WesWorld

Playing around with different ideas with Springsharp. Comments welcome.

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TBD, German Protected Cruiser laid down 1906

Displacement: 4,324 t light; 4,527 t standard; 5,370 t normal; 6,044 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught

458.30 ft / 453.08 ft x 46.92 ft x 16.08 ft (normal load) [139.69 m / 138.10 m x 14.30 m x 4.90 m]

Armament:

2 - 5.91" / 150 mm guns in single mounts, 102.98lbs / 46.71kg shells, 1906 Model Breech loading guns in deck mounts with hoists on centreline ends, evenly spread
6 - 5.91" / 150 mm guns in single mounts, 102.98lbs / 46.71kg shells, 1906 Model Breech loading guns in deck mounts with hoists on side, evenly spread
4 - 2.17" / 55.0 mm guns in single mounts, 5.08lbs / 2.30kg shells, 1906 Model Quick firing guns in deck mounts on side, all amidships, all raised mounts - superfiring
Weight of broadside 844 lbs / 383 kg
Shells per gun, main battery: 180
4 - 17.7" / 450 mm above water torpedoes

Armour:

Belts: Width (max) Length (avg) Height (avg)
Main: 2.76" / 70 mm 360.89 ft / 110.00 m 8.20 ft / 2.50 m
Ends: Unarmoured
Main Belt covers 123 % of normal length

Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
Main: 1.57" / 40 mm 0.79" / 20 mm 0.79" / 20 mm
2nd: 1.57" / 40 mm 0.79" / 20 mm 0.79" / 20 mm

Armour deck: 0.98" / 25 mm, Conning tower: 0.98" / 25 mm

Machinery:

Coal fired boilers, steam turbines, Direct drive, 4 shafts, 24,415 shp / 18,213 Kw = 25.00 kts
Range 5,000nm at 12.50 kts
Bunker at max displacement = 1,517 tons (100% coal)

Complement: 313 - 407

Cost: £0.484 million / $1.937 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:

Armament: 106 tons, 2.0 %
Armour: 649 tons, 12.1 %
- Belts: 331 tons, 6.2 %
- Torpedo bulkhead: 0 tons, 0.0 %
- Armament: 41 tons, 0.8 %
- Armour Deck: 270 tons, 5.0 %
- Conning Tower: 7 tons, 0.1 %
Machinery: 1,744 tons, 32.5 %
Hull, fittings & equipment: 1,776 tons, 33.1 %
Fuel, ammunition & stores: 1,046 tons, 19.5 %
Miscellaneous weights: 50 tons, 0.9 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:

Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship): 4,668 lbs / 2,117 Kg = 45.3 x 5.9 " / 150 mm shells or 0.9 torpedoes
Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.42
Metacentric height 3.0 ft / 0.9 m
Roll period: 11.4 seconds
Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 67 %
- Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.35
Seaboat quality (Average = 1.00): 1.34

Hull form characteristics:

Hull has a flush deck
Block coefficient: 0.550
Length to Beam Ratio: 9.66 : 1
'Natural speed' for length: 21.29 kts
Power going to wave formation at top speed: 52 %
Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 15.00 degrees
Stern overhang: 0.82 ft / 0.25 m
Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
- Stem: 16.40 ft / 5.00 m
- Forecastle (20 %): 15.58 ft / 4.75 m
- Mid (50 %): 14.76 ft / 4.50 m
- Quarterdeck (15 %): 14.76 ft / 4.50 m
- Stern: 14.76 ft / 4.50 m
- Average freeboard: 15.12 ft / 4.61 m
Ship tends to be wet forward

Ship space, strength and comments:

Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 122.0 %
- Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 122.5 %
Waterplane Area: 14,835 Square feet or 1,378 Square metres
Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 107 %
Structure weight / hull surface area: 76 lbs/sq ft or 369 Kg/sq metre
Hull strength (Relative):
- Cross-sectional: 0.97
- Longitudinal: 1.25
- Overall: 1.00
Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is cramped
Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent
Good seaboat, rides out heavy weather easily

Nice 'doodle'. Your doing a great job with these pre-dread era ships.
The inclusion of turbines is still experimental at this time, but since its a lightish cruiser it makes sense to get some more speed with the newest tech available.

Historically the Germans preferred smaller but faster firing guns. Even when it became known other navies used larger guns on their smal cruisers the 15cm gun had little lobby. Why would it be different here?

Also, would this be a single ship while her semi-sisters woul feature normal engines? Turbines really were no tried and true tech in 1906. So what's the rational?

@ Hood

Yes, her turbine engines would be experimental; in fact, I plan to use the same design with triple expansion engines to see how different the two Springsharps turn out to be. I just haven't gotten there yet.

@ HoOmAn

It is a study I worked up to see how Springsharp would handle such a vessel; I haven't designed a pre-GW cruiser before, and since it is not a serious proposal, I don't really see the German nationality as an issue. I am well aware of historical German practice, but in terms of playing with Springsharp, I am not aware of the requirement to adhere to it; I very well might play with different armament fits to see how they impact the design and performance parameters.

As I mentioned to Hood, I do plan to recast the same vessel with triple expansion engines to see if there is a major difference in the resultant Springsharps; that is the purpose of a design study - that I might learn.

As promised, I made a trial design of the same protected cruiser changing only her machinery. As should come to no surprise, the version with reciprocating engines has

higher displacement than its turbine cousin; and the speed and radius was reduced to bring her to a composite strength of 1.0. I note that her belt does not cover the

machinery and magazine. I might try that, but I expect every successive change will bring the resultant sketch further away from the first.

