A 13.5in gun Dreadnought? Would it work?

A ship-design exercise frames the trade between a 13.5-inch main battery, armour, machinery, stability, and displacement.

The American opponent is rebuilt around period 12-inch and six-inch weapons so an ahistorical game default does not decide the comparison.

A comparison of two dreadnought concepts shows why nominal gun range is not enough without speed and reliable target detection.

Graf Zeppelin's launch arrangement is compared with a seaplane-carrier system that suited limited operations better than sustained carrier flying.

A gunnery manoeuvre uses rapid closing movement to complicate an opponent's range corrections, even though it sacrifices distance.

A redesign tests whether an early dreadnought hull can carry its 13.5-inch guns on the centreline instead of accepting wing turrets.

A fictional Ajax design tests an all-centreline 13.5-inch battery, heavy six-inch secondaries, a shallow hull, and the tactical cost of closing range.

A fictional British fast capital ship combines G3 and F3 ideas while balancing 16.5-inch guns, armour, underwater torpedoes, and 5.5-inch dual-purpose weapons.

A 9.2-inch-gun large cruiser shows how high speed, belt depth, layered protection, and hull stability compete within a 15,000-ton design.

A layered-armour thought experiment considers using an outer belt to trigger a shell before an inner belt protects vital spaces.

A fictional French opponent uses all-forward quadruple turrets to explore Dunkerque-like geometry, machinery, anti-aircraft guns, and topweight.

A simulated cruiser action illustrates why speed should let an intact cruiser disengage once a battleship becomes the enemy's main target.

Because it was capable enough to require real employment but worked in ways that complicated both German planning and its opponents' responses.

A Yamato-inspired design review brings together 6.1-inch secondary turrets, 5-inch dual-purpose guns, heavy protection, and long-range gunnery.

A night action contrasts long-range Japanese practice with the simulation's close engagement, visible gun flashes, and accuracy-driven result.

A brief historical aside links Hood's 5.5-inch battery to a speculative calibre that might have served several naval roles if developed successfully.

A convoy scenario shows why smoke, separated attack axes, and surviving long enough to reach torpedo range matter to defending destroyers.

A historical correction challenges the idea that the British battlecruisers sent after Coronel were brand new in 1914.

The destruction of Yamato's forward turrets illustrates why a turret hit can threaten the ammunition spaces below even on a heavily protected ship.

Carrier aircraft can search for scattered merchant ships more efficiently than a lone battleship, with a destroyer flotilla as the surface alternative.