IJN, Post-GMI

[Logi]

The IJN's evaluation of the battle of GMI is:
1) Two roughly competent navies with similar fleet sizes will fight to a stalemate.
2) Torpedoes are not useful for the battle phase and only achieved limited success because the British battle line had broke and were unable to coordinate effectively against the torpedo run.
3) Unified fleet speed makes fleet maneuvers significantly easier and outweighs disjointed superior fleet speeds.
4) Intermediate caliber weaponry is not very useful


At the same time, the Naniwa class cruisers are due for an overhaul at the end of 1905, but their age is really showing. The IJN has been looking at scrapping the Naniwa cruisers and building a modern replacement. Instead of building the planned 6,000t 3x2 203mm/50 immediately, the IJN will first supplement the fleet with (anti-light vessel) light cruisers. Armed with a plethora of light 12cm/45 guns, they will handle most unprotected vessels like destroyers and other light cruisers while keeping up with the Tsukaba battlecruiser.

A belt/deck thickness of 102m/25mm respectively will hold against period soft-capped 6" fire from roughly 7,000 yds to 11,500 yds.
It will hold against soft-capped 4" fire from roughly 4,500 yds to 13,500 yds.

I had a larger version at 4,000t with a uniform 152mm/45 battery and better armor, but that design would require an extra half year for construction (12 month vs 18 month).

Tenryuu, Japanese Light Cruiser laid down 1905

Displacement:
   3,000 t light; 3,125 t standard; 3,501 t normal; 3,801 t full load

Dimensions: Length (overall / waterline) x beam x draught (normal/deep)
   (393.70 ft / 393.70 ft) x 36.09 ft x (16.40 / 17.49 ft)
   (120.00 m / 120.00 m) x 11.00 m  x (5.00 / 5.33 m)

Armament:
      7 - 4.72" / 120 mm 45.0 cal guns - 44.97lbs / 20.40kg shells, 200 per gun
     Quick firing guns in deck and hoist mounts, 1905 Model
     5 x Single mounts on centreline ends, majority aft
      2 raised mounts - superfiring
     2 x Single mounts on centreline, forward deck aft
      4 - 4.72" / 120 mm 45.0 cal guns - 44.97lbs / 20.40kg shells, 200 per gun
     Quick firing guns in deck and hoist mounts, 1905 Model
     4 x Single mounts on sides, forward evenly spread
      Weight of broadside 495 lbs / 224 kg

Armour:
   - Belts:      Width (max)   Length (avg)      Height (avg)
   Main:   4.02" / 102 mm   393.70 ft / 120.00 m   8.20 ft / 2.50 m
     Main Belt covers 154 % of normal length

   - Gun armour:   Face (max)   Other gunhouse (avg)   Barbette/hoist (max)
   Main:   0.98" / 25 mm   0.51" / 13 mm      0.51" / 13 mm
   2nd:   0.98" / 25 mm   0.51" / 13 mm      0.51" / 13 mm

   - Armoured deck - single deck:
   For and Aft decks: 0.98" / 25 mm
   Forecastle: 0.98" / 25 mm  Quarter deck: 0.98" / 25 mm

   - Conning towers: Forward 5.12" / 130 mm, Aft 0.00" / 0 mm

Machinery:
   Coal and oil fired boilers, steam turbines,
   Direct drive, 3 shafts, 13,897 shp / 10,367 Kw = 23.00 kts
   Range 4,500nm at 10.00 kts
   Bunker at max displacement = 676 tons (90% coal)

Complement:
   226 - 295

Cost:
   £0.320 million / $1.282 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
   Armament: 159 tons, 4.5 %
      - Guns: 159 tons, 4.5 %
   Armour: 725 tons, 20.7 %
      - Belts: 480 tons, 13.7 %
      - Armament: 42 tons, 1.2 %
      - Armour Deck: 178 tons, 5.1 %
      - Conning Tower: 25 tons, 0.7 %
   Machinery: 1,139 tons, 32.5 %
   Hull, fittings & equipment: 952 tons, 27.2 %
   Fuel, ammunition & stores: 501 tons, 14.3 %
   Miscellaneous weights: 25 tons, 0.7 %
      - On freeboard deck: 25 tons

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
   Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
     2,354 lbs / 1,068 Kg = 44.6 x 4.7 " / 120 mm shells or 0.6 torpedoes
   Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.09
   Metacentric height 1.3 ft / 0.4 m
   Roll period: 13.4 seconds
   Steadiness   - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 70 %
         - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.57
   Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.20

Hull form characteristics:
   Hull has a flush deck,
     a normal bow and a cruiser stern
   Block coefficient (normal/deep): 0.526 / 0.535
   Length to Beam Ratio: 10.91 : 1
   'Natural speed' for length: 19.84 kts
   Power going to wave formation at top speed: 49 %
   Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 58
   Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 0.00 degrees
   Stern overhang: 0.00 ft / 0.00 m
   Freeboard (% = length of deck as a percentage of waterline length):
            Fore end,    Aft end
      - Forecastle:   20.00 %,  14.44 ft / 4.40 m,  12.14 ft / 3.70 m
      - Forward deck:   30.00 %,  12.14 ft / 3.70 m,  10.83 ft / 3.30 m
      - Aft deck:   35.00 %,  10.83 ft / 3.30 m,  10.83 ft / 3.30 m
      - Quarter deck:   15.00 %,  10.83 ft / 3.30 m,  10.83 ft / 3.30 m
      - Average freeboard:      11.47 ft / 3.50 m
   Ship tends to be wet forward

Ship space, strength and comments:
   Space   - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 120.6 %
      - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 90.9 %
   Waterplane Area: 9,694 Square feet or 901 Square metres
   Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 98 %
   Structure weight / hull surface area: 63 lbs/sq ft or 307 Kg/sq metre
   Hull strength (Relative):
      - Cross-sectional: 0.98
      - Longitudinal: 1.16
      - Overall: 1.00
   Cramped machinery, storage, compartmentation space
   Adequate accommodation and workspace room
   Ship has slow, easy roll, a good, steady gun platform
   Good seaboat, rides out heavy weather easily

Misc Weight: 25t - Long Range Wireless

[Jefgte]

...Machinery:
   Coal and oil fired boilers, steam turbines,
   Direct drive, 3 shafts, 13,897 shp / 10,367 Kw = 23.00 kts

You could have an higher speed, use 20 000shp.
For a cruiser, 23kts is correct in 1905 but probably short in 1910.

Jef  ;)

[Logi]

That is true, but I wanted to keep the ship under 3,000t so the ship would finish construction in 2 halfs. Furthermore, increasing the speed of the ship whilst the fastest non-destroyer unit in the IJN is 23 kn (Tsukaba BC) would let to a disjointed fleet speed.

It is possible to achieve higher speeds without increasing displacement by sacrificing armor. However, the IJN feels the vulnerability of such unprotected ships would reduce their effectiveness far more than a few knots of speed. The armor on the ships are already very thin considering the expected future battle ranges of 7,000 - 10,000 yards.

[Jefgte]

...I wanted to keep the ship under 3,000t so the ship would finish construction in 2 halfs...

...For a cruiser, 23kts is correct in 1905 but probably short in 1910...

Why absolutly built in 2 halfs an obsolete cruiser?
IMO, built in 3 halfs a faster cruiser.

Jef  ;)

[Logi]

A faster cruiser would need to use reciprocating engines to maintain the same armor and probably not fit in a Type 1 dock. As such, such a ship would be much larger for very little benefit and strain the fleet with not only even more differing fleet speeds but also crowd the limited docks larger than Type 1. The maximum reasonable speed for such a ship would be 25 kn, which is not very much more than a 23 kn vessel.

The most feasible option, as I mentioned before would be to remove the armor on the ship - but that would simply make the ship very quickly obsolete. Regardless of advancing speeds, the ship will still maintain immunity to 6" (152cm) fire for a while and 4" (102cm) fire almost indefinitely. Ships speeds however, will very likely quickly move past even 26 kn and turn the unprotected cruiser into a sitting target.

