14.3 x 17.0 " / 432 mm shells or 3.6 torpedoes
 Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.07
 Metacentric height 4.5 ft / 1.4 m
 Roll period: 16.9 seconds
 Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 51 %
   - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.91
 Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.02

Hull form characteristics:
 Hull has rise forward of midbreak
 Block coefficient: 0.523
 Length to Beam Ratio: 9.41 : 1
 'Natural speed' for length: 28.28 kts
 Power going to wave formation at top speed: 60 %
 Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
 Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 0.00 degrees
 Stern overhang: 0.00 ft / 0.00 m
 Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
    - Stem:  36.00 ft / 10.97 m
    - Forecastle (20 %): 34.00 ft / 10.36 m
    - Mid (46 %):  34.00 ft / 10.36 m (26.00 ft / 7.92 m aft of break)
    - Quarterdeck (15 %): 26.00 ft / 7.92 m
    - Stern:  26.00 ft / 7.92 m
    - Average freeboard: 29.84 ft / 9.10 m

Ship space, strength and comments:
 Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 134.8 %
  - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 208.0 %
 Waterplane Area: 46,254 Square feet or 4,297 Square metres
 Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 107 %
 Structure weight / hull surface area: 210 lbs/sq ft or 1,025 Kg/sq metre
 Hull strength (Relative):
  - Cross-sectional: 1.11
  - Longitudinal: 2.25
  - Overall: 1.19
 Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is cramped
 Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent

The very small Super Lion

I redid the Springsharp calculations and got within the displacement that I had originally wanted, as well as close to the protection weight. The ship is very lightly protected. Here is the Springsharp report:

Super Lion, Great Britain Battlecruiser laid down 1912

Displacement:
 29,593 t light; 31,049 t standard; 33,710 t normal; 35,839 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
 752.00 ft / 750.00 ft x 100.00 ft x 28.90 ft (normal load)
 229.21 m / 228.60 m x 30.48 m  x 8.81 m

Armament:
      8 - 15.00" / 381 mm guns (4x2 guns), 1,687.50lbs / 765.44kg shells, 1912 Model
   Breech loading guns in turrets (on barbettes)
   on centreline ends, evenly spread, 2 raised mounts - superfiring
      2 - 15.00" / 381 mm guns (1x2 guns), 1,687.50lbs / 765.44kg shells, 1912 Model
   Breech loading guns in a turret (on a barbette)
   on centreline amidships
      12 - 4.00" / 102 mm guns (6x2 guns), 32.00lbs / 14.51kg shells, 1912 Model
   Quick firing guns in deck mounts with hoists
   on side, all forward, 2 raised mounts - superfiring
 Weight of broadside 17,259 lbs / 7,829 kg
 Shells per gun, main battery: 80

Armour:
   - Belts:  Width (max) Length (avg)  Height (avg)
 Main: 5.00" / 127 mm 450.00 ft / 137.16 m 8.00 ft / 2.44 m
 Ends: 4.00" / 102 mm 200.00 ft / 60.96 m 8.00 ft / 2.44 m
   100.00 ft / 30.48 m Unarmoured ends
 Upper: 4.00" / 102 mm 550.00 ft / 167.64 m 8.00 ft / 2.44 m
   Main Belt covers 92 % of normal length
   Main belt does not fully cover magazines and engineering spaces

   - Torpedo Bulkhead:
  1.40" / 36 mm 550.00 ft / 167.64 m 26.00 ft / 7.92 m

   - Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
 Main: 6.00" / 152 mm 4.00" / 102 mm  6.00" / 152 mm
 2nd: 2.00" / 51 mm 2.00" / 51 mm  2.00" / 51 mm

   - Armour deck: 2.00" / 51 mm, Conning tower: 6.00" / 152 mm

Machinery:
 Oil fired boilers, steam turbines, 
 Direct drive, 4 shafts, 133,620 shp / 99,680 Kw = 30.00 kts
 Range 6,500nm at 15.00 kts
 Bunker at max displacement = 4,790 tons

Complement:
 1,243 - 1,617

Cost:
 £3.594 million / $14.375 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
 Armament: 2,157 tons, 6.4 %
 Armour: 6,237 tons, 18.5 %
    - Belts: 1,760 tons, 5.2 %
    - Torpedo bulkhead: 741 tons, 2.2 %
    - Armament: 1,675 tons, 5.0 %
    - Armour Deck: 1,926 tons, 5.7 %
    - Conning Tower: 135 tons, 0.4 %
 Machinery: 5,328 tons, 15.8 %
 Hull, fittings & equipment: 15,871 tons, 47.1 %
 Fuel, ammunition & stores: 4,117 tons, 12.2 %
 Miscellaneous weights: 0 tons, 0.0 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
 Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
   38,782 lbs / 17,591 Kg = 23.0 x 15.0 " / 381 mm shells or 4.8 torpedoes
 Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.13
 Metacentric height 6.3 ft / 1.9 m
 Roll period: 16.7 seconds
 Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 60 %
   - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.92
 Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.19

Hull form characteristics:
 Hull has rise forward of midbreak
 Block coefficient: 0.544
 Length to Beam Ratio: 7.50 : 1
 'Natural speed' for length: 27.39 kts
 Power going to wave formation at top speed: 52 %
 Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
 Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): -2.00 degrees
 Stern overhang: 2.00 ft / 0.61 m
 Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
    - Stem:  31.00 ft / 9.45 m
    - Forecastle (20 %): 28.00 ft / 8.53 m
    - Mid (67 %):  28.00 ft / 8.53 m (20.00 ft / 6.10 m aft of break)
    - Quarterdeck (15 %): 20.00 ft / 6.10 m
    - Stern:  20.00 ft / 6.10 m
    - Average freeboard: 25.60 ft / 7.80 m