Perhaps I shall try instead a cruiser with reciprocating engines from the ground up.

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TBD, German Protected Cruiser laid down 1906

Displacement: 4,698 t light; 4,901 t standard; 5,370 t normal; 5,745 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught

458.30 ft / 453.08 ft x 46.92 ft x 16.08 ft (normal load) [139.69 m / 138.10 m x 14.30 m x 4.90 m]

Armament:

2 - 5.91" / 150 mm guns in single mounts, 102.98lbs / 46.71kg shells, 1906 Model Breech loading guns in deck mounts with hoists on centreline ends, evenly spread
6 - 5.91" / 150 mm guns in single mounts, 102.98lbs / 46.71kg shells, 1906 Model Breech loading guns in deck mounts with hoists on side, evenly spread
4 - 2.17" / 55.0 mm guns in single mounts, 5.08lbs / 2.30kg shells, 1906 Model Quick firing guns in deck mounts on side, all amidships, all raised mounts - superfiring
Weight of broadside 844 lbs / 383 kg
Shells per gun, main battery: 180
4 - 17.7" / 450 mm above water torpedoes

Armour:

Belts: Width (max) Length (avg) Height (avg)
Main: 2.76" / 70 mm 360.89 ft / 110.00 m 8.20 ft / 2.50 m
Ends: Unarmoured
Main Belt covers 123 % of normal length
Main belt does not fully cover magazines and engineering spaces

Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
Main: 1.57" / 40 mm 0.79" / 20 mm 0.79" / 20 mm
2nd: 1.57" / 40 mm 0.79" / 20 mm 0.79" / 20 mm

Armour deck: 0.98" / 25 mm, Conning tower: 0.98" / 25 mm

Machinery:

Coal fired boilers, complex reciprocating steam engines, Direct drive, 4 shafts, 14,878 ihp / 11,099 Kw = 22.00 kts
Range 3,500nm at 12.00 kts
Bunker at max displacement = 844 tons (100% coal)

Complement: 313 - 407

Cost: £0.551 million / $2.202 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:

Armament: 106 tons, 2.0 %
Armour: 649 tons, 12.1 %
- Belts: 331 tons, 6.2 %
- Torpedo bulkhead: 0 tons, 0.0 %
- Armament: 41 tons, 0.8 %
- Armour Deck: 270 tons, 5.0 %
- Conning Tower: 7 tons, 0.1 %
Machinery: 2,125 tons, 39.6 %
Hull, fittings & equipment: 1,768 tons, 32.9 %
Fuel, ammunition & stores: 672 tons, 12.5 %
Miscellaneous weights: 50 tons, 0.9 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:

Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship): 3,337 lbs / 1,514 Kg = 32.4 x 5.9 " / 150 mm shells or 0.7 torpedoes
Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.43
Metacentric height 3.0 ft / 0.9 m
Roll period: 11.4 seconds
Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 86 %
- Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.40
Seaboat quality (Average = 1.00): 1.72

Hull form characteristics:

Hull has a flush deck
Block coefficient: 0.550
Length to Beam Ratio: 9.66 : 1
'Natural speed' for length: 21.29 kts
Power going to wave formation at top speed: 45 %
Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 15.00 degrees
Stern overhang: 0.82 ft / 0.25 m
Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
- Stem: 16.40 ft / 5.00 m
- Forecastle (20 %): 15.58 ft / 4.75 m
- Mid (50 %): 14.76 ft / 4.50 m
- Quarterdeck (15 %): 14.76 ft / 4.50 m
- Stern: 14.76 ft / 4.50 m
- Average freeboard: 15.12 ft / 4.61 m
Ship tends to be wet forward

Ship space, strength and comments:

Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 144.7 %
- Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 122.5 %
Waterplane Area: 14,835 Square feet or 1,378 Square metres
Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 93 %
Structure weight / hull surface area: 75 lbs/sq ft or 368 Kg/sq metre
Hull strength (Relative):
- Cross-sectional: 0.98
- Longitudinal: 1.23
- Overall: 1.00
Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is cramped
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

An original idea is to introduce double turret for light cruisers.
in 1906
BBs use T2
ACs use T2
Why CLs did'nt use T2 ???
Why Bruce Designer Bureau could'nt use T2x150 ???

Jef

Strictly speaking, this is not a light cruiser but a protected cruiser. At this stage of development, cruising vessels, for the most part, did not use turrets (or barbettes with turrets). I suspect strongly it is a weight and stability issue.

Upon research, the design ought not to have a belt, or at least not one as thick as the one I specified. I will doodle about with other ideas as I explore other aspects of Springsharp.

For this design I reach back a generation, choosing as inpsiration an "Elswick Cruiser" of the early 1880s, the IJN Takasago. Not all parameters are exact, but I find the radius far shorted than the 9,000 nm at 10 knots quoted in the Takasago's Wikipedia article. I suspect this is a function of the way Springsharp models engine efficiencies - there will be some loss of detail. But the ship seems steadier than I would have expected, if far less well protected - no belt armor, as historical.

