I ran a test this morning on BigGun (Yep, I found that program too
). 210mm guns don't give great advantages over 203mm, and the hull structural integrity doesn't suffer that much with the lighter main battery.
about the L/B ratio ,well didn't know about that. Will try to rework the design with more beamy dimensions
.
[edit] ok, I modified it. I increased beam, decreased lenght, erased the torpedo bulkhead and modified a bit the block coeficient. All this had the side effect of reducing the overall volume for machinery so I could lower the lenght of the armor belt cover, too.
Thanks to all that, I was able to increase slightly the main and secondary battery caliber (from 203mm to 205mm, from 5inch to 130mm), increase speed for about .75knots; and resistance against damages went waaaay up, even against torpedoes. And now the ship compartmentation&Space is no longer cramped, but adequate, and the ship still is great in heavy seas.
Lesson learnt: Never use a bulkhead as a substitute for more beam in a cruiser. It ain't worth it
new design specs:
Vizcaya, Spanish Heavy Cruiser laid down 1930
Displacement:
12.386 t light; 12.942 t standard; 13.929 t normal; 14.664 t full load
Loading submergence 820 tons/feet
Dimensions:
660,00 ft x 67,00 ft x 21,00 ft (normal load)
201,17 m x 20,42 m x 6,40 m
Armament:
9 - 8,07" / 205 mm guns (3 Main turrets x 3 guns, 1 superfiring turret)
12 - 5,12" / 130 mm guns (6 2nd turrets x 2 guns)
12 - 1,57" / 40 mm AA guns
10 - 3,00" / 76 mm guns
Weight of broadside 3.329 lbs / 1.510 kg
8 - 21,0" / 533,4 mm above water torpedoes
Armour:
Belt 5,50" / 140 mm, ends unarmoured
Belts cover 98 % of normal area
Main turrets 6,00" / 152 mm, 2nd turrets 0,50" / 13 mm
Armour deck 2,00" / 51 mm, Conning tower 6,00" / 152 mm
Machinery:
Oil fired boilers, steam turbines,
Geared drive, 4 shafts, 103.922 shp / 77.526 Kw = 32,25 kts
Range 10.000nm at 12,00 kts
Complement:
641 - 833
Cost:
£5,118 million / $20,472 million
Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
Armament: 416 tons, 3,0 %
Armour: 2.849 tons, 20,5 %
Belts: 932 tons, 6,7 %, Armament: 780 tons, 5,6 %, Armour Deck: 1.062 tons, 7,6 %
Conning Tower: 75 tons, 0,5 %, Torpedo bulkhead: 0 tons, 0,0 %
Machinery: 3.149 tons, 22,6 %
Hull, fittings & equipment: 5.971 tons, 42,9 %
Fuel, ammunition & stores: 1.544 tons, 11,1 %
Miscellaneous weights: 0 tons, 0,0 %
Metacentric height 3,0
Remarks:
Hull space for machinery, storage & compartmentation is adequate
Room for accommodation & workspaces is excellent
Ship has slow, easy roll, a good, steady gun platform
Good seaboat, rides out heavy weather easily
Estimated overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
Relative margin of stability: 1,06
Shellfire needed to sink: 17.399 lbs / 7.892 Kg = 66,2 x 8,1 " / 205 mm shells
(Approx weight of penetrating shell hits needed to sink ship excluding critical hits)
Torpedoes needed to sink: 1,9
(Approx number of typical torpedo hits needed to sink ship)
Relative steadiness as gun platform: 71 %
(Average = 50 %)
Relative rocking effect from firing to beam: 0,74
Relative quality as seaboat: 1,22
Hull form characteristics:
Block coefficient: 0,525
Sharpness coefficient: 0,34
Hull speed coefficient 'M': 8,39
'Natural speed' for length: 25,69 kts
Power going to wave formation at top speed: 55 %
Trim: 58
(Maximise stabilty/flotation = 0, Maximise steadiness/seakeeping = 100)
Estimated hull characteristics & strength:
Underwater volume absorbed by magazines and engineering spaces: 96,7 %
Relative accommodation and working space: 171,8 %
(Average = 100%)
Displacement factor: 112 %
(Displacement relative to loading factors)
Relative cross-sectional hull strength: 0,97
(Structure weight / hull surface area: 126 lbs / square foot or 617 Kg / square metre)
Relative longitudinal hull strength: 1,35
(for 23,00 ft / 7,01 m average freeboard, freeboard adjustment 6,82 ft)
Relative composite hull strength: 1,00