Manila-class battleship
In the eyes of the Spanish navy, the Isabella-class battleship proved a general success, providing a balanced battleship which appropriately responded to the needs of Spain for a limited range navy, as a battleship which would be able to operate at the heart of a system of destroyers, submarines, and attack aircraft. Thus when the navy went on to design its successor, named the Manilla-class after the recently recaptured city of Manilla, it continued to broadly use the design of the Isabella, viewing the Manilla-class as an evolution of the Isabella class. The new ship would bring additional firepower, both in terms of its main battery and the second battery (the latter principally against enemy aircraft, even if it was decided to maintain the split battery found on the previous vessel), some improvements to protection, and various improvements to range and habitability in order to make it more capable of Pacific operations in the defense of Spain's new colonies in the Philippines. As far as its role, it continued to be seen as being principally applied to the same functions as before, with the modifications simply meant as part of an evolutionary process which would improve its overall capability.
Because of this, the Manila class looks essentially the same in hull form as the Isabella. The only changes are that it is somewhat longer, to compensate for the ship being widened - otherwise this would result in a drop in speed. This meant that instead of being 236 meters long, it was lengthened to 248 meters. Meanwhile the beam was itself broadened to 34 meters, meant to incorporate the more powerful main armament with the broader width. The depth grew slightly, to 9.7 meters. However, the charismatic arrangements of Isabella - two forwards turrets, a rear turret, and a superstructure with a large and imposing central tower as well as a large mack. The total tonnage of the ship comes out at 48,000 tons, some 8,000 heavier than the Isabella-class.
Two ships of the Manila class were built, these being Manila and Davao, after two of the principal cities of the Philippines.
[b]Armament[/b]
The armament of the vessel was the part of it which received by far the most polemics during the design phase. The previous Isabella-class ships had been armed with what was seen as a quite good armament - 15 inch guns, from French designs, and viewed as well performing, accurate, and with excellent characteristics. This armament would either be kept intact, with a new ship equipped with the same three triple turrets mounting the same 15 inch guns, the same gun used but in a different arrangement, or an entirely new and larger gun provided - this presumed to be a 16 inch gun, although some more ambitious plans had suggested guns ranging to 420mm, 430mm, and even 460mm. Ultimately it was decided that the larger calibers were unnecessary and would unduly stress the ship, while the 16 inch gun proposal was rejected as superfluous - the 15 inch gun which the previous ship possessed would be sufficient.
Instead, the modification which was made to the vessel was to increase the number of guns - with the three triple turrets being replaced with three quadruple turrets, increasing the number of guns from 9, to 12. The increase in the number of guns would mean a larger number of shells on enemy ships, and would actually increase accuracy as well, with additional shells for ranging. The actual guns themselves remained the same as on the previous vessels, with 381mm/45 guns, capable of firing AP and HE ammunition at muzzle velocities of up to 800 meters per second, a reload time of 30 seconds, an elevation of up to 35 degrees (it can depress to -5 degrees) with a consequent range of 42,000 meters. Armor penetration at 39.000 meters is some 250 millimeters of side armor, and deck armor is 270mm, so engaging cruiser targets there is no range at which these ships can withstand the armor piercing shells: as they come closer deck armor penetration increases, and there has never been a cruiser built in the world with 250 mm of belt armor, much less the far superior numbers at closer ranges. Against battleship targets there are greater zones of immunity, but even against them, it makes for a formidable and highly capable gun. Each turret is capable of operating under local director fire control, and each is equipped with its own rangefinder.
The secondary battery remained the same for the 152mm turrets, although some mild improvements were made to their design to attempt to improve their capability against air targets. However, the 120mm guns were significant improved. The previous guns, 4.7/45 inch guns, were replaced with 4.7/50 guns, providing improved muzzle velocity and enabling them to fire a somewhat heavier shell, and somewhat higher rates of fire could be attained with better ammunition supply. These are mounted in dual turrets, which had improved remote power control and fire control systems fitted, to improve their anti-air capability. The other change is the addition of a 4th turret on each broadside, thus increasing the total number of 4.7 inch guns from 12 to 16.
Light anti-aircraft capability was viewed as being in need of a serious improvement. To some extent, constant upgrades and retrofits for the Isabella-class had meant that their anti-aircraft armament had improved, but it was clear that that there was still a need to design the ship from the ground up with a much more effective light anti-aircraft armament. This was achieved with an improved 37mm gun, with a longer barrel to provide more muzzle velocity and capable of firing heavier shells, the 37mm/70, and the introduction of 25mm anti-aircraft guns, to replace previous 13.2mm machine guns. The 25mm armament was shifted to x24 dual mountings, providing for 48 25mm anti-aircraft guns, while the 37mm guns transitioned to x16 dual mountings, for a total of 32 guns.
