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Tuesday, December 13, 2005

A really extreme ship: the GB/CL/1937 design

I would call the GB/CL/1937 design extreme due to the ship's size and the high speed. I would never expect that British to build such a fast ship, although it would be very capable. The armour basis is still 4in and the deck is 2in. There is no torpedo bulkhead armour. The speed is 37 knots with a range of 8,500nm at 15 knots. The armament is 12-6in QF, 12-4in AA, 32-2pdr AA guns, and 16-21in TT. This is the Springsharp report:
GB/CL/1937, Great Britain Light Cruiser laid down 1937

Displacement:
 14,150 t light; 14,627 t standard; 16,000 t normal; 17,098 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
 668.96 ft / 665.00 ft x 64.00 ft x 25.00 ft (normal load)
 203.90 m / 202.69 m x 19.51 m  x 7.62 m

Armament:
      12 - 6.00" / 152 mm guns (4x3 guns), 108.00lbs / 48.99kg shells, 1937 Model
   Quick firing guns in turrets (on barbettes)
   on centreline ends, evenly spread, 1 raised mount - superfiring
      12 - 4.00" / 102 mm guns (6x2 guns), 32.00lbs / 14.51kg shells, 1937 Model
   Anti-aircraft guns in deck mounts with hoists
   on side, all amidships, 4 raised mounts - superfiring
      32 - 1.57" / 40.0 mm guns (8x4 guns), 2.00lbs / 0.91kg shells, 1937 Model
   Anti-aircraft guns in deck mounts 
   on side ends, evenly spread, 4 raised mounts - superfiring
 Weight of broadside 1,744 lbs / 791 kg
 Shells per gun, main battery: 150
 16 - 21.0" / 533.4 mm above water torpedoes

Armour:
   - Belts:  Width (max) Length (avg)  Height (avg)
 Main: 4.00" / 102 mm 560.00 ft / 170.69 m 12.00 ft / 3.66 m
 Ends: Unarmoured
   Main Belt covers 130 % of normal length

   - Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
 Main: 4.00" / 102 mm 3.00" / 76 mm  4.00" / 102 mm

   - Armour deck: 2.00" / 51 mm, Conning tower: 4.00" / 102 mm

Machinery:
 Oil fired boilers, steam turbines, 
 Geared drive, 4 shafts, 195,898 shp / 146,140 Kw = 37.00 kts
 Range 8,500nm at 15.00 kts
 Bunker at max displacement = 2,471 tons

Complement:
 710 - 924

Cost:
 £7.846 million / $31.382 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
 Armament: 218 tons, 1.4 %
 Armour: 2,624 tons, 16.4 %
    - Belts: 1,076 tons, 6.7 %
    - Torpedo bulkhead: 0 tons, 0.0 %
    - Armament: 419 tons, 2.6 %
    - Armour Deck: 1,075 tons, 6.7 %
    - Conning Tower: 55 tons, 0.3 %
 Machinery: 5,430 tons, 33.9 %
 Hull, fittings & equipment: 5,879 tons, 36.7 %
 Fuel, ammunition & stores: 1,850 tons, 11.6 %
 Miscellaneous weights: 0 tons, 0.0 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
 Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
   13,562 lbs / 6,152 Kg = 125.6 x 6.0 " / 152 mm shells or 1.4 torpedoes
 Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.21
 Metacentric height 3.6 ft / 1.1 m
 Roll period: 14.1 seconds
 Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 53 %
   - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.36
 Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.07

Hull form characteristics:
 Hull has a flush deck
 Block coefficient: 0.526
 Length to Beam Ratio: 10.39 : 1
 'Natural speed' for length: 25.79 kts
 Power going to wave formation at top speed: 62 %
 Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
 Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 4.00 degrees
 Stern overhang: 2.00 ft / 0.61 m
 Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
    - Stem:  28.00 ft / 8.53 m
    - Forecastle (20 %): 24.00 ft / 7.32 m
    - Mid (67 %):  24.00 ft / 7.32 m
    - Quarterdeck (15 %): 24.00 ft / 7.32 m
    - Stern:  24.00 ft / 7.32 m
    - Average freeboard: 24.32 ft / 7.41 m
 Ship tends to be wet forward

Ship space, strength and comments:
 Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 120.7 %
  - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 138.6 %
 Waterplane Area: 29,052 Square feet or 2,699 Square metres
 Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 105 %
 Structure weight / hull surface area: 113 lbs/sq ft or 551 Kg/sq metre
 Hull strength (Relative):
  - Cross-sectional: 0.94
  - Longitudinal: 1.77
  - Overall: 1.00
 Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is cramped
 Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent

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