The alternative Ger/BB/1915 Design Study

Another alternative design study was for a Ger/BB/1915 battleship. This was 841ft x 120ft x 31.9ft. The intended standard displacement was 50,000 tons. That turns out to be rather low, as more displacement was needed to allow for adequate hull strength. The armament was 12-16 and 12-6in guns. I only had the planned weights, so I adjusted the protection to match. I scaled off the pencil drawing, which resembles that for the Ger/BB/1915-1916 design. I had expected that 170,000 SHP would be needed for 27.5 knots, but I was able to achieve 29.5 knots for slightly less power. I adjusted the machinery date to obtain the desired machinery weight. This is the Springsharp report:

Ger/BB/1915 Design Study, Germany Battleship laid down 1915 (Engine 1927)

Displacement:
 51,332 t light; 53,622 t standard; 56,500 t normal; 58,803 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
 842.57 ft / 841.00 ft x 120.00 ft x 31.90 ft (normal load)
 256.82 m / 256.34 m x 36.58 m  x 9.72 m

Armament:
      12 - 16.00" / 406 mm guns (4x3 guns), 2,048.00lbs / 928.96kg shells, 1915 Model
   Breech loading guns in turrets (on barbettes)
   on centreline ends, evenly spread, 2 raised mounts - superfiring
      12 - 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 25,872 lbs / 11,735 kg
 Shells per gun, main battery: 80

Armour:
   - Belts:  Width (max) Length (avg)  Height (avg)
 Main: 16.0" / 406 mm 435.00 ft / 132.59 m 16.00 ft / 4.88 m
 Ends: Unarmoured
   Main Belt covers 80 % of normal length
   Main belt does not fully cover magazines and engineering spaces

   - Torpedo Bulkhead:
  2.00" / 51 mm 435.00 ft / 132.59 m 29.00 ft / 8.84 m

   - Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
 Main: 16.0" / 406 mm 8.00" / 203 mm  16.0" / 406 mm
 2nd: 4.00" / 102 mm       -         -

   - Armour deck: 5.00" / 127 mm, Conning tower: 16.00" / 406 mm

Machinery:
 Oil fired boilers, steam turbines, 
 Geared drive, 4 shafts, 172,046 shp / 128,346 Kw = 29.50 kts
 Range 7,200nm at 15.00 kts
 Bunker at max displacement = 5,181 tons

Complement:
 1,832 - 2,382

Cost:
 £7.671 million / $30.682 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
 Armament: 3,234 tons, 5.7 %
 Armour: 19,061 tons, 33.7 %
    - Belts: 5,080 tons, 9.0 %
    - Torpedo bulkhead: 934 tons, 1.7 %
    - Armament: 5,621 tons, 9.9 %
    - Armour Deck: 6,919 tons, 12.2 %
    - Conning Tower: 508 tons, 0.9 %
 Machinery: 5,431 tons, 9.6 %
 Hull, fittings & equipment: 23,606 tons, 41.8 %
 Fuel, ammunition & stores: 5,168 tons, 9.1 %
 Miscellaneous weights: 0 tons, 0.0 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
 Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
   77,793 lbs / 35,286 Kg = 38.0 x 16.0 " / 406 mm shells or 11.0 torpedoes
 Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.10
 Metacentric height 7.8 ft / 2.4 m
 Roll period: 18.0 seconds
 Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 55 %
   - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.67
 Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.11

Hull form characteristics:
 Hull has a flush deck
 Block coefficient: 0.614
 Length to Beam Ratio: 7.01 : 1
 'Natural speed' for length: 29.00 kts
 Power going to wave formation at top speed: 51 %
 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:  30.00 ft / 9.14 m
    - Forecastle (20 %): 25.00 ft / 7.62 m
    - Mid (50 %):  25.00 ft / 7.62 m
    - Quarterdeck (15 %): 25.00 ft / 7.62 m
    - Stern:  25.00 ft / 7.62 m
    - Average freeboard: 25.40 ft / 7.74 m
 Ship tends to be wet forward

Ship space, strength and comments:
 Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 88.8 %
  - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 194.4 %
 Waterplane Area: 74,799 Square feet or 6,949 Square metres
 Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 101 %
 Structure weight / hull surface area: 235 lbs/sq ft or 1,147 Kg/sq metre
 Hull strength (Relative):
  - Cross-sectional: 0.98
  - Longitudinal: 1.21
  - Overall: 1.00
 Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is adequate
 Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent