Shipbucket

Welcome to the Embiggened Cruiser Challenge! Inspired by the Alaska class and other 'super cruiser' designs of the late 1930s and early 1940s, your task is to draw a large cruiser conforming to the requirements outlined. If you have an idea for a future challenge, remember to share it in the Future Challenge Ideas/Suggestions thread. Don't be afraid to share an idea which has been suggested by someone else. It shows that multiple people are interested in that topic.

Design Requirements

1. Your submission must depict a fictional cruiser.
2. The calibre of its main battery should be between 9 and 13 inches (229 and 330 mm).
3. Standard displacement of the cruiser must be between 20,000 and 32,500 long tons (20,321 and 33,022 tonnes).
4. The lead ship of the cruiser's class should be laid down between 1935 and 1945.

Challenge Rules

1. Each participant may submit a single image.
2. The image should be a Shipbucket template modified to include the participant’s art and, optionally, one of the following: ship badge, unit insignia, manufacturer logo, national flag, or naval ensign. Other elements, including data sheets and scenic elements, are not permitted. If you have specifications and blocks of text, please include them as text in your post and not in the image itself.
3. One side-view of the participant's ship must be included. One top-view is also permitted, but not required. All other views are prohibited.
4. If two views are included, they must depict the same individual ship in the same paint scheme, markings, and configuration.
5. All art must be in Shipbucket scale and conform to the Shipbucket style guidelines.
6. A textual description accompanying each submission is permitted, but not necessary.
7. Non-serious entries, or entries substantially deviate from the challenge requirements, are not allowed.
8. Off-topic posts will be reported to the relevant authorities.

This challenge will run until Sunday 6 October 2024, ending at 23:59 UTC-12 (International Date Line West).
A countdown timer can be found at this link.

A poll will be held after this date to select a winner. When it opens, please provide honest and meaningful scores for each entry. Responses which grant maximum scores to a select group of entries, and minimum scores to all other entries, will be deleted. Members of the community who manipulate the results in such a fashion may also be subject to a permanent ban. Scores will be allocated in two categories, each with a scale of 1 to 10:

• Drawing Quality - The overall quality of the drawing. One might consider detailing, shading, and accuracy.
• Design Quality -The quality of the design presented, irrespective of drawing quality. One could consider feasibility, practicality, and realism.

Duca di Tolone-class Cruiser "Osvaldo Paladini, Duca di Tolone"



Due to a perceived disadvantage within the Regia Marina prior to Italy's entry into WWII, four "large cruisers" (Grande Incrociatori) were authorised by the Royal Naval Decree of early 1943 in order to provide a series of ships that would act as large surface combatants and escorts of the recently completed Vittorio Veneto-class battleships. With speed as the main focus for this class, they were armed with four triple turrets housing 12" guns but at a cost of having armour equivalent to a heavy cruiser. However, despite this sacrifice in armour, the ships were able to weigh only ~26000 tons and have remarkable speed for their size - a maximum of 33 knots. As they were primarily built to operate in the Mediterranean in order to protect Italian and Austro-Hungarian assets from French and British forces, ships in the class were named after famous admirals during the First World War with the lead ship being named after Admiral Osvaldo Paladini who led a successful operation to crush the French Navy off the coast of Toulon and effectively end the war on the seas for the Marine nationale.

During WWII, Duca di Tolone primarily operated within the Mediterranean as designed but was present for the Battle of Casablanca in 1945 which saw the United States Navy defeat a joint Commonwealth (of the Commonwealth of Great Britain)-French task force; Duca di Tolone would assist USS South Dakota in sinking the Birtish flagship CMS Cromwell. Following the war's conclusion in 1946, the ship would be chosen for continued service and eventually a refit into a missile cruiser (Grande Incrociatore Lanciamissili) which was complete in 1960. An important aspect of this refit was the installation of 4 ballistic missile launchers just aft of the second funnel, armed with 4 "Alfa" missiles that were able to deliver 3 nuclear warheads rated at 300 kilotons each. She would quickly see action, as the Southeast Asian Crisis began later that year with Imperial Japanese forces supporting rebels in German holdings in order to expand their "Prosperity Sphere." Duca di Tolone was assigned as the Italian fleet's flagship in the region, and would be successful in sinking the Japanese heavy cruiser Takao after the latter opened fire. She would also be able to test her new missile systems, scoring two kills, however her nuclear missiles were not loaded at the time.

