Shipbucket

Andromeda Class


HMS Agamemnon, May 1941

HMS Agamemnon was the second Andromeda-class anti-aircraft cruiser to be completed, in March 1941. Following her working up she was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet and arrived just in time to take part in the evacuation from Crete. In the hard days that followed she destroyed eleven German and Italian aircraft, suffering splinter damage from near-misses but luckily not being hit herself. Agamemnon was also involved in the Malta convoy operations of 1942 before being transferred home for refit in September 1942. She would go on to serve with the Home Fleet.

The 5.1in gun had been developed from 1937 to replace the interwar 4.7in DP guns as the Admiralty called for greater hitting power for a gun suitable for a general purpose cruiser. The between-decks (BD) mounts were based on the 4.7in turret but enlarged for greater space and a sighting position added for local control. Agamemnon was the first ship in her class to be fitted with the 13.2mm FN-Browning, which had been selected in early 1940 by an Anglo-French committee as a common heavy machine gun for aircraft. Licenced production had only begun in early 1941 and only a handful of quadruple powered mounts had been completed. Oerlikons were added in lieu of Brownings to several cruisers at this time. The HACS Mk.III was an improvement on the interwar HACS with a new stabilised rangefinder and a new Fire Control Computer using tachometric principles.

Displacement: 5,870 tons (standard)
Dimensions: length 508ft 6in (oa) 503ft (wl); beam 52ft; draught 19ft (over ASDIC dome)
Machinery: four Admiralty 3-drum boilers supplying steam to four turbines, 62,000shp
Propulsion 4 shafts; 4 steam turbines
Speed: 31.75kts (clean)
Range: 4,800 nautical miles at 10kts
Armament:
6x2 5.1/45in DP guns in BD.Mk.I mounts (400rpg)
2x4 2pdr pom-poms (1,000prg)
4x4 13.2mm FN-Browning heavy machine guns
2x1 13.2mm FN-Browning heavy machine guns
4x1 20mm Oerlikon cannon
2x3 21in torpedo tube mounts (12x torpedoes)
6x depth charges
Radars, Fire-Control and ASDICs:
Type 279 air-search radar
Type 272 surface-search radar
2x Type 282 pom-pom barrage fire director radars
Type 278 ASDIC
HA/LA Director Tower with Type 284 fire-control radar
2x HACS Mk.III with Type 285 fire-control radar
Crew: 503

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Hood's Worklist
English Electric Canberra FD
Interwar RN Capital Ships
Super-Darings
Never-Were British Aircraft

Armada Republicana Española-Crucero Antiaéreo Méndez Núñez
With the success of Operation Merodeo and the timely commissioning of the rebuilt Jaime I, the Spanish Republicans gained a significant advantage over the Nationalists on sea, the latter ship having no equivalent in Caudillo's fleet.
The cruiser Mendez Nunez, being the oldest warship in the armada, was therefore considered divertable for modernization and overseas operations.
As a result, he was sent to the Cretan Souda's shipyard in November 1939 for a first major refit. The main armament was retained, but anti-aircraft guns were added. Of the 12 boilers, the 6 that were running on coal were converted to oil. Moreover, the 4 funnels were grouped into one to free up space and clear the fire arcs. A new, enlarged conning tower was fitted, the extra space being temporarily used for the command duty for which it was intended. All of this was achieved in just 3 months. In anticipation of the work, teams of engineers had already been dispatched to the ship to measure the dimensions so parts could be built before the ship's arrival.
In this guise he was appointed Admiral ship of the new Escuadrón Sur Atlántico (fakely named Escuadrón Oriental at first) which headed for the Suez Canal in April 1940.
El Prado battle plan fulfilled; the ship was once again available for the second stage of her reconstruction. As soon as 10 april 1940 the admiralty was transferred to the seaplane-tender Dedalo then the cruiser set sail back to Crete where it undergoes the complete dismantling of its armament. The new layout focused on repelling air attacks.
The main guns were arranged in four twin 90mm dual-purpose turrets, one forward and three superfiring aft. On either side were three twin 40mm closed mounts. It was supplemented by no less than twenty-six 20 mm guns, eight triple turrets and two open single mounts.
The experience of the first fairing led to raising the smoke stack to spare the rear directors.
Although its main guns were supposed to engage sea target, the decrease in fire power was considered too heavy, so the torpedo launch capability was maintained, but the former 533mm tubes were replaced by new ones.
After eight months of intensive work, the new crucero antiaéreo Méndez Núñez was commissioned.
He didn't went back to ex Spanish Guinea (now Generalidad en Golfo de Guinea) but joined the Gran Escuadrón de Batalla. He nevertheless had the opportunity to go around africa again to support the landing in the Spanish Sahara in 1941.
Officially his carreer as anti-aircraft cruiser was quite transitory. Shortly after Tarfaya battle, given his dimensions and armament, he was declassified as an anti-aircraft destroyer.


