Japanese Ship Designs 1912+

[Desertfox]

Now without petrol engines...

Jingei class, Japan Torpedo Boat Tender laid down 1913

Displacement:
   2,099 t light; 2,158 t standard; 2,370 t normal; 2,539 t full load

Dimensions: Length (overall / waterline) x beam x draught (normal/deep)
   (300.00 ft / 300.00 ft) x 50.00 ft x (9.70 / 10.26 ft)
   (91.44 m / 91.44 m) x 15.24 m  x (2.96 / 3.13 m)

Armament:
      2 - 3.00" / 76.2 mm 45.0 cal guns - 13.62lbs / 6.18kg shells, 250 per gun
     Breech loading guns in deck mounts, 1913 Model
     2 x Single mounts on centreline ends, evenly spread
      12 - 2.00" / 50.8 mm 45.0 cal guns - 4.03lbs / 1.83kg shells, 300 per gun
     Breech loading guns in deck mounts, 1913 Model
     4 x Triple mounts on sides, evenly spread
      Weight of broadside 76 lbs / 34 kg

Machinery:
   Coal and oil fired boilers, complex reciprocating steam engines,
   Direct drive, 2 shafts, 2,009 ihp / 1,498 Kw = 14.00 kts
   Range 5,000nm at 10.00 kts
   Bunker at max displacement = 381 tons (50% coal)

Complement:
   169 - 220

Cost:
   £0.104 million / $0.415 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
   Armament: 12 tons, 0.5 %
      - Guns: 12 tons, 0.5 %
   Machinery: 126 tons, 5.3 %
   Hull, fittings & equipment: 660 tons, 27.9 %
   Fuel, ammunition & stores: 271 tons, 11.4 %
   Miscellaneous weights: 1,300 tons, 54.9 %
      - Hull below water: 400 tons
      - Hull above water: 70 tons
      - On freeboard deck: 800 tons
      - Above deck: 30 tons

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
   Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
     6,376 lbs / 2,892 Kg = 472.3 x 3.0 " / 76 mm shells or 2.7 torpedoes
   Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.43
   Metacentric height 3.3 ft / 1.0 m
   Roll period: 11.6 seconds
   Steadiness   - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 70 %
         - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.01
   Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.49

Hull form characteristics:
   Hull has raised forecastle, raised quarterdeck ,
     a normal bow and a cruiser stern
   Block coefficient (normal/deep): 0.570 / 0.578
   Length to Beam Ratio: 6.00 : 1
   'Natural speed' for length: 17.32 kts
   Power going to wave formation at top speed: 36 %
   Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 47
   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:   25.00 %,  15.00 ft / 4.57 m,  14.00 ft / 4.27 m
      - Forward deck:   30.00 %,  7.00 ft / 2.13 m,  7.00 ft / 2.13 m
      - Aft deck:   20.00 %,  7.00 ft / 2.13 m,  7.00 ft / 2.13 m
      - Quarter deck:   25.00 %,  14.00 ft / 4.27 m,  14.00 ft / 4.27 m
      - Average freeboard:      10.60 ft / 3.23 m
   Ship tends to be wet forward

Ship space, strength and comments:
   Space   - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 42.2 %
      - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 84.2 %
   Waterplane Area: 10,667 Square feet or 991 Square metres
   Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 149 %
   Structure weight / hull surface area: 49 lbs/sq ft or 239 Kg/sq metre
   Hull strength (Relative):
      - Cross-sectional: 0.99
      - Longitudinal: 1.10
      - Overall: 1.00
   Excellent machinery, storage, compartmentation space
   Cramped accommodation and workspace room
   Ship has slow, easy roll, a good, steady gun platform
   Good seaboat, rides out heavy weather easily

30t - LR wireless + FC
40t - 20 Marines
30t - Camouflage
800t - Cranes and space for 10 x 40t TB or 4 x 100t Submarines
400t - 4,000t of Out-of-port resupply

[Desertfox]

A different tender, this one for the 500t submarines. No capability to transport them, but can support more tonnage and is cheaper.

