The Antarctican Navy had been building their battleships in
classes of four. The speed of production and advancement in
other countries did not allow Antarctica that luxury any more.
The Lord Admiral Hillary class would be a class of two following
on from the previous Shackleton class of two. There were three
major improvements made over the Shackleton class.
1. The main armament went from eight guns to ten - adding an
extra twin 14" turret aft. The single 6" casemate guns are
replaced with twin 6" turrets, increasing from ten guns to
twelve.
2. The main armament would be changed from 40 calibre to 50
calibre barrels, and the turret elevation changed from 20
degrees/24,000 yards to 28 degrees/34,000 yards, shell weight
increased to 1500 pounds.
3. The machinery power would more than double from 40,000shp to
90,000shp which would increase the speed from 23 to 27 knots.
The superstructure would remain the same and larger funnels were
required for expelling the exhaust gasses. The larger machinery
and extra turret increased the size of the ships markedly.
The extra weight aft from the 5th 14" turret was offset forward
by the lengthening of the bow. This had the added benefit of
making the ships more weatherly at the faster speeds being made
by this new type of Dreadnought. These two ships were matched
and surpassed by the five Queen Elizabeth type with their 8x15"
guns. The ships had barely made it to WW2. They had been due for
replacement by the Franklin class. The reprieve put the two
ships into what became the Bombardment Fleet. A very necessary
job that did not require brand new battleships.
The revamp of the naval titles in the 1500's brought in the
title for the person in the Senate that ran the Navy, Lord
Admiral of the Navy. The first recipient of this new title thus
became Lord Admiral of the Navy, Sir Edmund Hillary of the Kiwi
clan. In the Navy this power was absolute, what the Lord Admiral
said was what was carried out. On the other side if the Navy
lost a battle the Lord Admiral's head could easily be on the
block and his replacement appointed the next day. Hillary made
it through his ten year stint and appointed Lord Admiral Crozier
as his successor.
| Displacement | 30,800 tons standard, 34,750 tons full load |
| Length | 653 ft |
| Breadth | 92 ft |
| Draught | 28 ft |
| Machinery | 4 shaft, steam turbines, 90,000shp |
| Speed | 27 knots |
| Range | 7000 miles at 10 knots |
| Armour | 13" side, 2" deck, 12"/9"/6" turrets |
| Armament | As completed 10 x 14" (5x2) 12 x 6" (6x2) 6 x 4" LA (6x1) replaced with 4" AA guns 1917 4 x 2pd AA (4x1) added 1917 |
| Complement | 970-1015 as Flagship |
| Notes | Lord Admiral Hillary - sunk 1944 by human torpedo. Lord Admiral Crozier - scrapped 1946 |
14" 50 calibre test gun.