Take a look at this design for example:

Tenryuu, Japanese Light Cruiser laid down 1905

Displacement:
   2,500 t light; 2,591 t standard; 2,816 t normal; 2,996 t full load

Dimensions: Length (overall / waterline) x beam x draught (normal/deep)
   (393.70 ft / 393.70 ft) x 36.09 ft x (13.78 / 14.44 ft)
   (120.00 m / 120.00 m) x 11.00 m  x (4.20 / 4.40 m)

Armament:
      7 - 4.72" / 120 mm 45.0 cal guns - 44.97lbs / 20.40kg shells, 200 per gun
     Quick firing guns in deck and hoist mounts, 1905 Model
     5 x Single mounts on centreline ends, majority aft
      2 raised mounts - superfiring
     2 x Single mounts on centreline, forward deck aft
      Weight of broadside 315 lbs / 143 kg

Armour:
   - Gun armour:   Face (max)   Other gunhouse (avg)   Barbette/hoist (max)
   Main:   1.50" / 38 mm   0.39" / 10 mm      0.39" / 10 mm

Machinery:
   Coal and oil fired boilers, steam turbines,
   Direct drive, 4 shafts, 20,000 shp / 14,920 Kw = 26.16 kts
   Range 3,000nm at 10.00 kts
   Bunker at max displacement = 404 tons (90% coal)

Complement:
   193 - 251

Cost:
   £0.328 million / $1.314 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
   Armament: 101 tons, 3.6 %
      - Guns: 101 tons, 3.6 %
   Armour: 25 tons, 0.9 %
      - Armament: 25 tons, 0.9 %
   Machinery: 1,467 tons, 52.1 %
   Hull, fittings & equipment: 883 tons, 31.3 %
   Fuel, ammunition & stores: 316 tons, 11.2 %
   Miscellaneous weights: 25 tons, 0.9 %
      - On freeboard deck: 25 tons

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
   Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
     995 lbs / 451 Kg = 18.9 x 4.7 " / 120 mm shells or 0.4 torpedoes
   Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.20
   Metacentric height 1.5 ft / 0.5 m
   Roll period: 12.3 seconds
   Steadiness   - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 70 %
         - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.39
   Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.01

Hull form characteristics:
   Hull has a flush deck,
     a normal bow and a cruiser stern
   Block coefficient (normal/deep): 0.503 / 0.511
   Length to Beam Ratio: 10.91 : 1
   'Natural speed' for length: 19.84 kts
   Power going to wave formation at top speed: 54 %
   Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 70
   Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 0.00 degrees
   Stern overhang: 0.00 ft / 0.00 m
   Freeboard (% = length of deck as a percentage of waterline length):
            Fore end,    Aft end
      - Forecastle:   20.00 %,  15.09 ft / 4.60 m,  12.14 ft / 3.70 m
      - Forward deck:   30.00 %,  12.14 ft / 3.70 m,  11.15 ft / 3.40 m
      - Aft deck:   35.00 %,  11.15 ft / 3.40 m,  11.15 ft / 3.40 m
      - Quarter deck:   15.00 %,  11.15 ft / 3.40 m,  11.15 ft / 3.40 m
      - Average freeboard:      11.74 ft / 3.58 m
   Ship tends to be wet forward

Ship space, strength and comments:
   Space   - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 179.9 %
      - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 106.7 %
   Waterplane Area: 9,496 Square feet or 882 Square metres
   Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 76 %
   Structure weight / hull surface area: 60 lbs/sq ft or 293 Kg/sq metre
   Hull strength (Relative):
      - Cross-sectional: 0.99
      - Longitudinal: 1.07
      - Overall: 1.00
   Cramped machinery, storage, compartmentation space
   Adequate accommodation and workspace room
   Ship has slow, easy roll, a good, steady gun platform

It has increased speed but...
1) Nothing but destroyers can operate with it. It cannot contest any other cruiser due to weaker armament and lack of armor.
2) It does not have very good seakeeping qualities.
3) It has short range and would strain the fleet logistics - especially important for replacing the fleet workhouse (Naniwa cruiser)
4) It has no armor to speak off, and can't be trusted to fight off destroyers without coming back as a wreck.

[Logi]

I took a second gander at the unprotected design to see if I could alleviate some of its issues. I increased the displacement (+100t) and reduced the top speed (-0.16kn) slightly to replace the 12cm main battery with 15cm guns (7x12cm -> 4x15cm). I believe this version is slightly better.

Whilst I think it's not a very good cruiser for the reasons I mentioned previously, I am warming up to the idea of a few as destroyer leaders. The speed will keep up with destroyer squadrons whilst the increased armament will help such squadrons repel cruiser attacks.

