WesWorld

While you guys are hashing out a new treaty, let me share an idea I had entertained for India. Fyrwulf's thread title, "Carrier Tender" brought it back to mind.

It's an oiler with extras, intended to support an aircraft carrier. In addition to a heap of fuel oil, it also embarks munitions and avgas to support the carrier's flight operations. Needless to say, such a vessel would never come within sight of the Philippines.

A modest hanger and taking-off deck would allow a dozen replacement aircraft to be flown off to the carrier (or, using the derrick on the starboard beam, just slung across to her). There was the possibility of the ship being considered an aircraft carrier for treaty purposes, but I reckoned the aft superstructure precluded any practical attempt at landing on her.

After posting about auxiliaries, however, I became convinced that such vessels were not necessary for the BNS, and junked the idea.



Cheduba & Minicoy, Oilers laid down 1934 (Engine 1934)

Displacement:
5,281 t light; 5,559 t standard; 11,624 t normal; 16,476 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
513.10 ft / 498.69 ft x 72.18 ft x 17.39 ft (normal load)
156.39 m / 152.00 m x 22.00 m x 5.30 m

Armament:
4 - 4.92" / 125 mm guns (2x2 guns), 59.59lbs / 27.03kg shells, 1925 Model
Dual purpose guns in deck mounts with hoists
on centreline ends, evenly spread
4 - 2.95" / 75.0 mm guns (2x2 guns), 12.87lbs / 5.84kg shells, 1925 Model
Anti-aircraft guns in deck mounts with hoists
on side, all amidships
8 - 1.38" / 35.0 mm guns (4x2 guns), 1.31lbs / 0.59kg shells, 1925 Model
Anti-aircraft guns in deck mounts
on side, evenly spread, all raised mounts
8 - 0.59" / 15.0 mm guns (2x4 guns), 0.10lbs / 0.05kg shells, 1925 Model
Machine guns in deck mounts
on side, evenly spread, all raised mounts
Weight of broadside 301 lbs / 137 kg
Shells per gun, main battery: 250

Armour:
- Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
Main: 1.18" / 30 mm 0.79" / 20 mm 0.79" / 20 mm
2nd: 0.79" / 20 mm 0.79" / 20 mm 0.79" / 20 mm
3rd: 0.79" / 20 mm - -
4th: 0.79" / 20 mm - -

- Armour deck: 0.79" / 20 mm (representing the taking-off deck)

Miscellaneous Weight:
-300 t: Aircraft (12)
-300 t: Aircraft petrol
-200 t: Aircraft munitions
-100 t: Weight reserve
-7,929 t: Oil (simmed as part of bunkerage)

Machinery:
Oil fired boilers, steam turbines,
Geared drive, 2 shafts, 7,808 shp / 5,825 Kw = 16.01 kts
Range 20,000nm at 12.00 kts (Bunkerage = 2,988 tons; simmed as 75,000 nm to include cargo oil)

Complement:
559 - 727

Cost:
£0.811 million / $3.245 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
Armament: 38 tons, 0.3 %
Armour: 422 tons, 3.6 %
- Belts: 0 tons, 0.0 %
- Torpedo bulkhead: 0 tons, 0.0 %
- Armament: 21 tons, 0.2 %
- Armour Deck: 402 tons, 3.5 %
- Conning Tower: 0 tons, 0.0 %
Machinery: 225 tons, 1.9 %
Hull, fittings & equipment: 3,696 tons, 31.8 %
Fuel, ammunition & stores: 6,343 tons, 54.6 %
Miscellaneous weights: 900 tons, 7.7 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
98,459 lbs / 44,660 Kg = 1,652.2 x 4.9 " / 125 mm shells or 14.0 torpedoes
Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.56
Metacentric height 6.5 ft / 2.0 m
Roll period: 11.9 seconds
Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 70 %
- Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.04
Seaboat quality (Average = 1.00): 2.00

Hull form characteristics:
Hull has raised forecastle, raised quarterdeck
Block coefficient: 0.650
Length to Beam Ratio: 6.91 : 1
'Natural speed' for length: 22.33 kts
Power going to wave formation at top speed: 32 %
Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 35
Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 15.00 degrees
Stern overhang: 4.92 ft / 1.50 m
Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
- Stem: 35.43 ft / 10.80 m
- Forecastle (23 %): 31.50 ft / 9.60 m (23.62 ft / 7.20 m aft of break)
- Mid (50 %): 23.62 ft / 7.20 m
- Quarterdeck (20 %): 31.50 ft / 9.60 m (23.62 ft / 7.20 m before break)
- Stern: 31.50 ft / 9.60 m
- Average freeboard: 27.37 ft / 8.34 m

Ship space, strength and comments:
Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 19.2 %
- Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 221.9 %
Waterplane Area: 27,574 Square feet or 2,562 Square metres
Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 561 %
Structure weight / hull surface area: 86 lbs/sq ft or 418 Kg/sq metre
Hull strength (Relative):
- Cross-sectional: 0.91
- Longitudinal: 2.55
- 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

Most interesting Rocky. Permission for one of the plans to somhow 'dissapear'?

That is something Australia would most definately build. Not as a Carrier Tender but as a self escorting tender!

Adapt the concept, if you'd like, but I'd prefer you didn't simply build a direct copy...

Not a problem, she's too slow for my taste anyway, and she needs an autogyro pad! But the concept I most certainly like.

Basically a baby Shinano. Also reminds me of the Japanese Army carriers.

Reminds me of an idea I was toying with in reguards to the ANS Siboney, currently a training carrier, which would see her convert to a maintenance carrier.

The convertion would involve partially converting her classrooms and other amenity's back to a hangar. She would need a large crane aft to hoist damaged aircraft aboard and a new superstructure aft to facilitate a aircraft repair workshop which would also prevent landings which isn't nessassary for spare aircraft replenishment.

Siboney may yet undergo this convertion, I may convert several cargo ships instead.

I considered something similar but rejected it. For a carrier cruising at around 22-25knts (quite normal) an oiler/replenishment ship just can't keep up. Instead I decided to build extra avgas and munitions storage into the carriers instead. That said, the little baby carriers would do the job reasonably well.

Quoted

Originally posted by Red Admiral
I considered something similar but rejected it. For a carrier cruising at around 22-25knts (quite normal) an oiler/replenishment ship just can't keep up. Instead I decided to build extra avgas and munitions storage into the carriers instead. That said, the little baby carriers would do the job reasonably well.

That echo's my concerns about Siboney. She's only capable of 20 knots and she's already recieved a refit so its not really economical.

Rocky certainly had a snazzy scheme there, and a very flexible ship design. Might make an ideal commercial carrier too (ducks under the table!) or a useful conventional tender.

Quoted

There was the possibility of the ship being considered an aircraft carrier for treaty purposes, but I reckoned the aft superstructure precluded any practical attempt at landing on her.

By anyone whose initials aren't "O.M.", anyway.