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Monday, November 07, 2005

A British super-destroyer for 1923

I wondered if by using the lightest-weight machinery if a British super-destroyer might be possible in 1923. The answer seems to be "yes", if you settle for 38 knots. I may experiment some more, such as with a lighter armament to see if a higher speed (40 knots or more) might be possible. I tried to keep the length from getting too long, but it seemed necessary to have a length greater than 400 ft. I am using an armament of 5-5.5in QF guns, 1-4in AA gun, and 3-quadruple 2pdr AA mounts, with two triple 21in torpedo tubes. This is the Springsharp report:
GB/DL/1923, Great Britain Destroyer Leader laid down 1923 (Engine 1950)

Displacement:
 2,647 t light; 2,747 t standard; 2,950 t normal; 3,112 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
 436.75 ft / 435.00 ft x 42.00 ft x 16.00 ft (normal load)
 133.12 m / 132.59 m x 12.80 m  x 4.88 m

Armament:
      5 - 5.50" / 140 mm guns in single mounts, 83.19lbs / 37.73kg shells, 1923 Model
   Quick firing guns in deck mounts with hoists
   on centreline ends, majority forward, 2 raised mounts - superfiring
      1 - 4.00" / 102 mm guns in single mounts, 32.00lbs / 14.51kg shells, 1923 Model
   Anti-aircraft gun in a deck mount with hoist
   on side amidships
      12 - 1.57" / 40.0 mm guns (3x4 guns), 2.00lbs / 0.91kg shells, 1923 Model
   Anti-aircraft guns in deck mounts 
   on side, evenly spread
 Weight of broadside 472 lbs / 214 kg
 Shells per gun, main battery: 150
 6 - 21.0" / 533.4 mm above water torpedoes

Machinery:
 Oil fired boilers, steam turbines, 
 Geared drive, 2 shafts, 85,263 shp / 63,606 Kw = 38.00 kts
 Range 3,750nm at 15.00 kts
 Bunker at max displacement = 365 tons

Complement:
 199 - 260

Cost:
 £1.109 million / $4.436 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
 Armament: 59 tons, 2.0 %
 Machinery: 1,708 tons, 57.9 %
 Hull, fittings & equipment: 881 tons, 29.9 %
 Fuel, ammunition & stores: 303 tons, 10.3 %
 Miscellaneous weights: 0 tons, 0.0 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
 Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
   631 lbs / 286 Kg = 7.6 x 5.5 " / 140 mm shells or 0.3 torpedoes
 Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.51
 Metacentric height 2.8 ft / 0.8 m
 Roll period: 10.6 seconds
 Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 51 %
   - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.32
 Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.02

Hull form characteristics:
 Hull has rise forward of midbreak
 Block coefficient: 0.353
 Length to Beam Ratio: 10.36 : 1
 'Natural speed' for length: 20.86 kts
 Power going to wave formation at top speed: 66 %
 Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
 Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 4.00 degrees
 Stern overhang: 0.00 ft / 0.00 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 (37 %):  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: 17.20 ft / 5.24 m

Ship space, strength and comments:
 Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 202.0 %
  - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 132.1 %
 Waterplane Area: 11,087 Square feet or 1,030 Square metres
 Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 65 %
 Structure weight / hull surface area: 41 lbs/sq ft or 202 Kg/sq metre
 Hull strength (Relative):
  - Cross-sectional: 0.46
  - Longitudinal: 1.69
  - Overall: 0.52
 Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is extremely poor
 Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent

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