we seem to come from different directions here 17inc
Indeed. One favors protection, the other protection. Of course, one can always go for a design between these two. A ship with less protection than the RamRod, but more than the Cacafuego. A ship with less armament than the Cacafuego, but more than the RamRod.
17inc, if you want more armor on it, remove the torpedo bulkhead (as AdmKuznetsov pointed out before).
This design is the virtually the same as the Mk. 5. However it does not have a torpedo bulkhead and the coverage of the main belt is reduced. The gained hull strength I used to increase deck armor, turret armor and belt armor. It can take 6 more hits than the Mk.5 and only 0.2 less torpedo hits.
RamRod, Australia CDS laid down 1935
Displacement:
7,662 t light; 8,000 t standard; 8,773 t normal; 9,356 t full load
Loading submergence 530 tons/feet
Dimensions:
405.29 ft x 67.40 ft x 20.00 ft (normal load)
123.53 m x 20.54 m x 6.10 m
Armament:
2 - 12.00" / 305 mm guns (1 Main turrets x 2 guns)
4 - 4.50" / 114 mm guns (2 2nd turrets x 2 guns)
14 - 1.57" / 40 mm AA guns
20 - 0.79" / 20 mm guns
Weight of broadside 1,942 lbs / 881 kg
Armour:
Belt 15.00" / 381 mm, ends unarmoured
Belts cover 48 % of normal area
Main turrets 15.00" / 381 mm, 2nd turrets 1.00" / 25 mm
Armour deck 6.00" / 152 mm, Conning tower 12.00" / 305 mm
Machinery:
Oil fired boilers, steam turbines,
Geared drive, 2 shafts, 22,166 shp / 16,536 Kw = 22.00 kts
Range 17,200nm at 10.00 kts
Complement:
453 - 589
Cost:
£2.852 million / $11.410 million
Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
Armament: 243 tons, 2.8 %
Armour: 3,612 tons, 41.2 %
Belts: 815 tons, 9.3 %, Armament: 626 tons, 7.1 %, Armour Deck: 2,061 tons, 23.5 %
Conning Tower: 110 tons, 1.3 %, Torpedo bulkhead: 0 tons, 0.0 %
Machinery: 630 tons, 7.2 %
Hull, fittings & equipment: 3,079 tons, 35.1 %
Fuel, ammunition & stores: 1,110 tons, 12.7 %
Miscellaneous weights: 99 tons, 1.1 %
Metacentric height 2.7
Remarks:
Hull space for machinery, storage & compartmentation is excellent
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: 1.00
Shellfire needed to sink: 18,348 lbs / 8,322 Kg = 21.2 x 12.0 " / 305 mm shells
(Approx weight of penetrating shell hits needed to sink ship excluding critical hits)
Torpedoes needed to sink: 6.6
(Approx number of typical torpedo hits needed to sink ship)
Relative steadiness as gun platform: 93 %
(Average = 50 %)
Relative rocking effect from firing to beam: 0.46
Relative quality as seaboat: 1.32
Hull form characteristics:
Block coefficient: 0.562
Sharpness coefficient: 0.42
Hull speed coefficient 'M': 6.01
'Natural speed' for length: 20.13 kts
Power going to wave formation at top speed: 55 %
Trim: 71
(Maximise stabilty/flotation = 0, Maximise steadiness/seakeeping = 100)
Estimated hull characteristics & strength:
Underwater volume absorbed by magazines and engineering spaces: 47.0 %
Relative accommodation and working space: 129.6 %
(Average = 100%)
Displacement factor: 127 %
(Displacement relative to loading factors)
Relative cross-sectional hull strength: 0.92
(Structure weight / hull surface area: 113 lbs / square foot or 551 Kg / square metre)
Relative longitudinal hull strength: 2.23
(for 16.60 ft / 5.06 m average freeboard, freeboard adjustment 1.85 ft)
Relative composite hull strength: 1.00
All in all, I think 15" is waaaayyyyy too much for this type of ship. So you might shift toward LordArpad's design, adding a 2 gun turret. This will reduce the number of hits it can take though but its firepower is doubled. In order to get the additional turret, you'll have to reduce armor a bit in order to gain the necessary hull strength.
RamRod, Australia CDS laid down 1935
Displacement:
7,507 t light; 7,989 t standard; 8,773 t normal; 9,365 t full load
Loading submergence 530 tons/feet
Dimensions:
405.29 ft x 67.40 ft x 20.00 ft (normal load)
123.53 m x 20.54 m x 6.10 m
Armament:
4 - 12.00" / 305 mm guns (2 Main turrets x 2 guns)
4 - 4.50" / 114 mm guns (2 2nd turrets x 2 guns)
14 - 1.57" / 40 mm AA guns
20 - 0.79" / 20 mm guns
Weight of broadside 3,670 lbs / 1,665 kg
Armour:
Belt 10.00" / 254 mm, ends unarmoured
Belts cover 68 % of normal area
Main turrets 10.00" / 254 mm, 2nd turrets 1.00" / 25 mm
Armour deck 4.00" / 102 mm, Conning tower 12.00" / 305 mm
Machinery:
Oil fired boilers, steam turbines,
Geared drive, 2 shafts, 22,166 shp / 16,536 Kw = 22.00 kts
Range 17,200nm at 10.00 kts
Complement:
453 - 589
Cost:
£3.749 million / $14.994 million
Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
Armament: 459 tons, 5.2 %
Armour: 3,012 tons, 34.3 %
Belts: 770 tons, 8.8 %, Armament: 758 tons, 8.6 %, Armour Deck: 1,374 tons, 15.7 %
Conning Tower: 110 tons, 1.3 %, Torpedo bulkhead: 0 tons, 0.0 %
Machinery: 630 tons, 7.2 %
Hull, fittings & equipment: 3,308 tons, 37.7 %
Fuel, ammunition & stores: 1,265 tons, 14.4 %
Miscellaneous weights: 99 tons, 1.1 %
Metacentric height 2.8
Remarks:
Hull space for machinery, storage & compartmentation is excellent
Room for accommodation & workspaces is adequate
Ship has slow, easy roll, a good, steady gun platform
Estimated overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
Relative margin of stability: 1.00
Shellfire needed to sink: 12,229 lbs / 5,547 Kg = 14.2 x 12.0 " / 305 mm shells
(Approx weight of penetrating shell hits needed to sink ship excluding critical hits)
Torpedoes needed to sink: 4.2
(Approx number of typical torpedo hits needed to sink ship)
Relative steadiness as gun platform: 72 %
(Average = 50 %)
Relative rocking effect from firing to beam: 0.60
Relative quality as seaboat: 1.04
Hull form characteristics:
Block coefficient: 0.562
Sharpness coefficient: 0.42
Hull speed coefficient 'M': 6.01
'Natural speed' for length: 20.13 kts
Power going to wave formation at top speed: 55 %
Trim: 69
(Maximise stabilty/flotation = 0, Maximise steadiness/seakeeping = 100)
Estimated hull characteristics & strength:
Underwater volume absorbed by magazines and engineering spaces: 65.6 %
Relative accommodation and working space: 107.7 %
(Average = 100%)
Displacement factor: 109 %
(Displacement relative to loading factors)
Relative cross-sectional hull strength: 0.93
(Structure weight / hull surface area: 126 lbs / square foot or 614 Kg / square metre)
Relative longitudinal hull strength: 1.89
(for 13.80 ft / 4.21 m average freeboard, freeboard adjustment -0.95 ft)
Relative composite hull strength: 1.00
Walter