Shipbucket

I had another idea for an American battlecruiser. One that is based on the Delaware/Floride lineage. Armed with 8x12 inch guns, 16x5 inch guns. She is 175 meters long and has a top speed of 26 knots. Her name is Bunker Hill.

Quite interesting to see that all the American "old" battleships had the exact same bilge keel. Down to the foot.

Have you been measuring all of them, or just the ones in this thread?

I am drawing an American ACR, this time I am looking at the last one, the Tennessee class for inspiration. I am wondering, will this work?



She has 4x10 inch guns and 8x8 inch guns. She is 20% longer than the South Carolina class to keep her within the tradition of American ACRs to be 15-20% longer than their contemporary battleships.

looks nice

Oh boy, I hate to be Kaiserliche Marine captains of the Admiral Graf Maximilian von Spee's in the Falklands to encounter 3 Maine ACR classes if these ships were actual UK allied types. Those 10" guns and 8" guns can inflicted terrible damage to his squadron, if they crossed his T and give one broadside salvo.

It's a very nice ACR you've got there; however, your mixed main battery wouldn't work, and by the time of a possible conception of this class, the USN was fully aware of that, being very adept students of the gunnery results of the Russo-Japanese War 1904-05. 10" and 8" are simply too close in size and caliber to enable differentiation of shots, though the US 8" had a considerably shorter range than the 10". What I'd do on this very elegant hull of yours, Karle94, is either to replace the 8" wingturrets with corresponding 10" (yes it can carry the weight and width of those!) or replace the 10" end turrets with 8"; possibly of cal. 50 or likewise instead of the cal. 45 that the Pennsies had, after re-gunning in 1905. I might also reduce the secondaries to, say ten (five per beam) to save space and weight. With regards to the cage masts, I'd probably reduce the diameter at the base and increse it slightly at the top. Other than that, it's a bloody darn elegant vessel you've drawn! Maybe, since I won't have time, you can take my Pennsies and Tennessees and do them (as long as you draw the Pennsylvania in white/buff for me... ???

Everything from the deck up is based on the USS Mississippi BB-28. I can definetly replace those 8 inchers with 10 inchers, that would make her even more powerful than the Blücher. I also thought that the masts looked a little thick compared to other ships. I don´t know if I have enough referance to complete the other ACRs, there is a lack of good images.

Edit: The guns are fixed. I did some modifications to the conning tower while I was at it. I am planning on placing a solid stucture around the conning tower in later refits.

Edit 2: The masts have now been fixed.

Much better, except for two crucial details: try to rearrange the secondary guns just beneath the wing barbettes. The embrasure thus caused to enable the broadside mounted 6"-guns to train, would effectively nullify any degree of barbette protection afforded. Otherwise your number of guns are well balanced to Crete a most fearsome man-o'-war. I also much like your new, redesigned cage masts. Now we only need to come up with suitable city names for these, for when they had to surrender their state names. I'd suggest Portsmouth for the USS Maine...

The guns have been moved. It might not look as good as before. The USS Mississippi BB-41 was ordered in 1914, so the change of name will happen then.

And I have to correct myself: Portsmouth is in New Hampshire, not Maine! So, appropriate names for a USS Main would be Portland or Augusta ( the latter my favorite!) and as for turret placements, you might want to consider moving the wing turrets closer to either bows, thereby clearing a space for three secondaries amidships and two either forward or abaft the wing turrets. That should solve the aesthetic issue as well. You are doing a splendid job here, though!