Mixed diesel and steam drive multiplies failure paths

One proposal combines twelve diesel engines through special gearboxes, while later variants add high-pressure steam turbines to the same drive chain. Direct geared transmission promises efficient power transfer, higher speed, and high shaft torque. An electric arrangement would lose some of that ideal efficiency but let engines and turbines generate power without mechanically coupling every failure into the same gearbox and shaft. A diesel fault could otherwise damage the gears and propagate into the steam machinery. For an installation that must survive its own gunfire shock as well as enemy shell hits, maintainability and fault isolation deserve more weight than perfect-condition performance.