Grays Harbor Designs

[Zephyr]

You beat me to it, I also wanted to try and SS her.

I do note the 1912 engines and a laydown date of 1910. Shouldn't that be a laydown date of 1908? I can go with 1912 engines as construction was suspended and one would assume newer and better engines would be installed before resuming construction. As the Main Battery guns were hand-me-downs those dates should be earlier though.

I used the 1910 date because thats when construction really started as construction was stopped shortly after the 1908 start to allow for a redesign. And yeah, the main guns should be 1906 or so.

[Zephyr]

My first attempt at doing torpedo net stantions

[Zephyr]

I decided to revisit an earlier ship I had done, the Barracuda *coughATLANTAcough* class of protected cruisers. Somebody (forgive me but I forget off the top of my head who) had mentioned about perhaps updating the armament for the 1906 version of this, so I thought I might give that a try. I also returned to the original colors of white hull/buff upper works, USN/Imperial German style, instead of the darker hull RN style. For the 1906 version I tried a grey to see how that worked.

Armament for the 1906 - I removed the 8" and replaced them with 4". I also removed the older style midships casemate and replaced it with a more "modern" version, also with 4". The other smaller side mounted guns were plated over. The gatlings on the four corners of the upper works have been replaced with 1 Pdr's. That sound like a reasonable mix for a small cruiser in 1906?

I figure by the early 1900's the Barracudas would have been relegated to very low threat areas for duties like coastal patrol or as RNVR vessels.

As built 1885

Modified 1906

Displacement: 3,189 t
Length: 288.5'
Beam: 42'
Draught: 19'
Propulsion: Sails (removed 1895); 2 Steam Boilers, 1 Screw
Speed: 16 knots
Range: 1800 NM @ 9 knots (sails alone - limited only by crew endurance and supplies)
Complement: 1885: 284; 1906: 213
Armament (1885):
2 x 8"/30 (2 x 1)
2 x 6 Pdr (2 x 1)
2 x 3 Pdr (2 x 1)
2 x 1 Pdr (2 x 1)
2 x Gatling Guns (2 x 1)
Armament (1906):
4 x 4"QF (4 x 1)
4 x 1 Pdr (4 x 1)
Aviation: nil

Ships in Class
-------------
Barracuda (1885)
Talfin (1885)
Preston (1885)

[Carthaginian]

I might actually go for 6" guns and 6 casemated 4" guns.
She's got the deck strength to support it.

Alternately, I might consider turning her into a mine layer or a torpedo boat and seaplane tender.

[bezobrazov]

I was the one suggesting it. I also suggested such modernization as increased bridgework, maybe partially cut down upperworks in other places and bigger fighting tops...

[Zephyr]

Hnh. OK, I can try those, see what comes of it. My main concern, however, is that by the late 1890's-early 1900's, this was already an obsolete design. Would a navy which is rapidly evolving, and which has a good budget, really bother spending the time, money and resources rebuilding an obsolete ship? Perhaps being moderately rebuilt into a tender of sorts or patrol boat for use on low threat colonial stations would be what would be done.

In the RW, the Atlanta and Boston spent at least half their careers laid up in reserve, even when new. The Atlanta, in fact, was not even brought out of reserve during the Spanish-American War, and both had been relegated to reserve and third-line duties by the early 1900's. Consider that under Teddy Roosevelt the USN could get pretty much anything on their wish list, but they didn't want to do anything with the Atlanta's because of their obsolescence.

[bezobrazov]

You're right about that. I was, however, only suggesting feasible alterations; I never claimed that they would be practical in a fiscal sense or when considering the actual needs of the navy. Converting them to tenders or even barracks ships, or some sort of either seagoing or stationary cadets' training establishment would thence make far more sense. Either way, you'd want to modify/upgrade them to meet the new requirements.

[klagldsf]

Those are your finest drawings yet.

[Zephyr]

You're right about that. I was, however, only suggesting feasible alterations; I never claimed that they would be practical in a fiscal sense or when considering the actual needs of the navy. Converting them to tenders or even barracks ships, or some sort of either seagoing or stationary cadets' training establishment would thence make far more sense. Either way, you'd want to modify/upgrade them to meet the new requirements.

Conversion to barracks/receiving ships is actually what happened. The Boston was a training ship with the Oregon Naval Militia in 1911-16 and then a receiving ship at Mare Island Navy Yard from 1918-46. She was renamed USS Despatch IX-2 in 1940 to free up the name Boston for a new Baltimore class cruiser Boston (CA-69). I very nearly had the drawing of Despatch finished when my hard drive crashed. bugger. An interesting sidenote is that it was Marines and Sailors from the Boston that helped American plantation owner Sanford Dole overthrow the legitimate government of the Kingdom of Hawaii, set up his own "Republic of Hawaii", and set in motion the US annexation in 1898.

Anyhow, I'll try some of the suggestions, see how it looks. Honestly, I kinda like the way the 1906 version looks already, but a few tweaks may not necessarily be out of line.

Those are your finest drawings yet.

