Q&A · 11:56-16:17

A superfiring alternative for Dante Alighieri

Audience questions test whether machinery and stability prevented Dante Alighieri from adopting superfiring triple turrets.

Question

Could Dante Alighieri have used superfiring triple turrets despite machinery and stability constraints?

Short answer

Probably, if the ship had been designed slightly broader and longer with machinery and funnels arranged for the purpose.

Notes

Funnels, machinery, metacentric height, and beam all constrained the design, but they were probably manageable. The machinery and funnels would have needed to be arranged around superfiring turrets from the beginning rather than altered after the ship was laid out. Roughly three additional meters of beam and about fifteen meters of length could have supported the change without sacrificing the intended speed. The resulting battery could have put six guns ahead and six astern, a useful advantage in confined Mediterranean and Adriatic waters. The criticism concerns a design choice rather than any hard technological barrier to superfiring triple turrets.