Jingei II class, Japan Submarine Tender laid down 1913

Displacement:
   1,537 t light; 1,584 t standard; 1,759 t normal; 1,898 t full load

Dimensions: Length (overall / waterline) x beam x draught (normal/deep)
   (300.00 ft / 300.00 ft) x 40.00 ft x (9.00 / 9.46 ft)
   (91.44 m / 91.44 m) x 12.19 m  x (2.74 / 2.88 m)

Armament:
      2 - 3.00" / 76.2 mm 45.0 cal guns - 13.62lbs / 6.18kg shells, 250 per gun
     Breech loading guns in deck mounts, 1913 Model
     2 x Single mounts on centreline ends, evenly spread
      12 - 2.00" / 50.8 mm 45.0 cal guns - 4.03lbs / 1.83kg shells, 300 per gun
     Breech loading guns in deck mounts, 1913 Model
     4 x Triple mounts on sides, evenly spread
      Weight of broadside 76 lbs / 34 kg

Machinery:
   Coal and oil fired boilers, complex reciprocating steam engines,
   Direct drive, 2 shafts, 3,339 ihp / 2,491 Kw = 17.00 kts
   Range 5,000nm at 10.00 kts
   Bunker at max displacement = 314 tons (50% coal)

Complement:
   135 - 176

Cost:
   £0.095 million / $0.381 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
   Armament: 12 tons, 0.7 %
      - Guns: 12 tons, 0.7 %
   Machinery: 210 tons, 11.9 %
   Hull, fittings & equipment: 545 tons, 31.0 %
   Fuel, ammunition & stores: 221 tons, 12.6 %
   Miscellaneous weights: 770 tons, 43.8 %
      - Hull below water: 500 tons
      - On freeboard deck: 240 tons
      - Above deck: 30 tons

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
   Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
     3,605 lbs / 1,635 Kg = 267.1 x 3.0 " / 76 mm shells or 1.2 torpedoes
   Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.58
   Metacentric height 2.7 ft / 0.8 m
   Roll period: 10.2 seconds
   Steadiness   - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 71 %
         - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.02
   Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.57

Hull form characteristics:
   Hull has a flush deck,
     a normal bow and a cruiser stern
   Block coefficient (normal/deep): 0.570 / 0.585
   Length to Beam Ratio: 7.50 : 1
   'Natural speed' for length: 17.32 kts
   Power going to wave formation at top speed: 44 %
   Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 45
   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:   30.00 %,  14.00 ft / 4.27 m,  10.00 ft / 3.05 m
      - Forward deck:   30.00 %,  10.00 ft / 3.05 m,  10.00 ft / 3.05 m
      - Aft deck:   15.00 %,  10.00 ft / 3.05 m,  10.00 ft / 3.05 m
      - Quarter deck:   25.00 %,  10.00 ft / 3.05 m,  10.00 ft / 3.05 m
      - Average freeboard:      10.48 ft / 3.19 m
   Ship tends to be wet forward

Ship space, strength and comments:
   Space   - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 73.1 %
      - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 120.4 %
   Waterplane Area: 8,533 Square feet or 793 Square metres
   Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 143 %
   Structure weight / hull surface area: 47 lbs/sq ft or 230 Kg/sq metre
   Hull strength (Relative):
      - Cross-sectional: 0.99
      - Longitudinal: 1.13
      - Overall: 1.00
   Excellent machinery, storage, compartmentation space
   Excellent accommodation and workspace room
   Ship has slow, easy roll, a good, steady gun platform
   Excellent seaboat, comfortable, can fire her guns in the heaviest weather

30t - LR wireless + FC
240t - Increased accommodations and spare
500t - 5,000t of Out-of-port resupply

[Desertfox]

Spy ship, disguised as a schooner. Hidden gun for self-defense can be replaced by twin 14" torpedo tubes.

I really do think we should reconsider allowing petrol engines for certain ship types. For this ship the engine is mostly a backup and at under 600hp similar in size to sub engines of the time period.