[b]Protection[/b]
Generally, the protection stayed the same for the ship, compared to the Isabella class, with only minor modifications. An all or nothing armor scheme was retained, and most changes consisted of simply strengthening the armor. Thus the belt retained its same slope, of 15.24° inwards, while being strengthened from 330mm to 350mm, and extending from 3.5 meters above to 2.5 meters below. This is complemented by a similar armored bulkhead, at 240-350mm of thickness. The upper armored deck meanwhile is 150-170mm thick, with a 40mm deck beneath to catch splinters from the above one. Very thick coning armor was applied, under the belief that it would be necessary in the confused and chaotic fighting which might persist in the ship’s intended close range raiding role. This would consist of a 320mm thick front and sides, 280mm thick rear, and a 150mm roof. The main gun turrets would have 420mm thick barbettes, 450mm thick turret fronts, inclined at 30 degrees, 220mm thick sides and roofs, and a 300mm rear (this being a counter-balance). The triple 152mm turrets meanwhile have 350mm thick fronts, 150mm sides, and 100mm rears, and a 150mm thick roof, along with 180mm barbettes. 120mm turrets meanwhile, have 90mm of protection.
One of the most important aspects of the armor scheme was protection to torpedoes, viewed as a critically dangerous enemy given the tight and constrained waters that the ship would fight in. Thankfully, the French had quite efficient ideas about how to protect against this, with the French protection scheme consisting of ébonite-mousse, a water-exuding rubber-based compound, used as part of a scheme of void spaces, ébonite-mousse, and light bulkheads, as well as a heavy internal bulkhead to absorb the blast effects. With a total width of 7.5 meters, a slight improvement over the Isabella class which was made possible by the additional beam of the ship, it makes for an extremely effective anti-torpedo system. Combined with the powerful secondary artillery, and the ship is hopefully very capable of resisting torpedo attacks.
[b]Propulsion[/b]
As with other elements of the ship's scheme, it was not viewed as necessary to significantly modify the propulsion system. Some increased horsepower was given, rising to some 220,000 shp, permitting a useful improvement of speed to 32 knots. However, this continues to be produced by 6 boilers, driving 4 turbines for 4 shafts on the ship. The boilers have higher pressure and are more efficient, but are essentially arranged in the same fashion. Meanwhile, the range was increased, to 10,000 kilometers at 18 knots, which is even higher when operating at the restricted 16 knot speeds of the previous ships. This was viewed as necessary in light of the necessity to operate in the Pacific in the defense of the Philippines. In the event of a war against Japan, the only conceivable threat to the Philippines, the ships would need to be able to sortie and operate constantly under high speed, thus the reason for the greater range.
[b]Miscellenous[/b]
There are two catapults equipped, with launching facilities for 4 aircraft, float-plane spotter-planes intended for reconnaissance and spotting artillery shells. There is a small hanger for storing them. They can be equipped with navalized fighters for air defense, but this is not really seriously intended, again, under the belief that land-based airpower will be used for self-defense. The ships are designed with full flagship capabilities, to command naval fleets.
The complement for the vessels is some 2,000 men, plus an additional 100 when serving as a flagship. Crew quarters were improved over the Isabella-class, with more spacious accommodations and better support facilities, to enable them to operate independently for a longer period of time. The main reason for the increase in the number of crew as to man the additional anti-aircraft guns.
Another change was that the Manilla-class was the first vessel in the Spanish navy to be equipped with radar, with air search and sea search radar, giving increased air defense capabilities and ability to operate at night. It is intended in the future that this will be upgraded to fire control radar.
