Ship ratings

[corsair91]

Océan-class French ship of the line
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oc%C3%A9an-class_ship_of_the_line

The Océan-class ships of the line were a series of 118-gun three-decker ships of the line.
Fifteen were completed from 1788 on, with the last one entering service in 1854; a sixteenth was never completed, and four more were never laid down.
A 'reduced' (i.e. shortened) version of this design, called the Commerce de Paris class, with only 110 guns, was produced later, of which two examples were completed.

The 5,095-ton 118-gun type was the largest type of ship built up to then, besting the Spanish ship Santísima Trinidad.


Along with the 74-gun of the Téméraire type and the 80-gun of the Tonnant type, the Océan 120-gun type was to become one of the three French standard types of battleships during the war period 1793 to 1815.

These were the most powerful ships of the Napoleonic Wars and a total of ten served during that time. These ships, however, were quite expensive in terms of building materials, artillery and manpower and so were reserved for admirals as their fleet flagships.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonnant-class_ship_of_the_line
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C3%A9m%C3%A9raire-class_ship_of_the_line




Commerce de Paris-class French ship of the line
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commerce_de_Paris-class_ship_of_the_line

The Commerce de Paris class were a series of ships of the line of the French Navy, designed in 1804
as a shortened version of the 118-gun Océan-class three-deckers, achieved by removing a pair of guns from each deck so that they became 110-gun ships. Two ships were built to this design in France.

Armament:

110 guns (originally), 114 guns (later):
lower deck: 30 36-pounder guns
middle deck: 32 24-pounder guns
upper deck: 32 12-pounder guns
'gaillards': 16 8-pounder guns
(later had 10 x 8-pounders and 10 36-pounder carronades)




Caledonia-class ship of the line
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caledonia-class_ship_of_the_line

The Caledonia-class ships of the line were a class of nine 120-gun first rates for the Royal Navy.

By 1847 the armament had been brought to the 32 pounder standard.

Except for Caledonia herself, all these ships were converted into steam-powered screw battleships during the 1850s.

[corsair91]

Spanish ship Nuestra Señora de la Santísima Trinidad
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_ship_Nuestra_Se%C3%B1ora_de_la_Sant%C3%ADsima_Trinidad_(1769)

Santísima Trinidad (officially named Nuestra Señora de la Santísima Trinidad by royal order on 12 March 1768, nicknamed La Real, sometimes confused with the galleon Santísima Trinidad y Nuestra Señora del Buen Fin) was a Spanish first-rate ship of the line with 112 guns. This was increased in 1795–96 to 130 guns by closing in the spar deck between the quarterdeck and forecastle, and around 1802 to 140 guns, thus creating what was in effect a continuous fourth gundeck although the extra guns added were actually relatively small. She was the heaviest-armed ship in the world when rebuilt, and bore the most guns of any ship of the line outfitted in the Age of Sail.

The weight of the additional guns, so high above her waterline, made her sail poorly, leading to her nickname, El Ponderoso

Santísima Trinidad remains notable as one of the few four-decker ships of the line ever built. The U.S. Navy constructed the four-deck, 136-gun Pennsylvania and the French, the 120-gun Valmy, (both with similar flush deck arrangement). The Royal Navy planned — but did not build — the 170-gun four-decker Duke of Kent.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Pennsylvania_(1837)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Valmy_(1847)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Duke_of_Kent



French ship Valmy (1847)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Valmy_(1847)

The largest three-decker of the French Navy, and the largest tall ship ever built in France.

[corsair91]

Tonnant-class French ship of the line
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonnant-class_ship_of_the_line

The Tonnant class was a series of eight 80-gun ships of the line designed in 1787
From 1802 a new group (the Bucentaure class) was begun of slightly modified design, of which more than 24 were begun.

Armament:

80 guns

30 36-pounders
32 24-pounders
18 12-pounders
4 36-pounder howitzers



Bucentaure-class ship of the line
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bucentaure-class_ship_of_the_line

The Bucentaure class was a class of 80-gun French ships of the line from 1802
At least 29 were ordered but only 21 ships were launched. They were a development from the earlier Tonnant class.

