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[piratejoe]

Veenland, Final Pregame History Turn & First Pregame Design turn.

For some time, the treatment of the working class of Magna Mongadizafra had been oppressed, and this was something that ran quite deep. While we were more silently and subtly working on the issue, a fishing ship known as the Lena Lo Schiavo decided to ram one of our cruisers after being driven out of our waters and escorted for the fifth time. Naturally, the so called Republic to our north claimed we sunk it deliberately and that it 'merely was off course' Worse, the fools decided it was a great idea to encourage more ships to bravely sink themselves against the hulls of our well made ships built by the hands of the Working Class. Naturally, they tried framing us as communist warmongers, and when we pointed out their injustices against the working class, and the harsh treatment of simple workers desiring greater pay and safety standards by the Police and strike busters and encouraged the people to use the power of the strike...Well...Their government took exception to that. And with everything that has happened tensions are at an all time high between our two nations.

It is now Pregame Design Phase of Turn 1 of 4 (But you have twice the dice you normally would have this turn, so the enemy doesn't know your little bonus turn)

[Aseaheru]

Some design proposals.

Spoiler: Propulsion and powerplant ideas (click to show/hide)

The "Veense Volks Marine - Oorlogschepen Propulsie Verbeteringsplan voor het Nieuwe Millennium" is a comprehensive effort to improve the power, and thus the speed, of our navy by a number of means. To this end, the project has three main components, consisting of the boiler Group, the engine Group, and the fiery furnace Group.
The Fiery Furnace Group is an effort to improve, well, the fireboxes of our systems via three main means. First, mechanical stokers are developed to deliver coal to the centers and sides of our newly enlarged fireboxes. Second, a system of oil atomizers is added to spray oil over coal, giving a burst of power in emergencies or in combat. Finally, efforts are made to improve the supply of fresh air to the firebox(and incidentally, to the boiler rooms of our ships) via forced-air designs using mechanically driven fans. Designs for these forced air systems also include something called a "preheater", where the incoming air is heated by running the exhaust gases around its ducting.
The Boiler Group seeks to improve our boilers in efficiency, pressure, and speed of action. To this end, they have been working on two distinct families of boiler. The first of these, what they call a "flash" boiler, is suitable only for smaller craft or as an auxiliary unit. In this flash boiler, the water tubes are A) extremely small in diameter, B) posses extremely thick walls and C) are semi-circular in shape. The net result of all this is a boiler with small quantities of water that heat extremely quickly, are lighter in weight than other boiler designs, and are a tad prone to overheating. They also lack many of the efficency features of other systems, such as a superheater or a condencer. Instead, low-pressure saturated steam is vented into the exhaust.
The second type of boiler being developed are being called "Multi-drum Water-Wallers". In these, the firebox is located centrally between two water drums and under a third steam drum. Narrow water tubes connect the boilers, and the furnace is vented out through these before reaching the Fiery Furnace Group's preheater. Steam, collected from the central boiler, is used in in the first engine in the chain, is then run through a "superheater" located within the firebox before going out to the second and any following engines before finally being directed to the condenser and thus returned to the feed tanks as water. Finally, intake water before being directed to the feed drums are run through the inner skin of the boiler, warming it even before it enters the boiler proper. This reduces weight in that we need less firebrick and increases efficiency. It is also the cause for the "water-waller" component of the boiler's name.
Finally, we have our Engine Group. Like the Boiler Group, the Engine group focused on two designs, one for extremely high-speed work and the other for more general purpose.
In this first design, the engineers looked to the work of Charles Algernon Parsons on steam turbines, such as those being used in power plants. Our engineers believe that by having several of these in series(so the first would be high-pressure and subsequent engines being of lower and lower pressures) will simultaneously grant far higher speeds and improved reliability at higher speeds than a standard piston steam engine, although concerns are made over loss of efficiency at low power. One suggestion being made is to outfit some ships with a "cruising shaft" using lower-powered turbines.
The second design being put forward by the engine group is an improved vertical triple-expansion steam engine of double-acting type. Most of their effort in this design was developing a geared transmission allowing for the speed of the propeller shaft to be changed independently to that of the engine itself. There would, of course, be one of these engines per shaft, and only one per shaft. These transmissions would also power electric generators for shipboard use.