A word about the sources and design:
Alternate spanish republic is in my mind since I started to be interested in alternative history. In real life nationalist rebuilt the ship as anti-aircraft cruiser in 1947. So, this challenge was the perfect opportunity to post the first ship of my Armada Republicana.
The base is the 1938 version of the ship posted by reytuerto in his exellent "Spanish Civil War vessels". I used component of previous Cretan ships to reflect the support of the sister insular republic, which i tried to alter in a more "spanish" mood, especially for the smoke stack.
History and ships of the Armada Republicana Española will be detailled in my next post (very soon......)

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"You can rape history, if you give her a child"
Alexandre Dumas

JE SUIS CHARLIE

Mizriah-class light cruiser



Requirements for an anti-aircraft escort cruiser that would eventually become the Mizriah-class existed as early as 1344, and also the St Azia class. During St Azia's development, an alternative, smaller design study was submitted that would have gone for quantity of hulls over size of hulls. The common basis of these designs was an emphasis on dual-purpose main battery artillery, be it 130mm guns or 150s. The Antarans did not perfect the auto-loading DP 150mm gun until 1347, and despite initial teething problems, the navy wanted more guns of this type on the water. However the war had ended and St Azia was too expensive to procure in great numbers.

The kamikaze threat scared many in the navy, and despite the war having ended, there was still a great desire to tighten up air defences for the fleet. Antara's older cruisers were no longer seen as being 'good enough' to escort their carriers. Thus the Mizriah class was born, mostly as a replacement for the myriad of older cruisers now thought of as obsolencent in the modern world. Mizriah would be a cheaper continuation of St Azia, built to a smaller displacement, thinner armor and significantly less, but still potent artillery. Initially it was planned for the class to replace the entirety of the navy's interwar cruiser fleet, however this did not survive long due to post-war budget slashing. In the end, only three vessels were commissioned in 1354.

The Mizriahs were the last gun cruisers to be built, and that period of being actual gun cruisers was short lived as they would be converted to missile cruisers just 10 years later.

Specifications

Displacement - 12 560 tonnes standard, 17 600 tonnes full load
Speed - 32 knots planned, 33.5 knots on trial
Range - 20 000nm at 15 knots
Main Armament - 3xIII 150mm/60 dual-purpose, auto-loading guns
Secondary Armament - 2xII & 4xI 130mm/54 dual-purpose, auto-loading guns
Tertiary Armament - Numerous 76mm/50s
Armor - 150mm belt, 150mm decks (total), 178mm turret face, 100mm turret sides, 178mm barbettes, 100mm CT

Ships in Class

Mizriah - scrapped, 1395
White Rock - scrapped, 1394
Haraburg - scuttled, 1379

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The Senshi class of heavy cruisers were, by all accounts, excellent ships for their time. Designed in the mid 1930s and first commissioned in 1938, they boasted an impressive main battery of fifteen 6"/47 duel-purpose guns in five triple turrets, sixteen 5"/38 duel-purpose secondary guns in eight twin turrets, 6" of main belt armor, and a top speed of 30 knots, as was standard for all battle-line ships of the time. However, despite their downright impressive anti-aircraft firepower by 1930s standards, the outbreak of war between Akitsukuni, the Empire of Huaxia, and the Saxalonion Empire rapidly demonstrated that there was still much to be desired when it came their, and indeed the entire fleet's ability to reliably shoot down the latest naval attack aircraft.