Eventually, Duca di Tolone would see the end of her service in 2000 after multiple refits. She would remain in reserve until 2006, when she was preserved at La Spezia as a museum ship.

Stats:

Length: 239 m
Beam: 28 m
Draft: 9.5 m
Displacement: ~26000 tons
Max speed: 33 knots

Armament:

4x Triple 12" mounts
6x Twin 135mm dual-purpose mounts
4x OTO 76 SMP-3
4x Twin arm MTA-58 "Astato" missile launchers
4x "Alfa" ballistic missiles
1x SIAI SV.392 anti-submarine helicopter drone

_________________

The Regioni class started out as a design originally inteded for export, most likely candidate being the USSR, but they chose to go their own way with the Kronshtadt class battlecruiser. While the Italian design in most ways could be considered a battlecruiser, they were called cruisers so as not to alarm the British and French to their true nature as not only cruiser-killers, but also potentially oceanic raiders, not only fast enough to overtake most cruisers (at least in rougher seas,) but also fast enough to out-run the battlecruisers and fast battleships of noth the Royal Navy and the Marine Nationale. In many ways they could be compared to the German duo Scharnhorst and Gneisenau (more specifically the 11" guns originally designed for export designs mirroring the Deutschland class.)

The ships displaced 25000t standard, and 27000t full. The oa length is 237,5m, a width of 28,1m and a draft of 8m at normal load.
The armored belt was 7" thick, and covered almost all spaces between turrets 1 and 3. Most of the remaining waterline was protected by a 2" thick strip of armor (mostly for protection against splinter damage from near missed from either shells or bombs.) The deck was protected by 3" of armor. The turrets had barbettes of 7", faces of 7", sides of 5" with the rear and top of 3" of armor. The 120mm mounts had 5" of armor on the front, and 2" on the sides and rear. The conning tower was protected by 7" of all-round armor.
The ship had 8 boilers and 4 geared turbines producing a total of 206k shp driving 4 shafts for a top speed of 35kts. At 12kts the ship had a range of 10k nm.

Main armament consists of 9x11"/50 guns in three triple turrets, two fore and one aft.
The secondary armament consists of 12x4,7"/50 DP guns in stabilized single mountings. The mountings themselves were of similar design to the 90mm gun used on the Littorio and rebuild Andrea Doria classes, and boasted great ballistic performance and had the added bonus of being large enough to fire effective star-shell ammunition (Though the casings needed reduced propellant capacity so as to not damage the rather fragile star-shells.)
The medium AA battery consists of 10x65mm guns in shielded single mounts. The 65mm gun was developed as a replacement for the 37mm guns, whose twin and quad mountings were considered less than ideal by the Regia Marina due to excessive vibrations caused by the fixed barrels and gas-operation. In addition they had low ammo-capacity in their magazines and were considered to have insufficient range and stopping power. The light AA concists of 36x20mm guns in 18 twin mounts. Generally seen quite favourably by both sides of WW2, the gun was often likened to the German 20mm gun and the Oerlikon 20mm gun for its effectiveness.
A pair of triple torpedo-launchers were to be included, but due to shifting priorities and the changing nature of naval warfare meant that they were no longer considered important, and thus not included (with the added bonus of lessened weight, and reduced fire/detonation chances.)
The Campania had an internal hangar with space for 2 Ro.43 floatplanes with optional space for two more to be stored outside on raised pedestals. Due to trauma from British aviation, the Campania (like the Littorios) would carry between 1 or 2 Re.2001 fighters in place for the same number of spotter planes for self-defense against air-attack.
Due to the late completion the ship was outfitted with the standard EC-3 ter "Gufo" radar and a pair of experimental EC-5 fire-control radars mounted to the fore and aftermost directors.

