Drachinifel's client-state proposal advertises 18.1-inch guns, 29 knots, long range, modern armor, and a large oxygen-torpedo battery. The apparent strength conceals a deliberate maintenance trap in the game challenge. At almost 55,000 tons, the ship has only a 14-inch belt and 5-inch deck, protection compared with that of a 35,000-ton battleship. Very long gun barrels, heavy electrically driven turrets, underwater oxygen-torpedo tubes, a single bottom, and minimal underwater protection supply the intended weaknesses. Diesel propulsion and extensive electrical machinery are chosen as burdens on the recipient's support system, while five large ammunition types complicate supply. A suggestion that Japan might seize and repair the ship meets the objection that the accumulated faults would leave it shuttling between repair facilities.
Notable Point · 2:57:46-3:02:25
An impressive battleship designed to be unmanageable
A deliberately unreliable game design combines an intimidating battery with machinery, protection, and supply demands intended to overwhelm its recipient.