...An Excerpt from “Jones’ Quarterly Naval Review”, Volume 1920/4...
It’s mid-afternoon in the humid, hazy office of India’s Naval Design Bureau. On a paper-cluttered desk, a wooden model rests precariously at one edge. Featuring no less than six triple gun mounts, it’s among the more practical models scattered around this sweltering room a half-mile from Madras’ waterfront.
“We do produce some practical design concepts, of course”, notes Senior Naval Architect Dhiren Naidu. The Bureau’s supervisor, he has led the unit since its inception in 1901; his stamp of approval is on every class of warship now serving in the Indian Navy. Nearly twenty years after starting work on a torpedo boat class, Naidu rarely leads the design process anymore. Now he manages the Bureau and plays devil’s advocate for the fifteen senior project staff in his office.
“The Bureau has been gradually ramping up since 1901 - going to destroyers, then cruisers, and now we’re looking at everything from submarines to aviation ships to battleships. It’s a very exciting time for the younger members of the team. A bit trying for some of the older staff.”
Naidu’s own designs were strongly influenced by German designs of the time. With Germany providing technical support to India’s fledgling navy, munitions industry, and shipyards, it only made sense to take advantage of their expertise. “When I entered the business, Germany was the most influential external force on India’s military, and remained that way until just a few years ago. Germany produced some of the finest warships of the last two decades, and I was fortunate to have access to that knowledge at a time when I was still learning my trade.”
Now, however, his students are bringing a variety of other influences to their designs. “The Hyderabad class, for instance, owes a great deal to the British Hawkins type, as I’m sure your readers will have noticed”, Naidu remarks. “We saw a use for a larger cruiser with heavier main guns, but really did not feel that the naval yards were prepared to build something as complicated as, for instance, the Russian Sviatoslavs . In a couple of years, perhaps, but not in 1918 when we laid Hyderabad down, and certainly not in 1916 when we began drafting the plans.”
Though all of Naidu’s senior staff are assigned to one of four design teams, most are also assigned a particular nation whose own designs are scrutinized for Indian use. “We get together on a monthly basis to discuss new ideas coming out from our counterparts around the world. For instance, Venkaiah Shetty has kept track of the American aviation ship experiment on their Jupiter , and he’s incorporating that knowledge into our own aviation ship, Bhima . Randhar Singhal, who led the Hyderabad design process, watches British trends. And Ashok Ambedkar’s been observing Russian developments such as the quadruple turret.”
Naidu now points at this point to four clusters of men standing around drafting tables around the room. “Those are the teams at work. Randhar’s working on a set of smaller escort-type vessels, destroyers and the like - this seems to be the navy’s focus for the next year or two. Over there, Venkaiah and his team are working out bugs with Bhima . He’s already put some ideas together for her replacement, and is eager to see how Bhima actually performs.”
Pausing to drink from a tall glass of ice water, Naidu nods at a third group. “These boys are looking at the next cruiser class, which we’ll be starting production on in about three years or so. So far they’ve put together everything from a ship with eight single 8.2" guns to a 12,000 ton light cruiser carrying three quintuple 5.9" guns.”
Quintuple gun turrets?
“Yes, fifteen guns in three mounts. We didn’t take that design very far.”
Pointing at the final cluster of men, Naidu notes, “Yograj Saraswati, Ashok, and that group are working on our capital ship program. Having access to two former South African dreadnoughts can’t hurt us, and we’ve had some interesting discussions with our counterparts over there.”
When asked what India’s plans are in this regard, Naidu can only shrug. “The people who make those decisions haven’t made them just yet.” When asked about the Cleito Treaty, Naidu sits quietly for a moment and then erupts:
“It’s the worst thing to happen to ship design since HMS Invincible . Arbitrary limitations on size and main battery will result in everybody producing variations on the same design; I ask you where the excitement is in that. The pressure is now on to produce the “perfect” battleship, because failures can’t just be replaced like that anymore, can they? And after that, how does one improve on a perfect battleship? Poor Yograj has four different size ranges he has to consider because now it’s a question of how best to use 80,000 tons, and not a question of how much the best design happens to displace!”
Naidu rubs his forehead and reaches for another model, holding it up for this reporter to see. “My preference all along has been to start indigenous capital ship development with a modified Bayern . Well armed and armored, decent speed, and we could operate three within an 80,000 ton envelope - four inside a 120,000 ton limit if we’d stuck to that. Don’t get me going on that subject.”
“But some of our neighbours are jumping up to 40,000 tons right away, so the bureaucrats tell me that maybe we should build 2 of the maximum sized ships. And then the shipwrights tell me that they don’t think they can jump straight to a full-sized battleship, so they’d like to start with 20,000 tons. Fine, but that means we might end up with two 30,000 ton ships to round out the set. Or perhaps they’ll want another 20,000 ton ship and one 40,000 ton ship. Or some other combination I haven’t figured out yet. I marvel that Yograj doesn’t have ulcers yet.”
Setting down the Bayern model, Naidu points at the design with six triple turrets. “That’s probably what our first capital ship will be - a glorified cruiser of 20,000 tons. Not something I would build, but the shipwrights will be happier with the experience and the Fleet might find a use for her somewhere...”
Naidu sighs the sigh of a weary civil servant. At this moment he looks older than his forty-eight years. “When I take my children to the waterfront, I like to point out the vessels I’ve worked on, because in a way those are my children as well. My one aspiration before I retire is to be able to point at a battleship and say, ‘My children, that is the finest warship in the world, and she is your sister.’ But it seems I may have to wait many more years for this time to come.”
As Naidu contemplates the model, one of the capital ship team comes over and places a drawing in his hands. Though he holds the paper at an awkward angle, this reporter can see enough to discern a vessel sporting four large triple gun turrets. “Interesting”, he murmurs, “Perhaps even feasible, if the Ordnance Guild can produce guns of that caliber.”
“Ashok is suggesting the same caliber for his design”, the younger man replies.
Naidu winces and hands the drawing back. “See where you can go with this.” Turning to this reporter, he says, “I don’t mean to rude, but I need to speak with one of my staff. Do call again if I can be of further assistance.”
As Naidu’s secretary escorts this reporter out, Naidu and a younger man begin conversing rapidly in hushed tones, engrossed in the process of naval architecture. Perhaps a flawed design is being put to rest; or, perhaps, it is the start of something that Naidu will one day point out to his children.
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