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TBD, TBD Protected Cruiser laid down 1884

Displacement: 3,423 t light; 3,661 t standard; 4,545 t normal; 5,252 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught

301.42 ft / 299.87 ft x 45.93 ft x 21.00 ft (normal load) [91.87 m / 91.40 m x 14.00 m x 6.40 m]

Armament:

2 - 8.27" / 210 mm guns in single mounts, 257.14lbs / 116.64kg shells, 1884 Model Breech loading guns in deck mounts on centreline ends, evenly spread
6 - 5.91" / 150 mm guns in single mounts, 93.71lbs / 42.51kg shells, 1884 Model Breech loading guns in deck mounts on side, evenly spread
4 - 2.17" / 55.0 mm guns in single mounts, 4.62lbs / 2.10kg shells, 1884 Model Quick firing guns in deck mounts on side, all amidships
Weight of broadside 1,095 lbs / 497 kg
Shells per gun, main battery: 220
4 - 14.0" / 355 mm above water torpedoes

Armour:

Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
Main: 1.57" / 40 mm 1.57" / 40 mm -
2nd: 1.57" / 40 mm 1.57" / 40 mm -

Armour deck: 2.36" / 60 mm, Conning tower: 2.36" / 60 mm

Machinery:

Coal fired boilers, simple reciprocating steam engines, Direct drive, 2 shafts, 7,734 ihp / 5,769 Kw = 18.00 kts
Range 7,400nm at 10.00 kts
Bunker at max displacement = 1,591 tons (100% coal)

Complement: 276 - 359

Cost: £0.447 million / $1.788 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:

Armament: 137 tons, 3.0 %
Armour: 504 tons, 11.1 %
- Belts: 0 tons, 0.0 %
- Torpedo bulkhead: 0 tons, 0.0 %
- Armament: 70 tons, 1.5 %
- Armour Deck: 420 tons, 9.2 %
- Conning Tower: 14 tons, 0.3 %
Machinery: 1,516 tons, 33.4 %
Hull, fittings & equipment: 1,217 tons, 26.8 %
Fuel, ammunition & stores: 1,122 tons, 24.7 %
Miscellaneous weights: 50 tons, 1.1 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:

Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship): 2,413 lbs / 1,094 Kg = 9.4 x 8.3 " / 210 mm shells or 0.6 torpedoes
Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.63
Metacentric height 3.5 ft / 1.1 m
Roll period: 10.3 seconds
Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 75 %
- Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.17
Seaboat quality (Average = 1.00): 1.37

Hull form characteristics:

Hull has a flush deck
Block coefficient: 0.550
Length to Beam Ratio: 6.53 : 1
'Natural speed' for length: 17.32 kts
Power going to wave formation at top speed: 51 %
Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 55
Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 4.00 degrees
Stern overhang: 0.82 ft / 0.25 m
Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
- Stem: 10.50 ft / 3.20 m
- Forecastle (20 %): 10.50 ft / 3.20 m
- Mid (50 %): 10.50 ft / 3.20 m
- Quarterdeck (15 %): 10.50 ft / 3.20 m
- Stern: 10.50 ft / 3.20 m
- Average freeboard: 10.50 ft / 3.20 m
Ship tends to be wet forward

Ship space, strength and comments:

Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 133.7 %
- Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 63.5 %
Waterplane Area: 9,612 Square feet or 893 Square metres
Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 97 %
Structure weight / hull surface area: 80 lbs/sq ft or 389 Kg/sq metre
Hull strength (Relative):
- Cross-sectional: 0.92
- Longitudinal: 2.11
- Overall: 1.00
Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is cramped
Room for accommodation and workspaces is cramped
Ship has slow, easy roll, a good, steady gun platform
Good seaboat, rides out heavy weather easily

Yes, a rather vanilla Pre-Dreadnought battleship.

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TBD, TBD Battleship laid down 1894

Displacement: 10,670 t light; 11,320 t standard; 13,275 t normal; 14,839 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught

422.13 ft / 419.95 ft x 75.46 ft x 26.90 ft (normal load) [128.66 m / 128.00 m x 23.00 m x 8.20 m]

Armament:

4 - 11.02" / 280 mm guns (2x2 guns), 669.80lbs / 303.81kg shells, 1894 Model Breech loading guns in turrets (on barbettes) on centreline ends, evenly spread
12 - 5.91" / 150 mm guns in single mounts, 102.98lbs / 46.71kg shells, 1894 Model Breech loading guns in casemate mounts on side, all amidships
16 - 3.46" / 88.0 mm guns in single mounts, 20.79lbs / 9.43kg shells, 1894 Model Breech loading guns in deck mounts on side, evenly spread
8 - 2.17" / 55.0 mm guns in single mounts, 5.08lbs / 2.30kg shells, 1894 Model Quick firing guns in deck mounts on side, evenly spread
Weight of broadside 4,288 lbs / 1,945 kg
Shells per gun, main battery: 150

Armour:

Belts: Width (max) Length (avg) Height (avg)
Main: 8.66" / 220 mm 295.28 ft / 90.00 m 9.84 ft / 3.00 m
Ends: 5.91" / 150 mm 124.67 ft / 38.00 m 9.84 ft / 3.00 m
Main Belt covers 108 % of normal length

Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
Main: 14.2" / 360 mm 7.09" / 180 mm 4.72" / 120 mm
2nd: 4.72" / 120 mm 2.36" / 60 mm -
3rd: 0.98" / 25 mm 0.98" / 25 mm -
4th: 0.59" / 15 mm - -

Armour deck: 3.54" / 90 mm, Conning tower: 14.17" / 360 mm

Machinery:

Coal fired boilers, complex reciprocating steam engines, Direct drive, 2 shafts, 12,819 ihp / 9,563 Kw = 18.00 kts
Range 9,000nm at 11.00 kts
Bunker at max displacement = 3,519 tons (100% coal)

Complement: 617 - 803

Cost: £1.133 million / $4.533 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:

Armament: 536 tons, 4.0 %
Armour: 3,699 tons, 27.9 %
- Belts: 1,359 tons, 10.2 %
- Torpedo bulkhead: 0 tons, 0.0 %
- Armament: 726 tons, 5.5 %
- Armour Deck: 1,443 tons, 10.9 %
- Conning Tower: 171 tons, 1.3 %
Machinery: 2,210 tons, 16.6 %
Hull, fittings & equipment: 4,075 tons, 30.7 %
Fuel, ammunition & stores: 2,605 tons, 19.6 %
Miscellaneous weights: 150 tons, 1.1 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:

Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship): 14,891 lbs / 6,754 Kg = 22.2 x 11.0 " / 280 mm shells or 2.1 torpedoes
Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.31
Metacentric height 5.3 ft / 1.6 m
Roll period: 13.7 seconds
Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 84 %
- Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.32
Seaboat quality (Average = 1.00): 1.67

Hull form characteristics:

Hull has a flush deck
Block coefficient: 0.545
Length to Beam Ratio: 5.57 : 1
'Natural speed' for length: 20.49 kts
Power going to wave formation at top speed: 45 %
Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 2.00 degrees
Stern overhang: 1.64 ft / 0.50 m
Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
- Stem: 15.42 ft / 4.70 m
- Forecastle (20 %): 15.09 ft / 4.60 m
- Mid (50 %): 14.76 ft / 4.50 m
- Quarterdeck (15 %): 14.76 ft / 4.50 m
- Stern: 14.76 ft / 4.50 m
- Average freeboard: 14.90 ft / 4.54 m
Ship tends to be wet forward

Ship space, strength and comments:

Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 87.0 %
- Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 100.8 %
Waterplane Area: 22,012 Square feet or 2,045 Square metres
Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 106 %
Structure weight / hull surface area: 129 lbs/sq ft or 628 Kg/sq metre
Hull strength (Relative):
- Cross-sectional: 0.93
- Longitudinal: 2.08
- Overall: 1.00
Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is adequate
Room for accommodation and workspaces is adequate
Ship has slow, easy roll, a good, steady gun platform
Excellent seaboat, comfortable, can fire her guns in the heaviest weather

A late pre-dreadnought armored cruiser design, inspired by the Japanese Tsukuba.
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TBD, TBD Armored Cruiser laid down 1905

Displacement: 11,428 t light; 12,126 t standard; 13,747 t normal; 15,043 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught

448.79 ft / 439.96 ft x 74.80 ft x 26.25 ft (normal load) [136.79 m / 134.10 m x 22.80 m x 8.00 m]

Armament:

4 - 11.02" / 280 mm guns (2x2 guns), 669.80lbs / 303.82kg shells, 1905 Model Breech loading guns in turrets (on barbettes) on centreline ends, evenly spread
12 - 5.91" / 150 mm guns in single mounts, 102.98lbs / 46.71kg shells, 1905 Model Quick firing guns in casemate mounts on side, all amidships
4 - 3.46" / 88.0 mm guns in single mounts, 20.79lbs / 9.43kg shells, 1905 Model Quick firing guns in deck mounts on side, evenly spread, all raised mounts
Weight of broadside 3,998 lbs / 1,814 kg
Shells per gun, main battery: 180

Armour:

Belts: Width (max) Length (avg) Height (avg)
Main: 6.69" / 170 mm 341.21 ft / 104.00 m 9.84 ft / 3.00 m
Ends: 5.12" / 130 mm 98.43 ft / 30.00 m 9.84 ft / 3.00 m
Upper: 3.15" / 80 mm 328.08 ft / 100.00 m 4.92 ft / 1.50 m
Main Belt covers 119 % of normal length

Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
Main: 7.09" / 180 mm 3.54" / 90 mm 3.54" / 90 mm
2nd: 5.12" / 130 mm 5.12" / 130 mm 5.12" / 130 mm
3rd: 0.59" / 15 mm 0.59" / 15 mm -

Armour deck: 2.76" / 70 mm, Conning tower: 8.27" / 210 mm


Machinery:

Coal fired boilers, complex reciprocating steam engines, Direct drive, 2 shafts, 25,719 ihp / 19,187 Kw = 21.50 kts
Range 7,100nm at 12.00 kts
Bunker at max displacement = 2,917 tons (100% coal)

Complement: 634 - 825

Cost: £1.342 million / $5.366 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:

Armament: 500 tons, 3.6 %
Armour: 3,136 tons, 22.8 %
- Belts: 1,344 tons, 9.8 %
- Torpedo bulkhead: 0 tons, 0.0 %
- Armament: 511 tons, 3.7 %
- Armour Deck: 1,179 tons, 8.6 %
- Conning Tower: 102 tons, 0.7 %
Machinery: 3,727 tons, 27.1 %
Hull, fittings & equipment: 3,865 tons, 28.1 %
Fuel, ammunition & stores: 2,319 tons, 16.9 %
Miscellaneous weights: 200 tons, 1.5 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:

Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship): 9,690 lbs / 4,395 Kg = 14.5 x 11.0 " / 280 mm shells or 1.4 torpedoes
Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.32
Metacentric height 5.3 ft / 1.6 m
Roll period: 13.6 seconds
Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 76 %
- Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.28
Seaboat quality (Average = 1.00): 1.24

