Q&A · 4:33:56-4:37:19

Why the 130,000-ton battleship design was cursed

An imaginary battleship demonstrates that immense displacement cannot rescue incompatible weapons, sensors, armor, and fire-control ideas from poor integration.

Question

What sort of imaginary battleship could be designed on 130,000 tons?

Short answer

It combined enormous guns, armor, torpedoes, modern sensors, and unified anti-aircraft fire without respecting blast effects or system integration.

Notes

Fleet presents an imaginary 130,000-ton battleship designed during an earlier stage of his interest in ship design. It combines twelve 20-inch guns, twelve 10-inch guns, smaller anti-aircraft weapons, submerged 24-inch torpedo tubes and an 18-inch belt. A claimed 16-inch armoured deck attracts particular disbelief. Aegis-related equipment placed behind the main guns creates a blast problem that the design's author acknowledges he had not understood at the time. Central fire control would direct every gun calibre, including the 20-inch battery, against incoming missiles with timed or proximity-fuzed ammunition. Separating missiles and guns at opposite ends of a ship is suggested as a more workable arrangement.