WesWorld

The passenger liner Coromandel was built by Bengali Steamship Lines in 1921-22 to serve the "Bengal Loop" (Trincomalee - Chennai - Vishakhapatnam - Dhaka - Sittwe - Port Blair - Trincomalee). In 1924, the ship was added to the list of civilian vessels the Navy could call up for military use during emergencies.

In 1928, she was indeed called up for service as a troop transport, and was torpedoed by a Filipino Revolutionary MAS boat on 16 February 1929 off Dagupan. The ship returned to Kaoshiun, Formosa for repairs, which were completed in July 1929.

Unfortunately for Bengali Steamship Lines, their insurance company had issues with the fact that the work was done outside India - thus permiums have more than doubled, rendering the ship's continued use as a passenger ship uneconomic. Frustrated, BSL turned the ship over to the Government in November 1929, in return for taxation credits. The Government then assigned the ship to the Navy.

The navy considered several options for her use - troop transport, tender, etc - but decided that she would be employed as a training aircraft carrier due to her high speed and potentially large flight deck.

Such a vessel is deemed essential, as the Filipino Revolution demonstrated a need for a cadre of trained pilots in addition to those actually deployed. A training carrier will allow a "reserve" cadre to be built up for Urumi without imposing on Urumi's actual use, and will also train the pilots to be deployed on the additional carriers India expects to lay down in the next few years.

The conversion will be fairly simple - some superstructure will be razed, some cabin-class accommodation will be gutted and replaced with a small workshop/hanger, and a teak deck will be installed. The teak deck is fairly heavy, and while not "armor", should protect the below-decks areas from rough landings. As most of the ship's passenger spaces will remain intact, the ship be able to double as a transport of aircraft and their personnel to more remote locations such as Diego Garcia or Asir.

Note that the inclusion of a 1.5 cm gun is there only to keep Springstyle from crashing on me...

Thoughts?

Lathi [Truncheon], ex-Coromandel, laid down 1921

Length, 155.0 m x Beam, 23.0 m x Depth, 5.4 m
11063 tonnes normal displacement (10233 tonnes standard)

Main battery: 1 x 1.5-cm

Weight of broadside: 0 kg

Armor deck, average 2.5 cm (20 cm teak beams)
Conning tower, 5.0 cm

Maximum speed for 7994 shaft kw = 17.76 knots
Approximate cruising radius, 9000 nm / 12 knots

Typical complement: 539-701

Miscellaneous Weight (as built)
-1600 t: cargo
-1600 t: cabin-class accommodation for 200
-2400 t: steerage-class accommodation for 800

Miscellaneous weight (as refitted)
-1600 t: cargo
-1400 t: cabin-class accomodation for 175
-2400 t: steerage-class passengers for 800
-200 t: Workshop, hanger, bunkerage, elevator


Estimated cost, $4.094 million (£1.023 million)

Remarks:

Ship has slow, easy roll; a good, steady gun platform.

Excellent seaboat; comfortable and able to fight her guns
in the heaviest weather.

Magazines and engineering spaces are roomy, with superior
watertight subdivision.

Ship is roomy, with superior accommodation and working space.


Distribution of weights:
Percent
normal
displacement:

Armor, total ..................... 500 tonnes = 5 pct

Deck 479 tonnes = 4 pct
C.T. 21 tonnes = 0 pct

Machinery ........................ 369 tonnes = 3 pct
Hull and fittings; equipment ..... 3543 tonnes = 32 pct
Fuel, ammunition, stores ......... 1051 tonnes = 10 pct
Miscellaneous weights ............ 5600 tonnes = 51 pct
-----
11063 tonnes = 100 pct

Estimated metacentric height, 1.2 m

Displacement summary:

Light ship: 10012 tonnes
Standard displacement: 10233 tonnes
Normal service: 11063 tonnes
Full load: 11683 tonnes

Loading submergence 2466 tonnes/metre

+++++++++++++++++++++++++


Estimated overall survivability and seakeeping ability:

Relative margin of stability: 1.08

Shellfire needed to sink: 10138 kg = 216580.5 x 1.5-cm shells
(Approximates weight of penetrating
shell hits needed to sink ship,
not counting critical hits)

Torpedoes needed to sink: 3.0
(Approximates number of 'typical'
torpedo hits needed to sink ship)

Relative steadiness as gun platform, 70 percent
(50 percent is 'average')

Relative rocking effect from firing to beam, 0.00

Relative quality as a seaboat: 2.00

+++++++++++++++++++++++++


Hull form characteristics:

Block coefficient: 0.57
Sharpness coefficient: 0.40
Hull speed coefficient 'M' = 6.98
'Natural speed' for length = 22.5 knots
Power going to wave formation
at top speed: 35 percent