[code]Type: Fast Battleship
Ships built:
Manila
Davao
Displacement: 48.000 tons, 55,000 tons full
Length: 248 meters
Beam: 34 meters
Draft: 9.7 meters
Installed power: 220.000 hp steam using fuel oil
Propulsion: x6 boilers
x4 screws
x2 rudders
geared steam turbines
Speed: 32 knots (up to 33 knots light)
Range: 10.000 kilometers at 18 knots
Complement: 2.000+100
Armament:
x12 381mm /45 modèle 1935 guns in three quadruple turrets, x2 superfiring forward
x16 120mm dual purpose guns, x4 dual turrets per broadside.
x32 37mm anti-aircraft guns in x16 dual turrets
x48 20mm anti-aircraft guns in x24 dual turrets
Armor:
Belt: 350 mm
Upper armored deck: 150-170 mm
Lower armored deck: 40 mm
Main turrets: 220-450mm
Conning tower: 150-320 mm
152mm turrets: 100-350mm
120mm turrets: 90mm
Aircraft :x4 floatplanes
[/code]
Because of this, the Manila class looks essentially the same in hull form as the Isabella. The only changes are that it is somewhat longer, to compensate for the ship being widened - otherwise this would result in a drop in speed. This meant that instead of being 236 meters long, it was lengthened to 248 meters. Meanwhile the beam was itself broadened to 34 meters, meant to incorporate the more powerful main armament with the broader width. The depth grew slightly, to 9.7 meters. However, the charismatic arrangements of Isabella - two forwards turrets, a rear turret, and a superstructure with a large and imposing central tower as well as a large mack. The total tonnage of the ship comes out at 48,000 tons, some 8,000 heavier than the Isabella-class.
Two ships of the Manila class were built, these being Manila and Davao, after two of the principal cities of the Philippines.
[b]Armament[/b]
The armament of the vessel was the part of it which received by far the most polemics during the design phase. The previous Isabella-class ships had been armed with what was seen as a quite good armament - 15 inch guns, from French designs, and viewed as well performing, accurate, and with excellent characteristics. This armament would either be kept intact, with a new ship equipped with the same three triple turrets mounting the same 15 inch guns, the same gun used but in a different arrangement, or an entirely new and larger gun provided - this presumed to be a 16 inch gun, although some more ambitious plans had suggested guns ranging to 420mm, 430mm, and even 460mm. Ultimately it was decided that the larger calibers were unnecessary and would unduly stress the ship, while the 16 inch gun proposal was rejected as superfluous - the 15 inch gun which the previous ship possessed would be sufficient.
Instead, the modification which was made to the vessel was to increase the number of guns - with the three triple turrets being replaced with three quadruple turrets, increasing the number of guns from 9, to 12. The increase in the number of guns would mean a larger number of shells on enemy ships, and would actually increase accuracy as well, with additional shells for ranging. The actual guns themselves remained the same as on the previous vessels, with 381mm/45 guns, capable of firing AP and HE ammunition at muzzle velocities of up to 800 meters per second, a reload time of 30 seconds, an elevation of up to 35 degrees (it can depress to -5 degrees) with a consequent range of 42,000 meters. Armor penetration at 39.000 meters is some 250 millimeters of side armor, and deck armor is 270mm, so engaging cruiser targets there is no range at which these ships can withstand the armor piercing shells: as they come closer deck armor penetration increases, and there has never been a cruiser built in the world with 250 mm of belt armor, much less the far superior numbers at closer ranges. Against battleship targets there are greater zones of immunity, but even against them, it makes for a formidable and highly capable gun. Each turret is capable of operating under local director fire control, and each is equipped with its own rangefinder.
The secondary battery remained the same for the 152mm turrets, although some mild improvements were made to their design to attempt to improve their capability against air targets. However, the 120mm guns were significant improved. The previous guns, 4.7/45 inch guns, were replaced with 4.7/50 guns, providing improved muzzle velocity and enabling them to fire a somewhat heavier shell, and somewhat higher rates of fire could be attained with better ammunition supply. These are mounted in dual turrets, which had improved remote power control and fire control systems fitted, to improve their anti-air capability. The other change is the addition of a 4th turret on each broadside, thus increasing the total number of 4.7 inch guns from 12 to 16.
Light anti-aircraft capability was viewed as being in need of a serious improvement. To some extent, constant upgrades and retrofits for the Isabella-class had meant that their anti-aircraft armament had improved, but it was clear that that there was still a need to design the ship from the ground up with a much more effective light anti-aircraft armament. This was achieved with an improved 37mm gun, with a longer barrel to provide more muzzle velocity and capable of firing heavier shells, the 37mm/70, and the introduction of 25mm anti-aircraft guns, to replace previous 13.2mm machine guns. The 25mm armament was shifted to x24 dual mountings, providing for 48 25mm anti-aircraft guns, while the 37mm guns transitioned to x16 dual mountings, for a total of 32 guns.
[b]Protection[/b]
Generally, the protection stayed the same for the ship, compared to the Isabella class, with only minor modifications. An all or nothing armor scheme was retained, and most changes consisted of simply strengthening the armor. Thus the belt retained its same slope, of 15.24° inwards, while being strengthened from 330mm to 350mm, and extending from 3.5 meters above to 2.5 meters below. This is complemented by a similar armored bulkhead, at 240-350mm of thickness. The upper armored deck meanwhile is 150-170mm thick, with a 40mm deck beneath to catch splinters from the above one. Very thick coning armor was applied, under the belief that it would be necessary in the confused and chaotic fighting which might persist in the ship’s intended close range raiding role. This would consist of a 320mm thick front and sides, 280mm thick rear, and a 150mm roof. The main gun turrets would have 420mm thick barbettes, 450mm thick turret fronts, inclined at 30 degrees, 220mm thick sides and roofs, and a 300mm rear (this being a counter-balance). The triple 152mm turrets meanwhile have 350mm thick fronts, 150mm sides, and 100mm rears, and a 150mm thick roof, along with 180mm barbettes. 120mm turrets meanwhile, have 90mm of protection.
One of the most important aspects of the armor scheme was protection to torpedoes, viewed as a critically dangerous enemy given the tight and constrained waters that the ship would fight in. Thankfully, the French had quite efficient ideas about how to protect against this, with the French protection scheme consisting of ébonite-mousse, a water-exuding rubber-based compound, used as part of a scheme of void spaces, ébonite-mousse, and light bulkheads, as well as a heavy internal bulkhead to absorb the blast effects. With a total width of 7.5 meters, a slight improvement over the Isabella class which was made possible by the additional beam of the ship, it makes for an extremely effective anti-torpedo system. Combined with the powerful secondary artillery, and the ship is hopefully very capable of resisting torpedo attacks.
[b]Propulsion[/b]
As with other elements of the ship's scheme, it was not viewed as necessary to significantly modify the propulsion system. Some increased horsepower was given, rising to some 220,000 shp, permitting a useful improvement of speed to 32 knots. However, this continues to be produced by 6 boilers, driving 4 turbines for 4 shafts on the ship. The boilers have higher pressure and are more efficient, but are essentially arranged in the same fashion. Meanwhile, the range was increased, to 10,000 kilometers at 18 knots, which is even higher when operating at the restricted 16 knot speeds of the previous ships. This was viewed as necessary in light of the necessity to operate in the Pacific in the defense of the Philippines. In the event of a war against Japan, the only conceivable threat to the Philippines, the ships would need to be able to sortie and operate constantly under high speed, thus the reason for the greater range.
[b]Miscellenous[/b]
There are two catapults equipped, with launching facilities for 4 aircraft, float-plane spotter-planes intended for reconnaissance and spotting artillery shells. There is a small hanger for storing them. They can be equipped with navalized fighters for air defense, but this is not really seriously intended, again, under the belief that land-based airpower will be used for self-defense. The ships are designed with full flagship capabilities, to command naval fleets.
The complement for the vessels is some 2,000 men, plus an additional 100 when serving as a flagship. Crew quarters were improved over the Isabella-class, with more spacious accommodations and better support facilities, to enable them to operate independently for a longer period of time. The main reason for the increase in the number of crew as to man the additional anti-aircraft guns.
Another change was that the Manilla-class was the first vessel in the Spanish navy to be equipped with radar, with air search and sea search radar, giving increased air defense capabilities and ability to operate at night. It is intended in the future that this will be upgraded to fire control radar.
[code]Type: Fast Battleship
Ships built:
Manila
Davao
Displacement: 48.000 tons, 55,000 tons full
Length: 248 meters
Beam: 34 meters
Draft: 9.7 meters
Installed power: 220.000 hp steam using fuel oil
Propulsion: x6 boilers
x4 screws
x2 rudders
geared steam turbines
Speed: 32 knots (up to 33 knots light)
Range: 10.000 kilometers at 18 knots
Complement: 2.000+100
Armament:
x12 381mm /45 modèle 1935 guns in three quadruple turrets, x2 superfiring forward
x16 120mm dual purpose guns, x4 dual turrets per broadside.
x32 37mm anti-aircraft guns in x16 dual turrets
x48 20mm anti-aircraft guns in x24 dual turrets
Armor:
Belt: 350 mm
Upper armored deck: 150-170 mm
Lower armored deck: 40 mm
Main turrets: 220-450mm
Conning tower: 150-320 mm
152mm turrets: 100-350mm
120mm turrets: 90mm
Aircraft :x4 floatplanes
[/code]
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