Hull form characteristics:

Hull has a flush deck
Block coefficient: 0.557
Length to Beam Ratio: 5.88 : 1
'Natural speed' for length: 20.98 kts
Power going to wave formation at top speed: 53 %
Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 61
Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 18.00 degrees
Stern overhang: 3.61 ft / 1.10 m
Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
- Stem: 16.08 ft / 4.90 m
- Forecastle (20 %): 15.42 ft / 4.70 m
- Mid (50 %): 14.76 ft / 4.50 m
- Quarterdeck (15 %): 14.76 ft / 4.50 m
- Stern: 14.76 ft / 4.50 m
- Average freeboard: 15.05 ft / 4.59 m
Ship tends to be wet forward

Ship space, strength and comments:

Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 118.2 %
- Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 103.6 %
Waterplane Area: 23,119 Square feet or 2,148 Square metres
Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 93 %
Structure weight / hull surface area: 116 lbs/sq ft or 569 Kg/sq metre
Hull strength (Relative):
- Cross-sectional: 0.93
- Longitudinal: 1.83
- Overall: 1.00
Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is cramped
Room for accommodation and workspaces is adequate
Ship has slow, easy roll, a good, steady gun platform
Good seaboat, rides out heavy weather easily

Another doodle - that quintessential vessel of the Nineteenth Century navy - the gunboat. It doesn't need heavy armament, merely enough to overawe the natives and dissuade any competitior's vessel from getting uppity. There's a provision for enough miscellaneous weight to provide accommodation for Marines of a decent-sized landing party too.


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TBD, TBD Gunboat laid down 1890

Displacement: 843 t light; 887 t standard; 1,075 t normal; 1,225 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught

209.86 ft / 209.65 ft x 30.51 ft x 11.78 ft (normal load) [63.96 m / 63.90 m x 9.30 m x 3.59 m]

Armament:

2 - 4.13" / 105 mm guns in single mounts, 35.32lbs / 16.02kg shells, 1890 Model Breech loading guns in deck mounts on centreline ends, evenly spread
2 - 4.13" / 105 mm guns in single mounts, 35.32lbs / 16.02kg shells, 1890 Model Breech loading guns in deck mounts on side, all amidships
4 - 2.17" / 55.0 mm guns (2x2 guns), 5.08lbs / 2.30kg shells, 1890 Model Quick firing guns in deck mounts on side, evenly spread
Weight of broadside 162 lbs / 73 kg
Shells per gun, main battery: 220

Armour:

Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
Main: 0.98" / 25 mm 0.98" / 25 mm -
2nd: 0.98" / 25 mm 0.98" / 25 mm -
3rd: 0.39" / 10 mm - -

Conning tower: 1.97" / 50 mm

Machinery:

Coal fired boilers, complex reciprocating steam engines, Direct drive, 2 shafts, 1,628 ihp / 1,215 Kw = 15.00 kts
Range 4,400nm at 10.00 kts
Bunker at max displacement = 338 tons (100% coal)

Complement: 93 - 122

Cost: £0.089 million / $0.355 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:

Armament: 20 tons, 1.9 %
Armour: 18 tons, 1.7 %
- Belts: 0 tons, 0.0 %
- Torpedo bulkhead: 0 tons, 0.0 %
- Armament: 14 tons, 1.3 %
- Armour Deck: 0 tons, 0.0 %
- Conning Tower: 4 tons, 0.4 %
Machinery: 302 tons, 28.0 %
Hull, fittings & equipment: 353 tons, 32.8 %
Fuel, ammunition & stores: 232 tons, 21.6 %
Miscellaneous weights: 150 tons, 14.0 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:

Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship): 893 lbs / 405 Kg = 25.3 x 4.1 " / 105 mm shells or 0.4 torpedoes
Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.20
Metacentric height 1.2 ft / 0.4 m
Roll period: 11.8 seconds
Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 100 %
- Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.24
Seaboat quality (Average = 1.00): 2.00

Hull form characteristics:

Hull has a flush deck
Block coefficient: 0.499
Length to Beam Ratio: 6.87 : 1
'Natural speed' for length: 14.48 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: 0.00 ft / 0.00 m
Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
- Stem: 12.14 ft / 3.70 m
- Forecastle (20 %): 11.48 ft / 3.50 m
- Mid (50 %): 10.83 ft / 3.30 m
- Quarterdeck (20 %): 10.83 ft / 3.30 m
- Stern: 10.83 ft / 3.30 m
- Average freeboard: 11.11 ft / 3.39 m
Ship tends to be wet forward

Ship space, strength and comments:

Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 121.6 %
- Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 95.9 %
Waterplane Area: 4,260 Square feet or 396 Square metres
Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 115 %
Structure weight / hull surface area: 47 lbs/sq ft or 230 Kg/sq metre
Hull strength (Relative):
- Cross-sectional: 0.88
- Longitudinal: 3.26
- Overall: 1.00
Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is cramped
Room for accommodation and workspaces is adequate
Ship has slow, easy roll, a good, steady gun platform
Excellent seaboat, comfortable, can fire her guns in the heaviest weather

One has to do it - attempt to create flotilla craft with Springsharp. I suspect that the result shown here has the design limitations its real-world counterparts would have had - fragility, limited seaworthiness at speed, short range, etc. I based the design on a German divisionsboot (torpedo boat leader) of the time.

Thoughts?