She entered service in the summer of 1943, and had completed her trials and breaking-in before the Regia Marina sailed for Malta, and later Alexandria for internment, where she along with the two remaining Littorios were considered for use by the Allies in the Pacific as escorts for the fast carrier groups, but this was ultimately rejected. The ship remained in Alexandria for the duration of the war, where she would await an uncertain fate, yet to be determined.

Finished construction in 1937 in batch of four, name sake of the four immortals of the state religion.
Aswathama, Jambavan, Parasurama, Mahabali. Launched in January 1937, November 1937,
September 1938, January1939 respectively.
Aswathama sunk in late June 1944, Jambavan sunk in early January 1945, Parasurama sunk in late
February 1945, Mahabali scrapped late June 1972.
All ship names will be transferred to cruisers of the Kalachakran navy with Aswathama being given to
the new Aswathama class air defense cruiser 2024.

Specifications:
33k tons full load.
32kn top speed.
9x12 inch guns in three triple turrets.
16x5.25 inch DP guns in 8 dual turrets in super firing pairs.
11x1.5 inch pompoms quad mounts .
14x3.5 inch single flak mounts.

"I WALK TILL THE END , I FIGHT TILL THE END"
Motto of KS Aswathama.

Participating in the challenge for the first time

Beautiful work, guys! Voting is going to be really difficult this time around!

_________________

MS State Guard - 08 March 2014 - 28 January 2023

The Official IJN Ships & Planes List

#FJB

Arethusa-Class Heavy Cruiser

The Arethusa-class of heavy cruisers is a trio of warships and was originally intended by the then Commonwealth of Freesia's answer to Japan's growing imperial expansion and ambition in the far east. And as well as Italy's naval expansion in the Mediterranean. As well as Germany's Deutschland-class. This vessel was to be put into service by the then Royal Freesian Navy and as part of Britain's Commonwealth Navy, with the class of three ships to be built out of the commonwealth's own money and shipyards as this was popular with nationalist politicians and a portion of the population, citing that using nothing but hand me down British warships for the RFN is not good enough.


The class itself was first planned by the Department of Ships and Naval Construction in the Commonwealth's wing of the Ministry for War in 1931 and proceeded at a steady pace in the years between. However as war clouds loomed over Europe by the mid 1930's, construction for the lead ship was prioritized with Arethusa being laid down in 1936, and her sister Gannett being laid down in 1937 and with most military planners anticipating war by 1941. However by 1939 it all came crashing down as the Germans invaded Poland, and as then the commonwealth in support of Britain's stance has unilaterally entered the conflict on the side of the allied powers.

Construction for Arethusa herself was ordered to be halted as the navy has prioritized construction of smaller warships such as licensed variations of the J-K-N class destroyers, Flower class corvettes, and Sloops to counter the U-Boats in the Atlantic. However by 1942, as the situation in the far east deteriorates and the war in the Atlantic seemingly worsening, even if the Americans have joined the conflict on the side of the allies, construction for Arethusa was resumed at a slow pace as the Navy has still remained its priority to construct small escort warships and merchant vessels for the commonwealth's merchant navy.

However by 1944, Arethusa's construction would finally end after 8 years of slow work, it was originally intended for her to be equipped with an all British set up, however due to wartime restrictions and the priority of British vessels in British shipyards. Components for Arethusa was lacking, however it was pitched by Rear Admiral Andrews that the Arethusa class use American components, such as secondary guns, anti-aircraft guns, and secondary fire control systems.

As such after launch and a small christening ceremony in May 10, 1944. Arethusa's incomplete hull. With only her main guns and machinery and a few 40mm anti aircraft guns installed would make way to New York, in the United States at best speed. Along with her two escorting destroyers, by mid 1944. Work was now finished and Arethusa would make her way back to the Freesian mainland.

However at this time, the Battle of the Atlantic was slowly but surely being won by the allies. Thus it was decided after orders from the British admiralty that she was to be sent to the Mediterranean fleet, and would later on be attached to the navy force to support the American landings in Southern France in Operation Dragoon.