The "Veense Volks Marine - Oorlogschepen Propulsie Verbeteringsplan voor het Nieuwe Millennium" is a comprehensive effort to improve the power, and thus the speed, of our navy by a number of means. To this end, the project has three main components, consisting of the boiler Group, the engine Group, and the fiery furnace Group.
The Fiery Furnace Group is an effort to improve, well, the fireboxes of our systems via three main means. First, mechanical stokers are developed to deliver coal to the centers and sides of our newly enlarged fireboxes. Second, a system of oil atomizers is added to spray oil over coal, giving a burst of power in emergencies or in combat. Finally, efforts are made to improve the supply of fresh air to the firebox(and incidentally, to the boiler rooms of our ships) via forced-air designs using mechanically driven fans. Designs for these forced air systems also include something called a "preheater", where the incoming air is heated by running the exhaust gases around its ducting.
The Boiler Group seeks to improve our boilers in efficiency, pressure, and speed of action. To this end, they have developed the "Multi-drum Water-Wallers". In these, the firebox is located centrally between two water drums and under a third steam drum. Narrow water tubes connect the boilers, and the furnace is vented out through these before reaching the Fiery Furnace Group's preheater. Steam, collected from the central boiler, is used in in the first engine in the chain, is then run through a "superheater" located within the firebox before going out to the second and any following engines before finally being directed to the condenser and thus returned to the feed tanks as water. Finally, intake water before being directed to the feed drums are run through the inner skin of the boiler, warming it even before it enters the boiler proper. This reduces weight in that we need less firebrick and increases efficiency. It is also the cause for the "water-waller" component of the boiler's name.
Finally, we have our Engine Group. Here, the effort was entirely on a turbine engine with geared transmission. By looking to the work of Charles Algernon Parsons on steam turbines, such as those being used in power plants, our engineers believe that by having several of these in series(so the first would be high-pressure and subsequent engines being of lower and lower pressures) will simultaneously grant far higher speeds than a standard piston steam engine and retain higher reliability at higher speeds. To combat loss of efficiency at low speeds, two proposals are put forward. The first is to have in each ship a set of lower-powered turbines as a "cruising turbine", while the second(and most of their work herein) is developing a transmission system to disconnect the speed of the turbine from the speed of the propeller shaft. These transmissions would also power electric generators for shipboard use.

Project Hothouse aims to develop one thing and one thing only, a so-called "hot bulb" engine for use in our small craft and as auxiliary generators on warships when combined with an electric generator. These hot bulb engines are mostly based on the Hornsby Akroyd Patent Oil Engine, with efforts made to make it smaller, lighter, more efficient and more powerful. The first two of these elements is mostly done via experiments with metallurgy(and just making it smaller) while the remaining aims are done via efforts in scavenging systems; improving the replacement of air within cylinders. In this case, this is done via using "poppit" valves, placement of the valves to improve airflow when both the inlet and outlet valves are open, and ensuring that a long-enough exhaust pipe is used.

The Flying Veenlander class of coastal defense ship is a slow, short range, heavily armored beast designed to give and take severe punishment. As she is to deal obsene amounts of damage to the for, her main armament is built around two twin-gun turrets mounting 10" guns, located fore and aft. These are trained and fired from one of two positions, each located under heavy armor, filled with the best rangetables and computing aids developed by our glorious computer's- and artificers- unions. Direct telephone lines link these positions together, aswell as to large rangefinding telescopes mounted high above the ship. Secondary turrets of 6" guns(three single-gun turrets per broadside and two single-gun turrets superfiring over the mains), 4" guns (four twin-gun in large, nearly enclosed, gunshields per broadside) and a smattering of 2" mounts round out her armaments. The Veenlander is designed to be armored in her vitals against her own guns at any range, including her 10" guns. Her secondaries are only protected against splinters, with the 2" mounts only being protected by gunshields. While the primary and secondary battery turrets are hydraulically actuated, the tertiary battery is traversed by means of electric motors.
Power is supplied by some 12 boilers feeding [ARRAGH] providing 9250 horsepower across four shafts. Being a coastal defense ship, range is less than stellar, about enough to reach any of our major ports from any other of our major ports. The ship is designed with a double hull and significant compartmentalization to further improve chances of survival.

Note, "Computer" is "people who do computing", not a union already making mechanical, electro-mechanical, or electric computers. Although they may be doing that too.

The Flying Veenlander class of coastal defense ship is a slow, short range, heavily armored beast designed to give and take severe punishment. As she is to deal obsene amounts of damage to the for, her main armament is built around two twin-gun turrets mounting 10" guns, located fore and aft. These are trained and fired from one of two positions, each located under heavy armor, filled with the best rangetables and computing aids developed by our glorious computer's- and artificers- unions. Direct telephone lines link these positions together, aswell as to large rangefinding telescopes mounted high above the ship. A secondary battery of 6" guns(five casemates of the casemated turret-type per broadside and two single-gun turrets superfiring over the mains), 4" guns (six twin-gun mounts per broadside in large, nearly enclosed, gunshields) and a smattering of 2" mounts round out her armaments. The Veenlander is designed to be armored in her vitals against her own guns at any range, including her 10" guns. Her secondaries are only protected against splinters, with the 2" mounts only being protected by gunshields. While the primary and secondary battery turrets are hydraulically actuated, the tertiary battery is traversed by means of electric motors.
Power is supplied by some 12 boilers feeding [ARRAGH] providing 9250 horsepower across four shafts. Being a coastal defense ship, range is less than stellar, about enough to reach any of our major ports from any other of our major ports. The ship is designed with a double hull and significant compartmentalization to further improve chances of survival.

Note, "Computer" is "people who do computing", not a union already making mechanical, electro-mechanical, or electric computers. Although they may be doing that too.

The Tulip-Class is designed as a fast, maximum size(well, for us...) armored cruiser. Built to 7000 tons, the Tulip-class is designed to go some 24 knots, have range enough to go from one side of our battle theater and back at crusing speed without needing to refuel or dipping into the emergency bunkerage. Armaments consist of three twin-turrets of [6-7"] caliber, with one turret forward and two aft, with one super-firing; four twin 4" mounts(two per broadside) and a number of open 2" mounts.
Four propeller shafts are provided to drive the ship. Armor is, for the most part, proof for 6" guns over vitals(belt, conning tower, main armament) and splinter protection elsewhere. The ship is built with a double hull in an effort to improve survivability, and some effort was spent to properly compartmentalize the ship.