Tenryuu, Japanese Destroyer Leader laid down 1905

Displacement:
   2,600 t light; 2,694 t standard; 2,924 t normal; 3,108 t full load

Dimensions: Length (overall / waterline) x beam x draught (normal/deep)
   (393.70 ft / 393.70 ft) x 36.09 ft x (14.27 / 14.95 ft)
   (120.00 m / 120.00 m) x 11.00 m  x (4.35 / 4.56 m)

Armament:
      4 - 5.98" / 152 mm 45.0 cal guns - 108.07lbs / 49.02kg shells, 150 per gun
     Quick firing guns in deck and hoist mounts, 1905 Model
     4 x Single mounts on centreline ends, evenly spread
      2 raised mounts - superfiring
      Weight of broadside 432 lbs / 196 kg

Armour:
   - Gun armour:   Face (max)   Other gunhouse (avg)   Barbette/hoist (max)
   Main:   0.98" / 25 mm   0.39" / 10 mm      0.39" / 10 mm

Machinery:
   Coal and oil fired boilers, steam turbines,
   Direct drive, 4 shafts, 20,000 shp / 14,920 Kw = 26.00 kts
   Range 3,000nm at 10.00 kts
   Bunker at max displacement = 414 tons (90% coal)

Complement:
   198 - 258

Cost:
   £0.341 million / $1.363 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
   Armament: 115 tons, 3.9 %
      - Guns: 115 tons, 3.9 %
   Armour: 15 tons, 0.5 %
      - Armament: 15 tons, 0.5 %
   Machinery: 1,492 tons, 51.0 %
   Hull, fittings & equipment: 954 tons, 32.6 %
   Fuel, ammunition & stores: 324 tons, 11.1 %
   Miscellaneous weights: 25 tons, 0.9 %
      - On freeboard deck: 25 tons

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
   Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
     1,028 lbs / 466 Kg = 9.6 x 6.0 " / 152 mm shells or 0.4 torpedoes
   Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.16
   Metacentric height 1.4 ft / 0.4 m
   Roll period: 12.6 seconds
   Steadiness   - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 70 %
         - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.61
   Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.01

Hull form characteristics:
   Hull has a flush deck,
     a normal bow and a cruiser stern
   Block coefficient (normal/deep): 0.505 / 0.512
   Length to Beam Ratio: 10.91 : 1
   'Natural speed' for length: 19.84 kts
   Power going to wave formation at top speed: 54 %
   Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 70
   Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 0.00 degrees
   Stern overhang: 0.00 ft / 0.00 m
   Freeboard (% = length of deck as a percentage of waterline length):
            Fore end,    Aft end
      - Forecastle:   20.00 %,  15.42 ft / 4.70 m,  12.47 ft / 3.80 m
      - Forward deck:   30.00 %,  12.47 ft / 3.80 m,  11.15 ft / 3.40 m
      - Aft deck:   35.00 %,  11.15 ft / 3.40 m,  11.15 ft / 3.40 m
      - Quarter deck:   15.00 %,  11.15 ft / 3.40 m,  11.15 ft / 3.40 m
      - Average freeboard:      11.85 ft / 3.61 m
   Ship tends to be wet forward

Ship space, strength and comments:
   Space   - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 177.6 %
      - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 104.8 %
   Waterplane Area: 9,507 Square feet or 883 Square metres
   Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 78 %
   Structure weight / hull surface area: 64 lbs/sq ft or 314 Kg/sq metre
   Hull strength (Relative):
      - Cross-sectional: 0.98
      - Longitudinal: 1.16
      - Overall: 1.00
   Cramped machinery, storage, compartmentation space
   Adequate accommodation and workspace room
   Ship has slow, easy roll, a good, steady gun platform

Misc Weight: 25t - Long Range Wireless

[Logi]

An alternative would be to lower the speed even more and use the spare strength and displacement for a protected deck.