Thanks. But they are actually some of my older drawings. Well not that old really, I guess. From back in Feb and March, of the USS Atlanta. I just kinda co-opted them to use for my AU as well.

[Zephyr]

Looking over this springsharp for the Sanxay Straits, I came to a realization. Its not a bad ship. I also noticed that it has a "natural" speed of 26 knots, so I redid the numbers, reran it, and still came up with the same results. So, I've been thinking... instead of considering this to be an underarmored battleship, it could very well be a damn fine battlecruiser instead. I believe I may reclassify this thing to a battlecruiser.

redone numbers:
Sanxay Straits, Grays Harbor Battlecruiser laid down 1910 (Engine 1912)

Displacement:
28,613 t light; 31,073 t standard; 33,331 t normal; 35,136 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
696.03 ft / 693.00 ft x 104.00 ft (Bulges 112.00 ft) x 30.00 ft (normal load)
212.15 m / 211.23 m x 31.70 m (Bulges 34.14 m) x 9.14 m

Armament:
8 - 12.00" / 305 mm guns (4x2 guns), 864.00lbs / 391.90kg shells, 1910 Model
Breech loading guns in turrets (on barbettes)
on centreline ends, evenly spread, 1 raised mount - superfiring
8 - 12.00" / 305 mm guns (4x2 guns), 864.00lbs / 391.90kg shells, 1910 Model
Breech loading guns in turrets (on barbettes)
on side, all amidships
13 - 6.00" / 152 mm guns in single mounts, 108.00lbs / 48.99kg shells, 1910 Model
Breech loading guns in casemate mounts
on side, evenly spread
6 - 3.00" / 76.2 mm guns in single mounts, 13.50lbs / 6.12kg shells, 1910 Model
Quick firing guns in deck mounts
on side, evenly spread
Weight of broadside 15,309 lbs / 6,944 kg
Shells per gun, main battery: 200

Armour:
- Belts: Width (max) Length (avg) Height (avg)
Main: 9.00" / 229 mm 400.00 ft / 121.92 m 18.00 ft / 5.49 m
Ends: 4.50" / 114 mm 200.00 ft / 60.96 m 8.00 ft / 2.44 m
93.00 ft / 28.35 m Unarmoured ends
Main Belt covers 89 % of normal length

- Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
Main: 9.00" / 229 mm 7.00" / 178 mm 7.00" / 178 mm
2nd: 9.00" / 229 mm 7.00" / 178 mm 7.00" / 178 mm
3rd: 4.00" / 102 mm - -

- Armour deck: 4.00" / 102 mm, Conning tower: 6.00" / 152 mm

Machinery:
Coal fired boilers, steam turbines,
Geared drive, 4 shafts, 78,182 shp / 58,324 Kw = 26.00 kts
Range 6,500nm at 12.00 kts
Bunker at max displacement = 4,063 tons (100% coal)

Complement:
1,233 - 1,603

Cost:
£3.089 million / $12.356 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
Armament: 1,914 tons, 5.7 %
Armour: 9,664 tons, 29.0 %
- Belts: 3,146 tons, 9.4 %
- Torpedo bulkhead: 0 tons, 0.0 %
- Armament: 2,828 tons, 8.5 %
- Armour Deck: 3,557 tons, 10.7 %
- Conning Tower: 134 tons, 0.4 %
Machinery: 3,429 tons, 10.3 %
Hull, fittings & equipment: 13,606 tons, 40.8 %
Fuel, ammunition & stores: 4,718 tons, 14.2 %
Miscellaneous weights: 0 tons, 0.0 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
41,992 lbs / 19,047 Kg = 48.6 x 12.0 " / 305 mm shells or 4.1 torpedoes
Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.20
Metacentric height 7.4 ft / 2.3 m
Roll period: 17.3 seconds
Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 71 %
- Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.42
Seaboat quality (Average = 1.00): 1.29

Hull form characteristics:
Hull has a flush deck
Block coefficient: 0.501
Length to Beam Ratio: 6.19 : 1
'Natural speed' for length: 26.32 kts
Power going to wave formation at top speed: 48 %
Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 55
Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 4.30 degrees
Stern overhang: 1.00 ft / 0.30 m
Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
- Stem: 27.00 ft / 8.23 m
- Forecastle (17 %): 21.00 ft / 6.40 m
- Mid (50 %): 20.00 ft / 6.10 m
- Quarterdeck (17 %): 20.00 ft / 6.10 m
- Stern: 20.00 ft / 6.10 m
- Average freeboard: 20.74 ft / 6.32 m
Ship tends to be wet forward

Ship space, strength and comments:
Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 79.8 %
- Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 150.4 %
Waterplane Area: 48,064 Square feet or 4,465 Square metres
Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 105 %
Structure weight / hull surface area: 202 lbs/sq ft or 985 Kg/sq metre
Hull strength (Relative):
- Cross-sectional: 1.00
- Longitudinal: 1.49
- Overall: 1.04
Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is excellent
Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent
Ship has slow, easy roll, a good, steady gun platform
Good seaboat, rides out heavy weather easily