WesWorld

A sketch by the DNC passes over thier Lordship's desks. Much stroking of beards and mutterings are heard afterwards.

R Class, Great Britain Battleship laid down 1913 (Engine 1939)

Displacement:
26,767 t light; 28,761 t standard; 30,475 t normal; 31,846 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
624.50 ft / 624.50 ft x 88.50 ft (Bulges 102.00 ft) x 30.50 ft (normal load)
190.35 m / 190.35 m x 26.97 m (Bulges 31.09 m) x 9.30 m

Armament:
8 - 15.00" / 381 mm guns (4x2 guns), 1,938.00lbs / 879.06kg shells, 1913 Model
Breech loading guns in turrets (on barbettes)
on centreline ends, evenly spread, 2 raised mounts - superfiring
16 - 4.50" / 114 mm guns (8x2 guns), 45.00lbs / 20.41kg shells, 1935 Model
Dual purpose guns in deck mounts with hoists
on side, all amidships
64 - 1.57" / 40.0 mm guns (8x8 guns), 2.00lbs / 0.91kg shells, 1925 Model
Anti-aircraft guns in deck mounts
on side, all aft, 6 raised mounts - superfiring
36 - 0.66" / 16.8 mm guns (6x6 guns), 0.14lbs / 0.07kg shells, 1922 Model
Anti-aircraft guns in deck mounts
on side ends, evenly spread, all raised mounts - superfiring
Weight of broadside 16,357 lbs / 7,420 kg
Shells per gun, main battery: 150

Armour:
- Belts: Width (max) Length (avg) Height (avg)
Main: 13.0" / 330 mm 420.00 ft / 128.02 m 12.00 ft / 3.66 m
Ends: Unarmoured
Main Belt covers 103 % of normal length

- Torpedo Bulkhead and Bulges:
2.50" / 64 mm 510.00 ft / 155.45 m 28.00 ft / 8.53 m

- Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
Main: 13.0" / 330 mm 8.00" / 203 mm 8.00" / 203 mm
2nd: 1.50" / 38 mm 1.00" / 25 mm 2.00" / 51 mm
3rd: 0.50" / 13 mm - -
4th: 0.50" / 13 mm - -

- Armour deck: 6.50" / 165 mm, Conning tower: 6.00" / 152 mm

Machinery:
Oil fired boilers, steam turbines,
Geared drive, 4 shafts, 40,500 shp / 30,213 Kw = 21.95 kts
Range 12,000nm at 12.00 kts
Bunker at max displacement = 3,085 tons

Complement:
1,153 - 1,499

Cost:
£2.834 million / $11.337 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
Armament: 1,795 tons, 5.9 %
Armour: 11,380 tons, 37.3 %
- Belts: 2,807 tons, 9.2 %
- Torpedo bulkhead: 1,321 tons, 4.3 %
- Armament: 2,492 tons, 8.2 %
- Armour Deck: 4,634 tons, 15.2 %
- Conning Tower: 126 tons, 0.4 %
Machinery: 1,096 tons, 3.6 %
Hull, fittings & equipment: 12,347 tons, 40.5 %
Fuel, ammunition & stores: 3,707 tons, 12.2 %
Miscellaneous weights: 150 tons, 0.5 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
51,282 lbs / 23,261 Kg = 30.4 x 15.0 " / 381 mm shells or 10.1 torpedoes
Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.12
Metacentric height 5.2 ft / 1.6 m
Roll period: 18.9 seconds
Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 74 %
- Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.92
Seaboat quality (Average = 1.00): 1.68

Hull form characteristics:
Hull has low quarterdeck
Block coefficient: 0.549
Length to Beam Ratio: 6.12 : 1
'Natural speed' for length: 24.99 kts
Power going to wave formation at top speed: 44 %
Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 44
Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 0.00 degrees
Stern overhang: 0.00 ft / 0.00 m
Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
- Stem: 26.00 ft / 7.92 m
- Forecastle (20 %): 25.00 ft / 7.62 m
- Mid (50 %): 24.00 ft / 7.32 m
- Quarterdeck (30 %): 16.00 ft / 4.88 m (24.00 ft / 7.32 m before break)
- Stern: 16.00 ft / 4.88 m
- Average freeboard: 22.03 ft / 6.71 m
Ship tends to be wet forward