By early 1945, with the European front of naval conflicts being confined to the Atlantic in anti-submarine warfare. And the Regia Marina at this point mostly neutralized in one way or another, Arethusa was transferred to the British Pacific Fleet to fight the Japanese. However at this point the Imperial Japanese Navy was pretty much a shattered shell of its former self, with most of its resources concentrated in fighting the Americans in the east. As such, Arethusa has spent most of her time in the BPF in screening duties or to act as a sea going artillery platform, supporting commonwealth troops in landings. However a considerable Japanese surface presence in the shape of the heavy cruiser Haguro in Singapore has opted local commanders to retain Arethusa's presence near the area.

As the war in the Pacific came to a close, Arethusa was sent back to the Freesian mainland for a much needed refit and overhaul, her bouncy service has definitely worn her machinery to some degree, plus with the war over. The need for Arethusa's presence in the far east was not needed. It is to be noted that by this time, her sister Gannett has just finished construction, following in her the older sister's fashion, Gannett herself is also using a lot of American components, while the third sister. Named Dryad was already laid down and construction starting.

Arethusa and Gannett would continue on serving in the immediate post war years, supporting British intervention in the Greek civil war in 1949. However after the country's Unilateral Declaration of Independence from Britain in the same year, the two vessels were withdrawn from the area. However later on in 1950, the young nation keen to prove itself in the world stage would send the two ships to contribute as much to the allied naval force in the Korean war as part of the UN response to North Korea's invasion of South Korea, with the two vessels being used to screen American capital warships or bombarding North Korean coastal positions, where one case Gannett dueled a North Korean coastal artillery battery for an hour. Though the ship has received superficial damage from near misses, this forced Gannett to retire from her station and is replaced by Arethusa.

Much of the cold war the two vessels were active, but that was until 1961 when Arethusa and Gannett were put into reserve as the current ruling administration has ruled that the two vessels are becoming quite the headache to maintain, this is in respect that the Navy was also trying to modernize its fleet, while also operating two aircraft carriers. And the country's secret strategic weapons program which was already costing the government far too much money.

What of the unfinished last sister, Dryad? She was finished in 1959, however it was decided that Dryad is not to be fully completed as a gun cruiser, with the Navy opting for her to be able to meet the navy's plan for new threats, jet aircraft and missile weaponry. As such Dryad was slated to be converted to a single end missile conversion, taking after the American rebuilds of the Boston-class and the Galveston-class. With Dryad being equipped with originally two aft mounted missile launchers for RIM-8 Talos, however due to the cost of acquiring Talos, it was decided that she is to be instead equipped with a single RIM-2 Terrier launcher facing aft. After the conversion, Dryad was commissioned into the Freesian Navy in 1962. Just in time for the Cuban missile crisis.

Dryad would be more active with the fleet along with the missile conversions of the trio R-class light cruisers. Resolution and Revenge. With Redoubt being converted to an Anti-Submarine Warfare cruiser. During the 1980's the country would bring back Gannett and Arethusa back into active service due to evolving threats, and to keep up with the country's expanding navy under the NDP after the previous left-leaning government was defeated in the 1979 National Elections, with the NDP being fervent conservatives and anti-communist, one of their platforms is to expand the Navy, and open new job slots on the country's existing shipbuilding industry to expand it with a slew of modernizations, and new construction projects.

However what would set Arethusa and Gannett apart is that both ships would not receive much in the way of modernization like Dryad or the two R-class cruisers. Instead the two vessels would receive new electronics, electronic countermeasure, and a bit of new weaponry like the Phalanx Close In Weapons System, and the Mk. 141 Harpoon Anti-Shipping Missile launchers.

At the height of the tanker war between Iraq and Iran, the three vessels of this class was attached to the international fleet in the middle east to assert the country's right to trade with its middle eastern partners as at the time, the Iranians were trying to assert control on the strait of Hormuz. Where all three vessels would spend their time escorting merchants across the gauntlet of contested waters. By 1991 and during the Persia Gulf War, Gannett would conduct shore bombardment alongside the U.S battleship Missouri of Iraqi targets in Kuwait. Meanwhile Arethusa and Dryad are held back in escort duty.

