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fighting ships of the world

ROYAL NAVY (UNITED KINGDOM)

CAPITAL SHIPS & MONITORS

NELSON battleships

Rodney 1939

Nelson late 1945

 

Displacement standard, t	Nelson: 33313 Rodney: 33730
Displacement full, t	41250 ( with buoyancy spaces filled)
Length, m	201.2 pp 216.4 oa
Breadth, m	32.3
Draught, m	8.56 mean, 10.2 extra deep load
No of shafts	2
Machinery	Brown-Curtis geared steam turbines, 8 Admiralty 3-drum boilers
Power, h. p.	45000
Max speed, kn	23
Fuel, t	Nelson: 3805 oil Rodney: 3770 oil
Endurance, nm(kts)	14500(10)
Armour, mm	main belt: 356 - 330, bulkheads: 305 - 102, funnel uptakes: 229 - 203, barbettes: 381 - 305, turrets: 406 (face) - 280 - 229 (sides) - 229 (rear) - 184 (roof), CT: 356 (sides) - 305 (face) - 254 (rear) - 165 (roof) - 102 (deck), communication tube: 152, secondary barbettes: 25, secondary turrets: 38 - 25, deck: 159 - 95
Armament	3 x 3 - 406/45 Mk I, 6 x 2 - 152/50 Mk XXII, 6 x 1 - 120/40 QF Mk VIII HA, 8 x 1 - 40 pompom, 4 x 1 - 47/40 Hotchkiss, 2 - 622 TT (fwd)
Complement	1314; 1361 as flagship

Ship project history: Japan and the USA have started building of superdreadnoughts with 406mm artillery soon after the First World War, and Admiralty does not remain other choice how to join in a new winding of race of naval arms. The design of the huge battlecruiser have been developed in 1920-1921, it has received code number G3. Such four ships even had time to order, however the Washington conference of 1922 has stopped out works on ships.

At the same time UK was authorised to build two ships within the limits of the established limitations (standard displacement 35 000ts and 406mm artillery).

Designers were repelled from project G3 at creation of new battleships , having stored an original arrangement of all main artillery in fore part of the ship. It was possible to store armour and armaments practically without changes at the expense of a speed restriction in 23kts . Armour, for the first time in English practice, corresponded to a principle "all or nothing". The belt was on some distance from side plating in the hull and had a declination 18°. Internal anti-torpedo Protection has been designed for maintaining explosion of 340kg TNT.

All three main turrets (projected and ordered for G3 type battlecruisers) have been grouped in a fore end, thus high turret "B" had the wide fire sector limited only 30° on a stern. Six 152mm twin turrets placed aside with two pyramidal groups in an after end. 6 120mm guns and provided by the design but not established 4x8 40mm pompoms were intended for conducting antiaircraft fire.
 

Protection:  Internal main 330mm (356mm abreast magazines) belt was 3.96m in height and protected 117.0m of ship length between barbette "A" and secondary magazines. Belt was internal and inclined at 18⁰ to vertical, its lower edge connected with 30⁰-sloped plate, this plate connected with 15⁰-inclined longitudinal 38mm bulkhead. Distance between this bulkhead and ship side (deep of underwater Protection) was 3.05 - 3.7m. Main belt was closed by bulkheads. Fore bulkhead was 305mm between main and intermediate decks, aft bulkhead was 254mm. Second fore bulkhead was 203mm and extended between intermediate deck and platform under breakwater construction, aft bulkhead of steering room has 102mm thickness.

    There was flat main deck inside citadel, connected with upper edge of main belt. Its thickness was 159mm over magazines and 95mm over machinery. Intermediate deck laid outside the citadel between first and second fore and aft bulkheads. Fore part of this deck was flat and has thickness 178mm, aft part was 108mm with 108mm slopes.

    Barbettes was 381mm at beam sides and 305mm at fore and aft sides. Communication tube of CT had 152mm Protection. Funnel uptakes were protected by 229 - 203mm armor. Secondary battery was protected very light, its gunhouses had 38mm faces and 25mm sides, rears and crowns.

    Underwater protection was 3.1m deep and consisted 38mm longitudinal bulkhead. It could resist exploding of 340kg TNT.

Modernizations: 1932, Rodney; 1934, Nelson: - 8 x 1 - 40/39; + 1 x 8 - 40/39 pompom

1935, both: + 2 x 4 - 12.7/62

1935, Rodney; 1937, Nelson: + 1 x 8 - 40/39 pompom

1936, Rodney: + 1 catapult on turret "X", 1 seaplane

1/1938, Nelson: additional 70mm or 76mm lower deck fitted fwd from 305mm fore bulkhead, this bulkhead extended by 102mm plate to double bottom.

11/1938, Rodney: + 1 x 8 - 40/39 pompom, type 79Y radar

8/1940, Nelson: + 1 x 8 - 40/39 pompom, 2 x 4 - 40/39 pompom, 4 x 20 - 178 UP rockets projectors, type 281 radar. Full displacement was 43300 t

8/1940, Rodney: - type 79Y radar; + 2 x 1 - 20/70 Oerlikon, type 279 radar

8/1941, Rodney: - 2 x 1 - 20/70 Oerlikon, type 279 radar; + 2 x 8 - 40/39 pompom, 1 x 4 - 40/39 pompom, type 271, 281, 284 radars

3/1942, Nelson: - 4 x 20 - 178 UP, 2 - 622 TT; + 1 x 8 - 40/39 pompom, 13 x 1 - 20/70 Oerlikon, type 273, 5x 282, 4x 283, 284, 2x 285 radars

5/1942, Rodney: - 2 x 4 - 12.7/62, type 271 radar; + 17 x 1 - 20/70 Oerlikon, type 273, 5x 282, 4x 283, 285 radars, displacement: 36000/43140 t

mid-1942, Rodney: + 4 x 1 - 20/70 Oerlikon

8/1942, Rodney: - 1 catapult with seaplane; + 35 x 1 - 20/70 Oerlikon

late 1942, Rodney: + 5 x 1 - 20/70 Oerlikon

autumn 1943, Nelson: - 2 x 4 - 12.762; + 28 x 1 - 20/70 Oerlikon

1943 - 1944, Nelson: - 2 x 4 - 40/39; + 2 x 8 - 40/39 pompom

early 1944, Nelson: + type 650 jammer

6/1944, Rodney: + 2 x 1 - 20/70 Oerlikon, type 650 jammer

1944 - 1945, Rodney: - 5 x 1 - 20/70; + 5 x 2 - 20/70 Oerlikon

1/1945, Nelson: + 4 x 4 - 40/56 Bofors, 24 x 1 - 20/70 Oerlikon, displacement: 37000/44054 t

4/1945, Nelson: - 4 x 1 - 20/70

1946, Nelson: - 61 x 1 - 20/70

Naval service: Nelson was stricken by a magnetic mine in early December, 1939 and has failed for 9 months. She was again damaged by Italian aircraft torpedo 27/9/1941 and was under repair till April 1942. She was mined next time during support of allies landing in Normandy 18/6/1944 and has failed till January, 1945.

       Nelson 1933

       Nelson 1946

 

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© Ivan Gogin, 2009