Boat #13, Japan Intelligence Gathering laid down 1914

Displacement:
   199 t light; 204 t standard; 214 t normal; 223 t full load

Dimensions: Length (overall / waterline) x beam x draught (normal/deep)
   (151.23 ft / 150.00 ft) x 20.00 ft x (5.00 / 5.15 ft)
   (46.10 m / 45.72 m) x 6.10 m  x (1.52 / 1.57 m)

Armament:
      3 - 2.00" / 50.8 mm 45.0 cal guns - 4.03lbs / 1.83kg shells, 150 per gun
     Quick firing guns in deck mount, 1914 Model
     1 x Triple mount on centreline amidships (forward deck)
      Weight of broadside 12 lbs / 5 kg

Machinery:
   Coal and oil fired boilers, complex reciprocating steam engines,
   Electric motors, 1 shaft, 518 ihp / 386 Kw = 14.00 kts
   Range 1,000nm at 10.00 kts
   Bunker at max displacement = 19 tons (50% coal)

Complement:
   27 - 36

Cost:
   £0.015 million / $0.062 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
   Armament: 2 tons, 1.0 %
      - Guns: 2 tons, 1.0 %
   Machinery: 32 tons, 15.1 %
   Hull, fittings & equipment: 66 tons, 30.8 %
   Fuel, ammunition & stores: 16 tons, 7.3 %
   Miscellaneous weights: 98 tons, 45.7 %
      - Hull below water: 15 tons
      - On freeboard deck: 79 tons
      - Above deck: 4 tons

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
   Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
     433 lbs / 197 Kg = 108.3 x 2.0 " / 51 mm shells or 0.6 torpedoes
   Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.18
   Metacentric height 0.6 ft / 0.2 m
   Roll period: 10.8 seconds
   Steadiness   - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 50 %
         - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.03
   Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.17

Hull form characteristics:
   Hull has a flush deck,
     a normal bow and a cruiser stern
   Block coefficient (normal/deep): 0.500 / 0.504
   Length to Beam Ratio: 7.50 : 1
   'Natural speed' for length: 12.25 kts
   Power going to wave formation at top speed: 49 %
   Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 43
   Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 10.00 degrees
   Stern overhang: 0.00 ft / 0.00 m
   Freeboard (% = length of deck as a percentage of waterline length):
            Fore end,    Aft end
      - Forecastle:   30.00 %,  7.00 ft / 2.13 m,  5.00 ft / 1.52 m
      - Forward deck:   30.00 %,  5.00 ft / 1.52 m,  5.00 ft / 1.52 m
      - Aft deck:   25.00 %,  5.00 ft / 1.52 m,  5.00 ft / 1.52 m
      - Quarter deck:   15.00 %,  5.00 ft / 1.52 m,  5.00 ft / 1.52 m
      - Average freeboard:      5.24 ft / 1.60 m
   Ship tends to be wet forward

Ship space, strength and comments:
   Space   - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 61.0 %
      - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 67.8 %
   Waterplane Area: 1,921 Square feet or 178 Square metres
   Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 127 %
   Structure weight / hull surface area: 24 lbs/sq ft or 117 Kg/sq metre
   Hull strength (Relative):
      - Cross-sectional: 0.97
      - Longitudinal: 1.24
      - Overall: 1.00
   Excellent machinery, storage, compartmentation space
   Cramped accommodation and workspace room

10t - Two-mast schooner sail rigging
25t - LR Wireless
25t - Experimental Radar
20t - Out-of-port resupply
5t - Spy stuff
4t - Camouflage
8t - Electric Motor

[Desertfox]

A fast transport capable of landing troops without port facilities.