All three ships would continue to serve the Freesian Navy until 1992 when all three were finally stood down, decommissioned, and finally the older two struck from the Navy's Vessel Register. Dryad was kept in an inactive state as to act as a training vessel, and wouldn't be fully decommissioned until 2008, what of Arethusa and Gannett? Arethusa was sent to the breakers in 1997 and is subsequently scrapped, however the good thing is that Gannett was saved by a Non-for profit organization and is turned into a floating museum in Southwestern Arlesfield at the waterfront of the city of Avondelle.



Ship Specifications:
Displacement:
› 15,935 t at light load; 17,341 t at standard load; 20,000 t at normal load; and 22,127 t at full load

Dimensions:
› Length (Overall): 677 feet
› Beam: 82 feet
› Draught: 20 feet and 6 inches

Endurance and Speed:
› Top Speed: 30 Knots
› 4 x Oil fired boilers powering 4 geared steam turbines; driving 4 shafts generating 87,948 ship horsepower
› Range: 15,000 Nautical Miles at 15 knots

Armor:
› Belt: 234mm at its thickest point, ends at 127mm
› Torpedo Bulkheads: 127mm at its thickest for the main torpedo bulkhead
› Guns: Face; 234mm: Gun house; 104mm; Barbette: 165mm
› Armored deck (Single deck): Fore and Aft decks: 102mm; Forecastle deck: 76mm
› Conning tower: 165mm

Complement: 840-1,093 Navy Personnel
Cost: $40.567 Million

Armaments: (Bow to Stern)

› 1980 Refit:
- 9 x BL 9.2-Inch (234mm)/50 caliber Mk. XII main guns
- 12 x 5-Inch (127mm)/38 caliber Mk. 32 mod 0 Secondary guns
- 2 x 20mm Phalanx Close In Weapon Systems Block 0
- 16 x Mk. 141 Harpoon Anti-Ship Missile launchers

Electronics and processing systems: (Bow to Stern)

› 1980 Refit:
- Forward Main battery range finder, British cruiser gun director
- Forward Secondary battery range finder, U.S Mk. 37 Director
- WSC-3 SatCom
- AN/SPS-10 C-Band Surface Search radar
- AN/SPS-55 I-Band Surface Search radar
- Aft Secondary battery range finder, U.S Mk. 37 Director
- AN/SPS-48 3D Air Search Radar
- Aft Main battery range finder, British cruiser gun director

Electronic Warfare suite: (Bow to Stern)
- AN/SLQ-32 (V) 2
- 4 x Mk. 36 SRBOC

Miscellaneous:
- After helicopter flight deck to receive SH-60 during at sea replenishment.

Ships In Class:
FS Arethusa (CA-4)
FS Gannett (CA-5)
FS Dryad (CAG-6)

PS: This is my first time participating in a challenge

_________________
How could I be responsible for something at work, when I was at home asleep?

Sindoro class battlecruisers:

In class: (3) Sindoro, Sumbing, Sorikmarapi, Van Oranje (built for Royal Netherlands Navy)
Built: 1939-1943
In commission: 1942-1946; Van Oranje 1944-1980 (w/RNN)
Displacement: 27,000 tonnes standard, 30,120 tonnes full load
Dimensions: Length 241.2m, beam 30.9m, draft 8.5m
Propulsion: 4-shaft geared turbines; 18 oil-fired boilers; 167,200shp
Performance: 33 knots; 12,000 nautical miles range
Armor: 200mm belt; 100mm deck; 320mm turret; 300mm barbette; 260mm conning tower
Armament: 9 x 305mm (3 x 3); 12 x 114mm (6 x 2); 24 x 28mm (6 x 4)
Crew: 1,300

Cheers!
Stealthjester

Buyskes class super-cruiser


Developed for the Dutch navy in the early 1930s, to act as a flagship for their forces in the far east. Due to budget cuts, only the hull was built by the time of the german invasion- but a daring plan involving three tugboats got the hull, and a good many dutch, to England. From there, she was re-designed as a super-cruiser to assist with the british in commerce protection, while remaining under Dutch command.