The Union-class is designed to be a workhorse of our fleet, built in bulk and operating anywhere our navy goes. To this end, these 5000-ton cruisers are lightly armored(4" in a "magazine box" arrangement covering the magazines, hoists, conning tower, and main turrets. 2" over other vital spaces such as the engine and boiler rooms. Anywhere else, one is lucky to have splinter protection. The ship being built with a double hull, which should help things a little) and lightly armed, only being equipped with eight turrets and four torpedoes. Two main turrets, fore and aft, contain a single (6-7") gun each, while three turrets on each broadside contain two 4" guns. Finally, there is a twin-tube torpedo launcher on each broadside and provisions for four 2" guns to be mounted.

The A-class of destroyers are 400ton 30knot warships measuring some 225ft long(overall) with a beam of 20ft and a draft of some 9ft. Main armament of these ships is one 4" gun, four 2" guns, and two centerline-mounted dual-tube torpedo launchers for our Zeeslang torpedoes. The main gun is protected by an open-backed turret armored against splinters and the 2" guns have splinter-proof gunshields. Although these guns are fired via local control, electric inclinometers and suchlike are provided so the gun captian can fire at a specific angle should they so choose.
Four boilers of the "Multi-drum Water-Waller" type provide power to two shafts, each powered by three steam turbines giving a design speed of 30 knots. Exhaust gasses are vented from two elliptical funnels.
The ship is of turtleback arrangement and, other than splinter protection on the conning tower and over the engine spaces, is unarmored. Coal bunkers are positioned to provide some semblance of protection to machinery spaces and the ship does possess a double bottom. Range is mediocre, but still enough to travel to the other end of our battle theater at cruising speed.

This is a very light torpedo boat, designed to operate from ports to defend ports. Armaments consist of a 2" gun, two fixed 18" torpedo tubes pointing some 20° off of centerline(with one tube on each side of the boat), and personal weapons. There are no defenses. Propulsion is via [four hot-bulb engines driving four shafts][three flash boilers driving four turbines on two shafts], bring its speed to 30 knots. To achieve this speed, its range is limited to about four hours of operation and the boat is extremely lightly built, being mostly composed of laminated timber sheets. However, it should be noted that the HGSB does possess a double bottom, albiet as a side effect of fuel bunkerage more than anything.
Boats of this type are simply numbered. Tonnage is ~23-35 tons(?)

This 18" diameter, 17' long torpedo is designed for a range of 2000 yards and a speed of some 34 knots. Design weight is about 1200 pounds, with a 200lb TNT warhead. Propulsion is via two contra-rotated propellers powered by a compressed-air driven turbine.
part of the design work on this torpedo is also designing a series of reliable torpedo mounts, focusing on two-tube arrangements.

The Veenland Nationale Schools van de Marine scheme consists of several things; a training academy for officers, an engineering college, and a series of training centers for our sailors. Based in a half-dozen "stone frigates", each of these schools is focused on a certain naval specialty, although all do act as basic training centers.
 Schools include the "Middies Nightmare"(dedicated to post-bootcamp training of ensigns, OCS, and of training the Marines), the School of Naval Engineering(which is mostly for civilians learning, well, naval engineering), the Gunnery School, the Damage Control School, The School of Hydrography and Meteorology(and communications), and the School of Naval Medicine.
 

[Khang36]

Möser-Fokker Cemented Armor, or MF armour, named after it's inventors Karl Möser and Wilhelm Fokker is a new type of armour that has the benefits of the now obsolete compound armour while being made of a single armour plate. This is done by a process called face hardening in which the face surface of the armour plate is exposed to carbon carrying substance (charcoal or gases) and heated for 2 to 3 weeks increasing the carbon content of one side of the plate before being quenched in oil and than water. This leaves a plate with a hard face to shatter impacting shells while also having a tough and malleable back to minimize the risk of the armour plate shattering or spalling and with a single armour plate which removes the risk of armour plates separating like compound armour.

Edit: since i can not be bothered to right up a smokeless powder and gun designs i am just going to just copy the ones used by sethweg in the last game

A proposed upgrade to naval firing control stations, the doctrine of the Central Rangefinding Station would consist of a central location on the ship equipped with both a powerful mechanical calculator and a large scale rangefinder, either of the stereoscopic or coincidence types. This rangefinder would thus feed data into the calculator, which would then calculate the proper firing solution to hit the target, which would then be communicated to the ships guns for firing, allowing increased effectiveness per shot in battle.

After our most recent gunnery exercises many higher ups in the department if the navy have noted that our current Brown Powder propellent is underpowered to send the shells used by our ship mounted guns. Thus the chemists have come together and presented to the department of the navy "Draadkruit" Smokeless Powder.
It is a compound consisting of 58% nitroglycerin by weight, 37% guncotton and 5% petroleum jelly. The compound is extruded as spaghetti like strings for smaller, rifle rounds and in large cylinders ranging from 1-8"in diameter and 6" in length, the diameter depending on the size of the shell it will propel.

Spoiler: Light Gun Modernization Project (click to show/hide)

The Light Gun Modernization Project, is a program with the intended goal of creating a new set of light naval guns (6 inches and smaller) meet the navy's increasing need for better guns.

