Irish News 1919

[snip]

Overheard in the Office of Naval Construction and Procurement:

"That's a good boat, but it would take up to much of our heavy industry." "When did I say anything about our heavy industry?" (shuffling of papers) "Really!?"

[Carthaginian]

Dublin, Ireland
25JULY1919
2335 Local Time

The meeting at Illustrious Brother Shanahan's home had been most fruitful.

Several hours of discussion, comparing of notes, and some brotherly disagreement had yielded a great deal of progress. The general outline of his intended mission had been set forth, and the plans from the false bottom of his chest had been delivered. In return, Illustrious Brother Shanahan had given him something to deliver to his Sponsors- a plan which would require some interesting allocating of the Brotherhood's resources... and the resources of his nation.

Of course, it was all for the Greater Good, for the Enlightenment of Men.
After all... a Man who cannot defend himself isn't Free; so for Men to be Free, they must be able to Fight.

The best Defense against Tyranny and Ignorance, is, after all, is a good Offense.

[snip]

Captain Colman McEvoy knew nothing else could make him feel like the way he did now. Flying a Fulmar fighter-scout barely above the trees would have been a demanding task. Doing it inverted was considered suicide by most sane people. For Colman, it was the best high he could get. Wiping the Fulmar up in a loop he leveled out at the top, a whoop escaping his mouth that was immediately swallowed up by the engine noise. It was then that he noticed the fuel gauge. "Shit, time to head back then, hopefully..." he banked the plane back twordes the grass field that was currently the landing strip. The plane was one of the prototypes of the new SPAC Fulmar, Irish Air-corp designation FS-1. By the end of the year, 100 production models would be flying the skies over the new airfields being completed. For now, this was one of the few that was in the hands of the IAC's finest pilots. Most agreed the Colman was the best, those who didn't, well they tried to let there flying do the talking, and failed. The field had come into site and Colman lined the plane up for a prefect landing. The wheels gently kissed the ground, and then found a hole. A quick jerk on the control stick saved the plane from cartwheeling prop over tail. The Fulmar finally rolled to a stop in front of a cluster of tents. Several of the men standing around ran over to see to the plane.
"Nice save the Cap! I thought she was a goner" the mechanic who ran to the rotary engine shouted. "What about me, how about Nice job saving your own ass Cap!" Colman jested. Several of the men laughed. "Commander wants to see you in his office" one of the men said, "better hurry to." "Why?" Colman asked. "You'll see" several of the men responded. Colman hopped out of the fighter-scout and jogged off to the commander's tent. When he got there, he wished he would have ran. Standing with the commander was a stunning young woman, about his own age. Despite being a fairly good runner, he almost tripped over his feet when he saw her. Trotting up to the commander he saluted. "They said you wanted to see me sir." "As a matter a fact I did" Commander Aodh Kelly said. "This is Ellen Mahoney, she is a reporter with the Dublin Daily." Colman looked over at Ellen. "Nice to meet you mam." He extended his hand. Ellen took it. "The Commander has told me quite a bit about you." Kelly cut in again, forcing Colman to hastily snap his eyes of Ellen's legs. "She is here to do a series on the Corp. I thought it would be a good idea for her to talk to some of the men who fly aeroplanes, not desks." "Well I am honored to be chosen for this, sir." He turned to Ellen "Mam, how do you feel about flying?" Ellen cast a look at the mechanic swarmed Fulmar. "Ive never been, so I dont know how I feel." "How about once the wrench gang over there is done we see about taking that bird up? Colman asked. The smile on Ellen's face could have softened the hardest of longshoremen into a blubbering buffoon. Colman just smiled back.

[snip]

Overheard in the Office of Naval Construction and Procurement:

"If this works, you will have earned yourself a large bottle." "What is you definition of large?" "Large egought to make it worth your wile"

[snip]

Conor Canavan watched as Mick Shanahan strolled into Dublin Shipyard. Shouting some further instructions to the men working on the submarine, he began to clamber off the hull. By the time he extracted himself, Mick was already over to the slipway. "Always nice to see you Conor." Mick said extending his hand. "Pleasure as always" Conor took Mick's hand and shook it. "How about we get away from this racket so I can hear myself think." Mick raised his voice to attempt to be heard over the thudding of a riveter. "I was thinking the same thing, I could hear it tho." Conor replied. Mick chuckled, "Lead the way."

A sort time later, both men sank into chairs in Conor's office, glasses of water in there hands. "So," Mick began "rumor has it we might be getting a big girl soon." "How big is big?" Conor asked "And how big are the guns, or are we talking about actual girls here? In that case, how big are the tits?" Mick laughed, "Ships, I think the wife would not be to happy with me if these were real girls. There are several options on the table at this point. I really cant say more, that's all I know." "But Big Morella (OOC: the only type 2 drydock) is the only thing that can fit any of them?" Conor asked. "Sounds like that will be the case." Mick nodded.

"Why you are here, I have a request for you." Conor said. "Have you seen this?" He layed the drawing of the Cathryn class frigate down on the table. "Yes, yes I have." Mick replied. "Im curios, how did this come into your hands?" Conor replied "Some designers came to visit me a wile back, they were kind and let me keep it. I want her built here." "I can see why" Mick said. Mick knew all about Conor's past and had spent several nights helping to try to drown Conor's sorrows. "I seems like these are going to get built" Mick said "But your drawing is out of date, I will see about getting you the full prints. As for getting her built here, I am the one in charge of these things." Mick paused "It still hurts doesn't it." Conor nodded. "I cried like a baby when I got home that day." Mick could see that Conor was likely to start up again. "Conor, after work we should go out for a drink. As for the ship, as long a a slipway is open, she will be built here." Conor smiled weakly "Thanks Mick, you don't know how much this means to me" Mick smiled back. "Meet back here later?" "Sure thing Mick, sure thing." Conor felt better, but the memories were beginning to flood back.

[snip]

"What about the Fulmar? There fast, why not start there?" Brendan Keogh sighed audibly. "Have you ever looked at the speed of the last round of competitors?" The designer shook his head. "Then you wouldn't know they could all fly circles around the land versions of the Fulmar, let alone the wallowing tub that those planes are with floats." "What about something like this?" The other designer in the room layed a napkin on the table. Brendan picked it up and looked at it, twisting it in his hands to get a better view.

"Now here, this is something to take and run with." He handed the napkin back to the designer. "I want more complete drawings for my review as soon as you can." Both designers hurried out of the office. After they left Brendan reached into his desk and pulled out a sheet of paper. "Now, what can I do with that layout on this..." The words trailed off as Brendan pulled out another sheet of paper with the blueprints of a submarine torpedo on it.

[snip]

Ellen was a bit nervous, and also exited. The combination of butterflies in her stomach were so intense that she felt like she might throw up. Only shear willpower had kept it from happening. "I will not loose my lunch in front of this pilot, he is cute." she muttered to herself over and over again. "Miss Mahoney, the plane is ready." Colman said from outside the tent, "Are you ready to go?" Ellen had been asked to change into one of the flight suits and had spent the better part of ten minutes trying to get it to stay on, it was a bit big for her. "I think I almost have it. Could you come and check? I have it on. Please, call me Ellen" "Absolutely" Colman replied and pushed aside the flap to the tent.

Ellen saw the grin spread across his face. "Its a bit big for you, but it is the smallest one we have." Colman was fighting the urge to chuckle. "I look ridiculous don't I?" Ellen sounded a bit put out, she was not going to look bad around Colman. "You look fine" Colman reassured her with a smile "Besides, we've never had a woman go up in one of our planes before, so none of us know how it should look on you. You're the model for it." "Well, how do I look then? Ellen returned the smile. "Like you're ready to fly" Colman said, "shall we?" Ellen heard the sound of the mechanics attempting to start the engine on the Fulmar, and lots of cursing to go along with it. 'Well you already have me in this getup" Ellen said "But I'm nervous."

One of the other pilots heard this and called out "Don't worry lass, you have the best pilot here flying you." "Is that true Captain McEvoy?" Ellen asked. "That is what everyone says" Colman replied "and call me Colman." Ellen followed Colman over to the waiting Fulmer. "Were do I sit?" Ellen asked "On my lap." Colman stated mater-a-factly as he clambered into the cockpit. Ellen slowly made her way onto the wing and then clambered into the cockpit on top of Colman. "Ready?" Colman asked. "Maybe?" Ellen replied. Colman's reply was smothered by the clanging of the massive rotary engine. The bouncing of the plane over the field only added to the butterflies.

[snip]

Overheard in some government office:
"They want to do WHAT!" "Read it for yourself, and stop yelling, the whole floor can hear you." (shuffling of papers) "What do they think we are, their whore who will do anything just for whatever they throw our way!" "I agree, it would put a black mark on us for the whole world to see."  "But it is not for us to decide. I'm taking this upstairs personally, Quinlan needs to hear this from me." "Can you make a copy? It would be good to keep a copy of that information for us. I imagine the president will want to keep the one you bring up."

[snip]

Overheard in the Office of Naval Construction and Procurement:
"Would it not be good to standardize the fuel? I only see benefits from that." "Then what about standardizing the whole of the engines and drive systems?" "That is a good question, I will look into it."

[snip]

Overheard in the Office of Naval Construction and Procurement:
"Its all coming together nicely. If it works, the yards will be filled for quite some time." "All in a days work." "And escorts, how long have we been asking for those." "You owe me." "Well let us head of the Griswam's, and I can start settling my debt, with more to come when I see the results."

[snip]

Found in a garbage heap outside of a government building by a homeless man.

Property of the Confederate Navy.

Sparrowhawk, Admiralty Cruiser Study 2nd Class Cruiser laid down 1920

Displacement:
   8,500 t light; 8,834 t standard; 9,500 t normal; 10,033 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
   550.00 ft / 550.00 ft x 55.00 ft x 20.00 ft (normal load)
   167.64 m / 167.64 m x 16.76 m  x 6.10 m

Armament:
      6 - 7.50" / 191 mm guns (3x2 guns), 200.00lbs / 90.72kg shells, 1920 Model
     Breech loading guns in turrets (on barbettes)
     on centreline ends, majority forward, 1 raised mount - superfiring
      6 - 3.50" / 88.9 mm guns in single mounts, 25.00lbs / 11.34kg shells, 1920 Model
     Quick firing guns in deck mounts
     on side, all amidships, all raised mounts - superfiring
      2 - 1.58" / 40.1 mm guns in single mounts, 2.00lbs / 0.91kg shells, 1920 Model
     Anti-aircraft guns in deck mounts
     on side, evenly spread, all raised mounts
      6 - 1.00" / 25.4 mm guns in single mounts, 0.50lbs / 0.23kg shells, 1920 Model
     Machine guns in deck mounts
     on side, evenly spread
   Weight of broadside 1,357 lbs / 616 kg
   Shells per gun, main battery: 185
   12 - 21.0" / 533.4 mm above water torpedoes

Armour:
   - Belts:      Width (max)   Length (avg)      Height (avg)
   Main:   4.00" / 102 mm   414.00 ft / 126.19 m   14.00 ft / 4.27 m
   Ends:   Unarmoured
     Main Belt covers 116 % of normal length

   - Gun armour:   Face (max)   Other gunhouse (avg)   Barbette/hoist (max)
   Main:   4.00" / 102 mm   1.00" / 25 mm      3.00" / 76 mm
   2nd:   1.00" / 25 mm         -               -

   - Armour deck: 1.50" / 38 mm, Conning tower: 4.00" / 102 mm

Machinery:
   Oil fired boilers, steam turbines,
   Geared drive, 3 shafts, 81,000 shp / 60,426 Kw = 31.50 kts
   Range 5,470nm at 14.00 kts
   Bunker at max displacement = 1,198 tons

Complement:
   480 - 625

Cost:
   £1.988 million / $7.952 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
   Armament: 175 tons, 1.8 %
   Armour: 1,776 tons, 18.7 %
      - Belts: 946 tons, 10.0 %
      - Torpedo bulkhead: 0 tons, 0.0 %
      - Armament: 205 tons, 2.2 %
      - Armour Deck: 586 tons, 6.2 %
      - Conning Tower: 39 tons, 0.4 %
   Machinery: 2,832 tons, 29.8 %
   Hull, fittings & equipment: 3,343 tons, 35.2 %
   Fuel, ammunition & stores: 1,000 tons, 10.5 %
   Miscellaneous weights: 374 tons, 3.9 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
   Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
     8,415 lbs / 3,817 Kg = 39.9 x 7.5 " / 191 mm shells or 1.2 torpedoes
   Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.19
   Metacentric height 2.8 ft / 0.9 m
   Roll period: 13.8 seconds
   Steadiness   - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 50 %
         - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.40
   Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.01

Hull form characteristics:
   Hull has a flush deck
   Block coefficient: 0.550
   Length to Beam Ratio: 10.00 : 1
   'Natural speed' for length: 23.45 kts
   Power going to wave formation at top speed: 59 %
   Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 49
   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:      26.00 ft / 7.92 m
      - Forecastle (25 %):   20.00 ft / 6.10 m
      - Mid (60 %):      18.00 ft / 5.49 m
      - Quarterdeck (20 %):   17.00 ft / 5.18 m
      - Stern:      16.00 ft / 4.88 m
      - Average freeboard:   19.05 ft / 5.81 m

Ship space, strength and comments:
   Space   - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 115.6 %
      - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 112.3 %
   Waterplane Area: 21,103 Square feet or 1,961 Square metres
   Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 103 %
   Structure weight / hull surface area: 96 lbs/sq ft or 468 Kg/sq metre
   Hull strength (Relative):
      - Cross-sectional: 0.96
      - Longitudinal: 1.42
      - Overall: 1.00
   Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is cramped
   Room for accommodation and workspaces is adequate

A note attached read:

If you interested, you know what to do.
MSC

[snip]

(OOC: Sorry for the lack of updates here. Classes have been handing me a bit more work then I thought.)

Mick Shanahan looked at the role of blueprints in front of him. "Well, there a bit out of date, but we need the hulls." "My thoughts exactly" said a designer from the basement of the Office of Construction and Procurement. "We have a few potential refits in mind, depending on how much we want to do to them." Well I guess I will turn this over to you then" Mick handed a copy of the prints to the designer. "Give me some time, and they will look like ours." The designer said as he left the room. Mick turned back to the prints on the table, "Now, what can I come up with for the hull..."

The blueprints are for the flowing ship.

Displacement:
2,921 t light; 3,066 t standard; 3,467 t normal; 3,787 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
390.00 ft / 390.00 ft x 41.00 ft x 14.00 ft (normal load)
118.87 m / 118.87 m x 12.50 m x 4.27 m

Armament:
2 - 4.85" / 123 mm guns in single mounts, 55.00lbs / 24.95kg shells, 1902 Model
Quick firing guns in deck mounts with hoists
on centreline ends, evenly spread
8 - 4.85" / 123 mm guns in single mounts, 55.00lbs / 24.95kg shells, 1902 Model
Quick firing guns in deck mounts
on side, evenly spread
6 - 1.85" / 47.0 mm guns in single mounts, 3.00lbs / 1.36kg shells, 1902 Model
Quick firing guns in deck mounts
on side, evenly spread, all raised mounts
8 - 1.00" / 25.4 mm guns in single mounts, 0.50lbs / 0.23kg shells, 1902 Model
Machine guns in deck mounts
on side, evenly spread, all raised mounts

Weight of broadside 572 lbs / 259 kg
Shells per gun, main battery: 200

2 - 19.5" / 495.3 mm above water torpedoes
4 - 19.5" / 495.3 mm submerged torpedo tubes

Armour:
- Belts: Width (max) Length (avg) Height (avg)
Main: 1.00" / 25 mm 390.00 ft / 118.87 m 6.00 ft / 1.83 m
Ends: Unarmoured
Main Belt covers 154 % of normal length

- Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
Main: 1.00" / 25 mm - -
2nd: 1.00" / 25 mm - -

- Armour deck: 0.50" / 13 mm

Machinery:
Coal and oil fired boilers, complex reciprocating steam engines,
Direct drive, 2 shafts, 12,000 ihp / 8,952 Kw = 22.05 kts
Range 7,000nm at 10.00 kts (Bunkerage = 722 tons)

Complement:
225 - 293

Cost:
£0.389 million / $1.558 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
Armament: 74 tons, 2.1 %
Armour: 216 tons, 6.2 %
- Belts: 87 tons, 2.5 %
- Torpedo bulkhead: 0 tons, 0.0 %
- Armament: 27 tons, 0.8 %
- Armour Deck: 102 tons, 3.0 %
- Conning Tower: 0 tons, 0.0 %
Machinery: 1,606 tons, 46.3 %
Hull, fittings & equipment: 1,020 tons, 29.4 %
Fuel, ammunition & stores: 545 tons, 15.7 %
Miscellaneous weights: 5 tons, 0.1 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
1,358 lbs / 616 Kg = 23.8 x 4.9 " / 123 mm shells or 0.4 torpedoes
Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.84
Metacentric height 3.5 ft / 1.1 m
Roll period: 9.2 seconds
Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 68 %
- Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.14
Seaboat quality (Average = 1.00): 1.35

Hull form characteristics:
Hull has a flush deck
Block coefficient: 0.542
Length to Beam Ratio: 9.51 : 1
'Natural speed' for length: 19.75 kts
Power going to wave formation at top speed: 49 %
Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): -12.00 degrees
Stern overhang: 0.00 ft / 0.00 m
Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
- Stem: 12.50 ft / 3.81 m
- Forecastle (20 %): 11.50 ft / 3.51 m
- Mid (50 %): 10.50 ft / 3.20 m
- Quarterdeck (15 %): 10.50 ft / 3.20 m
- Stern: 11.50 ft / 3.51 m
- Average freeboard: 11.01 ft / 3.35 m
Ship tends to be wet forward

Ship space, strength and comments:
Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 185.1 %
- Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 93.1 %
Waterplane Area: 11,076 Square feet or 1,029 Square metres
Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 82 %
Structure weight / hull surface area: 61 lbs/sq ft or 296 Kg/sq metre
Hull strength (Relative):
- Cross-sectional: 1.00
- Longitudinal: 1.01
- Overall: 1.00
Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is cramped
Room for accommodation and workspaces is adequate
Good seaboat, rides out heavy weather easily

[Sachmle]

If it was all coal, had no belt, and more deck I'd say you bought the plans for an 1900 protected cruiser.

[snip]

who said anything about them being just plans...

[TexanCowboy]

Bet it's a Miami class frigate. It's too similar to them, and it does mention refits.....*tosses those seaplane carrier conversion ideas from his time in the CSA out the window*