Estimated hull characteristics and strength:

Relative underwater volume absorbed by
magazines and engineering spaces: 67 percent

Relative accommodation and working space: 216 percent


Displacement factor: 162 percent
(Displacement relative to loading factors)


Relative cross-sectional hull strength: 0.97
(Structure weight per square
metre of hull surface: 446 kg)

Relative longitudinal hull strength: 1.77
(for 7.10 m average freeboard;
freeboard adjustment +2.39 m)

Relative composite hull strength: 1.03

+++++++++++++++++++++++++


[Machine-readable parameters: Spring Style v. 1.2.1]

508.40 x 75.44 x 17.71; 23.29 -- Dimensions
0.57 -- Block coefficient
1921 -- Year laid down
17.76 / 9000 / 12.00; Oil-fired turbine or equivalent -- Speed / radius / cruise
5600 tons -- Miscellaneous weights
++++++++++
1 x 0.59; 0 -- Main battery; turrets
Central positioning of guns
:
0 -- No secondary battery
0 -- No tertiary (QF/AA) battery
0 -- No fourth (light) battery
0 -- No torpedo armament
++++++++++
0.00 -- No belt armor
0.98 / 1.97 -- Deck / CT
0.00 -- No battery armor


(Note: For portability, values are stored in Anglo-American units)


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Looks alright at this point.

Call it a saluting gun.

Ditto (dita in Hoo's case), I think she looks good.
I particularily like the explanation as to how she got into the hands of the navy.

Quoted

(dita in Hoo's case)

Hey! Don't be encouraging him - last time this came up, thread became work- and wife-unsafe.

J

heh, yeah but us single guys lapped it up!...oops maybe I should pick another word...

Roughly the same deck space as an escort carrier if I remember by numbers correctly.

Quoted

Call it a saluting gun.

It took me four runs (and crashes) to figure out that springstyle wanted the ship armed. Who'd have suspected that a heavy machine gun could save the entire ship?

Quoted

Roughly the same deck space as an escort carrier if I remember by numbers correctly.

Probably similar dimensions, maybe a little on the large side - which is not a bad thing from the rookie pilot's perspective.

This sort of style?

Looks good, and agree that the backstory was a nice touch.

Quoted

This sort of style?

Probably something like it - minus the guns, of course. Whenever I do get round to drawing it, I'll certainly want to retain as much of the passenger liner look as I can.

Hey! What are you guys thinking of me?!...

Now, this is a military board, isn´t it? And I really like her ...

...the carrier and her story of course. ;o)

Booya! Nice pic of the eeerrrrrr...... carrier Hoo.....;-)

Did she end up marrying Marilyn Manson? At least they can share make-up remover.

Imagine if they bred?

Imagine all the therapy the offspring would need.

Cheers,

PS. Nice work on the Training Carrier. I think I could make one of my flight deck tankers a through deck arrangement.

Unfortunately they did.
BTW, Hooman, is that the standard uniform used by female personnel of the SAE's military forces?
:-)

First crack at a pic. Hopefully the liner origin remains evident.

Note that the ship will be used to test alternate exhaust venting systems. The stack is actually angled out around twenty degrees to starboard. Below this is a downward-venting funnel through which the exhaust can be vented as an alternative.

The platforms are intended for the use of landing- and launch-control operations, except for some on the aft starboard side, which are sited to test the effects of exhaust coming out of the downward-venting funnel.

It'd look more liner-y if you show the well decks (even if they're plated up now or whatnot), maybe

She looks good, my only nitpick is that the funnels should be larger.

Quoted

She looks good, my only nitpick is that the funnels should be larger.

Is that for Hoo's pic or Rocky's?

Quoted

BTW, Hooman, is that the standard uniform used by female personnel of the SAE's military forces?

Black leather must be reserved for formal occasions.

Cheers,

Quoted

Originally posted by Rooijen10
BTW, Hooman, is that the standard uniform used by female personnel of the SAE's military forces?

For sure - 18" corsets are a must have!

Btw, here ´s another shot of that uniform (now in full technicolor).

And of course there´s also some special uniform for the SAE´s Female Flying Service . ;o)

To make sure Jason´s not getting into trouble with his wife or boss (or both) I have linked the pics only...

Quoted

Originally posted by The Rock Doctor
The platforms are intended for the use of landing- and launch-control operations, except for some on the aft starboard side, which are sited to test the effects of exhaust coming out of the downward-venting funnel.

Ah, I see. So it is coincidence that those platforms are large enough to support 10,5cm guns? ;o)

Anyway, nice picture and nice drawing. Keep it coming...

(Btw, anything new on the SPEARFISH hotline?)