Tenryuu, Japanese Destroyer Leader laid down 1905

Displacement:
   3,000 t light; 3,131 t standard; 3,382 t normal; 3,583 t full load

Dimensions: Length (overall / waterline) x beam x draught (normal/deep)
   (393.70 ft / 393.70 ft) x 37.30 ft x (16.08 / 16.79 ft)
   (120.00 m / 120.00 m) x 11.37 m  x (4.90 / 5.12 m)

Armament:
      7 - 5.98" / 152 mm 45.0 cal guns - 108.07lbs / 49.02kg shells, 150 per gun
     Quick firing guns in deck and hoist mounts, 1905 Model
     5 x Single mounts on centreline ends, majority aft
      2 raised mounts - superfiring
     2 x Single mounts on centreline, forward deck aft
      Weight of broadside 756 lbs / 343 kg

Armour:
   - Gun armour:   Face (max)   Other gunhouse (avg)   Barbette/hoist (max)
   Main:   0.98" / 25 mm   0.39" / 10 mm      0.39" / 10 mm

   - Protected deck - single deck:
   For and Aft decks: 0.98" / 25 mm
   Forecastle: 0.98" / 25 mm  Quarter deck: 0.98" / 25 mm

   - Conning towers: Forward 0.98" / 25 mm, Aft 0.00" / 0 mm

Machinery:
   Coal and oil fired boilers, steam turbines,
   Direct drive, 4 shafts, 20,000 shp / 14,920 Kw = 25.40 kts
   Range 3,000nm at 10.00 kts
   Bunker at max displacement = 452 tons (90% coal)

Complement:
   221 - 288

Cost:
   £0.392 million / $1.566 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
   Armament: 201 tons, 5.9 %
      - Guns: 201 tons, 5.9 %
   Armour: 210 tons, 6.2 %
      - Armament: 25 tons, 0.7 %
      - Armour Deck: 180 tons, 5.3 %
      - Conning Tower: 5 tons, 0.1 %
   Machinery: 1,537 tons, 45.4 %
   Hull, fittings & equipment: 1,028 tons, 30.4 %
   Fuel, ammunition & stores: 382 tons, 11.3 %
   Miscellaneous weights: 25 tons, 0.7 %
      - On freeboard deck: 25 tons

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
   Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
     1,246 lbs / 565 Kg = 11.6 x 6.0 " / 152 mm shells or 0.4 torpedoes
   Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.09
   Metacentric height 1.3 ft / 0.4 m
   Roll period: 13.6 seconds
   Steadiness   - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 70 %
         - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.90
   Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.01

Hull form characteristics:
   Hull has a flush deck,
     a normal bow and a cruiser stern
   Block coefficient (normal/deep): 0.501 / 0.508
   Length to Beam Ratio: 10.55 : 1
   'Natural speed' for length: 19.84 kts
   Power going to wave formation at top speed: 53 %
   Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 70
   Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 0.00 degrees
   Stern overhang: 0.00 ft / 0.00 m
   Freeboard (% = length of deck as a percentage of waterline length):
            Fore end,    Aft end
      - Forecastle:   20.00 %,  13.78 ft / 4.20 m,  12.14 ft / 3.70 m
      - Forward deck:   30.00 %,  12.14 ft / 3.70 m,  11.48 ft / 3.50 m
      - Aft deck:   35.00 %,  11.48 ft / 3.50 m,  11.48 ft / 3.50 m
      - Quarter deck:   15.00 %,  11.48 ft / 3.50 m,  11.48 ft / 3.50 m
      - Average freeboard:      11.84 ft / 3.61 m
   Ship tends to be wet forward

Ship space, strength and comments:
   Space   - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 166.2 %
      - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 98.2 %
   Waterplane Area: 9,797 Square feet or 910 Square metres
   Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 80 %
   Structure weight / hull surface area: 69 lbs/sq ft or 336 Kg/sq metre
   Hull strength (Relative):
      - Cross-sectional: 0.97
      - Longitudinal: 1.26
      - Overall: 1.00
   Cramped machinery, storage, compartmentation space
   Adequate accommodation and workspace room
   Ship has slow, easy roll, a good, steady gun platform

Misc Weight: 25t - Long Range Wireless

[Tanthalas]

I will address them as Design A, B, and C (in order of posting), more to keep them straight in my head than anything.  I see issues with each of them, and I went down the same basic path while working on my own CL project (even ended up in the same general place on several ships) so perhaps I have a bit of useful insight.

Before I address them however, first I will give you a bit of background on how I ended up where I did.  My CL project started out as an attempt to reproduce Yūbari, it didn't turn out very well, it did however convince me I could build a 25-26 knot CL on available tech*.  Several™ attempts later I arived at the 3K design I referred to as the WTF ship, it is a compromise in every respect and while quite good for the period not IMHO as good as it could have/should have been (might even be if I manage to get one of my others working to my satisfaction).  With that said it is time for my critique of your proposals.

