User:The ed17/Sandbox/Brazilian battleship Riachuelo
| History | |
|---|---|
.svg){kind=small} Brazil | |
| Name | Riachuelo |
| Namesake | Battle of Riachuelo |
| Ordered | May 1914 |
| Builder | Armstrong Whitworth, Elswick |
| Fate | Cancelled due to the outbreak of World War I |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement | 30,500 long tons (31,000 t) (normal load) |
| Length | 201 m (660 ft) oa, 189 m (620 ft) pp |
| Beam | 29 m (94 ft) |
| Draught | 9 m (28 ft) |
| Installed power | 40,000 shp (30,000 kW) |
| Propulsion | list error: <br /> list (help) 4 shafts, Parsons geared steam turbines Babcock & Wilcox water-tube boilers |
| Speed | 22.5 knots (41.7 km/h; 25.9 mph) |
| Armament | Main: eight 381-millimetre (15.0 in)/42 calibre guns in four twin turrets
Secondary: Fourteen 152-millimetre (6.0 in)/50 cal; ten 102-millimetre (4.0 in)/50 cal Anti-air: Four 76-millimetre (3.0 in) Miscellanea: Two 76-mm boat guns; four three-pounders; two 533-millimetre (21.0 in) submerged torpedo tubes |
| Armour | list error: <br /> list (help) Belt: 3–13.5 in (76–343 mm)* Deck: .75–1.5 in (19–38 mm)* Barbettes: 3–13 in (76–330 mm)* Turret faces: 13 in (330 mm)* Conning tower: 13 in (330 mm)* Bulkheads: 7–9 in (178–229 mm) |
| Notes | Ship was never laid down |
- Main article -- not all information is accurate here: South American dreadnought race#Riachuelo
Riachuelo was intended to be a Brazilian super-dreadnought battleship (encouraçado). The ship was designed as the replacement for Rio de Janeiro, which had been sold to the Ottoman Empire. She would have been named in honour of the Battle of Riachuelo in 1865. Riachuelo would have been built by Armstrong Whitworth in Elswick, who submitted four plans for the ship. She was ordered in May 1914, but the outbreak of the First World War, when British yards stopped work on foreign projects to concentrate on building ships for the Royal Navy, meant that the vessel was never constructed.
Background
[edit]A South American naval arms race involving Brazil, Argentina, and Chile was kindled by the former's 1904 naval building program. Although it originally called for smaller ships, the completion of the United Kingdom's Dreadnought meant that centerpiece of the new fleet, three battleships, were relaid with dreadnought characteristics, becoming the Minas Geraes class and utilizing twelve 305-mm (12-inch)/45 calibre guns. Also, the order was reduced to two; a third would follow after they were completed.[1] Argentina, whose fleet was entirely "outclassed" according to Conway's,[2] responded—after some debate—with an order for two Rivadavia-class battleships from the United States, with an additional option for a third if Brazil followed through and constructed its third.[3][4] In response to Argentina, Chile increased a previous order of one 23,000 long tons (23,000 t) battleship to two larger ships of the Almirante Latorre class from the United Kingdom. These were to be armed with ten 355-mm (14-inch)/45 calibre BL guns.[5][6] In response to these developments, Brazil—whose third ship had been laid down as Rio de Janeiro[7]—sold Rio de Janeiro to the Ottoman Empire and pursued an even better design.[8]
Construction
[edit]The Brazilian government placed an order for the Riachuelo at the Armstrong Whitworth shipyard in Elswick in May of 1914. However, Britain declared war on the Central Powers on 4 August 1914,[9] and all foreign battleship construction was diverted to wartime causes. Thus, the Riachuelo was never laid down, and because she was not under construction, she was not seized by the British, unlike the Turkish battleship Reshadieh and Sultan Osman I, the old Rio de Janeiro.