Ship space, strength and comments:
 Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 123.3 %
  - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 205.7 %
 Waterplane Area: 52,065 Square feet or 4,837 Square metres
 Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 99 %
 Structure weight / hull surface area: 211 lbs/sq ft or 1,032 Kg/sq metre
 Hull strength (Relative):
  - Cross-sectional: 0.95
  - Longitudinal: 1.54
  - Overall: 1.00
 Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is cramped
 Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent

Another "Super Lion" design

I have a design for a rather Small Super Lion design that attempts to implement Admiral Fisher's concept on a 750ft ship. The problem with this version is that the displacement increased dramatically to 37,500 tons. It still is a 30-knot ship with 10=15in guns. In this case, the armor basis is 8in, although is simply because that is what I chose, as the drawing is non-specific. I guess that my protection is heavier than 6,000 tons is the reason for the size increase. To do 6,000 tons would imply at most a 6in belt. This is the Springsharp report:

Super Lion, Great Britain Battlecruiser laid down 1912

Displacement:
 33,476 t light; 35,007 t standard; 37,500 t normal; 39,494 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
 752.00 ft / 750.00 ft x 100.00 ft x 28.90 ft (normal load)
 229.21 m / 228.60 m x 30.48 m  x 8.81 m

Armament:
      8 - 15.00" / 381 mm guns (4x2 guns), 1,687.50lbs / 765.44kg shells, 1912 Model
   Breech loading guns in turrets (on barbettes)
   on centreline ends, evenly spread, 2 raised mounts - superfiring
      2 - 15.00" / 381 mm guns (1x2 guns), 1,687.50lbs / 765.44kg shells, 1912 Model
   Breech loading guns in a turret (on a barbette)
   on centreline amidships
      12 - 4.00" / 102 mm guns (6x2 guns), 32.00lbs / 14.51kg shells, 1912 Model
   Quick firing guns in deck mounts with hoists
   on side, all forward, 2 raised mounts - superfiring
 Weight of broadside 17,259 lbs / 7,829 kg
 Shells per gun, main battery: 80

Armour:
   - Belts:  Width (max) Length (avg)  Height (avg)
 Main: 8.00" / 203 mm 540.00 ft / 164.59 m 9.00 ft / 2.74 m
 Ends: Unarmoured
 Upper: 5.00" / 127 mm 540.00 ft / 164.59 m 8.00 ft / 2.44 m
   Main Belt covers 111 % of normal length
   Main belt does not fully cover magazines and engineering spaces

   - Torpedo Bulkhead:
  2.00" / 51 mm 580.00 ft / 176.78 m 27.00 ft / 8.23 m

   - Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
 Main: 8.00" / 203 mm 6.00" / 152 mm  8.00" / 203 mm
 2nd: 2.00" / 51 mm 2.00" / 51 mm  2.00" / 51 mm

   - Armour deck: 3.00" / 76 mm, Conning tower: 8.00" / 203 mm

Machinery:
 Oil fired boilers, steam turbines, 
 Direct drive, 4 shafts, 146,626 shp / 109,383 Kw = 30.00 kts
 Range 5,600nm at 15.00 kts
 Bunker at max displacement = 4,487 tons

Complement:
 1,346 - 1,751

Cost:
 £3.802 million / $15.209 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
 Armament: 2,157 tons, 5.8 %
 Armour: 9,199 tons, 24.5 %
    - Belts: 2,550 tons, 6.8 %
    - Torpedo bulkhead: 1,159 tons, 3.1 %
    - Armament: 2,237 tons, 6.0 %
    - Armour Deck: 3,060 tons, 8.2 %
    - Conning Tower: 193 tons, 0.5 %
 Machinery: 5,846 tons, 15.6 %
 Hull, fittings & equipment: 16,273 tons, 43.4 %
 Fuel, ammunition & stores: 4,024 tons, 10.7 %
 Miscellaneous weights: 0 tons, 0.0 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
 Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
   44,417 lbs / 20,147 Kg = 26.3 x 15.0 " / 381 mm shells or 5.7 torpedoes
 Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.12
 Metacentric height 6.2 ft / 1.9 m
 Roll period: 16.8 seconds
 Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 56 %
   - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.88
 Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.13

Hull form characteristics:
 Hull has rise forward of midbreak
 Block coefficient: 0.606
 Length to Beam Ratio: 7.50 : 1
 'Natural speed' for length: 27.39 kts
 Power going to wave formation at top speed: 54 %
 Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
 Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): -2.00 degrees
 Stern overhang: 2.00 ft / 0.61 m
 Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
    - Stem:  31.00 ft / 9.45 m
    - Forecastle (20 %): 28.00 ft / 8.53 m
    - Mid (67 %):  28.00 ft / 8.53 m (20.00 ft / 6.10 m aft of break)
    - Quarterdeck (15 %): 20.00 ft / 6.10 m
    - Stern:  20.00 ft / 6.10 m
    - Average freeboard: 25.60 ft / 7.80 m

Ship space, strength and comments:
 Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 116.6 %
  - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 201.2 %
 Waterplane Area: 55,138 Square feet or 5,122 Square metres
 Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 98 %
 Structure weight / hull surface area: 207 lbs/sq ft or 1,012 Kg/sq metre
 Hull strength (Relative):
  - Cross-sectional: 0.96
  - Longitudinal: 1.45
  - Overall: 1.00
 Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is cramped
 Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent

A better report for the GB/DT/1914 design

My friend Cliff conceived of a destroyer-like vessel that had a heavy torpedo armament for the size. The drawing resembles a WWII German torpedo boat. It had just a minimal gun armament with one 4in QF gun. The speed was 31.8 knots. We had allowed for 250 tons of oil fuel. This is a comparison of the original weights and the Springsharp weights:

           Original    Springsharp
Hull:      297 tons    279 tons
Armament:   31 tons      4 tons
Machinery: 431 tons    492 tons
Misc:       72 tons    125 tons
Aux. Mach.: 30 tons    -

This is the full Springsharp report:

GB/DT/1914, Great Britain Torpedo Boat laid down 1914 (Engine 1927)

Displacement:
 775 t light; 796 t standard; 900 t normal; 984 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
 267.00 ft / 265.00 ft x 28.00 ft x 11.50 ft (normal load)
 81.38 m / 80.77 m x 8.53 m  x 3.51 m

Armament:
      1 - 4.00" / 102 mm guns in single mounts, 32.00lbs / 14.51kg shells, 1914 Model
   Quick firing gun in deck mount 
   on centreline forward
 Weight of broadside 32 lbs / 15 kg
 Shells per gun, main battery: 150
 9 - 21.0" / 533.4 mm above water torpedoes

Machinery:
 Oil fired boilers, steam turbines, 
 Geared drive, 2 shafts, 25,663 shp / 19,145 Kw = 31.80 kts
 Range 3,200nm at 15.00 kts
 Bunker at max displacement = 188 tons

Complement:
 81 - 106

Cost:
 £0.127 million / $0.506 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
 Armament: 4 tons, 0.4 %
 Machinery: 492 tons, 54.7 %
 Hull, fittings & equipment: 279 tons, 31.0 %
 Fuel, ammunition & stores: 125 tons, 13.9 %
 Miscellaneous weights: 0 tons, 0.0 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
 Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
   255 lbs / 115 Kg = 8.0 x 4.0 " / 102 mm shells or 0.2 torpedoes
 Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.18
 Metacentric height 1.0 ft / 0.3 m
 Roll period: 11.7 seconds
 Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 52 %
   - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.05
 Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.03

Hull form characteristics:
 Hull has a flush deck
 Block coefficient: 0.369
 Length to Beam Ratio: 9.46 : 1
 'Natural speed' for length: 16.28 kts
 Power going to wave formation at top speed: 70 %
 Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
 Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 3.00 degrees
 Stern overhang: 1.00 ft / 0.30 m
 Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
    - Stem:  19.00 ft / 5.79 m
    - Forecastle (20 %): 13.00 ft / 3.96 m
    - Mid (50 %):  13.00 ft / 3.96 m
    - Quarterdeck (15 %): 13.00 ft / 3.96 m
    - Stern:  13.00 ft / 3.96 m
    - Average freeboard: 13.48 ft / 4.11 m

Ship space, strength and comments:
 Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 180.0 %
  - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 22.6 %
 Waterplane Area: 4,509 Square feet or 419 Square metres
 Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 54 %
 Structure weight / hull surface area: 27 lbs/sq ft or 134 Kg/sq metre
 Hull strength (Relative):
  - Cross-sectional: 0.48
  - Longitudinal: 3.59
  - Overall: 0.59
 Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is cramped
 Room for accommodation and workspaces is extremely poor

A rather odd German armored cruiser

I have this pencil sketch with a few notes from the early 1970's for a German armored cruiser. There is a detailed armor plan and some armament notes. The rest, I have supplied through my estimates of what is reasonable. The main feature is the 6-12in guns in triple turrets, one at each end. The secondary armament is in casemates, amidships. They are under the forecastle deck. There are two funnels. The maximum armor thickness is 8in but the majority of the vertical armor is 4in. It seems a fairly reasonable design, except it may be too slow, although I adjusted the design to achieve 26 knots. This is the Springsharp report:

Ger/CA/1909, Germany Armored Cruiser laid down 1909

Displacement:
 15,440 t light; 16,065 t standard; 17,500 t normal; 18,648 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
 550.00 ft / 550.00 ft x 82.00 ft x 25.00 ft (normal load)
 167.64 m / 167.64 m x 24.99 m  x 7.62 m

Armament:
      6 - 12.00" / 305 mm guns (2x3 guns), 864.00lbs / 391.90kg shells, 1909 Model
   Breech loading guns in turrets (on barbettes)
   on centreline ends, evenly spread
      8 - 6.00" / 152 mm guns in single mounts, 108.00lbs / 48.99kg shells, 1909 Model
   Quick firing guns in casemate mounts 
   on side, all amidships
   8 guns in hull casemates - Limited use in heavy seas
 Weight of broadside 6,048 lbs / 2,743 kg
 Shells per gun, main battery: 80

Armour:
   - Belts:  Width (max) Length (avg)  Height (avg)
 Main: 8.00" / 203 mm 250.00 ft / 76.20 m 9.00 ft / 2.74 m
 Ends: 4.00" / 102 mm 300.00 ft / 91.44 m 9.00 ft / 2.74 m
 Upper: 4.00" / 102 mm 380.00 ft / 115.82 m 8.00 ft / 2.44 m
   Main Belt covers 70 % of normal length
   Main belt does not fully cover magazines and engineering spaces

   - Torpedo Bulkhead:
  1.50" / 38 mm 380.00 ft / 115.82 m 24.00 ft / 7.32 m

   - Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
 Main: 8.00" / 203 mm 4.00" / 102 mm  8.00" / 203 mm

   - Armour deck: 3.00" / 76 mm

Machinery:
 Oil fired boilers, steam turbines, 
 Direct drive, 4 shafts, 57,405 shp / 42,824 Kw = 26.00 kts
 Range 4,500nm at 15.00 kts
 Bunker at max displacement = 2,583 tons