Proposal A: Very well armoured (1"/25 mm decks and 4"/102 mm belt is impressive for the period).  Insane Firepower (for the size and period) just the 7X4.72" centerline would qualify for that the wing guns are IMHO overkill.  Slow while they would be capable of keeping up with the new BCs they wouldn't be able to scout for them (you have to decide if you want your big new ships out looking for CLs and DDs, I decided I did not).

Proposal B: I ended up exactly there, while trying to make a 4X6" 26 knot ship work, However I found Very few** ships under 39' beam with 4 shafts.  Other than that I think the firepower is to light for it to be worth the investment, and the lack of any protection makes me question it's utility against even DDs.  Possibly with 4.72" guns (the sustained ROF on them would be quite a bit higher than the 6" in this period) you might even be able to get an extra gun or 2.

Proposal C: other than the Beam (as mentioned in proposal B), the sorta scary high (to me) Recoil, sorta scary low (to me) seaboat rating I actually like it.  Widening out the beam a bit to 39' would likley fix the recoil issue (which isn't really an issue but .9 is just too high for me personally), and might even help with the seaboat rating (which is honestly likely fine for the Pacific).

Conclusion: I would keep playing with C try to widen it out a bit and when I got that working call it a day.


*note I am still trying to make the Yūbari clone work but have to this point had limited success.
** Actually I only found one in the period I searched but several DD classes had 3 on 17.5', although that is why I set 39' as my minimum beam (it appears fairly common).

*edit*
Damn I went and posted a book... Did not expect this post to be so long, sorry about that yall.

[Logi]

Following your suggestion as well as my own analysis of your 3,500t cruiser design, I made the ship a little less extreme.
Beam: 11.37m -> 11.9m (+4.7%)
Draft: 4.9m -> 4.6m (-6.1%)
Speed: 25.4kn -> 25kn
Deck armor: 25mm -> 30mm

I prefer this version to the previous 'C' edition.

Tenryuu Scheme D, Japanese Light Cruiser laid down 1905

Displacement:
   3,000 t light; 3,130 t standard; 3,380 t normal; 3,580 t full load

Dimensions: Length (overall / waterline) x beam x draught (normal/deep)
   (393.70 ft / 393.70 ft) x 39.04 ft x (15.09 / 15.77 ft)
   (120.00 m / 120.00 m) x 11.90 m  x (4.60 / 4.81 m)

Armament:
      7 - 5.98" / 152 mm 45.0 cal guns - 108.07lbs / 49.02kg shells, 150 per gun
     Quick firing guns in deck and hoist mounts, 1905 Model
     5 x Single mounts on centreline ends, majority aft
      2 raised mounts - superfiring
     2 x Single mounts on centreline, forward deck aft
      Weight of broadside 756 lbs / 343 kg

Armour:
   - Gun armour:   Face (max)   Other gunhouse (avg)   Barbette/hoist (max)
   Main:   0.98" / 25 mm   0.39" / 10 mm      0.39" / 10 mm

   - Protected deck - single deck:
   For and Aft decks: 1.18" / 30 mm
   Forecastle: 1.18" / 30 mm  Quarter deck: 1.18" / 30 mm

   - Conning towers: Forward 0.97" / 25 mm, Aft 0.00" / 0 mm

Machinery:
   Coal and oil fired boilers, steam turbines,
   Direct drive, 4 shafts, 19,000 shp / 14,174 Kw = 25.03 kts
   Range 3,000nm at 10.00 kts
   Bunker at max displacement = 449 tons (90% coal)

Complement:
   221 - 288

Cost:
   £0.383 million / $1.531 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
   Armament: 201 tons, 5.9 %
      - Guns: 201 tons, 5.9 %
   Armour: 258 tons, 7.6 %
      - Armament: 25 tons, 0.7 %
      - Armour Deck: 228 tons, 6.7 %
      - Conning Tower: 5 tons, 0.1 %
   Machinery: 1,473 tons, 43.6 %
   Hull, fittings & equipment: 1,044 tons, 30.9 %
   Fuel, ammunition & stores: 380 tons, 11.2 %
   Miscellaneous weights: 25 tons, 0.7 %
      - On freeboard deck: 25 tons

