New French Battleships

[maddox]

With all the Big Battleships the ESC is designing, the French naval architects can't stay behind.

Seine, French  GBB laid down 1920 (Engine 1916)

Displacement:
   49.859 t light; 52.696 t standard; 57.705 t normal; 61.713 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
   885,83 ft / 879,27 ft x 131,23 ft x 31,82 ft (normal load)
   270,00 m / 268,00 m x 40,00 m  x 9,70 m

Armament:
      8 - 16,14" / 410 mm guns (4x2 guns), 2.755,78lbs / 1.250,00kg shells, 1920 Model
     Breech loading guns in turrets (on barbettes)
     on centreline ends, evenly spread, 2 raised mounts - superfiring
      20 - 5,51" / 140 mm guns (10x2 guns), 83,72lbs / 37,98kg shells, 1916 Model
     Quick firing guns in deck mounts with hoists
     on side, all amidships, 4 raised mounts - superfiring
      6 - 1,46" / 37,0 mm guns in single mounts, 1,55lbs / 0,70kg shells, 1920 Model
     Anti-aircraft guns in deck mounts
     on centreline, all aft, all raised mounts - superfiring
   Weight of broadside 23.730 lbs / 10.764 kg
   Shells per gun, main battery: 126

Armour:
   - Belts:      Width (max)   Length (avg)      Height (avg)
   Main:   15,0" / 381 mm   448,43 ft / 136,68 m   21,00 ft / 6,40 m
   Ends:   2,00" / 51 mm   430,82 ft / 131,31 m   21,00 ft / 6,40 m
     Main Belt covers 78% of normal length

   - Torpedo Bulkhead:
      2,00" / 51 mm   448,43 ft / 136,68 m   29,61 ft / 9,03 m

   - Gun armour:   Face (max)   Other gunhouse (avg)   Barbette/hoist (max)
   Main:   15,0" / 381 mm   10,0" / 254 mm      15,0" / 381 mm
   2nd:   2,00" / 51 mm   1,00" / 25 mm      3,00" / 76 mm
   3rd:   0,50" / 13 mm   0,50" / 13 mm            -

   - Armour deck: 4,00" / 102 mm, Conning tower: 15,00" / 381 mm

Machinery:
   Oil fired boilers, steam turbines,
   Direct drive, 4 shafts, 138.042 shp / 102.979 Kw = 28,00 kts
   Range 9.000nm at 16,00 kts
   Bunker at max displacement = 9.018 tons

Complement:
   1.861 - 2.420

Cost:
   £10,420 million / $41,679 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
   Armament: 2.313 tons, 4,0%
   Armour: 18.622 tons, 32,3%
      - Belts: 7.156 tons, 12,4%
      - Torpedo bulkhead: 983 tons, 1,7%
      - Armament: 4.042 tons, 7,0%
      - Armour Deck: 5.959 tons, 10,3%
      - Conning Tower: 483 tons, 0,8%
   Machinery: 5.143 tons, 8,9%
   Hull, fittings & equipment: 23.280 tons, 40,3%
   Fuel, ammunition & stores: 7.847 tons, 13,6%
   Miscellaneous weights: 500 tons, 0,9%

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
   Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
     94.910 lbs / 43.051 Kg = 45,1 x 16,1 " / 410 mm shells or 16,3 torpedoes
   Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1,19
   Metacentric height 10,4 ft / 3,2 m
   Roll period: 17,1 seconds
   Steadiness   - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 71 %
         - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0,41
   Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1,22

Hull form characteristics:
   Hull has a flush deck
   Block coefficient: 0,550
   Length to Beam Ratio: 6,70 : 1
   'Natural speed' for length: 29,65 kts
   Power going to wave formation at top speed: 46 %
   Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 58
   Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): -5,00 degrees
   Stern overhang: 6,56 ft / 2,00 m
   Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
      - Stem:      31,50 ft / 9,60 m
      - Forecastle (25%):   21,65 ft / 6,60 m
      - Mid (50%):      21,65 ft / 6,60 m
      - Quarterdeck (24%):   21,65 ft / 6,60 m
      - Stern:      21,65 ft / 6,60 m
      - Average freeboard:   22,64 ft / 6,90 m
   Ship tends to be wet forward

Ship space, strength and comments:
   Space   - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 73,0%
      - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 178,5%
   Waterplane Area: 80.529 Square feet or 7.481 Square metres
   Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 120%
   Structure weight / hull surface area: 225 lbs/sq ft or 1.100 Kg/sq metre
   Hull strength (Relative):
      - Cross-sectional: 0,99
      - Longitudinal: 1,06
      - Overall: 1,00
   Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is excellent
   Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent
   Ship has slow, easy roll, a good, steady gun platform
   Good seaboat, rides out heavy weather easily

250 tons FC
25 tons ERADe equipment
25 tons Long range Marconi
50 tons flag facilities.
100 tons crew comfort
50 tons not designated yet

Belt sloped 12°=  Belt height is 20.54 feet/6.26 meter

[Guinness]

410mm just to make sure the guns are bigger then? :) Why not go for 419mm (and call it 420mm)? At least then there is something close to an actual historical gun to base it on, not that it was ever actually fielded.

[The Rock Doctor]

*Shakes fist at French and ESC designers*

[maddox]

Hey, Gran Colombia/Rocky, your BB's have French roots. Or did you forget that you "bought" a French naval designer ,so around the El Dorado issues...

[The Rock Doctor]

Even if I had, my fifteen-gunned Radiante class would remind me.

Still, I'm allowed to shake my fist at the current crop of ESC and French designers who scale things up so enormously.

[Jefgte]

In  a few years, we are going to have 80 000t BBs  :o

;)

[TexanCowboy]

Waste of money. The 12x15'' gunned Brittanie's are much better ships.

[maddox]

Could you explain that a tad better TC?

[TexanCowboy]

Certainly. The broadside of the guns is about the same. However, the 12x15'' design will have more shells in the air at a given time, and will have better FC, because the faster rate of fire will lead to more shell splashes, leading to better FC.

Also, this ship weighes 15,000 tons more, but has the same broadside. That's just a waste of BP. Even if it is 28 knots, the ship will be so prohibititaly expensive to the point where only 2 can be fielded at a time. Each one of them take's up a whole year's worth of BP, when you consider the escorts needed to defend it.

[maddox]

Now the question is, "how will the French heavy 15" shells do against the ESC monsters?".

[TexanCowboy]

Testing in Biggun as we speak.

[TexanCowboy]

It can barely penetrate at 16,000 feet. If it is decapped, it is doomed. However, I was testing based on a 45L gun. Is it 40L, 45L, or 50L?

[maddox]

The older 340mm is L45, the 380mm is L42.
Shells are or AP, Yellow or Green shells.  HE isn't standard in the  magazines.

But, the barely " able to penetrate" is the reason for larger guns.

A 6" deck is nuts. The Yamato had that....

[TexanCowboy]

On the bright side, he's using up valuable BP right now that can't be taken back...

[maddox]

If France can't counter those monsters, that BP is well spend.  Imagine one of those entering Brest with impunity...