Wednesday, 7 September 2011

A Spanish super-Washington cruiser project 138 and pocket-battleship concepts

With a displacement of 17.500 tons standard and the dimensions 217.66 (waterline)-225,56 (maximum) x 23.58 m x 6,15m and depth 12,8m. Fitted out with 4 steam turbines and 6 boilers delivering 170.000 hp allowing a astonishing speed of 36 knots! She was armed with 4-203mm triple turrets, 6-90cm twin turrets, 4-75mm guns, 6-40mm guns, 20-20mm guns, 2 airplanes launched with a catapult, 2 triple 533mm torpedo launchers and 4 mortar launchers. Armour for instance was horizontal 755mm, the barbettes 150mm and the battle tower 100-150mm.





Note: the plans for the other two ships, with larger main armament differs. It was planned to buy the armament from the German Gneisenau and Scharnhorst because these two ships were to be refit with 380mm guns in place of the original 280mm SK guns. The latter guns would probely have been sold to the Spanish to add them one these cruisers. In 1936 when the Spanish cival war was going on, the battleship Alfonso XIII (British build) (13) was sunk by the Republicans by torpedos. The main armament of 12-inch (305-mm) guns were removed and dropped into the sea, to be later recovered by the Dutch-build salvage vessel Kanguro (could spelled as Kanguru/Kanguroo aswell) (originally intended to recover lost submarines) and salvage and repair them to place them on a other cruiser design in case the Germans could not sell the 280mm SK guns.

Note to the drawings: Her secondary armament could be different using various types. I use the one which would have added to destroyers as well and in the second design.