Greetings!
Apologies for the long dry spell. This post is not strictly a continuation of the Nusantara AU, but rather a place to post my work as I have time, and because of this, new images will be uploaded on an intermittent basis for the foreseeable future.
Despite this, please enjoy these as they occur. Comments are welcome, as always.
Starting off with a couple of Nusantaran battlewagons. The
Iya class is a slightly updated image from the Treaty Battleship Challenge:
Iya class battleships:
Nusantara’s participation in the Washington Naval Conference of 1921-22 was the direct result of a Japanese plan to stifle her long-time rival’s naval expansion which was now perceived as a threat to the Empire’s ambitions in the Pacific – albeit a lesser one than posed by the United States or Britain.
However, these efforts were derailed at the conference itself. Japan immediately pushed for Nusantara to have parity with France and Italy at a ratio of 1.7, whereas the US and the UK wanted Nusantara to have parity with Japan. After weeks of heated debate a compromise was reached; Nusantara was allowed a ratio of 2.3, which equaled 244,000 metric tons for capital ships compared to Japan’s allowance of 320,000 metric tons. However, the big win for Nusantara was the provision allowing the country to complete the
Lewotobi class, which was currently under construction, in order to meet treaty limits, which of course did nothing to mollify the Japanese and further strained already poor relations with Nusantara.
After the so-called “building holiday” established by the Treaty expired in late 1931, the Nusantaran Admiralty issued specifications for a new class of battleship to replace the
Kerinci class battleships and the now thoroughly obsolete
Toba class semi-dreadnoughts which were nearing their twentieth year in service and thus eligible for replacement. A number of designs were created between 1932 and 1934 in keeping to the Treaty displacement limits of 35,560 metric tons armed with eight to twelve 343mm (13.5”) guns. The Admiralty wasn’t satisfied with these designs, however, as Japan already fielded two battleships with 16” guns and eight with 14” guns. New specifications were issued in 1935 for ships with a heavier main battery.
As it transpired, the solution was already at hand. Back in 1920, as work began on what would be the
Lewotobi class, the KNM purchased several British 15” Mk I guns originally intended for now-cancelled members of the
Queen Elizabeth and
Royal Sovereign classes as evaluation weapons. As part of this process, the Nationale Bewapeningswerken (National Armament Works or NB) took one of the guns and over-bored it to 393mm (15.5”), designating it the 393mm/40 Mk I. Work had continued on this weapon and by 1935 the NB was confident a 45-caliber variant could be produced to arm the new ships.
This revised program hit a snag when Nusantara, along with the US, Britain, and France, signed the 1936 London Naval Treaty which maintained the Washington Treaty 35,000 ton displacement limit, but also limited maximum gun size to 14” (356mm), which required another revision to the design by swapping the proposed 393mm’s for an up-rated 343mm/50 Mk III. This change delayed the start of construction until late 1937.
However, Japan’s refusal to sign the 1936 London Treaty triggered the escalation clause allowing up to 16” (406mm) guns. Nusantara immediately swapped out the planned quad 343mm turrets for triple mounts with the new 393mm/45 Mk IV – made possible when the designers, suspecting the Japanese wouldn’t sign the treaty, ensured the turret base rings were the same diameter for both mounts (a similar change occurred in the US when the 14” guns intended for the
North Carolina class were swapped for new design 16” weapons).
The first ship in the class, Iya, was laid down in October of 1937, followed by four sister-ships;
Talakmau, Masurai, Kunyit, and
Imun, over the next two years.
Iya and
Talakmau were in service when war with Japan broke out in July of 1941, and
Kunyit commissioned by early 1942. Construction had lagged on the other two ships as war approached however, and both were cancelled in December of 1941, soon after broken up on the slipways to free up space for the Emergency Carrier Program. Commissioned initially without radar and with an outdated battery of 75mm AA guns, the three ships completed were quickly equipped with British radars, fire-control systems, and modern license-built 40mm and 20mm anti-aircraft weapons.
The Iya class, although slightly outgunned by the Japanese
Nagato class and severely outgunned by the
Yamatos’, nevertheless gave a good accounting of themselves.
Talakmau was lost in April of 1943 to an air-strike from the Japanese carriers
Shokaku and
Zuikaku off Formosa, but
Iya and
Kunyit, although damaged on several occasions, survived the war.
Kunyit’s crowning moment was undoubtedly in August of 1945 when, along with the newer
Ijen, she fought the
Yamato off Okinawa. Although taking heavy fire, the two Nusantaran battlewagons showered the
Yamato with over a hundred 393mm AP and HE rounds, which, although failing to sink her, severely damaged the superstructure, fire-control gear, most of the secondary battery, and wrecked the funnel uptakes and several boilers, forcing the crippled battleship to be taken under tow. Both Nusantaran ships were badly damaged in the encounter –
Kunyit severely – but would be repaired and returned to service.
Yamato would be torpedoed and sunk two days after the battle by the
Cavalerie (O-162), a
Jimpul class submarine, before she could reach Japan.
After the war ended in September of 1946, the
Iya class continued in active service until placed in reserve in 1962.
Iya was scrapped four years later, but
Kunyit became a museum ship and can still be visited today.