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
   Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
     1,391 lbs / 631 Kg = 13.0 x 6.0 " / 152 mm shells or 0.4 torpedoes
   Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.13
   Metacentric height 1.5 ft / 0.5 m
   Roll period: 13.3 seconds
   Steadiness   - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 70 %
         - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.75
   Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.01

Hull form characteristics:
   Hull has a flush deck,
     a normal bow and a cruiser stern
   Block coefficient (normal/deep): 0.510 / 0.517
   Length to Beam Ratio: 10.08 : 1
   'Natural speed' for length: 19.84 kts
   Power going to wave formation at top speed: 54 %
   Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 70
   Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 0.00 degrees
   Stern overhang: 0.00 ft / 0.00 m
   Freeboard (% = length of deck as a percentage of waterline length):
            Fore end,    Aft end
      - Forecastle:   20.00 %,  13.78 ft / 4.20 m,  11.48 ft / 3.50 m
      - Forward deck:   30.00 %,  11.48 ft / 3.50 m,  11.48 ft / 3.50 m
      - Aft deck:   35.00 %,  11.48 ft / 3.50 m,  11.48 ft / 3.50 m
      - Quarter deck:   15.00 %,  11.48 ft / 3.50 m,  11.48 ft / 3.50 m
      - Average freeboard:      11.67 ft / 3.56 m
   Ship tends to be wet forward

Ship space, strength and comments:
   Space   - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 160.3 %
      - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 102.3 %
   Waterplane Area: 10,335 Square feet or 960 Square metres
   Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 82 %
   Structure weight / hull surface area: 69 lbs/sq ft or 338 Kg/sq metre
   Hull strength (Relative):
      - Cross-sectional: 0.98
      - Longitudinal: 1.18
      - Overall: 1.00
   Cramped machinery, storage, compartmentation space
   Adequate accommodation and workspace room
   Ship has slow, easy roll, a good, steady gun platform

[Tanthalas]

Personally I think your trying to go too small, but then again I also tried to restrict mine to a type 1 slip/DD so I cant really talk on that front (although I did finally just give up on it).  Maybe try tacking on another 250-500 tons, and stretching her out a little (10 to 20 foot maybe?), raise the freeboard a bit perhaps would likley help the seaboat a bit (I still think 1.01 is a bit low any battle damage and you are in the danger range, even in the placid Pacific IMHO).

[Logi]

I don't think it's worth expanding out of the Type 1 dock and 1 year construction time for such benefits. Instead I removed 1x15cm gun and tried to achieve the same.

Tenryuu Scheme E, Japanese Light Cruiser laid down 1905

Displacement:
   3,000 t light; 3,122 t standard; 3,371 t normal; 3,570 t full load

Dimensions: Length (overall / waterline) x beam x draught (normal/deep)
   (393.70 ft / 393.70 ft) x 39.04 ft x (15.09 / 15.77 ft)
   (120.00 m / 120.00 m) x 11.90 m  x (4.60 / 4.81 m)

Armament:
      6 - 5.98" / 152 mm 45.0 cal guns - 108.07lbs / 49.02kg shells, 150 per gun
     Quick firing guns in deck and hoist mounts, 1905 Model
     5 x Single mounts on centreline ends, majority aft
      2 raised mounts - superfiring
     1 x Single mount on centreline, aft deck forward
      Weight of broadside 648 lbs / 294 kg

Armour:
   - Gun armour:   Face (max)   Other gunhouse (avg)   Barbette/hoist (max)
   Main:   0.98" / 25 mm   0.39" / 10 mm      0.39" / 10 mm

   - Protected deck - single deck:
   For and Aft decks: 1.18" / 30 mm
   Forecastle: 1.18" / 30 mm  Quarter deck: 1.18" / 30 mm

   - Conning towers: Forward 0.98" / 25 mm, Aft 0.00" / 0 mm

Machinery:
   Coal and oil fired boilers, steam turbines,
   Direct drive, 4 shafts, 19,000 shp / 14,174 Kw = 25.04 kts
   Range 3,000nm at 10.00 kts
   Bunker at max displacement = 448 tons (90% coal)