She is armed with 3x twin 12 inch guns, 2x twin 5.25 inch guns for AA protection, 4x twin 40 mm bofors, 6x 20 mm oerlikons, and two triple torpedo tubes. She also carries 3 floatplanes.

She was completed in time to join the pacific war, helping bombard targets off Burma, and join the US island hopping campaign with gunfire support, on top of a bombardment of various occupied Dutch ports in 1944. She served in this form until a 1952 refit.

Dahuang-Class Battlecruiser


YRN Dahuang (BC-39) after wartime modification, May 1945


In the mid-1930s, in response to the threat posed by "pocket battleships," the YRN (Navy of Yan Republic) deemed it essential to develop a specialized embiggened cruiser. At the time, the naval treaties were still in effect, the modernization of the outdated World War I-era battlecruisers remained incomplete, and the limited number of high-speed treaty battleships was insufficient to counter the potent threat that pocket battleships posed to maritime supply lines. Moreover, the YRN was keen on leveraging the capabilities of this new vessel to disrupt enemy shipping lanes. The overall design specifications for the battlecruiser were as follows:

• Armor capable of withstanding the primary armament of pocket battleships.

• A top speed of 33 knots, adequate for pursuing treaty cruisers.

• Main armament featuring the 305mm main gun caliber from older battlecruisers.

• Extended range, ensuring over 12,000 nautical miles at cruising speed.

• Construction should not require graving docks over 220 meters designated for battleships and aircraft carriers.

In terms of design, the power unit of this class features 12 boilers with steam turbines, 138,000 horsepower in total, along with a unique tiered secondary gun arrangement (155mm and 105mm), which is relatively uncommon in YRN warship designs. Due to the length limitation of graving docks, the bow section was installed after the completion of the main hull during the construction process.
The de facto invalidation of the naval treaties enabled the construction of this class of battlecruisers to proceed. The navy secured the budget to build two such vessels, naming them Dahuang (大荒) — an important agricultural city — and Pingye (平野), its sister city.

The keel of the lead ship, YRN Dahuang, was laid down in Jan 1938, and launched in Nov 1939. The onset of war expedited the construction process, which also led to the construction plans for subsequent ships being redirected towards the construction of the 4 new high-speed battleships. YRN Dahuang was commissioned into service in Feb 1941. Thereafter, YRN Dahuang participated in numerous combat operations during World War II, primarily providing escort for aircraft carriers and offering artillery support for land operations. Her sister ship, YRN Pingye, engaged in a series of naval battles around the Pancaro Islands, where she demonstrated overwhelming superiority over treaty cruisers during night engagements. Despite their extensive service, however, neither of the two Dahuang-class battlecruisers ever encountered their anticipated adversaries — the pocket battleships — in actual combat. Both ships were decommissioned in 1953 and 1954, respectively, and were subsequently broken up in the 1960s.


Specifications (YRN Dahuang in 1945), evaluated by SpringSharp:

Displacement: 21,765 tons (standard); 26,473 tons (full load)
Dimensions: length 215.0 m; beam 24.7 m; draught 8.3 m
Propulsion: 4-shaft steam turbines, double-reduction gearing, 12 boilers with 138,000 horsepower
Speed: 33.10 knots maximum
Endurance: 14,000 nmi at 14 knots
Armament:

• 6 x 305mm/50 caliber main guns in triple-mount

• 6 x 155mm/55 caliber secondary guns in triple-mount

• 12 x 105mm/50 caliber secondary dual-purpose guns in twin-mount

• 50 x 40mm/65 caliber AA guns

• 26 x 25mm/60 caliber AA guns

Armor:

• Belt: 220mm/15°

• Deck: 20mm + 100mm

• Main Turrets: 305mm face, 160mm side

• Conning Tower: 220mm