Complement:
 759 - 988

Cost:
 £1.541 million / $6.163 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
 Armament: 756 tons, 4.3 %
 Armour: 4,886 tons, 27.9 %
    - Belts: 1,771 tons, 10.1 %
    - Torpedo bulkhead: 506 tons, 2.9 %
    - Armament: 873 tons, 5.0 %
    - Armour Deck: 1,736 tons, 9.9 %
    - Conning Tower: 0 tons, 0.0 %
 Machinery: 2,609 tons, 14.9 %
 Hull, fittings & equipment: 7,189 tons, 41.1 %
 Fuel, ammunition & stores: 2,060 tons, 11.8 %
 Miscellaneous weights: 0 tons, 0.0 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
 Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
   27,544 lbs / 12,494 Kg = 31.9 x 12.0 " / 305 mm shells or 4.1 torpedoes
 Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.16
 Metacentric height 4.9 ft / 1.5 m
 Roll period: 15.6 seconds
 Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 77 %
   - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.72
 Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.54

Hull form characteristics:
 Hull has rise forward of midbreak
 Block coefficient: 0.543
 Length to Beam Ratio: 6.71 : 1
 'Natural speed' for length: 23.45 kts
 Power going to wave formation at top speed: 54 %
 Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
 Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): -1.00 degrees
 Stern overhang: -2.00 ft / -0.61 m
 Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
    - Stem:  31.00 ft / 9.45 m
    - Forecastle (20 %): 29.00 ft / 8.84 m
    - Mid (67 %):  29.00 ft / 8.84 m (21.00 ft / 6.40 m aft of break)
    - Quarterdeck (15 %): 21.00 ft / 6.40 m
    - Stern:  21.00 ft / 6.40 m
    - Average freeboard: 26.52 ft / 8.08 m

Ship space, strength and comments:
 Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 106.9 %
  - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 210.2 %
 Waterplane Area: 31,276 Square feet or 2,906 Square metres
 Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 108 %
 Structure weight / hull surface area: 149 lbs/sq ft or 726 Kg/sq metre
 Hull strength (Relative):
  - Cross-sectional: 0.90
  - Longitudinal: 2.45
  - Overall: 1.00
 Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is adequate
 Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent
 Ship has slow, easy roll, a good, steady gun platform
 Excellent seaboat, comfortable, can fire her guns in the heaviest weather

This was one of those times

When I did this design study that was clearly influenced by the Super Lion concept, I grossly underestimated what it would take to make it work. I had optimistically thought that on a normal displacement of 28,500 tons, and 800ft x 90ft x 26.5ft, I could have 10-15in BLR and 16-5in QF guns with a 6in armor basis. The turrets and barbettes would be 9in. The weights were to be:

• Hull: 10,050 tons
• Auxiliary machinery: 1,060 tons
• Machinery: 3,800 tons
• Armament: 2,410 tons
• Protection: 7,520 tons
• Miscellaneous: 2,160 tons

The machinery was to be 30 SHP/ton of machinery weight. This is the Springsharp report, which reflects what was necessary:

Super Lion design study, Great Britain Battlecruiser laid down 1912 (Engine 1927)

Displacement:
 33,985 t light; 35,582 t standard; 39,200 t normal; 42,094 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
 800.00 ft / 800.00 ft x 95.00 ft x 29.50 ft (normal load)
 243.84 m / 243.84 m x 28.96 m  x 8.99 m

Armament:
      8 - 15.00" / 381 mm guns (4x2 guns), 1,687.50lbs / 765.44kg shells, 1912 Model
   Breech loading guns in turrets (on barbettes)
   on centreline ends, evenly spread, 2 raised mounts - superfiring
      2 - 15.00" / 381 mm guns (1x2 guns), 1,687.50lbs / 765.44kg shells, 1912 Model
   Breech loading guns in a turret (on a barbette)
   on centreline amidships
      16 - 5.00" / 127 mm guns in single mounts, 62.50lbs / 28.35kg shells, 1912 Model
   Quick firing guns in casemate mounts 
   on side, evenly spread
 Weight of broadside 17,875 lbs / 8,108 kg
 Shells per gun, main battery: 80

Armour:
   - Belts:  Width (max) Length (avg)  Height (avg)
 Main: 6.00" / 152 mm 560.00 ft / 170.69 m 17.00 ft / 5.18 m
 Ends: Unarmoured
   Main Belt covers 108 % of normal length
   Main belt does not fully cover magazines and engineering spaces

   - Torpedo Bulkhead:
  2.00" / 51 mm 560.00 ft / 170.69 m 27.00 ft / 8.23 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 2.00" / 51 mm  2.00" / 51 mm

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

Machinery:
 Oil fired boilers, steam turbines, 
 Direct drive, 4 shafts, 187,367 shp / 139,776 Kw = 32.00 kts
 Range 7,800nm at 18.00 kts
 Bunker at max displacement = 6,512 tons

Complement:
 1,392 - 1,810

Cost:
 £3.894 million / $15.577 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
 Armament: 2,234 tons, 5.7 %
 Armour: 9,235 tons, 23.6 %
    - Belts: 2,397 tons, 6.1 %
    - Torpedo bulkhead: 1,119 tons, 2.9 %
    - Armament: 2,376 tons, 6.1 %
    - Armour Deck: 3,120 tons, 8.0 %
    - Conning Tower: 224 tons, 0.6 %
 Machinery: 5,914 tons, 15.1 %
 Hull, fittings & equipment: 16,601 tons, 42.3 %
 Fuel, ammunition & stores: 5,215 tons, 13.3 %
 Miscellaneous weights: 0 tons, 0.0 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
 Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
   45,833 lbs / 20,790 Kg = 27.2 x 15.0 " / 381 mm shells or 5.6 torpedoes
 Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.12
 Metacentric height 5.8 ft / 1.8 m
 Roll period: 16.6 seconds
 Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 51 %
   - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.96
 Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.03