Toph Maru, Japan Fast Transport laid down 1913

Displacement:
   400 t light; 411 t standard; 442 t normal; 466 t full load

Dimensions: Length (overall / waterline) x beam x draught (normal/deep)
   (200.00 ft / 200.00 ft) x 27.00 ft x (5.40 / 5.63 ft)
   (60.96 m / 60.96 m) x 8.23 m  x (1.65 / 1.72 m)

Armament:
      3 - 2.00" / 50.8 mm 45.0 cal guns - 4.03lbs / 1.83kg shells, 250 per gun
     Quick firing guns in deck mount, 1913 Model
     1 x Triple mount on centreline, forward deck forward
      Weight of broadside 12 lbs / 5 kg

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

Machinery:
   Oil fired boilers, steam turbines,
   Electric motors, 2 shafts, 1,616 shp / 1,205 Kw = 17.00 kts
   Range 2,500nm at 10.00 kts
   Bunker at max displacement = 55 tons

Complement:
   47 - 62

Cost:
   £0.026 million / $0.103 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
   Armament: 2 tons, 0.5 %
      - Guns: 2 tons, 0.5 %
   Armour: 2 tons, 0.5 %
      - Armament: 2 tons, 0.5 %
   Machinery: 63 tons, 14.3 %
   Hull, fittings & equipment: 157 tons, 35.5 %
   Fuel, ammunition & stores: 41 tons, 9.3 %
   Miscellaneous weights: 176 tons, 39.9 %
      - Hull below water: 16 tons
      - On freeboard deck: 150 tons
      - Above deck: 10 tons

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
   Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
     1,222 lbs / 554 Kg = 305.4 x 2.0 " / 51 mm shells or 1.0 torpedoes
   Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.23
   Metacentric height 1.0 ft / 0.3 m
   Roll period: 11.2 seconds
   Steadiness   - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 50 %
         - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.01
   Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.05

Hull form characteristics:
   Hull has a flush deck,
     a normal bow and a cruiser stern
   Block coefficient (normal/deep): 0.530 / 0.536
   Length to Beam Ratio: 7.41 : 1
   'Natural speed' for length: 14.14 kts
   Power going to wave formation at top speed: 52 %
   Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 48
   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:   30.00 %,  10.00 ft / 3.05 m,  7.00 ft / 2.13 m
      - Forward deck:   30.00 %,  7.00 ft / 2.13 m,  7.00 ft / 2.13 m
      - Aft deck:   25.00 %,  7.00 ft / 2.13 m,  7.00 ft / 2.13 m
      - Quarter deck:   15.00 %,  7.00 ft / 2.13 m,  7.00 ft / 2.13 m
      - Average freeboard:      7.36 ft / 2.24 m
   Ship tends to be wet forward

Ship space, strength and comments:
   Space   - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 53.4 %
      - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 104.9 %
   Waterplane Area: 3,699 Square feet or 344 Square metres
   Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 142 %
   Structure weight / hull surface area: 31 lbs/sq ft or 152 Kg/sq metre
   Hull strength (Relative):
      - Cross-sectional: 0.97
      - Longitudinal: 1.23
      - Overall: 1.00
   Excellent machinery, storage, compartmentation space
   Adequate accommodation and workspace room

10t - Spare
150t - 150 Marines or supplies
16t - Electric Drive

[Desertfox]

Just realized my scouts where 0.2% away from being classified as auxiliaries. Dropped a bit of armor, added some hull strength to get back up to 1.0 (no cruiser tech) and now they are a lot cheaper.

Kaibokan class, Japan Scout laid down 1913

Displacement:
   799 t light; 827 t standard; 944 t normal; 1,037 t full load

Dimensions: Length (overall / waterline) x beam x draught (normal/deep)
   (290.00 ft / 290.00 ft) x 31.00 ft x (7.50 / 8.05 ft)
   (88.39 m / 88.39 m) x 9.45 m  x (2.29 / 2.45 m)

Armament:
      1 - 5.00" / 127 mm 45.0 cal gun - 63.03lbs / 28.59kg shells, 150 per gun
     Quick firing gun in deck mount, 1913 Model
     1 x Single mount on centreline, forward deck centre
      3 - 2.00" / 50.8 mm 45.0 cal guns - 4.03lbs / 1.83kg shells, 150 per gun
     Breech loading guns in deck mount, 1913 Model
     1 x Triple mount on centreline, aft deck centre
      2 - 3.54" / 90.0 mm 20.0 cal guns - 19.94lbs / 9.04kg shells, 150 per gun
     Muzzle loading guns in deck mounts, 1913 Model
     2 x Single mounts on sides, forward deck aft
      Weight of broadside 115 lbs / 52 kg

