readx; "In this way, the design requirements put forward by the Naval Staff are also pertinent, but this does not mean that the Royal Navy has the ability to overwhelm the navies of the world's great powers with this warship, including the red navy of the Eastern Continent!" The First Admiralty challenged this. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

"Well, it is true, at the meeting on the construction of naval equipment held by our Naval Design Bureau and the Naval Staff on August 26, 1934, after several consultations, the Naval Staff finally decided to adopt the 20F plan.

However, during this period, they put forward an additional requirement to increase the number of secondary guns to 48, which required our design bureau to increase the maximum standard displacement of the project ship to meet the latest requirements of 48 secondary guns, and such a change was to increase the thickness of the main armor belt and the power of the main engine of the battleship to improve the corresponding performance of the battleship.

Of course, the new 20f scheme based on these directives was soon introduced, and the contract design period entered in September and ended in October.

In the face of the strong rise of the red power in the Eastern Continent, they have a strong air force, which directly leads to other powers in the future to follow suit, so the Royal Navy will face the increasing air threat will be several times greater than we estimate, so the military asked to increase the number of Bofors anti-aircraft guns from 4 (twin) to 8 This old plan was pushed to 24.

However, it was difficult to find a suitable position for so many anti-aircraft guns that were not affected by the opening of the main and secondary guns.

The best position for these anti-aircraft guns was in the middle of the hull between the front and rear chimneys. However, the Royal Navy has placed seaplane-related equipment in this area.

After another consultation......

In the end, a compromise was adopted: the number of Bofors anti-aircraft guns was 24 with 48 guns, and the number of aircraft was reduced from 4 to 2.

On January 15, 1935, that is, this year, the Admiralty approved the design and immediately invited tenders from the major shipyards, which ended on February 21 of the following year. Such swift action is a reflection of the Royal Admiralty's desire for the new ship to be built as soon as possible. The director of the Navy Design Bureau paused.

"Oh, how's its data?" The Prime Minister came interested.

"I would also like to know the details of this battleship." Said the First Admiralty.

"Ahem, as the basic performance data of the King Arthurian class that is about to start construction, I can guarantee that except for Red China, no country in the British Empire dares to admit that it is second." The head of the Navy Design Bureau replied proudly.

"......" Prime Minister and Minister of the Navy already have impatient faces on their faces.

"Well, Mr. Prime Minister and Lord of the Admiralty, I will now name the specifics of the battleship.

The King Arthur class, as the strongest warship in the British Empire, is based on the revised version of 1934.

The battleship is built with a double hull, which is different from a single hull.

With a standard displacement of 180,550 tons and a maximum full load displacement of 206,400 tons, it has to be said that the modified warship is the largest tonnage built by the British Empire.

As designed, the waterline length is marked at 475.48 m (1,560 ft)

Due to the double-body structure, the width of the waterline widens to 64 m (210 ft)

Based on the catamaran structure, the draft will be reduced from 9.15 m (30.02 ft) to 4.575 m (15.004 ft) in the original Lion model, so it can be easily docked as long as the harbour is not less than 15 m deep.

Armament: 4 triple 510 mm (20 in) L52 multi-caliber guns

16 twin 133 mm (5.25 in) 50x diameter secondary guns

24 twin 40-mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns

2 maritime reconnaissance aircraft

Due to the large tonnage, the thickness of the main armor belt was increased to 748 mm (29.42 inches) / ammunition compartment & engine room,

Horizontal armor thickness increased to 296 mm (11.76 in) per ammunition bay and 248 mm (9.80 in) per nacelle

Shaft horsepower: 480000/normal; 520000/overload

Maximum speed: average speed 35 knots / ultimate speed 44 knots

Battleship endurance: 14,000 nautical miles / 20 knots

Maximum fuel load of the battleship: 14480 tons.

That's all there is to it. "The director of the Navy Design Bureau gave the prime minister and the minister of the navy two documents after describing the performance of the warships recorded in his possession one by one.

