If big warships were effective, then bigger warships would be even better. Theoretical research suggested that a larger “battlecruiser” hull would be at a good breakpoint between speed and size, more than the current heavy cruiser or an even larger “battleship” hull. While naval designers would build a prototype battlecruiser, the design itself would find little traction, with a single prototype in service until it was sent to the breakers yards in quiet obsolescence.
Compared to other sketch designs for the light cruiser or even the heavy cruiser, this one really isn’t set in stone. While it follows with the same basic line concepts as the light and heavy cruiser, it’s about as attractive as a cinder block. ISO standard indeed! Admittedly, the additional thought is that ship sizes grow in a somewhat linear fashion. A heavy cruiser is only “60” hull large, while a battlecruiser is “80” and a battleship itself is “100”. The dreadnought beyond that is about “130” while a full on superdreadnought is “165”. Whereas if one was to compare a battlecruiser to a heavy cruiser in sketch, the volume has has, at least appearance-wise, at least 50% larger, and the battleship is probably well over double.
I’ll need to do some rough volume calculations, and then do another sketch pass to come up with some more realistic dimensions. I’m hoping that the smaller size will also provide a little bit of inspiration to have a more interesting basic hullform than this floating collection of right angles.
Dollarton Proxima Shipyards 