Armour:
   - Gun armour:   Face (max)   Other gunhouse (avg)   Barbette/hoist (max)
   Main:   0.50" / 13 mm         -               -

   - Conning towers: Forward 0.50" / 13 mm, Aft 0.00" / 0 mm

Machinery:
   Oil fired boilers, steam turbines,
   Direct drive, 2 shafts, 8,347 shp / 6,227 Kw = 24.00 kts
   Range 2,900nm at 14.00 kts
   Bunker at max displacement = 210 tons

Complement:
   84 - 110

Cost:
   £0.085 million / $0.342 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
   Armament: 16 tons, 1.7 %
      - Guns: 16 tons, 1.7 %
   Armour: 2 tons, 0.2 %
      - Armament: 1 tons, 0.1 %
      - Conning Tower: 1 tons, 0.1 %
   Machinery: 327 tons, 34.7 %
   Hull, fittings & equipment: 382 tons, 40.5 %
   Fuel, ammunition & stores: 145 tons, 15.4 %
   Miscellaneous weights: 72 tons, 7.6 %
      - Hull below water: 10 tons
      - On freeboard deck: 35 tons
      - Above deck: 27 tons

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
   Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
     1,003 lbs / 455 Kg = 16.0 x 5.0 " / 127 mm shells or 0.5 torpedoes
   Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.15
   Metacentric height 1.1 ft / 0.3 m
   Roll period: 12.3 seconds
   Steadiness   - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 70 %
         - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.12
   Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.02

Hull form characteristics:
   Hull has a flush deck,
     a normal bow and a cruiser stern
   Block coefficient (normal/deep): 0.490 / 0.502
   Length to Beam Ratio: 9.35 : 1
   'Natural speed' for length: 17.03 kts
   Power going to wave formation at top speed: 58 %
   Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 69
   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:   40.00 %,  15.00 ft / 4.57 m,  10.00 ft / 3.05 m
      - Forward deck:   30.00 %,  10.00 ft / 3.05 m,  10.00 ft / 3.05 m
      - Aft deck:   15.00 %,  10.00 ft / 3.05 m,  10.00 ft / 3.05 m
      - Quarter deck:   15.00 %,  10.00 ft / 3.05 m,  10.00 ft / 3.05 m
      - Average freeboard:      10.80 ft / 3.29 m
   Ship tends to be wet forward

Ship space, strength and comments:
   Space   - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 118.8 %
      - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 134.6 %
   Waterplane Area: 5,936 Square feet or 551 Square metres
   Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 122 %
   Structure weight / hull surface area: 43 lbs/sq ft or 208 Kg/sq metre
   Hull strength (Relative):
      - Cross-sectional: 0.96
      - Longitudinal: 1.47
      - Overall: 1.00
   Cramped machinery, storage, compartmentation space
   Excellent accommodation and workspace room
   Ship has slow, easy roll, a good, steady gun platform

27t - 1908 FC & Experimental Radar
25t - LR Wireless
20t - Observation Balloon Equipment

[snip]

Im going to ask for a judgement under the last provision of the Aux rules, as this feels like a cheep warship to me.

Mercantile Standards/Auxiliaries

A ship in government service may be built to mercantile standards if armament and armor take up no more than 2% of the ship's weight at normal displacement.  Such ships could include colliers, transports, survey ships, and others.

In this case, the cash and BP cost of construction is quartered.  This also pertains to upkeep, future repair, refit, and scrapping of the vessel.  The time required to build, refit, repair, or scrap the ship remains unchanged, however.

Moderators have may require a ship to be built to normal military standards if they believe that the intent of a design is to produce a cheap warship.

[Desertfox]

Its not a warship at all, guns are only for self-defense, and the 90mm ones are signal rocket launchers, not actually for use against other ships. Its primary role is to be an observation balloon platform.

[snip]

I feel that the addition of Fire Control and the balloon push this over the 2% weight limit for armament.