The guns are to be designed to handle the new Lorem powder propellants at 1.5 times the expected maximum load to ensure safe margin. Unlike the previous generation of light naval guns these new ones have replaced the old BL screw blocks with QF sliding wedge breach blocks, the gun barrel will be of a new build type which will be called "radially expanded", unlike other build types which used hoops or wire to reinforce the barrel it used a technique called autofrettage to strengthen the barrel itself to be able to handle the high pressures experienced in the gun chamber. This results in a single piece barrel that is as light as wire wound while being cheaper and fast to make. Instead of having the rifling be engraved directly onto the interior of the barrel it self an internal liner with the rifling is placed inside which can be replaced when the rifling is worn out greatly extending the service life of the barrels. With the anticipated increase in power from the new Lorem powder and thus recoil, all gun will have hydraulic recoil pistons to cushion the recoil ensuring that the gun mount do not get shaken apart from repeated firing.


2 inch:
QF 6 pounder 2"/40 Lorem M1895
3 inch:
QF 3"/40 Lorem M1895
4 inch:
QF 4"/45 Lorem M1895
5 inch:
QF 5"/45 Lorem M1895
6 inch:
QF 6"/45 Lorem M1895

[ConscriptFive]

Appropriately Socialist infrastructure proposal:

Infrastructure Design: Nazareth Naval Steelworks Collective

The world has entered the steel age.  In feeding our industry's insatiable hunger for steel, the Steelworker's Union has focused on steel suitable for civil construction.  While the Ministry of Railroads remains the largest consumer of steel in Veenland, the brewing conflict will soon prioritize the Ministry of War.

The Nazareth Naval Steelworks Collective is a high tech spin-off of the Steelworker's Union.  Utilizing the latest in Bessemer process refining techniques, Nazareth will domestically produce tons of steel ingots at a fraction of the time and cost of blister-steel crucibles.  With the assistance of Ministry of Industry inspectors, batches of ingots will be inspected and graded.  Vertically-integrated Ministry of War industries and and shipyards will have exclusive use of the higher grades of steel, whereas unsuitable lower grades of steel may be allocated to the civilian sector via the Ministry of Industry.

[Maxim_inc]

The Vliegende Veenlander is a departure from traditional armament compared to ships of other nations. After consulting with a few foriegn dignitaries who were not informed they were communicating with officials from “That little socialist island” and learning some choice information about the current armor schemes and some experimental ones we’ve decided to build something quite different. Taking its name from the old legend of the Ship Captain who gambled his soul we’re equally doing as such with this design. The main Armament of the 7,000 ton Vliegende Veenlander is a pair of 7” double turrets situated En-Echelon on the forward deck, with the rightmost turret forward, with adequate room for both turrets to rotate 360 degrees without their guns colliding with the turret of the other. The superstructure of the ship is moved backwards providing a clear view of fire for both turrets without a large risk of damaging the superstructure, the engines likewise being shifted backwards very slightly with the funnels being raked at a 45 degree angle to prevent smoke from obscuring the bridge. The secondary battery is 4x5” guns in a single double turret situated fore and aft, the forward turret being situated in a pear-shaped turret to help give the main battery a better firing arch forward. Further protection from smaller vessels being provided by 1x3” cannons situated in casemate turrets 5 a side evenly plus 4x2” guns located in the upper superstructure.

The location of the main battery forward allows for a shorter citadel of armor rated against overcharged 7” shells in the absence of an 8” naval cannon for testing, the extended belt being rated for at least 4” shells with a belt of 9” proof armor over the bridge citadel tower. The secondary 5” turrets being proofed for 5” protection as well as the casemates being proofed for 5” shells with the 2” guns possessing a gunshield. The deck being armored to protect against most shell splinters with a few extra plates over where the main battery sits to prevent damage during cross-deck firing. The ship is planned to reach at least 19 to 20 knots of speed or more with the hopes of the smaller area devoted to armor allowing more weight being devoted to speed so it may enter and exit any engagement it pleases.

The 11”/40-’Lorem’ Kanon is a technological leap for us in Big-Gun technology built by the Kramers Steel Union. The gun barrel will be of a new build type which will be called "radially expanded", unlike other build types which used hoops or wire to reinforce the barrel it used a technique called “autofrettage” to strengthen the barrel itself to be able to handle the high pressures experienced in the gun chamber. This results in a single piece barrel that is as light as wire wound while being cheaper and fast to make. Instead of having the rifling be engraved directly onto the interior of the barrel itself an internal liner with the rifling is placed inside which can be replaced when the rifling is worn out greatly extending the service life of the barrel. The guns are designed with extreme stress reliance in mind and must be able to withstand one and one-half the determined maximum safe powder load if it should be needed for extreme range fighting as well as withstanding the pressure of the new ‘Lorem Powder’.

Speciaal Project Gepantserde Kruiser “Zeeburcht”: This 7,000 ton ‘cruiser’ is dedicated to being a floating fortress to defend the coasts of the Republic. A thick belt of 9.5” Möser-Fokker armor runs the length of the ship alongside 4” of extended belt armor over most the parts not covered by the main belt. The main battery of the “Zeeburcht” is 4x11”/40-L cannons situated in a single double turret on the fore and aft end of the deck, supporting this is a secondary battery of 8x5” canons situated in 4 double turrets two a side, finally a tertiary armament of 10x3” cannons situated in casemate mounts and 6x2” guns in the superstructure rounds out the gun placement. 2 submerged broadside torpedo tubes and 2 submerged tubes split fore and aft allows it to finish off any floundering enemy ship or surprise one that gets too close attempting to launch torpedoes itself.