In class: (3+2)
Iya, Talakmau, Maurai (cancelled incomplete 1941, scrapped),
Kunyit, Imun (cancelled incomplete 1941, scrapped)
Built: 1937-1942
In commission: 1940-1962
Displacement: 35,200 ts standard, 38,820 ts full load
Dimensions: Length (o/a) 225.0m, length (w/l) 220.0m, beam 32.5m, draft (normal) 9.5m
Propulsion: 4-shaft, 4 x SKR geared turbines, 16 x HeV oil-fired boilers; 94,500 shp
Performance: 27.0 knots
Range: 12,000 nm at 12 knots
Armor: Belt 350mm tapering to 100mm ends, deck 145-120mm, main turrets 380-200mm, main barbettes 360mm, secondary turrets 50-25mm, torpedo bulkhead 30mm, forward conning tower 350mm, aft conning tower 50mm
Armament: 9 (3 x 3) NB 393mm/45 Mk IV, 16 (8 x 2) NB 114mm/45 Mk II; original AA battery: 8 x NB 75mm HA Mk VII; AA battery by January of 1945: 60 x NB 40mm AA Mk I (8 x 4, 14 x 2), 52 x NB 20mm AA Mk I (16 x 2, 20 x 1); 2-3 Royer V1R Meeuw scout floatplanes (replaced by 1944 by Royer V3R Albatros)
Sensors/Electronics: Type 273 surface-search radar, Type 277 air/surface search radar, Type 281 air-search radar, 2 x Type XX 5-meter fire control directors; 4 x Type AIII (license-built British HACS) AA fire control directors
Crew: 1,338-1,750
Bromo class battleships:
Design work on what would become the
Bromo class began in mid 1937 initially as an upgraded follow-on to the
Iya class. As intelligence out of Japan indicated they were building at least two super battleships with a battery of 410mm (16.1”) main guns, changes were demanded by the Admiralty intended to counter the Japanese ships.
This was of course the
Yamato class which was being built under extreme secrecy and actually armed with 460mm (18.1”) guns – a fact that wasn’t confirmed until early in 1945 by naval recon aircraft, after the Nusantaran ships had already entered service.
Due to delays caused by design changes and lengthening the slipways at the Surabaya Navy Yard, construction on the lead ship,
Bromo, didn’t begin until October of 1940. She was followed by four sisterships laid down over the next eight months.
Construction slowed dramatically after the outbreak of war in July of 1941 as materials and personnel were transferred to the Emergency Carrier Program, so the final two ships;
Ranau and
Marapi, were suspended in June of 1942 while construction of
Bromo, Sibayak, and
Ijen proceeded, albeit at a slower rate. Finally, in March of 1943, the decision was made to complete only the two ships furthest along,
Bromo and
Ijen, and scrap the remaining three, which were broken up on the slipways by Spring of 1944.
Bromo (B-24) commissioned in January of 1944,
Ijen (B-26) a year later. Both ships saw limited action during the conflict, being used primarily as fast carrier escorts and for shore bombardment duties. One of the rare exceptions occurred in August of 1945 when a powerful task force centered on the Japanese super battleship
Yamato attempted to intercept a Nusantaran amphibious assault group bound for the island of Okinawa.
As the bulk of Nusantara’s carriers were engaged in the on-going campaign to seize Formosa (Taiwan) from the Japanese, a force centered on the battleships
Ijen and
Kunyit was hurriedly assembled and deployed to intercept the
Yamato. The result was one of the only battleship to battleship encounters of the war. As detailed under the entry for the Iya class, both Nusantaran ships were seriously damaged in the battle but still managed to cripple the Japanese giant, which had to be towed away from the area after the action was broken off.
Ijen was repaired over the next six months and re-entered service in February of 1946. Over the last seven months of the conflict both
Bromos’ continued to carry out shore bombardments in support of Nusantaran Army and Marine landings. Their last major engagement was the July 1946 surprise raid on the Sasebo Naval District on the island of Kyushu. The two battleships and their cruiser escort evaded dwindling Japanese patrols and bombarded the District for over an hour before withdrawing causing heavy damage to the facility. This incident (along with increasingly devastating bomber raids on Japanese cities and industry) was later sited as one of the factors convincing the Japanese government to agree to a crease-fire.
Both ships continued on active duty postwar until placed in reserve in 1967. They were reactivated in 1976 during the South China Sea Crisis, conducting patrols in the disputed area during which they engaged enemy forces on several occasions. In 1977
Bromo assisted in rescuing survivors of the American guided missile battleship
Nebraska after she was sunk by Soviet ships off Vietnam.
Returned to reserve in 1978, the two ships were briefly considered for conversion into either missile or aviation ships, but this fell through due to cost concerns. The pair were finally declared surplus and broken up between 1982 and 1984.
In class: (2+3)
Bromo, Sibayak (cancelled incomplete 1943, scrapped),
Ijen, Ranau, Marapi (both cancelled incomplete 1943, scrapped)
Built: 1940-1945
In commission: 1944-1978
Displacement: 52,990 ts standard, 57,690 ts full load
Dimensions: Length (o/a) 260.3m, length (w/l) 258.1m, beam 33.0m, draft (normal) 9.7m
Propulsion: 4-shaft, 4 x SKR geared turbines, 16 x HeV oil-fired boilers; 207,420 shp
Performance: 31.0 knots
Range: 12,000 nm at 12 knots
Armor: Belt 340mm (inclined 15 degrees) tapering to 100mm ends, deck 150-120mm, main turrets 400-250mm, main barbettes 380mm, secondary turrets 50-25mm, torpedo bulkhead 40mm, forward conning tower 400mm, aft conning tower 50mm
Armament: 12 (4 x 3) NB 393mm/45 Mk IV, 20 (10 x 2) NB 134mm/50 Mk I; AA battery by January of 1945: 64 x NB 40mm AA Mk I (12 x 4, 8 x 2), 60 x NB 20mm AA Mk I (16 x 2, 28 x 1); 2-3 Royer V3R Albatros
Sensors/Electronics: Type IV surface-search radar, Type VI air/surface search radar, Type III air-search radar, 2 x Type XXI 5-meter fire control directors; 4 x Type AIII AA fire control directors (all license-built UK units)
Crew: 1,809-2,353
Cheers!
Stealthjester