Hull form characteristics:
 Hull has rise forward of midbreak
 Block coefficient: 0.612
 Length to Beam Ratio: 8.42 : 1
 'Natural speed' for length: 28.28 kts
 Power going to wave formation at top speed: 54 %
 Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
 Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): -2.00 degrees
 Stern overhang: -2.00 ft / -0.61 m
 Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
    - Stem:  31.00 ft / 9.45 m
    - Forecastle (20 %): 27.00 ft / 8.23 m
    - Mid (67 %):  27.00 ft / 8.23 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: 24.68 ft / 7.52 m
 Ship tends to be wet forward

Ship space, strength and comments:
 Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 115.6 %
  - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 190.6 %
 Waterplane Area: 56,208 Square feet or 5,222 Square metres
 Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 101 %
 Structure weight / hull surface area: 204 lbs/sq ft or 996 Kg/sq metre
 Hull strength (Relative):
  - Cross-sectional: 0.98
  - Longitudinal: 1.24
  - Overall: 1.00
 Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is cramped
 Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent

Sorry for yet another trip through the Ger/BB/1905

I have two pages about the Ger/BB/1905 design that warrant a new effort with Springsharp. On eis a detailed armor specification and the other is a cross section. The ship was specified at 580ft x 90ft x 26.6ft and a normal displacement of 22,000 tons. The armament was 8-12in/45 and 12-4in QF guns. The armor basis was 10in. This time, the Springsharp design was easy to make work, and I was able to add range to what I had originally guessed. I decided it was too easy and changed the engines to a 1905 date. That meant reducing the capabilities. The result is a slower cruising speed and a very short range. The good news is that other capabilities were as specicified:

Ger/BB/1905, Germany Battleship laid down 1905

Displacement:
 20,205 t light; 20,953 t standard; 22,000 t normal; 22,837 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
 580.00 ft / 580.00 ft x 90.00 ft x 26.60 ft (normal load)
 176.78 m / 176.78 m x 27.43 m  x 8.11 m

Armament:
      8 - 12.00" / 305 mm guns (4x2 guns), 864.00lbs / 391.90kg shells, 1905 Model
   Breech loading guns in turrets (on barbettes)
   on centreline ends, evenly spread, 2 raised mounts - superfiring
      12 - 4.00" / 102 mm guns in single mounts, 32.00lbs / 14.51kg shells, 1905 Model
   Quick firing guns in casemate mounts 
   on side, all amidships
 Weight of broadside 7,296 lbs / 3,309 kg
 Shells per gun, main battery: 75

Armour:
   - Belts:  Width (max) Length (avg)  Height (avg)
 Main: 10.0" / 254 mm 390.00 ft / 118.87 m 16.00 ft / 4.88 m
 Ends: Unarmoured
   Main Belt covers 103 % of normal length

   - Torpedo Bulkhead:
  1.00" / 25 mm 390.00 ft / 118.87 m 22.00 ft / 6.71 m

   - Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
 Main: 10.0" / 254 mm 8.00" / 203 mm  10.0" / 254 mm
 2nd: 3.00" / 76 mm 3.00" / 76 mm  3.00" / 76 mm

   - Armour deck: 3.00" / 76 mm, Conning tower: 11.00" / 279 mm

Machinery:
 Oil fired boilers, steam turbines, 
 Direct drive, 4 shafts, 40,473 shp / 30,193 Kw = 23.00 kts
 Range 3,600nm at 12.00 kts
 Bunker at max displacement = 1,884 tons

Complement:
 903 - 1,174

Cost:
 £1.903 million / $7.610 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
 Armament: 912 tons, 4.1 %
 Armour: 7,357 tons, 33.4 %
    - Belts: 2,699 tons, 12.3 %
    - Torpedo bulkhead: 317 tons, 1.4 %
    - Armament: 2,124 tons, 9.7 %
    - Armour Deck: 2,030 tons, 9.2 %
    - Conning Tower: 186 tons, 0.8 %
 Machinery: 3,066 tons, 13.9 %
 Hull, fittings & equipment: 8,870 tons, 40.3 %
 Fuel, ammunition & stores: 1,795 tons, 8.2 %
 Miscellaneous weights: 0 tons, 0.0 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
 Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
   32,993 lbs / 14,965 Kg = 38.2 x 12.0 " / 305 mm shells or 4.8 torpedoes
 Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.05
 Metacentric height 4.7 ft / 1.4 m
 Roll period: 17.4 seconds
 Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 93 %
   - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.88
 Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.86

Hull form characteristics:
 Hull has rise forward of midbreak
 Block coefficient: 0.555
 Length to Beam Ratio: 6.44 : 1
 'Natural speed' for length: 24.08 kts
 Power going to wave formation at top speed: 47 %
 Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
 Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): -1.00 degrees
 Stern overhang: -1.00 ft / -0.30 m
 Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
    - Stem:  30.00 ft / 9.14 m
    - Forecastle (20 %): 28.00 ft / 8.53 m
    - Mid (70 %):  28.00 ft / 8.53 m (20.00 ft / 6.10 m aft of break)
    - Quarterdeck (15 %): 20.00 ft / 6.10 m
    - Stern:  20.00 ft / 6.10 m
    - Average freeboard: 25.76 ft / 7.85 m

Ship space, strength and comments:
 Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 98.1 %
  - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 201.8 %
 Waterplane Area: 36,586 Square feet or 3,399 Square metres
 Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 106 %
 Structure weight / hull surface area: 163 lbs/sq ft or 798 Kg/sq metre
 Hull strength (Relative):
  - Cross-sectional: 0.92
  - Longitudinal: 2.09
  - Overall: 1.00
 Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is adequate
 Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent
 Ship has slow, easy roll, a good, steady gun platform
 Excellent seaboat, comfortable, can fire her guns in the heaviest weather