The main battery is given a 9” turret face and 7.5” turret sidings, the secondary battery is given an all-round protection of 3.5” armor with the tertiary 3” guns having the same 3.5” of armor protection alongside the belt armor and the 2” guns given an anti-fragment gunshield.

The main battery has a system of 3 fire control directors, 1 in each turret which are coordinated by the third central-battery ranging and fire director which sits in the center of the superstructure. The secondary battery is also given a director for each side of the ship with the remaining guns being reliant on independent aiming. The ships powerplant allows its double shafts to move the “Zeeburcht” at 16.5 knots along the coasts of our islands alongside a decently sized coal bunker allowing it to travel outside the coasts of islands to nearby ones where it can either refuel at an appropriate base or continue its journey if it has remaining coal.

Speciaal Project Gepantserde Kruiser “Vliegende Veenlander” (1): Maxim

Kramers 11”/40-L Kanon (1): Maxim

Speciaal Project Gepantserde Kruiser “Zeeburcht” (1): Maxim

Infrastructure Design: Nazareth Naval Steelworks Collective (1): Maxim

Möser-Fokker Cemented Armor (1): Maxim

Central Rangefinding Station (1): Maxim

Lorem Smokeless Powder Design (1): Maxim

Zeeslang Torpedo (1): Maxim

Veenland National Schools of the Navy (1): Maxim

Harbor Guard Speed Boat(HGSB) (1): Maxim

Project Hothouse (1): Maxim

A-Class Destroyer (0):

Union-Class Light Cruiser (0):

Tulip-Class Cruiser (0):

Flying Veenlander CDS (0):

Flying Veenlander CDS Version 2 (0):

VPN WPUPftNM (0):

VPN WPUPftNM, with turbines (0):

[ConscriptFive]

So it's a pick 4, and not a pick 11...  (We'll just pretend that part never happened, ok?)

Anyhow, lets get our foundational tech down before we lay any ships down.  Steelworks, propellant, turbine engines, and the naval academy seem like a good start.

Speciaal Project Gepantserde Kruiser “Vliegende Veenlander” (0):
Kramers 11”/40-L Kanon (0):
Speciaal Project Gepantserde Kruiser “Zeeburcht” (0):
Infrastructure Design: Nazareth Naval Steelworks Collective (1): ConscriptFive
Möser-Fokker Cemented Armor (0):
Central Rangefinding Station (0):
Lorem Smokeless Powder Design (1): ConscriptFive
Zeeslang Torpedo (0):
Veenland National Schools of the Navy (1): ConscriptFive
Harbor Guard Speed Boat(HGSB) (0):
Project Hothouse (0):
A-Class Destroyer (0):
Union-Class Light Cruiser (0):
Tulip-Class Cruiser (0):
Flying Veenlander CDS (0):
Flying Veenlander CDS Version 2 (0):
VPN WPUPftNM (0):
VPN WPUPftNM, with turbines (1): ConscriptFive

[Maxim_inc]

Speciaal Project Gepantserde Kruiser “Vliegende Veenlander” (0):
Kramers 11”/40-L Kanon (0):
Speciaal Project Gepantserde Kruiser “Zeeburcht” (0):
Infrastructure Design: Nazareth Naval Steelworks Collective (2): ConscriptFive, Maxim
Möser-Fokker Cemented Armor (1): Maxim
Central Rangefinding Station (0):
Lorem Smokeless Powder Design (2): ConscriptFive, Maxim
Zeeslang Torpedo (0):
Veenland National Schools of the Navy (2): ConscriptFive, Maxim
Harbor Guard Speed Boat(HGSB) (0):
Project Hothouse (0):
A-Class Destroyer (0):
Union-Class Light Cruiser (0):
Tulip-Class Cruiser (0):
Flying Veenlander CDS (0):
Flying Veenlander CDS Version 2 (0):
VPN WPUPftNM (0):
VPN WPUPftNM, with turbines (1): ConscriptFive

[Aseaheru]

Speciaal Project Gepantserde Kruiser “Vliegende Veenlander” (0):
Kramers 11”/40-L Kanon (0):
Speciaal Project Gepantserde Kruiser “Zeeburcht” (0):
Infrastructure Design: Nazareth Naval Steelworks Collective (2): ConscriptFive, Maxim
Möser-Fokker Cemented Armor (2): Maxim, AseaHeru
Central Rangefinding Station (0):
Lorem Smokeless Powder Design (3): ConscriptFive, Maxim, AseaHeru
Zeeslang Torpedo (0):
Veenland National Schools of the Navy (3): ConscriptFive, Maxim, AseaHeru
Harbor Guard Speed Boat(HGSB) (0):
Project Hothouse (0):
A-Class Destroyer (0):
Union-Class Light Cruiser (0):
Tulip-Class Cruiser (0):
Flying Veenlander CDS (0):
Flying Veenlander CDS Version 2 (0):
VPN WPUPftNM (0):
VPN WPUPftNM, with turbines (2): ConscriptFive, AseaHeru

So, basic infastructure this turn, next turn improve our guns and range finding, then two turns and three designs of ships?