In fact, this King Arthur class is completely based on the enlarged design of the lion class, because the lion class is also an improved version of the George V class, so on some levels, the King Arthur class is actually an extended design version of the George V class.

The King Arthur class not only retains the basic characteristics of the George V class in appearance, but its internal layout can also be said to be a super remake of the George V class. It was a typical kind of fast battleship by category, which shows that the British also pinned their hopes on maintaining their leading position in the field of battleships, except for a certain madman who was building a mega-shippers with a displacement of millions in Asia.

According to traditional warship construction customs, the first two catamarans known as the King Arthur class were to be built, one was the King-Arthur and the other Mordred, which were to be built on July 4 and June 1, 1936, respectively, at Vickers Armstrong's Newcastle shipyard and at Kemore Laird's shipyard in Birkenhead.

However, the eager British pinned their hopes on the completion of the two ships in time for 1939. The third ship, James T-H-I, was scheduled to begin construction at Clydebank in August, and the fourth, Charlie-Thi, was scheduled to be built at Glasgow's Fairfield Shipyard.

Before the outbreak of World War II, the King Arthur and Mordred were successfully built as planned. But the construction of the next two warships was suspended for a year after the Ministry of Defense issued an order in October. In this way, the completed steel structure of the two hulls rests on the slipway.

At the end of November 1940, due to the pressure of the Nazi German Navy, the military decided to extend the shutdown. According to the Admiralty's regulations, the construction of heavy ships that could not be completed by 43 years will not be built in 41 (except for the Avantgarde, which eventually became obsolete), but all the drawing and design work on the deferred construction of the ships will need to be continued. In addition, it is planned to reconsider the construction plan of these heavy ships in September of this year in the light of the situation on the battlefield in the Atlantic and the relationship between the United States and the war.

Although the two successor King Arthurians were discontinued at the time, design improvements were still underway, and wartime experience was constantly reflected in the design. In the 1940s, improvements revolved around the following points:

In fact, it still continues some of the historical improvements of the unfinished Lion-class ships.

・In order to provide more effective underwater protection, it is necessary to increase the width of the hull appropriately

・The protection of the secondary gun is obviously insufficient, and anti-fragmentation armor needs to be added

・Increase the number of anti-aircraft guns and find a good range for them

・Raise the bow freeboard height to improve seaworthiness

・Increase the amount of crude oil to be carried, and improve the range.

Therefore, these five main improvements are no different from the subsequent construction plans of the Lion-class in history, but if there is a difference, it is the fact that the King Arthur-class is a 200,000-ton catamaran super-battleship with 12 510mm guns.

Surprisingly, by the end of 1941, the guys in the Naval Design Bureau didn't know what to smoke, and the new design work for the two subsequent ships of the King Arthur-class that had long been discontinued was started again.

The designers will feed back into the design the problems reflected by the George V-class as the younger brother in the Annihilation of the Bismarck, which was significantly strengthened by the Germans, and the sinking of the aircraft carrier Ark Royal.

With the loss of the two capital ships of the George V-class series, HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Counter-Attack, in December 1941, as well as a large number of overseas territories, the British felt that the number of super-capital ships was insufficient. Although the Bald Eagle United States had already entered the war at the right opportunity, its main naval forces were concentrated in the Pacific, and the unpredictability of the French Navy necessitated the restart of the construction of the King Arthurian class.

Throughout the new design, which lasted from September 1941 to January 1942, all the work of the designers revolved around overcoming the shortcomings of the original design. In particular, the Chief of Naval Operations noted: "The issue of the endurance of these warships should be seriously examined, and the problems of the K-G-V in this regard turned out to be unsatisfactory." ”

In view of the fact that the next two ships of the King Arthurian class will be used in the Pacific Ocean, he proposed that they be able to sail for 200 hours at 25 knots, and maintain another 16 hours and 30 knots at full speed. Or 400 hours/16 knots and then 20 knots to have a 35% surplus.