The Spear class of fast scouting vessels is designed as a scout and as a harasser, nipping at the flanks of light enemy forces and ravening their trade. Coming in at about 1500 tons, these vessels are a force to be reckoned with, being armed with two centerline-mounted 6"/45s in their powered almost-turrets, a trio of our obsolescent 4" guns(one super elevated above the aft 6", the other two wing-mounted amidships, and intended to be replaced ASAP), four 2" guns(one on each bridge wing, two forward of the wheelhouse, and intended for marine parties and to be replaced ASAP with rapid-firing manual machineguns, rotary cannon, or the equivalent) and a quartet of torpedo tubes (single mounts, two per side, flanking the 3.5" wing mounts). A set of five spotlights are mounted bracketing the bridge, alongside the rear 3.5" mount, and on the tripod mast. Power is provided by two hybrid coal/oil boilers powering a series of three turbines, geared to power two shafts and get the vessel shifting at a speed in excess of 28 knots as well as providing ample electricity for the vessel.
Some 250ft long, with a maximum beam of 25ft and a draft of 8ft, the ship rises from a turtleback forecastle, immediately lowers for the forward 6" gun mount, leads directly to the main superstructure with the bridge and its three spotlights, followed by the tripod masthead and the first of two funnels and the torpedo room. Between the first funnel and the second is the gun deck, each side with two torpedo launchers and a 3.5" gun alongside the main access to the main fuel bunkers, before rising back for the second funnel. Just aft of the second funnel is the rear 3.5" mount above the rear 6". From there to the stern is open deck(with aft 2" mounts) and the wheelhouse.
In summary:
-250ft long
-25ft beam
-8ft draft
-1500 tons displacement
-2 6"/45 single gun mounts
-3 4"Early single gun mounts(intended to be upgraded at first instance to 3.5" or 4" guns)
-4 2"early gun single mounts(replace with autocannon, manual machineguns, anything else)
-4 single Blackfoot Torpedo Tubes(6 reloads(1.5 per tube))
-5 spotlights rigged so they may act as signal lamps
-2 TTWAWO boiler setups
-3 TTWAWO turbine setups, piped so they may operate in series, independently, or a mixture of both
-Medium endurance(Able to cross an ocean at cruising speeds, ~3000 nautical miles)
-28 knot projected speed
-1" Bolstad steel armor over engine rooms, magazines, gun shields for 6", 4", and torpedo mounts
-Larger than expected marine complement, in that there actually is a marine complement of a platoons worth.
-Tripod mast reaching 150ft over deck, providing a horizon of some 15 miles in optimal weather.
Effectiveness: 6 | Cost: 4 | Bugs: 6 |
Time: 3=3The Spear Scout Cruiser is a blisteringly fast cruiser, as fast as our torpedo! The reasons for this are two fold, one is the engine, which is based on the engine that resulted from the TTWAWO project...The fixed one, to be exact. With a few extra tweaks to improve performance, along with what is clearly a hydrodynamic hull, we have managed to make the ship the worlds fastest cruiser!...Unless you call it a large torpedo boat destroyer... Of course, we have hidden this knowledge from the rest of the world, for all they know its just faster than normal, and not equal to some of the slower torpedo boat destroyers out there. Still, its speed, while the main attraction, isn't the only important thing about this light scout cruiser.
The ship is armed with two main guns, 6 inch ones that are specifically of the improved type we designed. And, additionally, it has three four inch guns and four two inch guns, which according to the plan are expected to be refitted away for something else in the near future. Finally, in order to kill anything that just wont sink that it goes up against, the ship has a set of two torpedo launchers on each side. The ship has a fairly light amount of armor equaling an inch in its protected turtle back scheme, but should be able to deal with guns of ships smaller than it, and in a sense, speed is armor.
The ship is considered by some a bit ugly, though others say it has a rough charm to it, but looks don't matter, results do. And the Spear is a good result.
Costs 5/2 PP, 5 seasons construction time.
Confusion among visitors from Germany upon first glance of the Niflung class is a decently common occurrence. The Niflung does have some slight passing resemblance to their own Siegfied class, after all; though the illusion very rarely holds against any further examination than 'I just glanced at it for a second out of the corner of my eye'; particularly if seen from the rear, except among those 'armchair Admirals/engineers' that are 'experts' at 'identifying' ships.
This being said though, the two ships do share more in common, as both were laid down within a few days of each other, though Niflung's launching was delayed slightly when compared to Siegfried's. If one did a more thorough investigation through the archives of both Nemorland's and Germany's Naval Records, they would find a near-matching set of a design study between the two. Both of which were, after factoring in the timezone differences, finalized at nearly the exact same time.
Regardless, in spite of this freak occurrence of synchronicity, neither navy had to deal with the embarrassment of having a foreign power tote around what is effectively your ship, only not of your nationality; as only the initial design study from which both ships originated from was identical, and the two diverged as their designs were finalized. Still, there are some aesthetic similarities between the two, like two distant cousins who have grown up in different countries.