Original proposals
[edit]Armstrongs presented Brazil with four proposals for their new battleship in September 1913. These would have been for a ship displacing between 31,000 long tons (31,000 t) and 36,000 long tons (37,000 t), and carrying varying numbers of 356 millimetres (14.0 in), 381 millimetres (15.0 in) or even 406 millimetres (16.0 in) guns. The secondary batteries would have been split between 152 millimetres (6.0 in) and 76 millimetres (3.0 in) weaponry, with the latter further subdivided into anti-destroyer and anti-aircraft. All appear to have been based on designs then building in the United Kingdom.[10]
"A" was the most detailed proposal. Vanterpool comments that it was "obviously an improved [Chilean] Almirante Latorre." It called for twelve 356 mm (14.0 in)/45 calibre guns in six dual turrets—a 20%increase in the number of guns and turrets over the Chilean ship—the fore and aft pair superfiring. This arrangement gave five of these turrets large firing arcs of 300° or greater. A small bridge and two closely-spaced funnels were incorporated far towards the bow. To save weight, small-tube Yarrow boilers were planned.[10]
"B" took the British Iron Duke-class battleship and made most of the components larger, including the armament, while also increasing the speed to Queen Elizabeth levels. "C" did the same thing, but increased everything to an even larger extent. Vanterpool believes that this design was similar to the Japanese Tosa class of the early 1920s. "D" was an amalgamation of "A" and "C," taking the latter's hull and mounting twelve 381 mm (15.0 in) guns in "A"'s arrangement.[11]
| Component | "A"[10] | "B"[10] | "C"[10] | "D"[10] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Displacement | 31,500 long tons (32,000 t) | 32,500 long tons (33,000 t) | 36,000 long tons (37,000 t) | as "C" |
| Hull length/beam | 208.8 m (685 ft) | 210 m (690 ft) | 225.6 m (740 ft) | as "C" |
| Beam | 29.2 m (96 ft) | as "A" | 29.9 m (98 ft) | as "C" |
| Draught | 8.5 m (28 ft) | 8.7 m (29 ft) | 8.8 m (29 ft) | as "C" |
| Main armament | Twelve 356 mm (14.0 in)/45 calibre | Ten 381 mm (15.0 in)/45 calibre | Ten 406 mm (16.0 in)/45 calibre | Twelve 381 mm (15.0 in)/45 calibre |
| Main secondary armament | Sixteen 152 mm (6.0 in)/50 calibre | Same as "A", but with twenty guns | Same as "B" | Same as "C" |
| Anti-destroyer / anti-aircraft | Twelve 76 mm (3.0 in) / four 76-mm | Ten 76-mm / four 76-mm | Same as "B" | Same as "B" |
| Torpedo tubes | 4 or 6 | 6 | Same as "B" | Same as "B" |
| Belt armour | 305 mm (12.0 in) | 330 mm (13 in) | unknown | unknown |
| Turret armour | 305 mm (12.0 in) | 305 mm | unknown | unknown |
| Deck armour | 51 mm (2.0 in) | none | unknown | unknown |
| Turbine / boiler manufacturers | Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company / Yarrow | same as "A" | unknown | unknown |
| Number of propellers / planned top speed | 4 / 23 knots (26 mph; 43 km/h)[N 1] | 4 / 24 knots (28 mph; 44 km/h)[N 2]. | unknown | unknown |
| Fuel | 4,000 long tons (4,100 t) coal, 1,000 long tons (1,000 t)[N 1] |
Same as "A"[N 2] | unknown | unknown |
Design 781
[edit]Most sources do not mention that Brazil actually ordered a battleship;[12] Conway's even remarks that "Brazil had not selected from the four design variations".[13]
Three further design proposals were submitted in February 1914, and Brazil chose what was labeled as Design 781. Riachuelo was then designated as ship 879 by Armstrong. Design 781 was vastly different from "A" through "D". Although it was inferior in armament and speed, it was quite similar to the Queen Elizabeth and Revenge classes then actually building, and so therefore may have been a more practical design. It was also much better armoured than either "A" or "B".[10][12]
Armament
[edit]The main armament of the Riachuelo most commonly suggested in the original four plans was either ten or twelve Vickers-Armstrong 38.1 centimetres (15.0 in) Mark B guns, which were designed specifically for the ship in 1912. Eighteen of those guns, which weighed 223 tons each, were later sold to the Spanish Navy and were used as coastal artillery defences, the last of which was placed in inactive reserve in 2008.[14] Each gun had an arc of fire of about 300°, meaning that the could train 150° to the left or right.[14] The guns could have been depressed to negative five degrees and raised to forty degrees.[14] Each gun fired either an armour-piercing or high explosive shell, both of which weighed 885 kilograms (1,951 lb), although the high-explosive shell was about thirty centimetres longer than the armour piercing.[14] The ship would have been able to fire armour-piercing shells at a muzzle velocity of 762 metres per second (2,500 ft/s) which gave a range of 35,100 m (38,400 yd) at maximum elevation.[14] Their rate of fire was about two rounds per minute.[14] Other primary armaments would have been twelve 14 inches (36 cm) or ten 16 inches (41 cm) guns. Nothing is known about the planned secondary and tertiary armament of the ship, including where her torpedo tubes would be, or if she would even have had any.
Footnotes
[edit]- ^ a b A slightly modified version of "A," utilizing 3,500 long tons (3,600 t) of oil and no coal—eliminating mixed-firing—would have given Riachuelo's top speed of 24 knots (28 mph; 44 km/h).
- ^ a b A slightly modified version of "B," utilizing oil fuel only, would have raised Riachuelo's top speed to 25.5 knots (29.3 mph; 47.2 km/h)
Endnotes
[edit]- ^ Whitley, Battleships of World War II, 23
- ^ Scheina, "Argentina," 400
- ^ Scheina, "Argentina," 400–401
- ^ Whitley, Battleships of World War II, 18
- ^ Scheina, "Chile," 408
- ^ Whitley, Battleships of World War II, 30
- ^ Scheina, "Brazil," 405
- ^ Vanterpool, "The Riachuelo," 140
- ^ George Stuart Gordon, The Retreat from Mons, p. 12.
- ^ a b c d e f g Vanterpool, "The Riachuelo," 140–141
- ^ Vanterpool, "The Riachuelo," 140
- ^ a b Sturton, "Re: The Riachuelo," 205
- ^ Scheina, "Brazil," 405
Bibliography
[edit]- Scheina, Robert L., "Argentina," "Brazil," and "Chile," in Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1984. ISBN 0-87021-907-3. OCLC 12119866.
- Sturton, Ian. "Re: The Riachuleo." Warship International 7, no. 3 (1970): 205.
- Vanterpool, Alan. "The Riachuleo." Warship International 6, no. 2 (1969): 140–141.
- Whitley, M.C. Battleships of World War Two. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1999. ISBN 1-55750-184-X. OCLC 40834665.