[Desertfox]

I can see the point about the FC, which can be easily remedied by dumping the armor, but the balloon is unarmed and unpowered, it's more "extra boats" than armament.

[Desertfox]

Next batch of destroyers, designed primarily to hunt down and sink other destroyers. Drops a pair of torpedo tubes from the Sakuras, but adds another 5" gun, four 2" gatlings, fire control, and a significant boost in range.

Izokaze class, Japan Destroyer laid down 1914

Displacement:
   750 t light; 794 t standard; 892 t normal; 970 t full load

Dimensions: Length (overall / waterline) x beam x draught (normal/deep)
   (303.00 ft / 300.00 ft) x 29.00 ft x (9.20 / 9.72 ft)
   (92.35 m / 91.44 m) x 8.84 m  x (2.80 / 2.96 m)

Armament:
      4 - 5.00" / 127 mm 45.0 cal guns - 63.03lbs / 28.59kg shells, 150 per gun
     Quick firing guns in deck mounts, 1914 Model
     4 x Single mounts on centreline, evenly spread
      1 raised mount
      12 - 2.00" / 50.8 mm 45.0 cal guns - 4.03lbs / 1.83kg shells, 170 per gun
     Quick firing guns in deck mounts, 1914 Model
     4 x Triple mounts on sides, evenly spread
      Weight of broadside 301 lbs / 136 kg

Armour:
   - Gun armour:   Face (max)   Other gunhouse (avg)   Barbette/hoist (max)
   Main:   0.50" / 13 mm         -               -

   - Conning towers: Forward 0.50" / 13 mm, Aft 0.00" / 0 mm

Machinery:
   Oil fired boilers, steam turbines,
   Direct drive, 2 shafts, 18,682 shp / 13,936 Kw = 30.10 kts
   Range 2,700nm at 14.00 kts
   Bunker at max displacement = 177 tons

Complement:
   81 - 106

Cost:
   £0.131 million / $0.525 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
   Armament: 52 tons, 5.9 %
      - Guns: 52 tons, 5.9 %
   Armour: 6 tons, 0.7 %
      - Armament: 5 tons, 0.6 %
      - Conning Tower: 1 tons, 0.1 %
   Machinery: 445 tons, 49.9 %
   Hull, fittings & equipment: 230 tons, 25.8 %
   Fuel, ammunition & stores: 142 tons, 15.9 %
   Miscellaneous weights: 17 tons, 1.9 %
      - On freeboard deck: 17 tons

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
   Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
     234 lbs / 106 Kg = 3.7 x 5.0 " / 127 mm shells or 0.2 torpedoes
   Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.23
   Metacentric height 1.1 ft / 0.3 m
   Roll period: 11.4 seconds
   Steadiness   - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 70 %
         - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.44
   Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.00

Hull form characteristics:
   Hull has raised forecastle,
     a normal bow and a cruiser stern
   Block coefficient (normal/deep): 0.390 / 0.402
   Length to Beam Ratio: 10.34 : 1
   'Natural speed' for length: 17.32 kts
   Power going to wave formation at top speed: 64 %
   Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 70
   Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 10.00 degrees
   Stern overhang: 0.00 ft / 0.00 m
   Freeboard (% = length of deck as a percentage of waterline length):
            Fore end,    Aft end
      - Forecastle:   23.00 %,  17.00 ft / 5.18 m,  17.00 ft / 5.18 m
      - Forward deck:   30.00 %,  10.00 ft / 3.05 m,  10.00 ft / 3.05 m
      - Aft deck:   32.00 %,  10.00 ft / 3.05 m,  10.00 ft / 3.05 m
      - Quarter deck:   15.00 %,  10.00 ft / 3.05 m,  10.00 ft / 3.05 m
      - Average freeboard:      11.61 ft / 3.54 m
   Ship tends to be wet forward

Ship space, strength and comments:
   Space   - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 177.7 %
      - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 124.7 %
   Waterplane Area: 5,319 Square feet or 494 Square metres
   Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 56 %
   Structure weight / hull surface area: 27 lbs/sq ft or 133 Kg/sq metre
   Hull strength (Relative):
      - Cross-sectional: 0.50
      - Longitudinal: 1.43
      - Overall: 0.55
   Cramped machinery, storage, compartmentation space
   Excellent accommodation and workspace room
   Ship has slow, easy roll, a good, steady gun platform

5t - 1908 FC
12t - 6 x 18" Torpedoes

[Desertfox]

Just drawings of the two Jingei class tenders.