Experience during the Third Akitsukuni-Saxalo war and the fleet problems during the interwar period had shown that stopping a massed air attack was effectively impossible, and that aircraft carriers with their thin deck armor would only survive by operating relatively alone, and trying to find and strike the enemy carrier before they themselves could be found and sunk. However, it had always been the case that the main battle line, with the thick deck armor of the battleships and high maneuverability of the cruisers and destroyers, were not subject to the same degree of vulnerability. Now with the advent of more advanced aircraft, bombs, and torpedos, it appeared that this was no longer the case. The employment of RADAR and improvements to aerial command and control did somewhat alleviate this, by for the first time offering carriers the possibility of truly stopping a massed air attack with their combat air patrols before it reached them. However, this alone could not always be relied on, and at the same time as better carrier and aviation doctrines were being perfected, work also began on improving the anti-aircraft capabilities of the Navy's surface ships.

Full development began on an improved version of the Senshi class in early 1942, only months after the US's introduction into the war. The basic hull configuration was kept, but the triple Type 16 6"/47 gun turrets were swapped out for duel Type 19 6"/50 guns. Although at first the decrease from three to two guns per turret may seem counter-intuative, it was made worth it because it allowed for the installation of the advanced autoloaders used by the Type 19s, that could fire up to 17 rounds per minute. The size of the machinery these autoloaders required however was considerable, leading to the rather unusual turret shape used to accommodate them, and also resulted in a large increase in the weight and complexity of the turrets despite the decrease in the number of guns used. This was compensated for by increasing the length of the ships by about 70 feet, which combined with better machinery also allowed for a higher maximum speed of around 32 knots to be reached.

In addition multiple smaller improvements were also made, such as redesigning the superstructure, adding more 40mm anti-aircraft cannons, and improving the ship's fire control and electronic equipment, among dozens of other changes. Design work on the new ships would ultimately take a little under a year, with the lead ship USS Taikyū (CB 181) being laid down in late 1942, though her Type 19 guns would not be ready to be installed until she was almost finished over a year and a half later. By mid 1944 she and several of her sisters had been commissioned, and they quickly began showing their worth as effective anti-aircraft ships, capable of downing even the most modern enemy aircraft. Subsequent refits in 1945 added more advanced radar gunlayers, and allowed them to even effectively intercept Huaxian suicide attacks.

With the end of the first part of the World War in early 1947 came a small degree of respite. However, despite the official cease-fire, no actual terms for the end of the war with Saxalon had been signed, and as such the concern that at any point the conflict might flare up again persisted. As a result, in the late 1940s the Surface Combatant Modernization Program began, which among other things involved several refits for the Taikyū class ships. These comprised of upgrading their electronics and fire-control systems, replacing the duel 5"/36 turrets with faster-firing duel 3"/50 turrets which promised to be more effective against the newest jet-powered attack aircraft, adding Type 5A1 launchers for the new Type 3A1 anti-aircraft heat-seeking missiles, redesigning some of their superstructure to accommodate new command and control systems, completely revamping her aviation facilities by removing her catapults, redesigning her hangar with a new elevator, and adding a helicopter landing pad, and a multitude of smaller changes as well.

With all said and done, the ships now had considerably more punch than before. Their Type 20 guns had been slightly modified to allow for the firing of the atomic anti-aircraft shells that now filled up the majority of their magazines, as well as the new experimental Type 8A3 guided anti-aircraft rounds, which allowed them to remain an effective weapon system even in the face of ever-faster and more capable enemy aircraft. They also received four fixed 21" torpedo tubes, capable of firing guided anti-submarine torpedoes. However, since the ships lacked a sonar system of their own, they would be forced to rely on datalinking to the systems mounted aboard other ships. Speaking of which, part of the upgrade process included the instillation of the computers and antennas needed for the Ījisu combat system, which allowed the ship to network her sensor and fire control systems with other vessels also equipped with the system, as a result massively simplifying the command and control process and allowing for a fleet of such networked ships to much more quickly and effectively mount a coordinated defense against enemy attacks.