Armament:

80 guns
30 × 36-pounders
32 × 24-pounders
18 × 12-pounders
6 × 36-pounder howitzers



French ship Bucentaure
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Bucentaure

Bucentaure was an 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, and the lead ship of her class. She was the flagship of Vice-Admiral Latouche Tréville, who died on board on 18 August 1804.
Vice-Admiral Villeneuve hoisted his flag on 6 November 1804.
Flagship of Villeneuve at the battle of the Battle of Trafalgar

Armament:

80 guns
30 × 36-pounders
32 × 24-pounders
18 × 12-pounders
6 × 36-pounder howitzers


Vice-Admiral Latouche Tréville

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis-Ren%C3%A9_Levassor_de_Latouche_Tr%C3%A9ville

French authors and historians often compared Latouche-Tréville to Nelson, partly because he fought and defeated him in the Raids on Boulogne, partly because, had it not been for his untimely death, he would have opposed Nelson at Trafalgar.


Raids on Boulogne
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raids_on_Boulogne

The raid on Boulogne in 1801 was a failed attempt by elements of the Royal Navy led by Vice Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson to destroy a flotilla of French vessels anchored in the port of Boulogne, a fleet which was thought to be used for the invasion of England, during the French Revolutionary Wars.


Vice-Admiral Villeneuve
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre-Charles_Villeneuve

Battle of Trafalgar
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Trafalgar

[corsair91]

Suffren-class French ship of the line
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suffren-class_ship_of_the_line

The Suffren class was a late type of 90-gun ships of the line of the French Navy.

Intended as successors of the 80-gun Bucentaure class and as the third of four ranks of ships of the line. Fourteen ships were ordered to this design, of which twelve were modified as steam-driven vessels.


Armament:

1824-1839:
30 × 30-pounder long guns on lower deck
32 × 30-pounder short guns on middle deck
24 × 30-pounder carronades and 4 × 18-pounders on upper decks

1839-1840
26 × 30-pounder long guns and 4 × 22cm Paixhans guns on lower deck
32 × 30-pounder short guns on middle deck
24 × 30-pounder carronades and 4 × 16 cm Paixhans guns on upper decks



Hercule-class French ship of the line
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hercule-class_ship_of_the_line

The Hercule class was a late type of 100-gun ships of the line of the French Navy.
The Hercule class evolved as an enlargement of the straight-walled, 90-gun Suffren class

With the Henri IV, a rounded stern was introduced. The next ships were built with the rounded stern, and it was retrofitted on the early units of the class.
While the first units were classical straight-walled ships of the line, next ones were gradually converted to steam, and the last one was built with an engine.

[corsair91]

HMS Devastation (1871)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Devastation_(1871)

HMS Devastation was the first of two Devastation-class mastless turret ships built for the Royal Navy. This was the first class of ocean-going capital ship that did not carry sails, and the first whose entire main armament was mounted on top of the hull rather than inside it.


Devastation was built at a time in which steam power was well-established among the world's larger naval powers. However, most ships built at this time were equipped not only with a steam engine, but also with masts and sails for auxiliary power. The presence of masts also prohibited the use of gun turrets since the rigging would obstruct their arc of fire. Devastation, designed by Sir Edward J. Reed, represented a change from this pattern when she was built without masts and her primary armament, two turrets each with two 12-inch (305 mm) muzzle-loading guns, was placed on the top of the hull, allowing each turret a 280-degree arc of fire.


Devastation was the first turret ship built to an Admiralty design.
She was 285 feet (87 m) long between perpendiculars, with a beam of 62 feet 3 inches (18.97 m), a mean draught of 26 feet 1.5 inches (7.96 m), and had a freeboard of only 4 feet 6 inches (1.37 m). She was armed with four RML 12 inch 25 ton guns, mounted in pairs in two turrets, protected by armour 12–14 inches (300–360 mm) thick.

In 1891, the 12-inch guns were replaced with 10-inch breech-loading guns and she was refitted with new triple-expansion steam engines.

Devastation could carry 1,350 tons of coal, giving her a range of 3,550 nautical miles (6,570 km; 4,090 mi) at 12 knots or 5,570 nautical miles (10,320 km; 6,410 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). She also carried 30 tons of water, enough for three weeks, and 19 tons of provisions, six weeks supply for her crew of 329.