Ship space, strength and comments:
Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 76.3 %
- Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 154.7 %
Waterplane Area: 38,535 Square feet or 3,580 Square metres
Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 109 %
Structure weight / hull surface area: 207 lbs/sq ft or 1,012 Kg/sq metre
Hull strength (Relative):
- Cross-sectional: 0.93
- Longitudinal: 1.91
- 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

Planned reconstruction along lines of QE Class

Search and gunnery radars added
New twin 4.5in DP mounts
Removal of all casemates, plated over flush with hull sides
Improved 2pdr fit and improved MG fit
Catapult and aircraft removed
Upper and end belts removed
0.5in torpedo bulkhead added
1in burster deck added on upper deck
1.5in added to main deck
Elevation of 15in guns increased to 30 degrees
New CT and superstructure
New directors and fire-control systems
New bulges
New boilers and turbines

I'm fairly certain that you can't reduce the BC without increasing the length of the hull, which you haven't done here. Given the new bulges, I'd expect BC to rise, rather than shrink.

Ah, I missed that. I must have copied the block coefficent wrongly when I simmed the original. Thanks for pointing it out, its given me 1.27 extra hull strength to play with!

There is life left in the old ships yet. If only I could afford to rebuild the QEs and the Rs... and build a new class of battleships... or maybe postpone the new BBs for a couple of years...

R Class, Great Britain Battleship laid down 1913 (Engine 1939)

Displacement:
30,365 t light; 32,456 t standard; 34,416 t normal; 35,984 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
624.50 ft / 624.50 ft x 88.50 ft (Bulges 102.00 ft) x 30.50 ft (normal load)
190.35 m / 190.35 m x 26.97 m (Bulges 31.09 m) x 9.30 m

Armament:
8 - 15.00" / 381 mm guns (4x2 guns), 1,938.00lbs / 879.06kg shells, 1913 Model
Breech loading guns in turrets (on barbettes)
on centreline ends, evenly spread, 2 raised mounts - superfiring
20 - 4.50" / 114 mm guns (10x2 guns), 45.00lbs / 20.41kg shells, 1935 Model
Dual purpose guns in deck mounts with hoists
on side, all amidships
64 - 1.57" / 40.0 mm guns (8x8 guns), 2.00lbs / 0.91kg shells, 1925 Model
Anti-aircraft guns in deck mounts
on side, all aft, 6 raised mounts - superfiring
36 - 0.66" / 16.8 mm guns (6x6 guns), 0.14lbs / 0.06kg shells, 1922 Model
Anti-aircraft guns in deck mounts
on side ends, evenly spread, all raised mounts - superfiring
Weight of broadside 16,537 lbs / 7,501 kg
Shells per gun, main battery: 150

Armour:
- Belts: Width (max) Length (avg) Height (avg)
Main: 13.0" / 330 mm 420.00 ft / 128.02 m 12.00 ft / 3.66 m
Ends: Unarmoured
Upper: 6.00" / 152 mm 310.00 ft / 94.49 m 8.00 ft / 2.44 m
Main Belt covers 103 % of normal length

- Torpedo Bulkhead and Bulges:
2.50" / 64 mm 510.00 ft / 155.45 m 28.00 ft / 8.53 m

- Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
Main: 13.0" / 330 mm 8.00" / 203 mm 8.00" / 203 mm
2nd: 1.50" / 38 mm 1.00" / 25 mm 2.00" / 51 mm
3rd: 0.50" / 13 mm - -
4th: 0.50" / 13 mm - -

- Armour deck: 8.00" / 203 mm, Conning tower: 6.00" / 152 mm

Machinery:
Oil fired boilers, steam turbines,
Geared drive, 4 shafts, 80,000 shp / 59,680 Kw = 25.47 kts
Range 12,700nm at 12.00 kts
Bunker at max displacement = 3,528 tons

