Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 2:22:21-2:23:14

How did the Royal Navy calculate a cruiser's official displacement?

Official class-average displacement came from calculated component weights rather than a literal weighing of completed ships.

Naval ArchitectureStandard DisplacementTreaty CruisersWarship Design
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Question

How did the Royal Navy arrive at an official average displacement for the class?

Short answer

It was principally a calculated total of component weights rather than a literal weighing of the completed ships.

Notes

Official class averages came from calculations of component weights. Known weights of steel and other material were added together to estimate the ship's displacement. A dry dock offered another possible method by measuring the volume of water the ship displaced. The published average therefore depended on a calculated total.