Posts:92 Joined: August 14th, 2011, 9:05 am
Location: Indiana, USA
This thing is basically an Alaska class battlecruiser tossed in a blender with a Scharnhorst. A bit bigger than a Des Moines. Over 800 feet. Im looking to make 35 knots.
So, basically a schlachtkreuzer but not a Schwere Kreuzer, that's it? Yeah, I think I kinda touched the bottom of that definition limit with my Thevai-class...
I agree with navybrat on the machinery issue, though not necessarily on the range.
_________________ My Avatar:Петр Алексеевич Безобразов (Petr Alekseevich Bezobrazov), Вице-адмирал , царская ВМФ России(1845-1906) - I sign my drawings as Ari Saarinen
Posts:489 Joined: July 27th, 2010, 1:47 am
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Well, the range I think could be looked at this way: A ot of fuel oil either, A: Gives you the legs to make long runs into the Atlantic, or B: the endurance to trawl the local waters looking for anything worth sinking there. Ships run their engines constantly, so even though you may never stray more than, say, 300 linear miles from port, you may cover thousands of miles on a patrol route.
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Alex, caliber size in itself will not matter. Look at Jutland. There an inferior German battle-cruiser force soundly defeated a superior British, even though the latter was also mostly armed with 13.5 in as against mostly 11-in guns. On the German side the biggest caliber was the 12-in, (16) and on the British the smallest was the 12-in (16). No, it was the quality of the gunnery that mattered (no matter that the actual hit ratio on either side was less than 5%!).
The reason why I chose the 9.2-in was not only a matter of gaining superiority in caliber size viz-a-viz an opponent, but mainly for its superior reputation at being a very reliable, accurate, long-range and fast gun.
In other words...your 11-in would still matter little if the Greek gun crews of a Thevai-class CA are crack and yours not, right? Also, if your 11-in is prone to break-down, short barrel life, faulty shells or other mechanical shortcomings, that caliber will do your ships no good. That's the truth about gunnery....
_________________ My Avatar:Петр Алексеевич Безобразов (Petr Alekseevich Bezobrazov), Вице-адмирал , царская ВМФ России(1845-1906) - I sign my drawings as Ari Saarinen
Posts:92 Joined: August 14th, 2011, 9:05 am
Location: Indiana, USA
The Schlesien class will have excellent gunnery. From what I have read, German fire control was excellent in both World Wars. I think a vessel of the Schlesien class will be a match for just about any cruiser in any navy.