Video
Tillman Class: Dreams of Super Battleships - KSS2 S8 Comment Response
Alternate HistoryBattleship DesignNaval Arms RaceNaval InfrastructureTillman Maximum Battleship DesignsUS NavyWashington Naval Treaty
Study Tillman Class: Dreams of Super Battleships - KSS2 S8 Comment Response, a Dr. Alex Clarke video from 7 Dec 2023, with 21 time notes. Topics include Alternate History, Battleship Design, Naval Arms Race.
Time notes
- 0:39QuestionHow could Tillman IV-2 carry fifteen 18-inch guns and make 25 knots at about 80,000 short tons?AnswerQ&A
Its great length provides volume, while moderate speed, narrow armour coverage, and a limited secondary battery save weight within Panama Canal dimensions.
- 6:07QuestionHow could a six-gun turret fit and function on a Tillman hull?AnswerQ&A
Only with a very tight and complicated arrangement; interactions among six guns and their machinery multiply the engineering problems.
- 7:20QuestionWhy could the Tillman battleships fit the Panama Canal when modern 110,000-ton American carriers cannot?AnswerQ&A
The Tillman studies were explicitly dimensioned for the canal locks, while the modern carriers were not designed to fit them.
- 7:43QuestionCould a battleship practically mount multiple 20-inch guns firing super-heavy shells?AnswerQ&A
Probably not as an effective fleet weapon; metallurgy, barrel wear, propellant demands, and loading machinery make about 16.5 inches a more practical ceiling.
- 10:54QuestionHow might the Washington Naval Treaty change if Benjamin Tillman were still alive?AnswerQ&A
Ship limits might remain, but Tillman would likely oppose the building holiday because he wanted continuing orders for Charleston's yard.
- 12:31QuestionWhat would Britain build if Tillman III were laid down in 1917 or 1918?AnswerQ&A
It would likely accelerate an early alphabet-series fast capital ship with 16.5-inch guns rather than wait for the historical G3 and N3 designs.
- 16:46Leadership losses fragment German capital-ship designNotable Point
German gun-calibre choices and late-war design problems reflected reactions to Britain and the loss of senior leaders who had coordinated naval construction.
- 18:28A super-battleship treaty makes German rearmament harderNotable Point
Higher capital-ship and cruiser limits would widen the industrial and operational gap Germany had to cross during rearmament.
- 22:09Why the Tillman studies deserve serious attentionNotable Point
The Tillman studies expose both the sound and extravagant sides of American warship design rather than serving only as an engineering joke.
- 22:48The sextuple turret's elegant theory and harsh realityNotable Point
One fire-control solution could command a six-gun broadside, but contemporary engineering could not make the mounting reliable.
- 23:38QuestionWould a major Tillman program cause Britain to cancel its battlecruisers?AnswerQ&A
Possibly; the Admirals might be cancelled or converted while Britain accelerates alphabet-series fast battleships and expands its dockyards.
- 25:09QuestionDid Tillman III sacrifice torpedo protection to achieve its armament and 30-knot speed?AnswerQ&A
It had a layered protection scheme, but whether that scheme was adequate for so large and valuable a ship is doubtful.
- 27:13QuestionCan the increasing problems of multi-gun turrets be expressed as an exact mathematical rule?AnswerQ&A
No; the analogy is a loose guide because gun independence, ammunition supply, breeches, and layout all alter the result.
- 29:06QuestionHow would Tillman construction affect Japan and the naval treaty ratio?AnswerQ&A
Japan might accelerate the Number 13 class and, if limits were negotiated at Versailles, secure roughly a 10:7 rather than 5:3 ratio.
- 31:57QuestionWould larger treaty carriers benefit from retaining heavy cruiser-calibre guns?AnswerQ&A
No; 8-inch guns burden flight operations, while a separate cruiser can fight the delaying action and let the carrier escape and launch aircraft.
- 34:56QuestionAre North Carolina, South Dakota, and King George V truly fast battleships despite their speed gap to cruisers?AnswerQ&A
Yes in contemporary battleship terms; 28 knots marks the faster group, and their internal arrangement also differs from both traditional battleships and cruising battlecruisers.
- 36:43QuestionWould Britain keep separate battleship and battlecruiser lines when responding to Tillman III?AnswerQ&A
Perhaps not; the challenge could accelerate Britain's existing move toward fast battleships, while the exact design depends on timing.
- 37:32Super-battleships pull destroyers toward Daring sizeNotable Point
Larger capital ships demand expanded bases, heavier torpedoes, and much larger destroyers decades earlier.
- 39:22Why First World War debt was not an American trump cardNotable Point
Britain's post-1918 debt position and global policing role limited how far the United States could coerce Royal Navy policy.
- 42:08Why the Tillman designs were politically plausibleChapter
Tillman's ability to compel official designs and assemble political support makes the super-battleships more than a technical joke.
- 48:06An F3 and 15-inch/50 path reshapes the interwar fleetNotable Point
The closing counterfactual considers Britain choosing an F3-type design and the 15-inch/50 gun instead of the historical N3 route.