----------

TBD, TBD Fleet Torpedo Boat laid down 1890

Displacement: 388 t light; 400 t standard; 465 t normal; 517 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught

207.74 ft / 206.69 ft x 25.26 ft x 8.20 ft (normal load) [63.32 m / 63.00 m x 7.70 m x 2.50 m]

Armament:

3 - 2.17" / 55.0 mm guns in single mounts, 5.08lbs / 2.30kg shells, 1890 Model Quick firing guns in deck mounts on centreline, evenly spread. Aft Main mounts separated

by engine room
Weight of broadside 15 lbs / 7 kg
Shells per gun, main battery: 220
2 - 17.7" / 450 mm above water torpedoes

Armour:

Conning tower: 0.98" / 25 mm

Machinery:

Coal fired boilers, complex reciprocating steam engines, Direct drive, 2 shafts, 5,999 ihp / 4,476 Kw = 24.00 kts
Range 2,500nm at 10.00 kts
Bunker at max displacement = 118 tons (100% coal)
Caution: Delicate, lightweight machinery

Complement: 49 - 65

Cost: £0.054 million / $0.216 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:

Armament: 2 tons, 0.4 %
Armour: 1 tons, 0.3 %
- Belts: 0 tons, 0.0 %
- Torpedo bulkhead: 0 tons, 0.0 %
- Armament: 0 tons, 0.0 %
- Armour Deck: 0 tons, 0.0 %
- Conning Tower: 1 tons, 0.3 %
Machinery: 278 tons, 59.7 %
Hull, fittings & equipment: 98 tons, 21.0 %
Fuel, ammunition & stores: 77 tons, 16.5 %
Miscellaneous weights: 10 tons, 2.2 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:

Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship): 87 lbs / 39 Kg = 17.1 x 2.2 " / 55 mm shells or 0.1 torpedoes
Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.59
Metacentric height 1.4 ft / 0.4 m
Roll period: 9.0 seconds
Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 50 %
- Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.01
Seaboat quality (Average = 1.00): 0.63

Hull form characteristics:

Hull has a flush deck
Block coefficient: 0.380
Length to Beam Ratio: 8.18 : 1
'Natural speed' for length: 14.38 kts
Power going to wave formation at top speed: 65 %
Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 78
Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 2.00 degrees
Stern overhang: 0.82 ft / 0.25 m
Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
- Stem: 6.56 ft / 2.00 m
- Forecastle (20 %): 6.23 ft / 1.90 m
- Mid (50 %): 5.91 ft / 1.80 m
- Quarterdeck (25 %): 5.91 ft / 1.80 m
- Stern: 5.91 ft / 1.80 m
- Average freeboard: 6.05 ft / 1.84 m
Ship tends to be wet forward

Ship space, strength and comments:

Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 198.2 %
- Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 60.3 %
Waterplane Area: 3,184 Square feet or 296 Square metres
Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 21 %
Structure weight / hull surface area: 21 lbs/sq ft or 101 Kg/sq metre
Hull strength (Relative):
- Cross-sectional: 0.52
- Longitudinal: 0.76
- Overall: 0.54
Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is cramped
Room for accommodation and workspaces is cramped
Caution: Lacks seaworthiness - very limited seakeeping ability

Interesting work as ever Bruce.

I haven't dallied much with SS in this era (which is a shame really) so I can't comment on the technical aspects but generally they look good and the Fleet TB actually seems to come out pretty good, better than I would have expected.

In the days before invention of the wireless telegraph (radio) fleets had fast steamers to act as message carriers.

I am not entirely happy with this particular design, and, historically, as soon as radio became available, navies quickly dispensed with dispatch vessels.

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TBD, TBD Dispatch Vessel laid down 1891

Displacement: 1,052 t light; 1,084 t standard; 1,280 t normal; 1,437 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught

219.56 ft / 219.16 ft x 33.46 ft x 14.01 ft (normal load) [66.92 m / 66.80 m x 10.20 m x 4.27 m]

Armament:

2 - 3.46" / 88.0 mm guns in single mounts, 20.79lbs / 9.43kg shells, 1891 Model Quick firing guns in deck mounts on centreline ends, evenly spread
4 - 2.17" / 55.0 mm guns in single mounts, 5.08lbs / 2.30kg shells, 1891 Model Quick firing guns in deck mounts on centreline, evenly spread
Weight of broadside 62 lbs / 28 kg
Shells per gun, main battery: 150

Armour:

Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
Main: 0.59" / 15 mm 0.59" / 15 mm -

Conning tower: 0.98" / 25 mm

Machinery:

Coal fired boilers, complex reciprocating steam engines, Direct drive, 2 shafts, 3,799 ihp / 2,834 Kw = 18.25 kts
Range 3,000nm at 11.50 kts
Bunker at max displacement = 353 tons (100% coal)

Complement: 106 - 139

Cost: £0.130 million / $0.519 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:

Armament: 8 tons, 0.6 %
Armour: 6 tons, 0.4 %
- Belts: 0 tons, 0.0 %
- Torpedo bulkhead: 0 tons, 0.0 %
- Armament: 3 tons, 0.2 %
- Armour Deck: 0 tons, 0.0 %
- Conning Tower: 2 tons, 0.2 %
Machinery: 617 tons, 48.2 %
Hull, fittings & equipment: 382 tons, 29.8 %
Fuel, ammunition & stores: 228 tons, 17.8 %
Miscellaneous weights: 40 tons, 3.1 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:

Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship): 621 lbs / 282 Kg = 29.9 x 3.5 " / 88 mm shells or 0.3 torpedoes
Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.64
Metacentric height 2.2 ft / 0.7 m
Roll period: 9.4 seconds
Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 74 %
- Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.03
Seaboat quality (Average = 1.00): 1.47

Hull form characteristics:

Hull has a flush deck
Block coefficient: 0.436
Length to Beam Ratio: 6.55 : 1
'Natural speed' for length: 14.80 kts
Power going to wave formation at top speed: 55 %
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: 11.48 ft / 3.50 m
- Forecastle (20 %): 10.66 ft / 3.25 m
- Mid (50 %): 9.84 ft / 3.00 m
- Quarterdeck (22 %): 9.84 ft / 3.00 m
- Stern: 9.84 ft / 3.00 m
- Average freeboard: 10.20 ft / 3.11 m
Ship tends to be wet forward

Ship space, strength and comments:

Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 164.0 %
- Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 83.6 %
Waterplane Area: 4,626 Square feet or 430 Square metres
Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 86 %
Structure weight / hull surface area: 49 lbs/sq ft or 238 Kg/sq metre
Hull strength (Relative):
- Cross-sectional: 0.89
- Longitudinal: 2.81
- Overall: 1.00
Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is cramped
Room for accommodation and workspaces is cramped
Ship has slow, easy roll, a good, steady gun platform
Good seaboat, rides out heavy weather easily

I am still doodling, finding it easier than I expected to sim vessels of the pre-dreadnought era. This one is inspired by the American cruiser Olympia.

One of the things I observe is that while she is credited with a radius of 13,000 miles at 10 knots, I cannot attain that with Springsharp and still have armor protection comparable to the original. I attribute this to the internal workings of Springsharp - if anyone has a suggestion on ways to address that issue, I'd appreciate your comments.

----------

TBD, TBD Protected Cruiser laid down 1896

Displacement: 4,880 t light; 5,132 t standard; 5,865 t normal; 6,451 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught

345.31 ft / 344.49 ft x 53.15 ft x 20.80 ft (normal load) [105.25 m / 105.00 m x 16.20 m x 6.34 m]

Armament:

4 - 8.27" / 210 mm guns (2x2 guns), 282.57lbs / 128.17kg shells, 1896 Model Breech loading guns in turrets (on barbettes) on centreline ends, evenly spread
10 - 4.13" / 105 mm guns in single mounts, 35.32lbs / 16.02kg shells, 1896 Model Quick firing guns in casemate mounts on side, all amidships
6 - 2.17" / 55.0 mm guns in single mounts, 5.08lbs / 2.30kg shells, 1896 Model Quick firing guns in deck mounts on side, evenly spread, all raised mounts
Weight of broadside 1,514 lbs / 687 kg
Shells per gun, main battery: 150
4 - 17.7" / 450 mm above water torpedoes

Armour:

Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
Main: 3.94" / 100 mm 2.76" / 70 mm 2.76" / 70 mm
2nd: 1.97" / 50 mm 1.97" / 50 mm -

Armour deck: 2.36" / 60 mm, Conning tower: 2.76" / 70 mm

Machinery:

Coal fired boilers, complex reciprocating steam engines, Direct drive, 2 shafts, 12,267 ihp / 9,151 Kw = 20.00 kts
Range 7,000nm at 10.00 kts
Bunker at max displacement = 1,319 tons (100% coal)

Complement: 334 - 435

Cost: £0.616 million / $2.464 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:

Armament: 189 tons, 3.2 %
Armour: 757 tons, 12.9 %
- Belts: 0 tons, 0.0 %
- Torpedo bulkhead: 0 tons, 0.0 %
- Armament: 185 tons, 3.1 %
- Armour Deck: 553 tons, 9.4 %
- Conning Tower: 19 tons, 0.3 %
Machinery: 2,044 tons, 34.9 %
Hull, fittings & equipment: 1,810 tons, 30.9 %
Fuel, ammunition & stores: 985 tons, 16.8 %
Miscellaneous weights: 80 tons, 1.4 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:

Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship): 3,317 lbs / 1,505 Kg = 11.7 x 8.3 " / 210 mm shells or 0.7 torpedoes
Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.38
Metacentric height 3.4 ft / 1.0 m
Roll period: 12.1 seconds
Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 72 %
- Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.37
Seaboat quality (Average = 1.00): 1.43

Hull form characteristics:

Hull has a flush deck
Block coefficient: 0.539
Length to Beam Ratio: 6.48 : 1
'Natural speed' for length: 18.56 kts
Power going to wave formation at top speed: 53 %
Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 0.00 degrees
Stern overhang: 0.82 ft / 0.25 m
Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
- Stem: 16.40 ft / 5.00 m
- Forecastle (20 %): 14.76 ft / 4.50 m
- Mid (50 %): 13.94 ft / 4.25 m
- Quarterdeck (15 %): 13.94 ft / 4.25 m
- Stern: 13.94 ft / 4.25 m
- Average freeboard: 14.36 ft / 4.38 m
Ship tends to be wet forward

Ship space, strength and comments:

Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 139.2 %
- Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 91.0 %
Waterplane Area: 12,647 Square feet or 1,175 Square metres
Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 91 %
Structure weight / hull surface area: 91 lbs/sq ft or 444 Kg/sq metre
Hull strength (Relative):
- Cross-sectional: 0.91
- Longitudinal: 2.31
- Overall: 1.00
Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is cramped
Room for accommodation and workspaces is adequate
Ship has slow, easy roll, a good, steady gun platform
Good seaboat, rides out heavy weather easily

For the era, probably a large destroyer, possibly an experimental unit, in the early stages of turbine development. Mixed firing boilers. Outside of the engine room nothing too revolutionary I think.