Niflung is fairly short for her tonnage, only being 270 feet in length for her 4000 tons of displacement. Her greater size and displacement is not all that separates her from her cousin, though; her main armament consists of a quartet of 9" rifles arranged in dual turrets one fore and aft instead of her cousin's... Questionable... Layout... Said turrets are fairly well armored, bearing a solid 8 inches of Bolstad Steel; although said armor thins greatly the further to the rear of the turret one goes, though never thinner than 4 inches. Her secondary armament is also fairly robust given her size and primary armament with 5 of our excellent 6"/45 QF M1890; with 2 mounted both port and starboard with the fifth being mounted in a position slightly forwards and above the aft main turret, arranged so that it can 'superfire' over the turret to engage targets to the rear in addition to the sides. All of these guns are sadly only shielded guns, with 4 inches of armor, instead of full turrets for the sake of both total tonnage and to keep topweight down.
Her main armor belt also consists of 8 inches of Bolstad Steel, astounding for her size though this does thin out very slightly towards the edges. Her deck armor consists of a much more reasonable 1 inch of armor to prevent splinters, shrapnel, and shell blasts from damaging her magazines and machinery from above. As should be obvious, areas of the deck that do not protect such, as found towards the bow and stern of the ship, are completely unarmored. Speaking of her machinery, her 2 Twawo Style Hybrid Coal-Oil Fired Steam Turbines provide propulsion, propelling her at a rate of 16 knots. She is not a fast ship, but given her performance in other areas, something had to be sacrificed. Of course, range was sacrificed as well. As a defensive vessel primarily intended to protect our islands (and secondarily for shore bombardment), she does not possess much fuel endurance, enough to traverse between the islands with a healthy safety margin of course, though a non-stop voyage straight to Sothweg is out of the question, even if they were a friendly port.
In summary:
-270 feet long
-4000 tons displacement
-4 Early 9" guns, arranged in twin turrets
-5 6"/45 QF M1890 guns, with one mounted along in a superfiring position on the aft (where you would find a Y turret)
-2 Twawo Hybrid Coal-Oil Fired Steam Turbines
-16 knots of speed
-low endurance
-8 inches of belt and turret armor, 1 inch of deck armor, made from Bolstad Steel
Effectiveness: 6 | Cost: 3 | Bugs: 4 |
Time: 2=2The oddly named Niflung is a small coastal defense ship that one might mistake for the Siegfried at a glance, in fact, its name is almost fitting for a ship of the Siegfried class. And, to those who look at it for longer, looks like a Siegfried that has been made a bit longer, has a bit more sensible arrangement of turrets. Additionally, its slightly faster, by two knots and has better armor in some places and worse in others compared to the Siegfried in terms of armor thickness. Still, the resemblance is a bit uncanny, as even the life boats are arranged similarly. Still, despite the odd coincidence, there is clearly enough differences to show that it is in fact not the Siegfried but stolen, including a somewhat iconic for the class gun in the aft above the aft main battery.
Compared to a proper battleship, the thing is quite squat and tiny, but it's a good coastal defense ship and will do well to bombard shores and deal with any big ships that the Sothwegs or any other navy tries sending our way...
Costs 6/2 PP, 7 seasons construction time.
It is time...Build your legacy fleet! Be sure to include the names of the ships...or don't and let the shipyards make up their own. You have 100 PP for this, and each ship will cost only one season's worth of build time.
Naval
Early 2/3/4/5/7/9/10/12 inch guns
6"/45 QF M1890 (6 inch gun, jams more often than liked, but jamming can be cleared in combat. Max range of roughly 18000 yards)
Triple-expansion engines.
Early steam turbine engines.
Early coal/oil hybrid firing.
Steel hull construction.
Compartmentalization.
Single Casemates.
Single and Double gun turrets.
Harvey Bolstad Steel Armor
Early Damage control techniques.
Decent Anti Flash fire measures.
Ballistite.
Blackfoot torpedo (Reliable fast torpedo capable of 26 knots, and 1k yards
Marines
Defensive guns (Uses same calibers as naval guns)
Rosemary 85 Rifle (Basic Bolt Action Rifle)
Holly 8 (Basic Revolver)
Spear class Scout Cruiser: A blisteringly fast scout cruiser capable of 28 knots and armed with two 6"/45 QF M1890 main guns in both forward and aft gun mounts along with three four inch guns and four two inch guns. Is protected by an inch of armor in turtle back formation, and can carry a platoon of soldiers.
Costs 5/2 PP, 5 seasons construction time.
Niflung class Coastal Defense Ship: A heavily armored short range ship with 8 inches all around that has a main battery armed with 9 inch main guns in two turrets, along with a secondary armament of five 6"/45 QF M1890, one of which is in the Niflung iconic position in the back, meshing in with the superstructure.
Costs 6/2 PP, 7 seasons construction time.
Nemorland Naval Academy's School of Nautical Engineering (Costs 7 PP Per turn to keep running)
Intensive Nautical Training School (Costs 5 PP per turn to keep running)
4,000 Displacement Dry docks.
Author
Topic: Refit and Repair, Nemorland, Spring, 1890, Production & Deployment Phase. (Read 22047 times)