Sad but trueAlways good to remind ourselves that we willingly gave China everything they needed to become a world power. A rising tide lifts all boats...but sometimes those boats are aircraft carriers for the new kid on the block.
For those who think the Montana class battleships were the largest battleships ever conceived for the US Navy, I present the Tillman Class battleship concepts of WW1. With the only limitation being the the 1000’ x 110’ locks of the Panama Canal, these monsters went from the Tillman I to the ultimate 975’ long Tillman IV-2. Although the Navy was not interested in these designs and were only drawn up to satisfy Senator Tillman on the Naval Appropriations Committee, some characteristics were eventually carried over into future ship designs.
Whereas the Iowas went about 50,000 tons with 9x16" guns and 12" belt armor and the Montanas were designed to be roughly 70,000 tons with 12x16" rifles and 16" belt armor, the Tillman IV-2 had 15x18" cannons firing shells that could possibly weigh 1/3 more than the 16" guns - up to 3,800 lbs. Belt armor was 18" thick. One variant proposed not 9, not 12, but 24 16” cannons in 4 six gun turrets.
Couple of great videos from Drachinfel and Battleship New Jersey on these designs.
Maximum battleship - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
View attachment 33302
View attachment 33303
What was the estimated displacement on these? That's nearly 20,000 tons in guns alone!
It was either 80,000 or 90,000 tons at full load. Watching baseball post game right now.
That’s about two LHD’sWow, that's about as large as a Wasp class LHD! ?
That’s about two LHD’s
Not fast enough to escape the USS REUBEN JAMES.The record for the fastest submarine is held by K-222, the sole version of the Soviet Papa class and predecessor to the Alfa class. It achieved 44.7 knots, not sure if they were at 105% on the reactor.
Built entirely of titanium, it was reportedly welded together by engineers in pressure suits working in an argon filled environment.
One-of-a-Kind: Russia Only Built 1 Super Fast Papa-class Submarine
Speed has often held a mixed appeal in submarine warfare.nationalinterest.org
View attachment 33426
The SQS-56 was a force to be reckoned with.Not fast enough to escape the USS REUBEN JAMES.
Saw this today, they also had a Ford Class CVN and Arleigh Burke class DestroyerOK…not exactly a ship…but color me impressed the CHYCAPS built a full size, moving, mock-ups of something as large as an LHD for target practice!