Armament:

As built:
4 × 35 ton 12 in (305 mm) muzzle-loading rifles
From 1890:
4 × BL 10-inch (254 mm) guns
6 × 6-pounder (57 mm) guns
8 × 3-pounder (47 mm) guns
2 × 14-inch (356 mm) torpedo launchers (added 1879)

Armour:

Turrets: 12–14 in (300–360 mm)
Breastworks and hull: 10–12 in (250–300 mm)
Bulkheads: 4–6 in (100–150 mm)

[corsair91]

Palliser shot and shell
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palliser_shot_and_shell

Palliser shot was invented by Sir William Palliser and hence its name. It was an early British armour-piercing artillery projectile, intended to pierce the armour protection of warships being developed in the second half of the 19th century.

At the Battle of Angamos (8 October 1879) the Chilean ironclad warships fired twenty 250-pound Palliser gunshots against the Peruvian monitor Huáscar, with devastating results. It was the first time that such piercing shells were used in actual combat.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Angamos



Rodman gun
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodman_gun

The Rodman gun is any of a series of American Civil War–era columbiads designed by Union artilleryman Thomas Jackson Rodman (1815–1871). The guns were designed to fire both shot and shell. These heavy guns were intended to be mounted in seacoast fortifications. They were built in 8-inch, 10-inch, 13-inch, 15-inch, and 20-inch bore. Other than size, the guns were all nearly identical in design, with a curving bottle shape, large flat cascabels with ratchets or sockets for the elevating mechanism. Rodman guns were true guns that did not have a howitzer-like powder chamber, as did many earlier columbiads. Rodman guns differed from all previous artillery because they were hollow cast, a new technology that Rodman developed that resulted in cast-iron guns that were much stronger than their predecessors.

Rodman guns were all nearly identical in design, with a curving soda bottle shape, the only differences being the size of the gun. They were all smoothbore guns designed to fire spherical shot and shell, primarily against ships.



Columbiad
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbiad

The columbiad was a large-caliber, smoothbore, muzzle-loading cannon able to fire heavy projectiles at both high and low trajectories. This feature enabled the columbiad to fire solid shot or shell to long ranges, making it an excellent seacoast defense weapon for its day.

The columbiad is considered by some as the inspiration for the later shell-only cannons developed by Frenchman Henri-Joseph Paixhans some 30 years later.

[Salty Dog]

You can make a pretty long list of "Firsts" that occurred during the American Civil War. The Rodman gun is but one of them. Other important "firsts" that come to mind are
Extensive use of trench warfare
railroads
telegraph
breech loading firearms
machine guns

That is just the start. I'm sure we could put together a long list!

[corsair91]

Some of the photographs of the Siege works at Petersburg

Siege of Petersburg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Petersburg

Apart from the period uniforms and more wood used in trench works
could easily have been from the later 1914-18 WW1 period.

They say Generals are always prepared to re-fight the last war, never the next.

The various European militaries of the early 20th century probably thought of the American Civil war as a quaint American thing that could be ignored and failed to realise it as the first modern industrial war, it was.

Smokeless powder, Airpower, Tanks, field telephones, radio and Diesel-electric submarines were probably the only really new technology in WW1, everything else was really just a more lethal version of what they had in the US Civil War period.

[corsair91]

USS Arizona (BB-39)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Arizona_(BB-39)

Pennsylvania-class battleship built for the United States Navy in the mid-1910s.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania-class_battleship

Sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor by a magazine explosion

The wreck still lies at the bottom of Pearl Harbor beneath the USS Arizona Memorial which straddles the hull.


Armament:

4 × triple 14 in (356 mm) guns
22 × single 5 in (127 mm) guns
4 × single 3 in (76 mm) AA guns
2 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes




Bayern-class battleship
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayern-class_battleship

The Bayern class was a class of four super-dreadnought battleships built by the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy).
Bayern and Baden were the last German battleships completed by the Kaiserliche Marine.

Armament:

8 × 38 cm (15 in) SK L/45 (4 × 2)
16 × 15 cm (5.9 in) SK L/45 guns (16 × 1)
2 × 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/45 (2 × 1)
5 × single 60 cm (24 in) torpedo tubes (below waterline)



US Navy Battleships List
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_battleships_of_the_United_States




Colorado-class battleship
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado-class_battleship

Four battleships built by the United States Navy after World War I. However, only three of the ships were completed: Colorado, Maryland, and West Virginia.
The fourth, Washington, was over 75% completed when she was canceled under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty in 1922.

The Colorados were the last U.S. battleships to enter service for nearly two decades.
They were also the final U.S. battleships to use twin gun turrets.

The Colorados were the final group of Standard-type battleship
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard-type_battleship

Apart from an upgrade in striking power to eight 16-inch guns, the ships were essentially repeats of the earlier Tennessee class
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee-class_battleship

[corsair91]

Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horatio_Nelson,_1st_Viscount_Nelson

British flag officer in the Royal Navy. He was noted for his inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics, which together resulted in a number of decisive British naval victories, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars.
Fatally shot during his victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Trafalgar




John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Fisher,_1st_Baron_Fisher

John Arbuthnot Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher

commonly known as Jacky or Jackie Fisher, was a British Admiral of the Fleet known for his efforts at naval reform. He had a huge influence on the Royal Navy in a career spanning more than 60 years, starting in a navy of wooden sailing ships armed with muzzle-loading cannon and ending in one of steel-hulled battlecruisers, submarines and the first aircraft carriers.

The argumentative, energetic, reform-minded Fisher is often considered the second most important figure in British naval history, after Lord Nelson.

Fisher saw the need to improve the range, accuracy and rate of fire of naval gunnery, and was an early proponent of the use of the torpedo, which he believed would supersede big guns for use against ships.

Fisher introduced torpedo boat destroyers as a class of ship intended for defence against attack from torpedo boats or submarines.

As First Sea Lord, he was responsible for the construction of HMS Dreadnought, the first all-big-gun battleship.
Fisher also introduced a new type of cruiser in a similar style to Dreadnought with a high speed achieved at the expense of armour protection. This became the battlecruiser, the first being HMS Invincible.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destroyer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battlecruiser
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_battlecruisers
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Dreadnought_(1906)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Invincible_(1907)


He was involved with the introduction of turbine engines to replace reciprocating engines, and the introduction of oil fuelling to replace coal.

Fisher is credited by the Oxford English Dictionary with the earliest known use of the phrase "OMG" as an abbreviation for "Oh my God", in a letter of 9 September 1917. In Fisher's case it was "Oh! My God!

Fisher coined the phrase "Buggins' turn" to describe the practice of making appointments by rotation or seniority rather than by merit, which he saw as a problem within the navy.

[corsair91]

The last Royal Navy Battlecruiser


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Admiral-class_battlecruiser

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Hood

The last battlecruiser built for the Royal Navy.
Hood remained the largest and most powerful warship in the world for 20 years after her commissioning.

Sunk by a magazine explosion while engaging the German Battleship Bismark.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Denmark_Strait


HMS Hood - Guide 009
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r-wOlDz9M0
Drachinifel


How Did The Bismarck Manage To Sink HMS Hood So Quickly? | History Documentary | Reel Truth History
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_jDaUSSPhc

On 24th May 1941 at 05:52
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_jDaUSSPhc&t=352s

the pride of the British fleet , HMS Hood, engaged the mighty German ship Bismarck in battle.

At 06:00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_jDaUSSPhc&t=360s

the Hood was hit and it sunk in less than 3 minutes. Only 3 of her 1418 crew survived – the single biggest loss of life in a single engagement in the history of the Royal Navy but why this 860 feet long ship sank so quickly has been a mystery for over 70 years. Now, the team that discovered the giant wreck eleven years ago is on its way back to finally find the answer.


Gameplay

World of Warships - HMS Hood
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSH2WCAmKUo

The Mighty Jingles
May 17, 2017



Improvements in armor design and propulsion created the 1930s "fast battleship" with the speed of a battlecruiser and armor of a battleship, making the battlecruiser in the traditional sense effectively an obsolete concept.

From the 1930s on, only the Royal Navy continued to use "battlecruiser" as a classification for the World War I–era capital ships that remained in the fleet.

Most of the early World War I-era dreadnought battleships were typically built with low design speeds, so the term "fast battleship" is applied to a design which is considerably faster.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_battleship




In more recent times,
Soviet Kirov class of large guided missile cruisers have also been termed "battlecruisers".


Kirov-class battlecruiser

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirov-class_battlecruiser

The Kirov class, Soviet designation Project 1144 Orlan (sea eagle), is a class of nuclear-powered guided missile cruisers of the Soviet Navy and Russian Navy, the largest and heaviest surface combatant warships (i.e. not an aircraft carrier or amphibious assault ship) in operation in the world. Among modern warships, they are second in size only to large aircraft carriers, and of similar size to a World War II era battleship.

The Soviet classification of the ship-type is "heavy nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser"

The ships are often referred to as battlecruisers by Western defence commentators due to their size and general appearance.

[corsair91]

Washington Naval Treaty

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Naval_Treaty

The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was a treaty signed during 1922 among the major nations that had won World War I, which agreed to prevent an arms race by limiting naval construction.

It was negotiated at the Washington Naval Conference, held in Washington, D.C., from November 1921 to February 1922, and it was signed by the governments of the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Italy, and Japan.

It limited the construction of battleships, battlecruisers and aircraft carriers by the signatories. The numbers of other categories of warships, including cruisers, destroyers and submarines, were not limited by the treaty, but those ships were limited to 10,000 tons displacement each.


The terms of the Washington treaty were modified by the London Naval Treaty of 1930 and the Second London Naval Treaty of 1936. By the mid-1930s, Japan and Italy renounced the treaties, while Germany renounced the Treaty of Versailles which had limited its navy. Naval arms limitation became increasingly difficult for the other signatories.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Naval_Treaty
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_London_Naval_Treaty


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Versailles

The Treaty of Versailles, signed soon after the scuttling of the German High Seas Fleet, imposed strict limits on the size and number of warships that the newly-installed German government was allowed to build and maintain.




The maim Washington Naval Treaty terms:


The tonnage limits defined gave a strength ratio of approximately 5:5:3:1.75:1.75 for the UK, the United States, Japan, Italy, and France, respectively.

Capital ships (battleships and battlecruisers) were limited to 35,000 tons standard displacement and guns of no larger than 16-inch calibre.

Aircraft carriers were limited to 27,000 tons and could carry no more than 10 heavy guns, of a maximum calibre of 8 inches. However, each signatory was allowed to use two existing capital ship hulls for aircraft carriers, with a displacement limit of 33,000 tons each.

For the purposes of the treaty, an aircraft carrier was defined as a warship displacing more than 10,000 tons constructed exclusively for launching and landing aircraft. Carriers lighter than 10,000 tons, therefore, did not count towards the tonnage limits.
Moreover, all aircraft carriers then in service or building (Argus, Furious, Langley and Hosho) were declared "experimental" and not counted

All other warships were limited to a maximum displacement of 10,000 tons and a maximum gun calibre of 8 inches


The treaty also detailed the individual ships to be retained by each navy, including the allowance for the United States to complete two further ships of the Colorado class and for the UK to complete two new ships in accordance with the treaty limits.


Detailed what was to be done to render a ship ineffective for military use. In addition to sinking or scrapping, a limited number of ships could be converted as target ships or training vessels if their armament, armour and other combat-essential parts were removed completely. Some could also be converted into aircraft carriers.

Specified the ships to be scrapped to comply with the treaty and when the remaining ships could be replaced. In all, the United States had to scrap 30 existing or planned capital ships, Britain 23 and Japan 17.


The treaty marked the end of a long period of increases of battleship construction. Many ships then being constructed were scrapped or converted into aircraft carriers. Treaty limits were respected and then extended by the London Naval Treaty of 1930. It was not until the mid-1930s that navies began to build battleships once again, and power and size of new battleships began to increase once again. The Second London Naval Treaty of 1936 sought to extend the Washington Treaty limits until 1942, but in the absence of Japan or Italy, it was largely ineffective.


There were fewer effects on cruiser building. While the treaty specified 10,000 tons and 8-inch guns as the maximum size of a cruiser, that was also the minimum size cruiser that any navy was willing to build. The treaty began a building competition of 8-inch, 10,000 ton "treaty cruisers", which gave further cause for concern. Subsequent naval treaties sought to address this, by limiting cruiser, destroyer and submarine tonnage.

Unofficial effects of the treaty included the end of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. It was not part of the Washington Treaty in any way, but the American delegates had made it clear they would not agree to the treaty unless the UK ended its alliance with the Japanese.

[corsair91]

London Naval Treaty

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Naval_Treaty

The Treaty for the Limitation and Reduction of Naval Armament, commonly known as the London Naval Treaty, was an agreement between the United Kingdom, Japan, France, Italy and the United States, signed on 22 April 1930, which regulated submarine warfare and limited naval shipbuilding.


Under the treaty, the standard displacement of submarines was restricted to 2,000 tons, with each major power being allowed to keep three submarines of up to 2,800 tons and France one. Submarine gun caliber was also restricted for the first time to 6.1 in (155 mm) with one exception, an already-constructed French submarine allowed to retain 8 in (203 mm) guns. That put an end to the 'big-gun' submarine concept pioneered by the British M class and the French Surcouf.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_M_class_submarine
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surcouf_(N_N_3)


The treaty also established a distinction between cruisers armed with guns no greater than 6.1 in (155 mm) ("light cruisers" in unofficial parlance) from those with guns up to 8 in (203 mm) ("heavy cruisers").

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_cruiser
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_cruiser

The number of heavy cruisers was limited: Britain was permitted 15 with a total tonnage of 147,000, the U.S. 18 totalling 180,000, and the Japanese 12 totalling 108,000 tons.

For light cruisers, no numbers were specified but tonnage limits were 143,500 tons for the U.S., 192,200 tons for the British, and 100,450 tons for the Japanese.

Destroyer tonnage was also limited, with destroyers being defined as ships of less than 1,850 tons and guns not exceeding 5.1 in (130 mm). The Americans and British were permitted up to 150,000 tons and Japan 105,500 tons.


Submarine warfare, The Treaty declared international law applied to them as to surface vessels. Also, merchant vessels that demonstrated "persistent refusal to stop" or "active resistance" could be sunk without the ship's crew and passengers being first delivered to a "place of safety."

[corsair91]

Second London Naval Treaty

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_London_Naval_Treaty

The Second London Naval Treaty was an international treaty signed as a result of the Second London Naval Disarmament Conference held in London, the United Kingdom. The conference started on 9 December 1935 and treaty was signed by the participating nations on 25 March 1936.

The signatories were France, the United Kingdom and its Dominions, and the United States. Japan, a signatory of the First London Naval Treaty, withdrew from the conference on 15 January. Italy also declined to sign the treaty, largely as a result of the controversy over its invasion of Abyssinia (Ethiopia); Italy was under sanctions from the League of Nations.


The conference was intended to limit the growth in naval armaments until its expiration in 1942. The absence of Japan (a very significant naval power) prevented agreement on a ceiling on the numbers of warships. The treaty did limit the maximum size of the signatories' ships, and the maximum calibre of the guns which they could carry.

First of all, capital ships were restricted to a 35,000 long tons (35,562 t) standard displacement and 14-inch (356 mm) guns. However, a so-called "escalator clause" was included at the urging of American negotiators in case any of the countries that had signed the Washington Naval Treaty refused to adhere to this new limit. This provision allowed the signatory countries of the Second London Treaty—France, the United Kingdom and the United States—to raise the limit from 14-inch guns to 16-inch if Japan or Italy still refused to sign after 1 April 1937.

Also submarines could not be larger than 2,000 tons or have any gun armament of greater than 5.1-inches, light cruisers were restricted to 8,000 tons and 6.1-inch (155 mm) or smaller guns and aircraft carriers were restricted to 23,000 tons.

Article 25 however gave the right to depart limitations if any other country authorised, constructed or acquired a capital ship, an aircraft carrier, or a submarine exceeding treaty limits, and if such a departure would be necessary for national security. For this reason, in 1938 the treaty parties agreed on a new displacement limit of 45,000 tons for battleships.

This London Naval Treaty effectively ended on 1 September 1939 with the beginning of World War II. Even during its brief period of supposed effectiveness, its clauses were honoured more in the breach than in the observance.

Three classes of "treaty" battleships were built or laid down by the United States: the North Carolina, South Dakota, and Iowa classes.

The design of the North Carolina class was initiated before the escalator clause was invoked, being intended to be armed with, and protected against, 14-inch guns. However, with the invocation of the escalator clause, they were completed with 16-inch guns.

The four battleships of the South Dakota class were designed with and protected against 16-inch guns, but maintained a 35,000 ton standard displacement.

Design of the Iowa-class began in 1938 and they were ordered in 1939; with the invocation of the "escalator clause" they carried 16-inch guns on a displacement of 45,000 tons.


Article 22 of the 1930 Treaty of London relating to submarine warfare declared international law (the so-called "cruiser rules") applied to submarines as well as to surface vessels.

Also, unarmed merchant vessels which did not demonstrate "persistent refusal to stop...or active resistance to visit or search" could not be sunk without the ships' crews and passengers being first delivered to "a place of safety" (for which lifeboats did not qualify, except under particular circumstances).

[corsair91]

Some Never Built Battleships


South Dakota-class battleship (1920)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Dakota-class_battleship_(1920)


The first South Dakota class was a group of six battleships that were laid down in 1920 for the U.S. Navy, but were never completed. They would have been the largest, most heavily armed and armored battleships in the world and, designed to achieve 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph),

As the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 both restricted the total battleship tonnage allowed the U.S. Navy, and limited individual ship size to 35,000 long tons (36,000 t), construction was halted in early 1922.

The unfinished hulls were scrapped the following year, the guns were transferred to the U.S. Army and their boilers and armor were used to modernize older battleships.

The South Dakota Class were enlarged Colorados with triple 16 Inch guns turrets

Armament:
12 × 16 in (406 mm) (4x3)
16 × 6 in (152 mm) (16x1)
8 × 3 in (76 mm) (8x1)
2 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes

Ships in class: 6: USS South Dakota, USS Indiana, USS Montana, USS North Carolina, USS Iowa, and USS Massachusetts

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_South_Dakota_(BB-49)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Indiana_(BB-50)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Montana_(BB-51)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_North_Carolina_(BB-52)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Iowa_(BB-53)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Massachusetts_(BB-54)




G3 battlecruiser
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G3_battlecruiser

The G3 battlecruisers were a class of battlecruisers planned by the Royal Navy after the end of World War I in response to naval expansion programmes by the United States and Japan.

The four ships of this class would have been larger, faster and more heavily armed than any existing battleship (although several projected foreign ships would be larger).

The G3s have been considered to be proper "fast battleships" since they were well-balanced designs with adequate protection. Nonetheless the class was officially designated as a "battlecruiser" due to their higher speed and lesser firepower and armour relative to the planned N3 class battleship design.

The G3s carried nine 16-inch (406 mm) guns and were expected to achieve 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph), while the N3s would carry nine 18-inch (457 mm) guns on the same displacement at the expense of a slower speed.

The Washington Naval Treaty led to the suspension of building and outright cancellation in 1922


G3 class (NB) - Guide 070 (Extended)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hpgr0fDVyhI
Drachinifel

The G-3 class, never-built battlecruisers of the British Royal Navy



N3-class battleship

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N3-class_battleship

The N3 class was a dreadnought battleship class designed for the Royal Navy after World War I, incorporating lessons learned from that conflict. They were similar in design to the G3-class battlecruiser, but had larger guns and thicker armour. They were never ordered due to signing of the Washington Naval Treaty in 1922, which limited the size and armament of battleships to 35,000 long tons (36,000 t) and no gun bigger than 16 inches (406 mm).

Many of the aspects of their design ultimately were incorporated into the two Nelson-class battleships.


N3 class (NB) - Guide 072
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6kTuSy-XSg
Drachinifel

The N3 class, never-built battleships of the Royal Navy