Complement:
1,263 - 1,642

Cost:
£3.156 million / $12.623 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
Armament: 1,818 tons, 5.3 %
Armour: 13,565 tons, 39.4 %
- Belts: 3,505 tons, 10.2 %
- Torpedo bulkhead: 1,321 tons, 3.8 %
- Armament: 2,507 tons, 7.3 %
- Armour Deck: 6,095 tons, 17.7 %
- Conning Tower: 137 tons, 0.4 %
Machinery: 2,165 tons, 6.3 %
Hull, fittings & equipment: 12,618 tons, 36.7 %
Fuel, ammunition & stores: 4,050 tons, 11.8 %
Miscellaneous weights: 200 tons, 0.6 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
52,396 lbs / 23,766 Kg = 31.0 x 15.0 " / 381 mm shells or 9.6 torpedoes
Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.10
Metacentric height 5.0 ft / 1.5 m
Roll period: 19.1 seconds
Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 60 %
- Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.82
Seaboat quality (Average = 1.00): 1.21

Hull form characteristics:
Hull has low quarterdeck
Block coefficient: 0.620
Length to Beam Ratio: 6.12 : 1
'Natural speed' for length: 24.99 kts
Power going to wave formation at top speed: 54 %
Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 0.00 degrees
Stern overhang: 0.00 ft / 0.00 m
Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
- Stem: 26.00 ft / 7.92 m
- Forecastle (20 %): 25.00 ft / 7.62 m
- Mid (50 %): 24.00 ft / 7.32 m
- Quarterdeck (30 %): 16.00 ft / 4.88 m (24.00 ft / 7.32 m before break)
- Stern: 16.00 ft / 4.88 m
- Average freeboard: 22.03 ft / 6.71 m
Ship tends to be wet forward

Ship space, strength and comments:
Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 81.5 %
- Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 150.9 %
Waterplane Area: 41,182 Square feet or 3,826 Square metres
Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 105 %
Structure weight / hull surface area: 201 lbs/sq ft or 982 Kg/sq metre
Hull strength (Relative):
- Cross-sectional: 0.94
- Longitudinal: 1.75
- Overall: 1.00
Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is excellent
Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent
Good seaboat, rides out heavy weather easily

Planned reconstruction along lines of QE Class

Search and gunnery radars added
New twin 4.5in DP mounts
Removal of all casemates, plated over flush with hull sides
Improved 2pdr fit and improved MG fit
Catapult and aircraft removed
End belts removed
0.5in torpedo bulkhead added
1in burster deck added
3in added to main deck
1in added to upper deck
Elevation of 15in guns increased to 30 degrees
New CT and superstructure
New directors and fire-control systems
New bulges
New boilers and turbines
Extra bunkerage in bulges

If you rename (gasp!) one of them HMS Erin, I'll have Ireland pitch some tonnage your way.

By our rebuild rules, a 50% rebuild would allow you to reshape the bow some (ie; Atlantic Bow), which in turn would allow a slight fiddling of the BC, but probably not as drastic as the bulging would accomplish.

If cost is an issue, I'd suggest looking into a cheaper level of modernization. The new engines and 25 knots is nice, but that's still only faster than part of the US and Lantean battlelines for the most part.

Anything less than a 50% rebuild is useless, the 6in casemates need removing to accomodate the 4.5in twins and thier hoists. Casemates are obsolete now.

If I leave the engines I have a 25,000 ton BB at 21kts, a speed way below what is acceptable. I could put more into the machinery but I know 80,000hp would fit, more might not be doable so I went for the OTL 80,000hp.

I'm not concerned with the speed of the US and Atlantean battlefleet. I have ten modern fast battleships which can work with those fleets and five more in the planning stages. The QEs and Rs are time fillers until the new fleet is ready and they can perform excellent duties in second-line areas and convoy escorting etc. No raider is going to tangle with one of these.

Older Atlantean capital units are usually capable of 22.5 knots, not a huge speed difference. The Melampus class are capable of 26.5 knots, again not a huge speed difference.

At least with the R class refit it gives Britain 10 older battleships with a uniform speed.

A 25% rebuild for something along the lines of the historical Royal Oak might not be too bad. There isn't a great deal of design stretch in order to massively improve them, but with little expenditure they are still adequate ships. Personally, I think I'd grab the turrets and build 5 Vanguards if more capital ships are desired.

Casemates might be obsolete, but just remove the guns and put twin 3.7" mountings on the weather deck.