[Kaiser Kirk]

Im going to ask for a judgement under the last provision of the Aux rules, as this feels like a cheep warship to me.

A) I don't always have time to look over ship threads, so if folks want me to actually chime in, please PM.

B) I presume referring to this is referring to the above

Just realized my scouts where 0.2% away from being classified as auxiliaries. Dropped a bit of armor, added some hull strength to get back up to 1.0 (no cruiser tech) and now they are a lot cheaper.

Kaibokan class, Japan Scout laid down 1913

it's 24knots, multiple guns, and originally redesigned from a scout.
The misc weight isn't some amorphous "cargo" , "fleet support", "net tending gear" ,
but keyed to replace warships.

Even without Foxy's own words, which classifies it's primary role as a scout- a military role-  it's not a clear auxiliary.

So no, no mercantile here.

C) I'll say up front - a design ruled non mercantile can not be redeemed by small changes. intent of a design is to produce a cheap warship has been established.

C) as a side note, I decided quite some time ago, if a vessel isn't properly paid for, then it will have at best only the effect for which funds have been expended. So 1 of these would wind up being equal to 1/4..or maybe 1/6 of a very small craft on scout. I'd probably just roll a d4 or d6 to see if it "worked" that time.   So if these 'slip through the cracks' of review, it not to the nation's advantage. 

[Desertfox]

C) I'll say up front - a design ruled non mercantile can not be redeemed by small changes. intent of a design is to produce a cheap warship has been established.

I have a serious issue with this. The whole point of posting ships here is so problems and issues can be identified and corrected. Whats the point then if a design can not be fixed? If I make a troop transport with say 2.1% of tonnage in armament, I can no longer go back and fix it? Have to go back and design a new one from scratch?

Even without Foxy's own words, which classifies it's primary role as a scout- a military role-  it's not a clear auxiliary.

Technically speaking don't all auxiliaries have "military roles"? Dispatch boats, infantry landing ships, armed merchant cruisers, tenders, minesweepers, those are all military roles. Where do we draw the line? Heck plenty of dedicated military ships have been built or converted from merchants, the early escort carriers, Q ships, and entire classes of destroyer escorts. Plenty of clear auxiliaries such as troop transports and even merchants where also heavily armed for self-defense (ie MACs).

There are clear examples of mercantile "radar pickets", that is an auxiliary role:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guardian-class_radar_picket_ship
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_night_fighter_direction_vessel_Togo

This design is basically a picket ship, if the combination of speed and armament is too much, that can be easily modified, but it falls under the rules and is a class of ship that was in use as auxiliaries in OTL. It shouldn't be penalized for being a creative solution to a real problem. I do want to point out that the base ship was the Uji class which is an auxiliary under the current rules.

[TacCovert4]

Reading all of the posts related to this ship in question, my opinion is the following:

1)  Per the strictest interpretation of the rules, yes, the ship is legal as an auxiliary.

2)  Per the name of the ship, a "Scout", this sounds like a 'hip pocket warship' as is laid out in the auxiliary rules as something that can be invalidated.

I agree that the rules have a purpose.  While things like AMCs are legal, it would be perfectly possible for me to make full-up cruisers with circumnavigation capability that could easily fall under 'auxiliary' when in fact the only auxiliary purpose is literally their manufacture.