General Specifications (Taikyū class, 1954 SCMP-II refit)

Length: 684.5 ft overall, 669 ft waterline
Beam: 75.5 ft overall, 70 ft waterline
Drought: 23 ft light, 27.5 ft maximum
Displacement: 13,500 tonnes light, 17,000 tonnes maximum


Propulsion

4x Kobayashi Drive Yards Type 95 steam boilers (25,000 shp ea.)
4x Kobayashi Drive Yards Type 232 geared steam turbines
4x Kobayashi Drive Yards Type 586 screws
Speed: 32 kts
Range: 10,000 nmi at 16 kts


Accommodation and Endurance

Crew complement: 1,200 crewmembers
Supplies: 30 days for 1,200 crewmembers
Underway replenishment: performed via cable-based unrep equipment in bays on both sides of the ship


Sensors, Electronic Warfare Systems, and Decoys

1x Baker Radio Systems Type 15A3 two-dimensional air-search RADAR
1x Baker Radio Systems Type 18A2 two-dimensional air-search height-finding RADAR
1x Evelyn's Electronics Emporium Type 12A5 two-dimensional surface-search RADAR
2x Baker Radio Systems Type 13A4 target tracking RADARs (on Type 34 directors)
6x Evelyn's Electronics Emporium Type 35A2 target tracking RADARs (2 on Type 36 directors, 4 on Type 45 directors)
6x Baker Radio Systems Type 27A1 target tracking RADARs (2 each on 3 Type 19 turrets)
2x Evelyn's Electronics Emporium Type 7A3 RADAR direction finders


Electronic Warfare and Decoys

2x Evelyn's Electronics Emporium Type 9A1 EWAR sets


Armament

5x2 6" / 50 caliber Type 19A1 automatic duel-purpose guns (2,200 rounds tot.)
8x2 3" / 50 caliber Type 35A8 automatic anti-aircraft guns (24,000 rounds tot.)
4x2 40 mm / 70 caliber Type 77A1 automatic general purpose machine guns (12,000 rounds. tot.)
2x Type 5A1 anti aircraft missile launchers (8 rounds. tot)
4x Type 29A3 530 mm side-mounted fixed-facing torpedo tubes (32 rounds tot.)


Small Craft Facilities

1x 4,000 sq ft flight deck aft
1x internal hangar aft (5 mediumweight rotorcraft tot.)
2x extendable boat handling cranes amidships
1x On-deck boat storage area amidships (2 large motor launches, 2 small motor launches, and single rigid-hulled dingy tot.)





Of course, the modernisation process didn't just stop in 1954. The recommencement of hostilities with Saxalo in late 1955 and subsequent island-hopping champaign eastwards towards the Ionian continent resulted in a return to the wartime economy of 1941-46, and as the need to screen ever-increasing numbers of carrier, battleship, battlecruiser, and amphibious assault groups from enemy air attack grew, a considerable number of 1940s era ships started being refitted with the latest anti-aircraft missiles, and the Taikyū class was no exception. The forward three 6"/50 turrets were removed, and in their place a new Type 9A1 twin-arm anti-aircraft missile launcher was fitted, along with the associated fire control equipment. In addition, the two Type 5A1 AAM launchers amidships were replaced with the new Type 12A1 AAM launchers for close-in defense, which fired Type 14A1 semi-active radar homing missiles that would prove much more effective than their heat-seeking predecessors. And finally, a Type 10 ASuM launcher for Type 3A1 anti-submarine missiles was fitted atop the barbet for the now-absent C turret, giving the ship some much-needed ranged ASW capability besides just relying on her rotorcraft. Unfortunately only one image can be submitted to the challenge, so this won't be in the final poll, but here she is in that configuration:





Thanks to everyone on the Discord server for their help in the design process, I couldn't have done this without you! And as always, any further feedback you have would be well appreciated.