[NUKE9.13]

Propulsie Oorlogschepen Wetenschap Erkenning en Richtlijnen (POWER):
POWER (AKA the "Propulsion (of) Warships Science Recognition and Guidelines" project) is a project focused on what makes ships go. After throwing out the guy who mentioned sails, and submitting the guy who mentioned oars to an asylum, the team set to work improving our propulsion technology in 4 areas:

Starting at the beginning- the firebox.
-A system of oil atomizers is added to spray oil over coal, giving a burst of power in emergencies or in combat.
-Additionally, efforts are made to improve the supply of fresh air to the firebox(and incidentally, to the boiler rooms of our ships) via forced-air designs using mechanically driven fans.
-Designs for these forced air systems also include something called a "preheater", where the incoming air is heated by running the exhaust gases around its ducting.

Next, the thing the firebox heats- the boiler.
-Having somehow misplaced the information on our present boilers, the first order of business was making sure that our engines use Duizendblad water-tube boilers, which are definitely not patent-infringing Yarrow boilers.
-Feed water is run through tubes that absorb waste heat from the boiler itself, improving efficiency.
-Not for all boilers, but for the largest and highest-pressure ones, downcomers are added to improve circulation at high pressure.
-For advanced models, a superheater is added, using heat from the exhaust to superheat (as the name implies) steam generated by the boiler. Only presently experimental turbine engines need superheated steam, but it can improve the performance of regular expansion engines as well.

The engine itself also received attention.
-Although our triple-expansion engines are fine, and no radical changes are needed at this point, it was considered important to ensure that our engines were being made with the latest techniques and from cutting-edge materials, giving just a little more efficiency than might be expected. Precision matters in engines, and using the right kind of steel can have subtle but noticeable effects.

Finally, transmission systems were addressed.
-Reduction gearing on ship-scale is presently infeasible, but some groundwork was laid, ensuring that when the time comes, we will be ready.
-What is possible is adding generators powered off the drive shaft. Electrical power has great potential, so ensuring that we can supply our ships with large amounts if necessary is important.

I found Asea's engine proposal too ambitious. So I nicked it, cut it down, and re-wrote it, plus gave it a cool acronym. The boiler section is basically unchanged, although more clearly worded, I hope. I cut the mechanical stokers from the firebox section. The biggest change is that I completely axed the turbine engine- while turbine-powered ships were around as early as 1894, they wouldn't become practical for another decade or so; I think if we do turbines, it should be dedicated only to turbines, not added in as part of a large collection. The lack of turbines also means that reduction gearing is not needed, but I figured we could still lay some groundwork for it.
Now, I may have overshot with regards to cutting back, although I feel like doing a wide variety of small improvements still adds up to a reasonable design. I would be willing to compromise, adding in one or two more advanced features- though I am adamant that we should do turbines as a design unto themselves, if we do them.

Kramers 11”/40-L Kanon (0):
Infrastructure Design: Nazareth Naval Steelworks Collective (3): ConscriptFive, Maxim, NUKE9.13
Möser-Fokker Cemented Armor (2): Maxim, AseaHeru
Central Rangefinding Station (0):
Lorem Smokeless Powder Design (4): ConscriptFive, Maxim, AseaHeru, NUKE9.13
Zeeslang Torpedo (0):
Veenland National Schools of the Navy (4): ConscriptFive, Maxim, AseaHeru, NUKE9.13
Project Hothouse (0):
VPN WPUPftNM (0):
VPN WPUPftNM, with turbines (2): ConscriptFive, AseaHeru
POWER: (1) NUKE9.13


Spend 12 dice: (Everyone)

[Maxim_inc]

Kramers 11”/40-L Kanon (0):
Infrastructure Design: Nazareth Naval Steelworks Collective (3): ConscriptFive, Maxim, NUKE9.13
Möser-Fokker Cemented Armor (2): Maxim, AseaHeru
Central Rangefinding Station (0):
Lorem Smokeless Powder Design (4): ConscriptFive, Maxim, AseaHeru, NUKE9.13
Zeeslang Torpedo (0):
Veenland National Schools of the Navy (4): ConscriptFive, Maxim, AseaHeru, NUKE9.13
Project Hothouse (0):
VPN WPUPftNM (0):
VPN WPUPftNM, with turbines (2): ConscriptFive, AseaHeru
POWER: (2) NUKE9.13, Maxim


Spend 12 dice: (Everyone)

[Vostok]

Kramers 11”/40-L Kanon (0):
Infrastructure Design: Nazareth Naval Steelworks Collective (3): ConscriptFive, Maxim, NUKE9.13
Möser-Fokker Cemented Armor (3): Maxim, AseaHeru, Vostok
Central Rangefinding Station (0):
Lorem Smokeless Powder Design (5): ConscriptFive, Maxim, AseaHeru, NUKE9.13, Vostok
Zeeslang Torpedo (0):
Veenland National Schools of the Navy (4): ConscriptFive, Maxim, AseaHeru, NUKE9.13
Project Hothouse (0):
VPN WPUPftNM (0):
VPN WPUPftNM, with turbines (2): ConscriptFive, AseaHeru
POWER: (3) NUKE9.13, Maxim, Vostok


Spend 12 dice: (Everyone)

[ConscriptFive]

