The Perfect Battleship

This episode is discussion of what we think the perfect battleship would look like.

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[chrismader]

The real test is whether or not it can be reactivated in a 2 minute montage to fight the aliens.

[thespacecat]

I would watch a 10 hour perfect battleship video. That sounds really interesting

[chrismoore]

And to think ww2 ship's were engineered without computers. Just smart men with slide rules and pencils. Incredible.

[YourLocalCatboy]

WWII-era, it's the Montanas all the way. I'm also a sucker for turbo-electric, so the similarly unbuilt 1920s South Dakotas are an absolute favorite.

[MNalias]

I can appreciate how Ryan stayed realistic. I would go with a cloaking device, shields, and laser-cannons.

[darylmorning]

Thunderbolt mounts are VASTLY underrated. IMHO, the Mark 15 quad 20mm/70 Mk4 Mod4 with outboard dual .50-cals just bellows "We deal in lead, friend." The modern anti-piracy uses are even more thought inspiring.

[vtr]

That WoWS CV reference was just... *chefs kiss

[baronpen]

I'd like to see Ryan say how he would design a new battleship in 2023 (unless you've already done one like that & I missed it).

[yolkiandeji]

I guess Battleships are rated similarly to Tanks. Balancing firepower, armor, & mobility. Can’t have all three be the best possible.

[lloydknighten]

I think that if the MONTANA class, armed with 12 16 inch/50 caliber main guns, 12 5 inch/38 caliber secondaries, 13 inch exterior belt armor, turbo-electric drive, 30-32 knots, 4 shafts, Ryan's bulge-void protection, 6 inch main deck, 3 inch second deck armor, and one funnel would have been the ultimate battleship. The 16 inch armed "super-Bismarck's" proposed by Germany would have been a close second.

[SpookyDeCat]

Favorite for me battleship? Warspite! Just a crazy history, damage, Jutland, Norwegian campaign, Italy, longest known hit, at Nomandy. Fought all the way to the scrap yard. It is tragic that she was not save for a museum.

[rswany]

I think the obvious next "my perfect battleship" video should be a modern-day interpretation of a battleship. Something built right now, in response to other countries, supposedly building battleships.

[liamthompson]

What makes a battleship great depends upon the main tasks set for the ship.

[kirstymctear]

I’d consider diesel electric propulsion. More efficient and you are eliminating the boilers and all the steam pipework, condensers etc. Also fully welded construction, thats a 10% weight saving on the hull. A transom stern like Vanguard for extra efficiency. If feasible I’d examine aluminium for high up structures to lower the C of G and reduce weight. A teak deck is nice, but not necessary.

[tidepoolclipper]

Even if a perfect battleship was possible for that specific era, there will eventually be something that makes it no longer to keep labeling that past design as such.

[dantreadwell]

The other thing to keep in mind when designing something like this is 'Can I afford to risk heavy damage or full loss of one of these ships?'

A ship that sits in port because you are too afraid to risk it is worse than not having it at all.

[rdfox]

I once sketched out a commissioned-in-1942 battleship for a hypothetical Pacific nation that used a lot of US technology, either under license, or bought direct, in both Springsharp and Shipbucket. The one compromise I think Ryan would disagree with is sticking with the quad 14"/50s originally intended for North Carolina (a national policy decision related to ammunition supply lines). Otherwise, I ended up with a fairly similar ship, conceptually. 28 knots (on a South Dakota plant), 44, 340 tons standard, twelve 14"/50s in three turrets, twenty 5"/38s in the same King/Nimitz layout for secondaries, a 13" external belt angled at 19 degrees (again, similar hull form to North Carolina), same deck and turret armor as the Iowas, and a range of 10, 000 nmi at 15 knots. The one place where it significantly varied from US practice was that, since the nation didn't have to deal with the Panama Canal, they accepted a 120 foot beam that left her about halfway between the NCs and SoDaks in length.

She still worked out to be a surprisingly well-balanced ship going by immune zone theory--NAaB (which basically uses Nathan Okun's equations in a user-friendly interface) estimated an immune zone against her own guns from about 18, 420 to 35, 960 yards, and from 20, 000 to 34, 800 yards against the design opponent, Nagato. (Nagato, notably, had a *negative* immune zone against her; this could penetrate Nagato's belt out to 27, 270 yards, and her deck beyond 25, 800 yards.) Indeed, the only major power ships that she didn't have some immunity to at a range where she could penetrate them were the US fast battleships, Yamato, Vanguard, Nelson, Lion, Richelieu, Alsace, and Littorio.

[carisik]

If I'm building a modern battleship as in 2023 then this is what I am doing. 1. Keeping the length of an Iowa and maybe adding a little bit of width to aid stability. 2. Reducing the superstructure but integrating it all in to one section like a Zumwalt to aid stealth. 3. Keeping the 9 x 16inch guns in the 3 turrets. 4. As many Mk57 VLS along the sides of the boats as possible. 5. Landing pad at the stern but no hanger. 6. Diesel Electric propulsion with Sodium ion battery storage and modern steam turbine instead of gas turbine to increase range significantly. 7. Multiple CIWS Phalanx and Searam for anti drone and antimissile defence. 8. BL10 aegis and Ceafar 2 (with ceamount illuminators) phased array radar and the Saab 9LV tactical interface. 9. A hull mounted and towed array sonar. 10. Nulka decoy launches. 11. 30mm guns around the deck of the ship for piracy and anti drone requirements. 12 A modern traditional bulbous style bow instead of what the Zumwalts has.

[Klyis]

I'd like to see you design some ships on Ultimate Admiral Dreadnoughts, or perhaps even do a campaign series. And since you mentioned it I'd also be interested in seeing a video on how you'd improve the Bismarck design.

[tugweltp]

I'd like to know more about Ryan's ideal weapon placements/layout on the ship (excluding the 16 inch guns).