CSA Blast from the Past: CSS Alabama (1912) revisited

[Guinness]

I've never been happy with how my first nverse design, the Alabama/New Mexico class battleships came out, so while in a fit of illustrators block on something else, I decided to redo them (thus retconning the CSA capital ship look by a class). If I ever decide to draw the Oklahomas, Nuevo Leons, and Virginia in my style, I doubt they'll have the hexapod masts for lack of deck space, so I guess the hexapods began here.

B-24 CSS New Mexico
B-25 CSS Alabama


(Click image for full resolution)

CSS Alabama, CSA Battleship laid down 1912 (Engine 1909)

Displacement:
   20,000 t light; 21,272 t standard; 22,270 t normal; 23,068 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
   530.00 ft / 530.00 ft x 88.00 ft x 25.75 ft (normal load)
   161.54 m / 161.54 m x 26.82 m  x 7.85 m

Armament:
      9 - 13.50" / 343 mm guns (3x3 guns), 1,500.00lbs / 680.39kg shells, 1912 Model
     Breech loading guns in turrets (on barbettes)
     on centreline ends, majority aft, 1 raised mount aft - superfiring
      12 - 5.50" / 140 mm guns in single mounts, 75.00lbs / 34.02kg shells, 1912 Model
     Breech loading guns in casemate mounts
     on side ends, evenly spread
     10 guns in hull casemates - Limited use in heavy seas
      8 - 1.00" / 25.4 mm guns in single mounts, 0.50lbs / 0.23kg shells, 1912 Model
     Anti-aircraft guns in deck mounts
     on side, evenly spread, all raised mounts
      12 - 3.50" / 88.9 mm guns in single mounts, 20.00lbs / 9.07kg shells, 1912 Model
     Breech loading guns in deck mounts
     on side, evenly spread, 6 raised mounts
   Weight of broadside 14,644 lbs / 6,642 kg
   Shells per gun, main battery: 100

Armour:
   - Belts:      Width (max)   Length (avg)      Height (avg)
   Main:   13.0" / 330 mm   350.00 ft / 106.68 m   16.00 ft / 4.88 m
   Ends:   3.00" / 76 mm   180.00 ft / 54.86 m   12.00 ft / 3.66 m
   Upper:   5.00" / 127 mm   176.50 ft / 53.80 m   12.00 ft / 3.66 m
     Main Belt covers 102 % of normal length

   - Torpedo Bulkhead:
      1.25" / 32 mm   350.00 ft / 106.68 m   30.00 ft / 9.14 m

   - Gun armour:   Face (max)   Other gunhouse (avg)   Barbette/hoist (max)
   Main:   13.0" / 330 mm   4.00" / 102 mm      11.0" / 279 mm
   2nd:   6.00" / 152 mm   4.00" / 102 mm      4.00" / 102 mm
   4th:   0.50" / 13 mm         -               -
   5th:   1.00" / 25 mm         -               -

   - Armour deck: 2.66" / 68 mm, Conning tower: 13.00" / 330 mm

Machinery:
   Oil fired boilers, steam turbines,
   Direct drive, 4 shafts, 26,428 shp / 19,716 Kw = 20.18 kts
   Range 6,390nm at 10.00 kts
   Bunker at max displacement = 1,796 tons

Complement:
   910 - 1,184

Cost:
   £2.163 million / $8.652 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
   Armament: 1,541 tons, 6.9 %
   Armour: 8,251 tons, 37.1 %
      - Belts: 4,015 tons, 18.0 %
      - Torpedo bulkhead: 486 tons, 2.2 %
      - Armament: 1,772 tons, 8.0 %
      - Armour Deck: 1,757 tons, 7.9 %
      - Conning Tower: 222 tons, 1.0 %
   Machinery: 1,201 tons, 5.4 %
   Hull, fittings & equipment: 8,592 tons, 38.6 %
   Fuel, ammunition & stores: 2,270 tons, 10.2 %
   Miscellaneous weights: 414 tons, 1.9 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
   Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
     27,729 lbs / 12,578 Kg = 22.5 x 13.5 " / 343 mm shells or 4.8 torpedoes
   Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.09
   Metacentric height 4.9 ft / 1.5 m
   Roll period: 16.7 seconds
   Steadiness   - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 71 %
         - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.83
   Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.34

Hull form characteristics:
   Hull has raised forecastle, rise forward of midbreak
   Block coefficient: 0.649
   Length to Beam Ratio: 6.02 : 1
   'Natural speed' for length: 23.02 kts
   Power going to wave formation at top speed: 46 %
   Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 53
   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:      25.00 ft / 7.62 m
      - Forecastle (15 %):   23.00 ft / 7.01 m (20.00 ft / 6.10 m aft of break)
      - Mid (50 %):      20.00 ft / 6.10 m (12.00 ft / 3.66 m aft of break)
      - Quarterdeck (15 %):   12.00 ft / 3.66 m
      - Stern:      12.00 ft / 3.66 m
      - Average freeboard:   16.57 ft / 5.05 m
   Ship tends to be wet forward

Ship space, strength and comments:
   Space   - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 93.7 %
      - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 119.5 %
   Waterplane Area: 35,696 Square feet or 3,316 Square metres
   Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 95 %
   Structure weight / hull surface area: 180 lbs/sq ft or 880 Kg/sq metre
   Hull strength (Relative):
      - Cross-sectional: 0.94
      - Longitudinal: 1.59
      - Overall: 1.00
   Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is adequate
   Room for accommodation and workspaces is adequate
   Ship has slow, easy roll, a good, steady gun platform
   Good seaboat, rides out heavy weather easily

Misc Weights:
250 t Fire Control
25 t Marconi
10 t Marconi
65 t Flag Facilities
64 t Reserve

[Carthaginian]

If I could draw that well, Guinness, the CSN would look a lot better than it does today.
Excellent job... I had wanted to do the RN-style bridges, but never could make them look right at the smaller scale.

[Guinness]

Thanks. Scaling issues were the reason I gave up on 1px to 1foot scale almost immediately and went to 2px per foot. Frankly, I think I'd be really happy at something like 4px per foot, but I probably really need to go to a vector drawing program to do that, otherwise the finished product is just too big at 100% resolution to be practical.

I've fiddled with doing some vectors, but to get any good at it I'm going to have to break myself of some nasty habits, like wanting to draw stuff pixel by pixel at times ;-)

[Carthaginian]

I'm going to have to break myself of some nasty habits, like wanting to draw stuff pixel by pixel at times ;-)

Hell, that's the fun of it all...
Isn't it? ??? ;)

[Jefgte]

Perfect for the concept & the drawing


;)