The later version of the Ger/BB/1909 design

This is my revision to the Ger/BB/1909 design based on my "German-looking" drawing and specification from later in 1971. The armor basis was increased to 14in, although the turret roof, sides, and rear were only 6in. With a displacement of 30,760 tons, I had expected to need 75,000 SHP to reach 24 knots, but Springsharp only required 66,327 SHP. This is the revised Springsharp report:

Ger/BB/1909 Large, Germany Battleship laid down 1909 (Engine 1914)

Displacement:
 26,199 t light; 27,204 t standard; 30,700 t normal; 33,497 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
 640.00 ft / 640.00 ft x 105.00 ft x 30.00 ft (normal load)
 195.07 m / 195.07 m x 32.00 m  x 9.14 m

Armament:
      9 - 12.00" / 305 mm guns (3x3 guns), 864.00lbs / 391.90kg shells, 1909 Model
   Breech loading guns in turrets (on barbettes)
   on centreline ends, majority forward, 1 raised mount - superfiring
      8 - 6.00" / 152 mm guns in single mounts, 108.00lbs / 48.99kg shells, 1909 Model
   Quick firing guns in deck mounts with hoists
   on side, all amidships
 Weight of broadside 8,640 lbs / 3,919 kg
 Shells per gun, main battery: 80

Armour:
   - Belts:  Width (max) Length (avg)  Height (avg)
 Main: 14.0" / 356 mm 420.00 ft / 128.02 m 9.00 ft / 2.74 m
 Ends: Unarmoured
 Upper: 9.00" / 229 mm 420.00 ft / 128.02 m 8.00 ft / 2.44 m
   Main Belt covers 101 % of normal length

   - Torpedo Bulkhead:
  2.00" / 51 mm 420.00 ft / 128.02 m 28.00 ft / 8.53 m

   - Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
 Main: 14.0" / 356 mm 6.00" / 152 mm  13.0" / 330 mm
 2nd: 2.00" / 51 mm       -         -

   - Armour deck: 4.00" / 102 mm, Conning tower: 14.00" / 356 mm

Machinery:
 Oil fired boilers, steam turbines, 
 Direct drive, 4 shafts, 66,327 shp / 49,480 Kw = 25.00 kts
 Range 7,500nm at 17.00 kts
 Bunker at max displacement = 6,294 tons

Complement:
 1,159 - 1,507

Cost:
 £2.182 million / $8.727 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
 Armament: 1,080 tons, 3.5 %
 Armour: 10,697 tons, 34.8 %
    - Belts: 3,631 tons, 11.8 %
    - Torpedo bulkhead: 870 tons, 2.8 %
    - Armament: 2,484 tons, 8.1 %
    - Armour Deck: 3,416 tons, 11.1 %
    - Conning Tower: 296 tons, 1.0 %
 Machinery: 2,555 tons, 8.3 %
 Hull, fittings & equipment: 11,867 tons, 38.7 %
 Fuel, ammunition & stores: 4,501 tons, 14.7 %
 Miscellaneous weights: 0 tons, 0.0 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
 Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
   65,856 lbs / 29,872 Kg = 76.2 x 12.0 " / 305 mm shells or 12.3 torpedoes
 Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.12
 Metacentric height 6.6 ft / 2.0 m
 Roll period: 17.1 seconds
 Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 90 %
   - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.56
 Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.81

Hull form characteristics:
 Hull has rise forward of midbreak
 Block coefficient: 0.533
 Length to Beam Ratio: 6.10 : 1
 'Natural speed' for length: 25.30 kts
 Power going to wave formation at top speed: 49 %
 Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
 Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 0.00 degrees
 Stern overhang: 0.00 ft / 0.00 m
 Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
    - Stem:  33.00 ft / 10.06 m
    - Forecastle (20 %): 30.00 ft / 9.14 m
    - Mid (67 %):  30.00 ft / 9.14 m (22.00 ft / 6.71 m aft of break)
    - Quarterdeck (15 %): 22.00 ft / 6.71 m
    - Stern:  22.00 ft / 6.71 m
    - Average freeboard: 27.60 ft / 8.41 m

Ship space, strength and comments:
 Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 66.7 %
  - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 210.8 %
 Waterplane Area: 46,158 Square feet or 4,288 Square metres
 Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 126 %
 Structure weight / hull surface area: 177 lbs/sq ft or 866 Kg/sq metre
 Hull strength (Relative):
  - Cross-sectional: 0.92
  - Longitudinal: 2.25
  - 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
 Excellent seaboat, comfortable, can fire her guns in the heaviest weather

A battleship design study for circa 1908 (actually, it was 1909)

I believe that this was being considered as part of my German building program. The ships would probably have been built starting in 1908 or 1909. The armor basis was 13in and the speed was 24 knots. The armament was 9-12in/50 and 8-6in QF guns. UPDATE: This turns out to have been an early version of the Ger/BB/1909 design. This is a comparison of the weights:

Category       Planned        Springsharp

Hull           12,300 tons      11,344 tons
Armament        1,345.5 tons     1,080 tons
Machinery       4,500 tons       2,019 tons
Miscellaneous   2,160 tons       3,287 tons (?)
Protection      6,694.5 tons     9,270 tons

The comparison may not be very good, as the categories are likely to be defined differently. Still, it is a rough comparison. This is the Sprinsharp report:

Ger/BB/1908 Design Study, Enter country Enter ship type laid down 1908 (Engine 1914)

Displacement:
 23,713 t light; 24,644 t standard; 27,000 t normal; 28,885 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
 640.00 ft / 640.00 ft x 105.00 ft x 26.90 ft (normal load)
 195.07 m / 195.07 m x 32.00 m  x 8.20 m

