I have done three different designs on the South Carolina as a full sized dreadnought battleship, instead of her real-life design, which was a pre-dreadnought posing as a dreadnought. Seriously, though, the South Carolina class was 138 meters long, compared to the 155m of the Dreadnought. My fourth design for an "alternate" design for the South Carolina is a semi-dreadnought design. It keeps the overall size of the original real design, but switches around the arnament. She now has only four 12 inch guns, but has four turrets amidships with 10 inch guns from the Tennessee class armored cruisers. She also has the six inch casemated guns mounted in the hull.
![[ img ]](https://i.imgur.com/DeMmvMv.png)
- USS South Carolina, USA, Semi-Dreadnought laid down in 1904
Displacement:
16 470 t light; 17 367 t standard; 18 713 t normal; 19 790 t full load
Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
452,00 ft / 448,00 ft x 78,74 ft x 25,00 ft (normal load)
137,77 m / 136,55 m x 24,00 m x 7,62 m
Armament:
4 - 12,00" / 305 mm guns (2x2 guns), 864,00lbs / 391,90kg shells, 1904 Model
Breech loading guns in turrets (on barbettes)
on centreline ends, evenly spread
8 - 10,00" / 254 mm guns (4x2 guns), 500,00lbs / 226,80kg shells, 1904 Model
Breech loading guns in turrets (on barbettes)
on side, all amidships
10 - 6,00" / 152 mm guns in single mounts, 108,00lbs / 48,99kg shells, 1904 Model
Breech loading guns in casemate mounts
on side, evenly spread
16 - 3,00" / 76,2 mm guns (8x2 guns), 13,50lbs / 6,12kg shells, 1904 Model
Breech loading guns in deck mounts
on side, evenly spread
Weight of broadside 8 752 lbs / 3 970 kg
Shells per gun, main battery: 100
2 - 21,0" / 533,4 mm submerged torpedo tubes
Armour:
- Belts: Width (max) Length (avg) Height (avg)
Main: 12,0" / 305 mm 287,50 ft / 87,63 m 15,50 ft / 4,72 m
Ends: 8,00" / 203 mm 106,00 ft / 32,31 m 8,50 ft / 2,59 m
54,50 ft / 16,61 m Unarmoured ends
Main Belt covers 99 % of normal length
Main belt does not fully cover magazines and engineering spaces
- Torpedo Bulkhead:
1,50" / 38 mm 336,50 ft / 102,57 m 12,00 ft / 3,66 m
- Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
Main: 12,0" / 305 mm 8,00" / 203 mm 10,0" / 254 mm
2nd: 9,00" / 229 mm 2,50" / 64 mm 9,00" / 229 mm
3rd: 2,50" / 64 mm 2,50" / 64 mm -
- Armour deck: 2,50" / 64 mm, Conning tower: 12,00" / 305 mm
Machinery:
Coal fired boilers, complex reciprocating steam engines,
Direct drive, 2 shafts, 18 479 ihp / 13 785 Kw = 18,50 kts
Range 6 950nm at 10,00 kts
Bunker at max displacement = 2 423 tons (100% coal)
Complement:
799 - 1 039
Cost:
£1,876 million / $7,503 million
Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
Armament: 1 094 tons, 5,8 %
Armour: 6 316 tons, 33,8 %
- Belts: 2 670 tons, 14,3 %
- Torpedo bulkhead: 224 tons, 1,2 %
- Armament: 1 882 tons, 10,1 %
- Armour Deck: 1 358 tons, 7,3 %
- Conning Tower: 182 tons, 1,0 %
Machinery: 2 717 tons, 14,5 %
Hull, fittings & equipment: 6 242 tons, 33,4 %
Fuel, ammunition & stores: 2 243 tons, 12,0 %
Miscellaneous weights: 100 tons, 0,5 %
Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
19 890 lbs / 9 022 Kg = 23,0 x 12,0 " / 305 mm shells or 2,7 torpedoes
Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1,12
Metacentric height 4,3 ft / 1,3 m
Roll period: 15,9 seconds
Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 79 %
- Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0,91
Seaboat quality (Average = 1.00): 1,58
Hull form characteristics:
Hull has rise aft of midbreak, low quarterdeck
Block coefficient: 0,743
Length to Beam Ratio: 5,69 : 1
'Natural speed' for length: 21,17 kts
Power going to wave formation at top speed: 49 %
Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 9,10 degrees
Stern overhang: -2,00 ft / -0,61 m
Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
- Stem: 25,00 ft / 7,62 m
- Forecastle (20 %): 22,00 ft / 6,71 m
- Mid (50 %): 13,50 ft / 4,11 m (22,00 ft / 6,71 m aft of break)
- Quarterdeck (15 %): 13,50 ft / 4,11 m (22,00 ft / 6,71 m before break)
- Stern: 15,00 ft / 4,57 m
- Average freeboard: 19,80 ft / 6,04 m
Ship space, strength and comments:
Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 126,1 %
- Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 140,2 %
Waterplane Area: 29 357 Square feet or 2 727 Square metres
Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 91 %
Structure weight / hull surface area: 151 lbs/sq ft or 739 Kg/sq metre
Hull strength (Relative):
- Cross-sectional: 0,92
- Longitudinal: 2,01
- Overall: 1,00
Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is cramped
Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent
Ship has slow, easy roll, a good, steady gun platform
Excellent seaboat, comfortable, can fire her guns in the heaviest weather