Complement:
   220 - 287

Cost:
   £0.374 million / $1.496 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
   Armament: 172 tons, 5.1 %
      - Guns: 172 tons, 5.1 %
   Armour: 254 tons, 7.5 %
      - Armament: 22 tons, 0.6 %
      - Armour Deck: 227 tons, 6.7 %
      - Conning Tower: 5 tons, 0.1 %
   Machinery: 1,483 tons, 44.0 %
   Hull, fittings & equipment: 1,066 tons, 31.6 %
   Fuel, ammunition & stores: 371 tons, 11.0 %
   Miscellaneous weights: 25 tons, 0.7 %
      - On freeboard deck: 25 tons

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
   Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
     1,470 lbs / 667 Kg = 13.7 x 6.0 " / 152 mm shells or 0.5 torpedoes
   Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.13
   Metacentric height 1.5 ft / 0.5 m
   Roll period: 13.2 seconds
   Steadiness   - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 75 %
         - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.71
   Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.10

Hull form characteristics:
   Hull has a flush deck,
     a normal bow and a cruiser stern
   Block coefficient (normal/deep): 0.509 / 0.516
   Length to Beam Ratio: 10.08 : 1
   'Natural speed' for length: 19.84 kts
   Power going to wave formation at top speed: 53 %
   Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 68
   Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 0.00 degrees
   Stern overhang: 0.00 ft / 0.00 m
   Freeboard (% = length of deck as a percentage of waterline length):
            Fore end,    Aft end
      - Forecastle:   20.00 %,  16.40 ft / 5.00 m,  13.78 ft / 4.20 m
      - Forward deck:   30.00 %,  13.78 ft / 4.20 m,  12.14 ft / 3.70 m
      - Aft deck:   35.00 %,  12.14 ft / 3.70 m,  11.48 ft / 3.50 m
      - Quarter deck:   15.00 %,  11.48 ft / 3.50 m,  10.83 ft / 3.30 m
      - Average freeboard:      12.66 ft / 3.86 m
   Ship tends to be wet forward

Ship space, strength and comments:
   Space   - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 159.0 %
      - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 110.3 %
   Waterplane Area: 10,322 Square feet or 959 Square metres
   Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 84 %
   Structure weight / hull surface area: 68 lbs/sq ft or 334 Kg/sq metre
   Hull strength (Relative):
      - Cross-sectional: 0.97
      - Longitudinal: 1.30
      - Overall: 1.00
   Cramped machinery, storage, compartmentation space
   Adequate accommodation and workspace room
   Ship has slow, easy roll, a good, steady gun platform

Misc Weight: 25t - Long Range Wireless

[Walter]

Missed this...

I had a larger version at 4,000t with a uniform 152mm/45 battery and better armor, but that design would require an extra half year for construction (12 month vs 18 month).

The rules are quite clear that a 4,000 ton vessel will take 13 months to build and not 18. Adding the 3 month shakedown cruise, a 3000 ton vessel will be fully operational in 15 months and the 4000 ton vessel will be fully operational in 16 months.

[Logi]

I'm quite aware that the actual building time for a 4,000t vessel would take 13 months. However our sim advances in 6 month blocks so a 13 month build time is effectively 18 months from the perspective of sim reports. A 3,000t ship which started construction in 1905/H1 would be considered constructed by the end of 1905/H2 whereas a 4,000t ship would be considered constructed by 1906/H1. No need to be pedantic.

[Walter]

It is irrelevant that the 3,000 ton ship is competed at the end of H2/1905 because you can't start using it until the start of H1/1906 anyway but you can start using the 4,000 ton ship in H1/1906. In case of the "expedited schedule", the 3,000 ton design would take 8 months and the 4,000 ton would take 8 months and 20 days. So whether it is a 3,000 ton design or a 4,000 ton design, they become operational in the same half year, even if you were to add the shakedown cruises or if you were to use "expedited schedule" to quicken the schedule.

[Logi]

I believe our difference of opinion simply arises from the different way we approach the sim.

It is true, for example, that according to the rules a 40% done ship can be floated out of the drydock or slipway to complete construction - thereby freeing up the dock. However, from my perspective, keeping track of when ships are 40% done and putting such ships on their own separate row in the (excel) sim report is usually more trouble than it's worth. Hence, I don't bother floating out ships from the dock unless I am in serious need.

The same is true for handling construction time. I would have to determine the exact time such a ship is completed to determine whether the ship can be used during that half or after that half. For simplicities sake, I treat all construction, regardless of when during that half it was completed, as completed by the end of that half and thereby operational only in the next half.

You are technically correct, but I personally treat it the way I do because it is simple and does not violate the rules.