Armament:
      9 - 12.00" / 305 mm guns (3x3 guns), 864.00lbs / 391.90kg shells, 1908 Model
   Breech loading guns in turrets (on barbettes)
   on centreline ends, majority forward, 1 raised mount - superfiring
      8 - 6.00" / 152 mm guns in single mounts, 108.00lbs / 48.99kg shells, 1908 Model
   Quick firing guns in deck mounts with hoists
   on side, all amidships
 Weight of broadside 8,640 lbs / 3,919 kg
 Shells per gun, main battery: 80

Armour:
   - Belts:  Width (max) Length (avg)  Height (avg)
 Main: 13.0" / 330 mm 390.00 ft / 118.87 m 9.00 ft / 2.74 m
 Ends: Unarmoured
 Upper: 9.00" / 229 mm 390.00 ft / 118.87 m 8.00 ft / 2.44 m
   Main Belt covers 94 % of normal length

   - Torpedo Bulkhead:
  2.00" / 51 mm 390.00 ft / 118.87 m 25.00 ft / 7.62 m

   - Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
 Main: 13.0" / 330 mm 9.00" / 229 mm  13.0" / 330 mm
 2nd: 2.00" / 51 mm       -         -

   - Armour deck: 3.00" / 76 mm, Conning tower: 13.00" / 330 mm

Machinery:
 Oil fired boilers, steam turbines, 
 Direct drive, 4 shafts, 52,419 shp / 39,104 Kw = 24.00 kts
 Range 6,200nm at 16.00 kts
 Bunker at max displacement = 4,241 tons

Complement:
 1,053 - 1,369

Cost:
 £2.020 million / $8.079 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
 Armament: 1,080 tons, 4.0 %
 Armour: 9,270 tons, 34.3 %
    - Belts: 3,274 tons, 12.1 %
    - Torpedo bulkhead: 722 tons, 2.7 %
    - Armament: 2,485 tons, 9.2 %
    - Armour Deck: 2,538 tons, 9.4 %
    - Conning Tower: 252 tons, 0.9 %
 Machinery: 2,019 tons, 7.5 %
 Hull, fittings & equipment: 11,344 tons, 42.0 %
 Fuel, ammunition & stores: 3,287 tons, 12.2 %
 Miscellaneous weights: 0 tons, 0.0 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
 Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
   58,752 lbs / 26,649 Kg = 68.0 x 12.0 " / 305 mm shells or 11.2 torpedoes
 Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.13
 Metacentric height 6.8 ft / 2.1 m
 Roll period: 17.0 seconds
 Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 88 %
   - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.53
 Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.77

Hull form characteristics:
 Hull has rise forward of midbreak
 Block coefficient: 0.523
 Length to Beam Ratio: 6.10 : 1
 'Natural speed' for length: 25.30 kts
 Power going to wave formation at top speed: 46 %
 Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
 Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): -1.00 degrees
 Stern overhang: -1.00 ft / -0.30 m
 Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
    - Stem:  30.00 ft / 9.14 m
    - Forecastle (20 %): 28.00 ft / 8.53 m
    - Mid (67 %):  28.00 ft / 8.53 m (20.00 ft / 6.10 m aft of break)
    - Quarterdeck (15 %): 20.00 ft / 6.10 m
    - Stern:  20.00 ft / 6.10 m
    - Average freeboard: 25.52 ft / 7.78 m

Ship space, strength and comments:
 Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 67.7 %
  - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 213.3 %
 Waterplane Area: 45,721 Square feet or 4,248 Square metres
 Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 123 %
 Structure weight / hull surface area: 178 lbs/sq ft or 869 Kg/sq metre
 Hull strength (Relative):
  - Cross-sectional: 0.93
  - Longitudinal: 1.98
  - 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
 Excellent seaboat, comfortable, can fire her guns in the heaviest weather

The Ger/DD/1905 works with less expensive machinery

The Ger/DD/1905 destroyer design that I intended to produce in numbers for the original game has a reasonable Springsharp design. The machinery is less expensive than the Ger/CS/1905 design. A nasty feature is that to make designs work for destroyers, it is necessary to jigger the engine date. Some ships built in the period even before 1914, much less before 1918, had fairly high power output machinery for the weight. That certainly meant higher cost. The Ger/DD/1905 design is better in that the machinery works with a lower power output than I had expected. This is the Springsharp report:

Ger/DD/1905, Germany Destroyer laid down 1905 (Engine 1935)

Displacement:
 764 t light; 787 t standard; 870 t normal; 936 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
 270.73 ft / 270.00 ft x 28.00 ft x 10.50 ft (normal load)
 82.52 m / 82.30 m x 8.53 m  x 3.20 m

Armament:
      2 - 4.00" / 102 mm guns in single mounts, 32.00lbs / 14.51kg shells, 1905 Model
   Quick firing guns in deck mounts with hoists
   on centreline ends, evenly spread
 Weight of broadside 64 lbs / 29 kg
 Shells per gun, main battery: 150
 2 - 18.0" / 457.2 mm above water torpedoes

Machinery:
 Oil fired boilers, steam turbines, 
 Direct drive, 2 shafts, 25,657 shp / 19,140 Kw = 32.00 kts
 Range 2,800nm at 15.00 kts
 Bunker at max displacement = 149 tons

Complement:
 79 - 104

Cost:
 £0.098 million / $0.391 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
 Armament: 8 tons, 0.9 %
 Machinery: 459 tons, 52.8 %
 Hull, fittings & equipment: 297 tons, 34.1 %
 Fuel, ammunition & stores: 106 tons, 12.2 %
 Miscellaneous weights: 0 tons, 0.0 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
 Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
   278 lbs / 126 Kg = 8.7 x 4.0 " / 102 mm shells or 0.2 torpedoes
 Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.37
 Metacentric height 1.3 ft / 0.4 m
 Roll period: 10.3 seconds
 Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 53 %
   - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.18
 Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.05