Kramers 11”/40-L Kanon (0):
Infrastructure Design: Nazareth Naval Steelworks Collective (3): ConscriptFive, Maxim, NUKE9.13
Möser-Fokker Cemented Armor (3): Maxim, AseaHeru, Vostok
Central Rangefinding Station (0):
Lorem Smokeless Powder Design (5): ConscriptFive, Maxim, AseaHeru, NUKE9.13, Vostok
Zeeslang Torpedo (0):
Veenland National Schools of the Navy (4): ConscriptFive, Maxim, AseaHeru, NUKE9.13
Project Hothouse (0):
VPN WPUPftNM (0):
VPN WPUPftNM, with turbines (1): AseaHeru
POWER: (4) NUKE9.13, Maxim, Vostok, ConscriptFive


Spend 12 dice: (Everyone)

[Khang36]

Kramers 11”/40-L Kanon (0):
Infrastructure Design: Nazareth Naval Steelworks Collective (3): ConscriptFive, Maxim, NUKE9.13
Möser-Fokker Cemented Armor (4): Maxim, AseaHeru, Vostok,Khang
Central Rangefinding Station (0):
Draadkruit Smokeless Powder Design (6): ConscriptFive, Maxim, AseaHeru, NUKE9.13, Vostok,Khang
Zeeslang Torpedo (0):
Veenland National Schools of the Navy (5): ConscriptFive, Maxim, AseaHeru, NUKE9.13,Khang
Project Hothouse (0):
VPN WPUPftNM (0):
VPN WPUPftNM, with turbines (2): AseaHeru,Khang
POWER: (4) NUKE9.13, Maxim, Vostok, ConscriptFive


Spend 12 dice: (Everyone)

[piratejoe]

Möser-Fokker Cemented Armor, or MF armour, named after it's inventors Karl Möser and Wilhelm Fokker is a new type of armour that has the benefits of the now obsolete compound armour while being made of a single armour plate. This is done by a process called face hardening in which the face surface of the armour plate is exposed to carbon carrying substance (charcoal or gases) and heated for 2 to 3 weeks increasing the carbon content of one side of the plate before being quenched in oil and than water. This leaves a plate with a hard face to shatter impacting shells while also having a tough and malleable back to minimize the risk of the armour plate shattering or spalling and with a single armour plate which removes the risk of armour plates separating like compound armour.

Effectiveness: 6 | Cost: 5 | Bugs: 6

The Möser-Fokker Cemented Armor is everything we could ask for and more. The plate is specifically hardened with gasses of things like Charcoal or normal coal, much like Krupp armor. The main difference, is in it's composition. By adding more materials into the alloys composition, including more chromium, a level of durability that wasn't available before was able to be created and capitalized on. In fact, this armor is likely one of the most advanced in the world, and makes Krupp obsolete. Naturally, this wonderful armor is a national secret, but it is sure to serve us well for some time, until science marches ever onward to further advancement.

After our most recent gunnery exercises many higher ups in the department if the navy have noted that our current Brown Powder propellent is underpowered to send the shells used by our ship mounted guns. Thus the chemists have come together and presented to the department of the navy "Draadkruit" Smokeless Powder.
It is a compound consisting of 58% nitroglycerin by weight, 37% guncotton and 5% petroleum jelly. The compound is extruded as spaghetti like strings for smaller, rifle rounds and in large cylinders ranging from 1-8"in diameter and 6" in length, the diameter depending on the size of the shell it will propel.

Effectiveness: 6 | Cost: 2 | Bugs: 2

First off, it is important to stress that the Draadkruit powder is a extremely good powder that, when produced in our testing facilities, has a great deal of potential, and works extremely well at lobbing shells or firing bullets far away and efferently. There is, however, a problem with mass production. Early testing by the navy has lead to some accidents, and a number of factories producing the stuff aren't exactly the best for it's production with outdated equipment made for making older powder. This needless to say is a problem, as not only does it make producing the powder far more costly than it normally should, but it also makes the powder far less reliable and effective at times. As some of it is of low quality. This low quality also makes it occasionally burst, far more than it normally should. Though, admittedly, testing has shown it is a bit more...volatile than most other powders normally are.

The Veenland Nationale Schools van de Marine scheme consists of several things; a training academy for officers, an engineering college, and a series of training centers for our sailors. Based in a half-dozen "stone frigates", each of these schools is focused on a certain naval specialty, although all do act as basic training centers.
 Schools include the "Middies Nightmare"(dedicated to post-bootcamp training of ensigns, OCS, and of training the Marines), the School of Naval Engineering(which is mostly for civilians learning, well, naval engineering), the Gunnery School, the Damage Control School, The School of Hydrography and Meteorology(and communications), and the School of Naval Medicine.

Effectiveness: 6 | Cost: 1 | Bugs: 6

The Veenland Nationale Schools van de Marine is a major investment that has allowed us to set up a fairly impressive academy for our sailors, officers and engineers. In fact, it's a fairly impressive and covers a massive wide range of subjects, like one would expect. However, this comes at a cost. This school is something that teaches more or less everything for the Navy. And, it's massive, which makes that cost quite literal. The school does what it was made to do extremely well, but due to the fact it teaches basically everything the Navy could ever need...Well...It costs more to maintain than some ships. This obviously is a problem. But, it's certainly worth it for greater quality from not just our sailors, but our marines and our captains...And our gunnery crews...and damage control crews...and nurses... And the engineering portion is open to civilians...

Honestly, it's a wonder the school doesn't cost more than it does currently, thinking about it...

