Image originally by Wes/thesmilingassassin and heavily modified by me.
Constitucion, Chilean Heavy Cruiser laid down 1936
As refitted in 1948.
Displacement:
18,976 t light; 19,940 t standard; 22,778 t normal; 25,049 t full load
Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
756.06 ft / 721.50 ft x 68.00 ft (Bulges 74.00 ft) x 27.10 ft (normal load)
230.45 m / 219.91 m x 20.73 m (Bulges 22.56 m) x 8.26 m
Armament:
9 - 10.00" / 254 mm guns (3x3 guns), 550.00lbs / 249.48kg shells, 1936 Model
Breech loading guns in turrets (on barbettes)
on centreline ends, majority forward, 1 raised mount - superfiring
12 - 5.12" / 130 mm guns (6x2 guns), 67.03lbs / 30.40kg shells, 1936 Model
Dual purpose guns in deck mounts with hoists
on side, evenly spread
6 - 2.95" / 75.0 mm guns in single mounts, 13.23lbs / 6.00kg shells, 1948 Model
Anti-aircraft guns in deck mounts
on side, evenly spread, all raised mounts
24 - 1.57" / 40.0 mm guns (6x4 guns), 1.95lbs / 0.88kg shells, 1936 Model
Anti-aircraft guns in deck mounts
on side, evenly spread, all raised mounts
4 - 1.57" / 40.0 mm guns (1x4 guns), 1.95lbs / 0.88kg shells, 1936 Model
Anti-aircraft guns in deck mount
on centreline aft, all raised guns - superfiring
Weight of broadside 5,888 lbs / 2,671 kg
Shells per gun, main battery: 150
8 - 23.6" / 600 mm above water torpedoes
Armour:
- Belts: Width (max) Length (avg) Height (avg)
Main: 7.50" / 191 mm 517.81 ft / 157.83 m 11.50 ft / 3.51 m
Ends: Unarmoured
Main Belt covers 110 % of normal length
- Torpedo Bulkhead and Bulges:
1.00" / 25 mm 514.00 ft / 156.67 m 26.00 ft / 7.92 m
- Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
Main: 8.50" / 216 mm 5.00" / 127 mm 8.00" / 203 mm
2nd: 2.00" / 51 mm 1.00" / 25 mm 2.00" / 51 mm
3rd: 1.00" / 25 mm - -
4th: 1.00" / 25 mm - -
- Armour deck: 3.00" / 76 mm, Conning tower: 3.00" / 76 mm
Machinery:
Oil fired boilers, steam turbines,
Electric motors, 4 shafts, 131,589 shp / 98,166 Kw = 33.00 kts
Range 15,000nm at 15.00 kts
Bunker at max displacement = 5,109 tons
Complement:
926 - 1,205
Cost:
£9.237 million / $36.948 million
Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
Armament: 680 tons, 3.0 %
Armour: 5,599 tons, 24.6 %
- Belts: 1,827 tons, 8.0 %
- Torpedo bulkhead: 494 tons, 2.2 %
- Armament: 1,245 tons, 5.5 %
- Armour Deck: 1,980 tons, 8.7 %
- Conning Tower: 52 tons, 0.2 %
Machinery: 3,692 tons, 16.2 %
Hull, fittings & equipment: 8,730 tons, 38.3 %
Fuel, ammunition & stores: 3,803 tons, 16.7 %
Miscellaneous weights: 275 tons, 1.2 %
Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
32,350 lbs / 14,674 Kg = 64.7 x 10.0 " / 254 mm shells or 4.1 torpedoes
Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.12
Metacentric height 3.5 ft / 1.1 m
Roll period: 16.6 seconds
Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 58 %
- Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.80
Seaboat quality (Average = 1.00): 1.25
Hull form characteristics:
Hull has a flush deck
and transom stern
Block coefficient: 0.551
Length to Beam Ratio: 9.75 : 1
'Natural speed' for length: 30.54 kts
Power going to wave formation at top speed: 55 %
Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 46
Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 50.00 degrees
Stern overhang: 0.00 ft / 0.00 m
Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
- Stem: 29.00 ft / 8.84 m
- Forecastle (20 %): 26.00 ft / 7.92 m
- Mid (50 %): 24.00 ft / 7.32 m
- Quarterdeck (15 %): 24.00 ft / 7.32 m
- Stern: 24.00 ft / 7.32 m
- Average freeboard: 24.94 ft / 7.60 m
Ship tends to be wet forward
Ship space, strength and comments:
Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 110.3 %
- Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 154.0 %
Waterplane Area: 35,681 Square feet or 3,315 Square metres
Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 122 %
Structure weight / hull surface area: 142 lbs/sq ft or 692 Kg/sq metre
Hull strength (Relative):
- Cross-sectional: 0.95
- Longitudinal: 1.53
- Overall: 1.00
Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is adequate
Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent
Good seaboat, rides out heavy weather easily
Breakdown of Weights (1948):
- 50 tons for two ENAER Coati SN1E seaplanes
- 90 tons for Electronics Suite (dated 1943)
- 25 tons for floatplane catapult
- 55 tons for HVAC and other crew comforts (movie theatre projectors, ice cream machines, etc)
- 55 tons for squadron flagship facilities and combat management center
Total extra weight - 275 tons
Electronics:
- SAGEM DRBV-11 Moselle PA search radar (1 radar, 15 tons)
- Sisdef Type 104.1 "Cactus/5" sentry radar (1 radar, 10 tons)
- Sisdef Type 300.2g "Pehuén" main battery fire-control radars (2 radars, 15 tons)
- Sisdef Type 301.3.2 "Boldo" secondary battery fire-control radars (2 radars, 10 tons)
- Sisdef Type 103.1 "Nalca" navigational surface and air search radar (1 radar, 2 tons)
- SAGEM HF/DF (5 tons)
- Sisdef SPR-48P Passive (Rochelle Salt) Hydrophones (2 primary, 2 secondary, 10 tons)
- Sisdef SPR-48A Active Hydrophones (2 primary, 2 secondary, 5 tons)
- M47.2g Gunnery Computer for 254mm guns (10 tons)
- M47 Gunnery Computer for 130mm guns (5 tons)
- Radar jammer/detector (2 units, 3 tons)
1948 Refit:
- The original tertiary armament - the 1936-dated 3" AA guns - were removed and replaced with 1948-dated 75mm AA guns. (Somewhere I accidentally switched over from an English to a metric design - so I'm going to go with the theory that the 75mm gun is actually an updated mount with better rate-of-fire and elevation capabilities.)
- The ship's electronics were updated. A French Moselle PA search dradis and a Cactus/5 sentry dradis replaced older surface-search and air-search sets. The "Pehuén" main battery fire-control sets were upgraded from the Type 300.0 to the Type 300.2g. The Type 301.1.4 Boldo secondary battery FC sets were upgraded to the Type 301.3.2 models. The ship's hydrophones were also updated.
- As part of the dradis refit, the tripod spotting tops that I loved so much were lost, and replaced by a very similar mast to the one used on the
Latorre class cruisers.
- The floatplane complement was reduced to two aircraft (down from three) in order to offset topweight from new electronics.
- Refurbishment of internal fittings.
4744 tons to refit; 7 months.