Now, for this particular ship, and this one only, I have some concerns with the implications of the name.  The 'scout' role in ship terminology tends to be an indication that it's a 'scout cruiser'.  And a 24kt ship would possibly fall within a cruiser, though in 1913 it's a bit slow for it.  Then I look at the armament:

1 - 5.00" / 127 mm 45.0 cal gun - 63.03lbs / 28.59kg shells, 150 per gun
     Quick firing gun in deck mount, 1913 Model
     1 x Single mount on centreline, forward deck centre
      3 - 2.00" / 50.8 mm 45.0 cal guns - 4.03lbs / 1.83kg shells, 150 per gun
     Breech loading guns in deck mount, 1913 Model
     1 x Triple mount on centreline, aft deck centre
      2 - 3.54" / 90.0 mm 20.0 cal guns - 19.94lbs / 9.04kg shells, 150 per gun
     Muzzle loading guns in deck mounts, 1913 Model
     2 x Single mounts on sides, forward deck aft
      Weight of broadside 115 lbs / 52 kg

This armament would be hard pressed to fend off one of my 500t Destroyers, much less anything that would fall within the cruiser range or a 'modern' destroyer.  It's almost like a Flower-class corvette on a slightly larger scale, which is a ship historically built to commercial standards.

I might propose then that it is principally the implications of the title of the ship that are more problematic than the ship itself.  This is where I would ask more for clarification.

Is this ship a fleet scouting element, which it could do, albeit rather poorly, given it's top speed of 24kts?  Or is this ship a picket boat meant to be able to transit a seaway?

If the former, then I must heartily agree with Snip that this ship would be a warship. 

If the latter, then I might concede to Kirk's discretion that this ship is an auxiliary, though I would note to Foxy that a picket boat of this size built to commercial rather than military standards is apt to suffer far more greatly to shellfire than a ship of it's size built to military standards due to the reduced scantlings and compartmentalization that comes with a commercial vessel.  I certainly would not like it's chances against even a single well-handled destroyer of any size, or several Type-A TBs with 7cm guns. 

[Kaiser Kirk]

Several things
A) there is difference between a design being ruled non-mercantile, and a design being mercantile but out of compliance. A tender with 2.1% armament could be mercantile, but out of compliance.

B) Yes, the reason we're specifying certain auxiliaries is because we expect them to have some military purpose.
However the mercantile allowance is specifically not automatic.  Ships in compliance with the 2% rule can specifically be found to not qualify.  That is clearly built into that rule.

This may also be a case of debating words. I seem to be using Military as

C) A sharp fine hull, cramped machinery, faster speed than a big chunk of the warships, these are not promising indicators of non-warship. It "looks" alot like a Escort.

D) while a matter of what fits under 2% displacement, the armament is fairly robust. Alone that would be ok.

E) I really hadn't considered if FC should fit under weapons/armor, but the rule specifies

if armament and armor

, and I think I will keep to that specification. In this case the weight of the fire control is a typo.

F) I should note the question here is not if such vessels were historically built to mercantile standards. Many Destroyer Escorts and Escort carriers were built to mercantile standards historically. However the Mercantile rule in N7 was worded in a way that would not allow them.  If something is a warship, expect to pay full price.

G) Had the ship been termed a 'Picket' ship , then C & D probably but not guaranteed to have been sufficiently warlike to suggest a smaller slower vessel would more appropriate. If it looks like a DE and floats like a DE...

H) In this case I was indeed biased some by the stated design evolution and class name.  Scouting is a military role.  This is not an auxiliary.

I) As for the Uiji class exploration, I believe I discussed those with you a bit before allowing them. We placed them just "in bounds".


I) Since the original post, I have also had musings regarding the balloon. 
Is military observation an auxiliary role? 

Then there's a slippery slope.
Also, what's the harm of a 10t Balloon?
What about a follow on vessel with a seaplane.
Or two?...or twelve?

But they are unarmed !
oh, but we want to strap a MG on them- it's only 15lbs, and go shoot at subs..

So is a seaplane carrier an auxiliary?
Could we then convert the seaplane carrier to a regular carrier ala Langley?

The primary goal of carriers was reconnaissance and spotting for the fleet.  Is that Aux?
The scout planes became replaced with ones with a combat role, same carrier....but now not Aux?

It's quite a can of worms.

I think an unarmed balloon tethered to a nice fat slow ship is probably fine
I think a seaplane is a weapon and has to fit under the 2%.