Battlecruiser Projects of John H. Narbeth
The remaining projects under the numbers from "1" to "5", developed by the chief designer J.H.Narbeth, were alternative. Their distinctive feature was the desire to ensure a uniform fire in any sector of the horizon.
First, the Committee considered an alternative project with the number "1". With a normal displacement of 17,000 tons, the main dimensions of the cruiser were 164.7 x 23.5 x 7.93 meters. The project envisaged the installation of the same eight 305-mm guns in four twin-turret towers. Of these, two towers were arranged on a half tank in a row along the left and right sides across the diametric plane and two linearly elevated in the center plane in the stern of the ship, with only the penultimate linearly elevated tower on the main deck. The height of the axes of the gun barrels above the level of the normal waterline was 10.7 m for the nasal towers, 6.1 m and 3.66 m for the feed towers. This arrangement of the towers provided six guns in the onboard volley, which was two guns less than in the project "Anketchable" Fisher-Garda, and four in the bow and stern.
In the next project under the number "2" at a normal displacement of 17,200 tons, the main dimensions of the cruiser were 164.7 x 23.6 x 7.93 m. The project also envisaged the installation of eight 305-mm guns in four twin-turret towers. Of these, two towers were arranged on a half-tank and two in the stern of the ship on the main deck across the diametric plane in a row along the left and right sides. The height of the axes of the gun barrels is above the level). The normal waterline was 10.4 m for the nasal towers and 6.71 m forage towers. This position of the towers provided only four guns in a volley in either direction, which gave a too weak airborne volley. In addition, the nasal towers stood too far in the bow, which also reduced the seaworthiness of the ship.
In the project with the number "3" at a normal displacement of 15,600 tons, the main dimensions of the cruiser were 158.5 x 23.2 x 7.93 meters. The project envisaged the installation of two two-rounder towers of the main caliber on an elongated half-tank across the diametrical plane in a row along the left and right Board, which was considered undesirable due to the deterioration of seaworthiness of the ship, despite the fact that in this project they were much closer to the midsection. In the stern there was only one two-turret tower. As a result, the cruiser had only six 305-mm guns. This arrangement of the towers provided for four guns in the bow and side volley and two in the stern, which gave a very weak forage volley. In the past such an arrangement of guns was already encountered on the French battleship Admiral Duperre in 1879, the Austrian "
The Committee then discussed the project numbered "4", in which, with a normal displacement of 16,950 tons, the main dimensions of the cruiser were 164.4 x 23.2 x 7.93 meters. The project returned to the installation of eight 305-mm guns in four twin-turret towers. Of these, one tower was arranged in a diametral plane on a half-tank and in the stern of the ship and two more on the main deck in a row across the diametral plane in the vicinity of the ship's midship in the common citadel (the usual redoubt). The height of the axes of the gun barrels above the level of the normal waterline was 10.4 m for the nasal tower, 9.14 m for the middle towers and 6.4 m for the stern tower. This arrangement of the towers provided six guns in the bow, side and aft volley. Having considered this option. The Committee decided without hesitation that, since the ideal placement of the artillery of the main caliber,
That is why in the next alternative project under the number "5" the arrangement of two medium towers with four 305-mm guns in the midship area was changed to an echeloned one, that is, a ledge along the diagonal in such a way as to allow the guns of the non-stop tower to be launched on the opposite side in the sector Firing 30 °, if the tower is destroyed. That's where the superiority in speed could have come in handy, providing the choice of the right distance and traverse (bearing) for shooting all the towers. Although in practice it may take a long time to do this under certain circumstances.
A more successful onboard fire could be obtained by installing medium towers in a diametral plane, but this would reduce the longitudinal fire to only two guns. In the project, with a normal displacement of 17250 tons, the main dimensions of the cruiser were 164.7 x 23.8 x 7.93 m. The height of the axes of the gun barrels above the normal waterline remained the same as in the project numbered "4". Reservations remained the same as in previous projects, but the number of 102-mm guns increased to 14. The rated design power on the shafts was 42500 hp.
Finally, in the version of the project proposed at the discussion, under the number "6", an attempt was made to move the echeloned arrangement of the towers to the bow of the ship by moving the bow tower to a new location in the midship area in the center plane, but the sharp contours of the bow of the hull made this movement impossible. As a result, the Committee decided to adopt as a basis the modified project numbered "5", but with the addition of a long half-tank that continued to the aft turret, to give the cruiser better seaworthiness and to obtain a higher elevation above the waterline of the axes of the medium turret guns. The cruiser was supposed to equip with two tripod masts and a hinged deck for mine ammunition guns. From the general redoubt for medium towers in the final version of the project refused, setting both medium towers in separate barbettes. The approved project with a normal displacement of 17,750 tons had the main dimensions of 167.8 x 24.1 x 8.23 m. The height of the axes of the gun barrels above the normal waterline remained the same as in the project numbered "4". Reservations remained the same as in previous projects, but the number of 102-mm guns increased to 14. The rated design power on the shafts was 42500 hp.
The design of the cruiser, which appeared as a result of these discussions, was more similar to many of the new armored cruisers than the Dreadnought, although it definitely repeated some of its characteristic features. With its highly elongated housing, in which it was necessary to accommodate the newest boilers of large steam capacity and a turbine power plant, it was possible to have two 305-mm guns in the middle of the ship's hull only at their echelon location, which provided an onboard volley with all the artillery of the main caliber, though , In a strictly defined sector of fire. The deck of the half-tank extended to the stern for two-thirds of the length of the ship's hull, providing a high position of the main-caliber towers in the middle of the ship and mine ammunition in 102-mm guns, instead of the 76-mm Dreadnought.
When developing the project, an optimistic estimate of the weight savings of the power plant as a result of using turbines instead of steam piston machines was made too optimistic. A more realistic estimate shook that the weight saving does not exceed 12.5%. Which led to a change in the project. At the same time for the modified project with the number "5" the designers received a normal displacement of 16,850 tons with the main dimensions 164.7 x 24.1 x 7.93 m. The ratio of length to width was 6.83.
This project became the basis for the British first-generation battle cruisers, although the first three ships laid down under the 1905-06 program differed in some respects. Their armament consisted of eight 305-mm rapid-fire guns, thirteen 102-mm rapid-fire guns and five torpedo tubes. The main armored belt with a thickness of 152 mm provided the armor reservation at a level of 1.98 m above and 1.37 m below the waterline at normal displacement. The thickness of booking towers of the main caliber was 203 mm. The selected design capacity of steam-powered reciprocating engines in 41000 hp, according to the designers' calculations, allowed to expect the ship's maximum speed of 25.5 knots. And guaranteed 25 knots.