Hull form characteristics:
 Hull has rise forward of midbreak
 Block coefficient: 0.384
 Length to Beam Ratio: 9.64 : 1
 'Natural speed' for length: 16.43 kts
 Power going to wave formation at top speed: 70 %
 Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
 Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 2.00 degrees
 Stern overhang: 0.00 ft / 0.00 m
 Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
    - Stem:  21.00 ft / 6.40 m
    - Forecastle (20 %): 19.00 ft / 5.79 m
    - Mid (32 %):  19.00 ft / 5.79 m (11.00 ft / 3.35 m aft of break)
    - Quarterdeck (15 %): 11.00 ft / 3.35 m
    - Stern:  11.00 ft / 3.35 m
    - Average freeboard: 13.72 ft / 4.18 m

Ship space, strength and comments:
 Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 177.5 %
  - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 120.3 %
 Waterplane Area: 4,616 Square feet or 429 Square metres
 Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 57 %
 Structure weight / hull surface area: 29 lbs/sq ft or 140 Kg/sq metre
 Hull strength (Relative):
  - Cross-sectional: 0.49
  - Longitudinal: 3.63
  - Overall: 0.59
 Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is cramped
 Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent

The Ger/CS/1905 design I used in the game is challenging

When I try to make the actual Ger/CS/1905 design that I wanted to have produced in the game I played in the early 1970's, the challenge is to get something close that works in Springsharp. By "working", I mean having adequate strength and seakeeping ability, as well as stability. I wanted to use the planned armor plan, and that is what is the major challenge, because of strength and seakeeping considerations. I had to increase the draft from 13ft to 15ft, increase the freeboard, and increase the displacement from 2,480 tons to 2,730 tons. The range is miniscule, although probably better than the British Tribal class, which were contemporaries. This is the new Springsharp report:

Ger/CS/1905 actual design, Germany Scout cruiser laid down 1905 (Engine 1950)

Displacement:
 2,537 t light; 2,609 t standard; 2,730 t normal; 2,826 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
 370.44 ft / 370.00 ft x 38.00 ft x 15.00 ft (normal load)
 112.91 m / 112.78 m x 11.58 m  x 4.57 m

Armament:
      3 - 4.00" / 102 mm guns in single mounts, 32.00lbs / 14.51kg shells, 1905 Model
   Quick firing guns in deck mounts with hoists
   on centreline ends, majority aft
      2 - 4.00" / 102 mm guns in single mounts, 32.00lbs / 14.51kg shells, 1905 Model
   Quick firing guns in deck mounts with hoists
   on side, all amidships
 Weight of broadside 160 lbs / 73 kg
 Shells per gun, main battery: 180
 2 - 18.0" / 457.2 mm above water torpedoes

Armour:
   - Belts:  Width (max) Length (avg)  Height (avg)
 Main: 2.00" / 51 mm 260.00 ft / 79.25 m 8.00 ft / 2.44 m
 Ends: Unarmoured
 Upper: 2.00" / 51 mm 155.00 ft / 47.24 m 8.00 ft / 2.44 m
   Main Belt covers 108 % of normal length
   Main belt does not fully cover magazines and engineering spaces

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

   - Conning tower: 2.00" / 51 mm

Machinery:
 Oil fired boilers, steam turbines, 
 Direct drive, 2 shafts, 76,844 shp / 57,326 Kw = 36.00 kts
 Range 2,650nm at 14.00 kts
 Bunker at max displacement = 217 tons

Complement:
 188 - 245

Cost:
 £0.318 million / $1.274 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
 Armament: 20 tons, 0.7 %
 Armour: 313 tons, 11.5 %
    - Belts: 283 tons, 10.4 %
    - Torpedo bulkhead: 0 tons, 0.0 %
    - Armament: 22 tons, 0.8 %
    - Armour Deck: 0 tons, 0.0 %
    - Conning Tower: 8 tons, 0.3 %
 Machinery: 1,520 tons, 55.7 %
 Hull, fittings & equipment: 684 tons, 25.1 %
 Fuel, ammunition & stores: 193 tons, 7.1 %
 Miscellaneous weights: 0 tons, 0.0 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
 Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
   623 lbs / 282 Kg = 19.5 x 4.0 " / 102 mm shells or 0.3 torpedoes
 Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.35
 Metacentric height 2.0 ft / 0.6 m
 Roll period: 11.3 seconds
 Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 51 %
   - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.17
 Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.01

Hull form characteristics:
 Hull has rise forward of midbreak
 Block coefficient: 0.453
 Length to Beam Ratio: 9.74 : 1
 'Natural speed' for length: 19.24 kts
 Power going to wave formation at top speed: 72 %
 Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
 Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 1.00 degrees
 Stern overhang: -2.00 ft / -0.61 m
 Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
    - Stem:  25.00 ft / 7.62 m
    - Forecastle (20 %): 24.00 ft / 7.32 m
    - Mid (33 %):  24.00 ft / 7.32 m (16.00 ft / 4.88 m aft of break)
    - Quarterdeck (15 %): 16.00 ft / 4.88 m
    - Stern:  16.00 ft / 4.88 m
    - Average freeboard: 18.72 ft / 5.71 m

Ship space, strength and comments:
 Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 185.5 %
  - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 148.8 %
 Waterplane Area: 8,991 Square feet or 835 Square metres
 Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 66 %
 Structure weight / hull surface area: 34 lbs/sq ft or 165 Kg/sq metre
 Hull strength (Relative):
  - Cross-sectional: 0.42
  - Longitudinal: 2.68
  - Overall: 0.51
 Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is cramped
 Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent