Just a little nitpick but couldn't the rudder be enlarged like Yamato's massive rudder.
You'd have to change the machinery for it, and single rudders on a 32,000-ton ship is dumb no matter how you look at it.
Just a little nitpick but couldn't the rudder be enlarged like Yamato's massive rudder.
That wouldn't really help. A ship that size really needs two rudders; one of the problems (I know, we keep adding to the list, don't we?) is that having only one rudder increases the turning radius of the ship.Just a little nitpick but couldn't the rudder be enlarged like Yamato's massive rudder.
That wouldn't really help. A ship that size really needs two rudders; one of the problems (I know, we keep adding to the list, don't we?) is that having only one rudder increases the turning radius of the ship.
Yamato and Mushasi only had one and they topped 70,000 tons
Yamato and Mushasi only had one and they topped 70,000 tons
This is especially true when there exists the absolutely glorious example of the Iowa class to show what designers could create in the WW II era (or if you want to go IJN, the very nice Mogami class, although they also show the rather unfortunate Japanese fascination with armament first, second, and only as illustrated by the issues they had with seams breaking when the main battery was fired in full broadside).
There are worse ships to use as fine example of naval architecture than the Yamatos (the Alaskas being among them) but not many.
Overweight pigs with poor overall weapon layout design (two DIFFERENT secondary batteries rather than one DP caliber meaning the ship had too few of either, no medium caliber AAA, even in 1945, etc.), a huge main gun that was in most ways INFERIOR to the U.S. 16"/45 which required the design to be bloated, and the ability to maneuver like a garbage scow are hardly the defense the Alaska class needs.
This is especially true when there exists the absolutely glorious example of the Iowa class to show what designers could create in the WW II era (or if you want to go IJN, the very nice Mogami class, although they also show the rather unfortunate Japanese fascination with armament first, second, and only as illustrated by the issues they had with seams breaking when the main battery was fired in full broadside).
Ok so it turns out Yamato and her sister were actually more maneuverable than the Iowa's so having a single rudder doesn't necessarily mean poor maneuverability.
http://www.battleshipyamato.info/history.html
I wouldn't go that far fawning over the Iowas. I think David Hughes interesting and informative articles in Avalanche Press' Daily Content provide a balanced look at these overrated ships.
http://www.avalanchepress.com/overrated3.php
http://www.avalanchepress.com/Overrated.php