PS. Because I know someone's going to ask, yes, that's a shipgirl on the first image. I listed her as a 'ship's mascot', though as with most things, that's not perfectly accurate. Despite officially allowing complete freedom of religion, and in practice never being particularly opposed to other faiths or the lack thereof, the Akitsukunian people are by and large subscribers of a Shinto-like religion that, among other things, describes a lot of inanimate objects as having souls, including warships. Now, by and large most people if asked wouldn't say they genuinely believe that every ship has an invisible spirit in the form of a young woman roaming her decks, but nonetheless such things are very heavily inscribed in the naval tradition of the country. As a result, a lot of what we would consider unusual practices abound, and one of them is having a priestess paint a portrait of the spirt of any new ship that's launched, which will typically be used in the way of a sort of mascot for that ship, hence my decision to label her as such.

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"Oh, absolutely not. Trinitite may be an eldritch being that breaks the laws of physics, but even she can't replicate the insanity that is German Engineering!" - PyrrhicSteel on whether Trinities' machine shops can make a new gasket for a crane
“Yes, strategy,” she replied to Evelyn’s withering look. “Because I am merely an amateur. I cannot talk logistics.” - Seven Shades of Sunlight, in a latter chapter of Katalepsis

"Ziegerh, protector of the skies"



Armament:
5x 130mm Dual-purpose twin guns
2x 50mm AA twin guns
6x 30mm AA twin guns
8x 20mm AA triple guns

2x 530mm triple TT

Chalcedon Class Air Defence Cruiser



Originally commissioned as the second member of the Chalcedon class of large cruisers. Merlinsoram, much like her sister's would spend much of her life as large cruisers. However going into the latter half of the great war, the Saderan Navy rapidly found the need for a large, fast and powerful air defence ship. Primarily to counter the large and increasing threat of land and sea based aerial forces.

As a result starting in 1841, work began on converting several ships to become dedicated anti aircraft platforms. Merlinsoram's refit entailed the complete removal of her 12 inch main battery. It being replaced by a total of 14 twin dual purpose 5 inch gun mounts. And in the guise of an anti-aircraft flagship, she would serve throughout the rest of the great war, serving into the post-war period, before ultimately being decommissioned and put in reserve in 1867.

Displacement - 20 560 tonnes standard, 21 933 tonnes full load
Speed - 33 knots
Range - 27 000nm at 10 knots
Main Armament - 14x2 M1841 127mm/50 dual-purpose guns
AA Armament - 26x2 M1833 30mm Anti Aircraft Guns
Armor - 203 belt, 127mm decks, 50mm turret face, 25mm turret sides, 256mm CT


Ships in Class

Chalcedon MCG-30 - sunk, 1840
Merlinsoram MCG-31 - scrapped, 1871
Accaer MCG-32 - sold, 1857
Calypso MCG-33 - sunk, 1837

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Work list: 1. various pre-1900 Zipang ships 2. Some protected cruisers and other miscellaneous projects

Anti-Aircraft Cruiser Challenge Poll Now Open
The submission period for the Anti-Aircraft Cruiser Challenge is over. You can now rate each entry here.
The poll will remain open until the 27th of October, ending at 23:59 (UTC-12). (Countdown Timer)

A special challenge will be announced after the poll has closed, so there is no poll for the next challenge topic.

Polls Results Now Available
The community poll for the Anti-Aircraft Cruiser Challenge has closed. Thanks to everyone who responded and the artists who made this challenge possible! We have seen some great work from (relative) newcomers lately and the top two entries demonstrate how far they can hit the ball out of the park. In first place with the Ambrosia class of 1945 and its interesting turret design is Object 221. They also received the highest score in the Drawing Quality category. Congratulations! The_Overseer follows in second place with Ziegerh, protector of the skies. It's amazing how much detail can be included in a design. Excellent work! Finally, in third place, is Shigure and another wonderful ship from the world of Antara: ARS White Rock. Good job! Also deserving of mention are Rowdy36 and M. Yates who both achieved the highest score in the Design Quality category for their respective entries.

For those interested, the Washington Navy Treaty Centennial Challenge is now open.

Greetings!

Congratulations to Object 221 - excellent job! Kudos to our Silver and Bronze winners; The Overseer and Shigure, as well. The talent displayed on this site is always impressive!

Cheers!
Stealthjester