Propulsie Oorlogschepen Wetenschap Erkenning en Richtlijnen (POWER):
POWER (AKA the "Propulsion (of) Warships Science Recognition and Guidelines" project) is a project focused on what makes ships go. After throwing out the guy who mentioned sails, and submitting the guy who mentioned oars to an asylum, the team set to work improving our propulsion technology in 4 areas:

Starting at the beginning- the firebox.
-A system of oil atomizers is added to spray oil over coal, giving a burst of power in emergencies or in combat.
-Additionally, efforts are made to improve the supply of fresh air to the firebox(and incidentally, to the boiler rooms of our ships) via forced-air designs using mechanically driven fans.
-Designs for these forced air systems also include something called a "preheater", where the incoming air is heated by running the exhaust gases around its ducting.

Next, the thing the firebox heats- the boiler.
-Having somehow misplaced the information on our present boilers, the first order of business was making sure that our engines use Duizendblad water-tube boilers, which are definitely not patent-infringing Yarrow boilers.
-Feed water is run through tubes that absorb waste heat from the boiler itself, improving efficiency.
-Not for all boilers, but for the largest and highest-pressure ones, downcomers are added to improve circulation at high pressure.
-For advanced models, a superheater is added, using heat from the exhaust to superheat (as the name implies) steam generated by the boiler. Only presently experimental turbine engines need superheated steam, but it can improve the performance of regular expansion engines as well.

The engine itself also received attention.
-Although our triple-expansion engines are fine, and no radical changes are needed at this point, it was considered important to ensure that our engines were being made with the latest techniques and from cutting-edge materials, giving just a little more efficiency than might be expected. Precision matters in engines, and using the right kind of steel can have subtle but noticeable effects.

Finally, transmission systems were addressed.
-Reduction gearing on ship-scale is presently infeasible, but some groundwork was laid, ensuring that when the time comes, we will be ready.
-What is possible is adding generators powered off the drive shaft. Electrical power has great potential, so ensuring that we can supply our ships with large amounts if necessary is important.

Effectiveness: 6 | Cost: 2 | Bugs: 5

POWER is a major project and undertaking that we needed to invest in. And, that investment payed off quite well. First of all, the improvements to our engines with the additional materials have improved reliability to a degree not seen before with minimal addition of weight. Further, it has improved the general efficiency of the engines massively due to the addition of the varying intakes, the addition of oil sprayers, and the boilers. And, on top of all of that, it has laid groundwork for yet greater works of Veenland Engineering that will be the marvel of the world. However, all of this is fairly complex, as one would expect. And as such, this has lead to a increase in the time it takes to produce the varying materials that make up the engine and add to it's effectiveness. This needless to say means it costs more than we'd like. Of course, any price is good enough for the defense of the glorious workers that make up our country. Still, the varying tweaks have set us up extremely well for our engines in the future to come. Though, there isn't that much realistically we can do to improve them, at least, as far as we know so far...Science marches ever onwards after all.
 

It is now the Design Phase of Pre game Turn 2. You have 6 dice remaining to spend on Designs, ships, or simply Save for the next turn.

Spoiler: Projects (click to show/hide)

None

Spoiler: Technology (click to show/hide)

Naval
Early 2/3/4/5/6/7/9/10/12 inch guns
Advanced Triple-expansion engines.
Decent Boilers
Early coal/oil hybrid firing.
Steel hull construction.
Single Casemates.
Single and Double gun turrets.
Möser-Fokker Cemented Armor
Basic Damage control techniques.
Cordite Draadkruit Smokeless Powder

Marines & Installations
Defensive guns (Uses same calibers as naval guns)
UVW T92G (Basic Bolt Action Rifle)
UVW T88R (Basic Revolver)

Spoiler: Ship Classes (click to show/hide)

None at the moment

Spoiler: Ships (click to show/hide)

Also none at the moment

Spoiler: Land Instillation's, Schools, & Dock Size (click to show/hide)

Veenland National School of the Navy (Costs 20 PP to maintain)

7,000 Displacement Dry docks.

[NUKE9.13]

Alright, so. We obviously need to fix Draadkruit- at the very least the reliability needs to be improved, and ideally the cost as well. Likewise, it would probably be good to fix the cost of POWER, although that might not be critical.
And, of course, the school... it is a major boon (boosting the starting XP of both crews and captains), but 20PP is a HUGE cost (going off of last game's PP totals, it would probably be more than 25% of our budget). If we can't slash the cost by at least half, I don't think it will be worth using. It may not be possible to achieve such major cost-cutting without making some sacrifices, however.

In addition to those revisions, I'm guessing we might also want to do something in the realm of designing better guns? I dunno how much room to grow there is in the area, though- maybe they're good enough for now? I mean, we don't have infinite dice, and we do want to make sure we have ships in ship-shape before the game starts, which means 8 dice to start the designs, and preferably at least two held in reserve to revise any major flaws.
In fact, it might be best to keep two dice in reserve this turn, so we have 8 dice next turn to design two ships, then be able to fix any flaws on the fourth (and final) pre-game turn (and maybe design a third ship?). I'm not sure if there are revision phases in the pre-game- if so, it won't be so important to do the two ships on the third turn, we could push one into the fourth since we'd still be able to revise it before the game starts (if we revise it after the game starts it won't apply to our starting fleet).