--------

TBD, TBD Destroyer laid down 1904

Displacement: 669 t light; 693 t standard; 800 t normal; 885 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught

233.97 ft / 229.66 ft x 22.97 ft x 11.48 ft (normal load) [71.31 m / 70.00 m x 7.00 m x 3.50 m]

Armament:

3 - 3.46" / 88.0 mm guns in single mounts, 20.79lbs / 9.43kg shells, 1904 Model Quick firing guns in deck mounts on centreline, evenly spread. Aft Main mounts separated by engine room
1 - 2.17" / 55.0 mm guns in single mounts, 5.08lbs / 2.30kg shells, 1904 Model Quick firing gun in deck mount on centreline amidships, 1 raised gun
2 - 0.31" / 7.9 mm guns in single mounts, 0.02lbs / 0.01kg shells, 1904 Model Machine guns in deck mounts on side, evenly spread, all raised mounts
Weight of broadside 67 lbs / 31 kg
Shells per gun, main battery: 220
4 - 17.7" / 450 mm above water torpedoes

Armour:

Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
Main: 0.59" / 15 mm 0.59" / 15 mm -

Conning tower: 0.98" / 25 mm

Machinery:

Coal and oil fired boilers, steam turbines, Direct drive, 2 shafts, 9,727 shp / 7,256 Kw = 25.00 kts
Range 3,300nm at 10.00 kts
Bunker at max displacement = 192 tons (60% coal)

Complement: 74 - 97

Cost: £0.092 million / $0.368 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:

Armament: 8 tons, 1.1 %
Armour: 6 tons, 0.8 %
- Belts: 0 tons, 0.0 %
- Torpedo bulkhead: 0 tons, 0.0 %
- Armament: 5 tons, 0.6 %
- Armour Deck: 0 tons, 0.0 %
- Conning Tower: 2 tons, 0.2 %
Machinery: 440 tons, 55.0 %
Hull, fittings & equipment: 194 tons, 24.2 %
Fuel, ammunition & stores: 131 tons, 16.4 %
Miscellaneous weights: 20 tons, 2.5 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:

Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship): 192 lbs / 87 Kg = 9.2 x 3.5 " / 88 mm shells or 0.2 torpedoes
Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.30
Metacentric height 0.9 ft / 0.3 m
Roll period: 10.3 seconds
Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 84 %
- Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.22
Seaboat quality (Average = 1.00): 1.47

Hull form characteristics:

Hull has rise forward of midbreak
Block coefficient: 0.462
Length to Beam Ratio: 10.00 : 1
'Natural speed' for length: 15.15 kts
Power going to wave formation at top speed: 65 %
Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 57
Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 12.00 degrees
Stern overhang: 0.82 ft / 0.25 m
Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
- Stem: 16.40 ft / 5.00 m
- Forecastle (20 %): 15.58 ft / 4.75 m
- Mid (50 %): 14.76 ft / 4.50 m (8.20 ft / 2.50 m aft of break)
- Quarterdeck (15 %): 8.20 ft / 2.50 m
- Stern: 8.20 ft / 2.50 m
- Average freeboard: 11.84 ft / 3.61 m
Ship tends to be wet forward

Ship space, strength and comments:

Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 188.5 %
- Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 62.8 %
Waterplane Area: 3,399 Square feet or 316 Square metres
Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 41 %
Structure weight / hull surface area: 23 lbs/sq ft or 113 Kg/sq metre
Hull strength (Relative):
- Cross-sectional: 0.52
- Longitudinal: 3.36
- Overall: 0.63
Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is cramped
Room for accommodation and workspaces is cramped
Ship has slow, easy roll, a good, steady gun platform
Good seaboat, rides out heavy weather easily

She seems a bit undergunned but is a good gun platform and a good seaboat. That seals the deal for me!

I tend to prefer a vessel that can keep the sea over one that is over-armed. I suspect - but have yet to try - that she could carry three 105mm guns in place of the 88mm guns.

Keep in mind however that she is larger than contemporary destroyers - the closest approach for 1904 are some of the RN's River class at 545 tons normal displacement, and they shipped only one 3-in and five 6pdr guns, and only two torpedo tubes.

Other vessels of 1904 were:

Claymore - France - 356 tons, 1-65mm, 6-47mm, two tubes
S126 - Germany - 371 tons, 3-50mm, three tubes
Asakaze - Japan - 381 tons, 3-76mm, two tubes

In some respects, the design might appear more of a flotilla leader or divisionsboot.

I was thinking it might be overgunned... more in terms of layout, four single centreline guns and four tubes seems a lot (many destroyers had sided guns for this reason. I assume the 55mm superfires one of the 88mm?

Quoted from "Hood"

I was thinking it might be overgunned... more in terms of layout, four single centreline guns and four tubes seems a lot (many destroyers had sided guns for this reason. I assume the 55mm superfires one of the 88mm?

Yes - the 55mm is presumed to be on a bandstand. Given her size I don't think she is over-gunned; compared to historical destroyer of 1904 is very well could be. That was one reason I kept her to 88mm guns instead of going to 105mm guns - which, I have found, actually give her slightly better stability (more weight in the magazines I suppose).