Ares Class Battleships.
Completion of the four Poseidon class by the end of 1909 gave Atlantis a good
core of dreadnoughts. However the British already had 13.5" battleships under
construction and would complete twelve of those ships while the Atlanteans
complete their two Ares class. The Atlantean Admiralty was well aware that they
just did not have the facilities or money to try to keep up with the major
European powers in a building competition. What Atlantis could do was to build
the best ships that their designers could think of. The two Ares class were laid
down in 1910 and completed in 1914. With a standard displacement of 32,000 tons
and a full load displacement of 35,500 tons, they were big ships and were the
equal of any of their peers. First oil fired battleships for Atlantis, the ships
had four shaft turbine propulsion of 90,000shp that produced a speed of 26.5
knots. The main armament was a handy 10x14"/45cal in two twin (B & X) and two
triple (A & Y) mountings. Secondary armament was the 5.5" gun with 14 casemate
mountings installed. On completion the ships had 8x75mm guns and these weapons
were exchanged for 8x75mm AA guns during 1916-17. The armour had not been
stinted with a 13" belt and 3" deck, 12-8" turrets and a 12" conning tower. With
a length of 642 feet and 94 foot of breadth they were as big as Atlantis could
build at the time. The Atlantean Admiralty shipbuilding docks only had four
docks that could build large ships. Only two of the Ares class were laid down to
allow the other two docks to be enlarged for the next generation of Atlantean
battleships. Once the Ares were complete the docks they had been built in were
also enlarged.
As Completed:
Displacement: 32,000 tons standard, 35,500 tons full load.
Dimensions: 642 x 94 x 27 feet
Machinery: 4 shaft, steam turbines, 90,000shp
Speed: 27 knots
Endurance: 8,000 miles at 12 knots
Armour: 13" belt, 3" deck, 12/8/6" turrets
Armament:
10 x 14" (2x3, 2x2)
14 x 5.5" (14x1)
8 x 75mm (8x1)
Crew: 1200
As rebuilt 1936-40
Displacement: 32,800 tons standard, 37,900 tons full load.
Dimensions: 642 x 94 x 27 feet
Machinery: 4 shaft, steam turbines, 95,000shp
Speed: 27 knots
Endurance: 8,000 miles at 12 knots
Armour: 13" belt, 5.5" deck, 12/8/6" turrets
Armament:
10 x 14" (2x3, 2x2)
16 x 5" (8x2)
24 x 40mm (6x4)
36 x 25.4mm (18x2)
Aircraft: 3
Crew: 1290
The ships had only just finished their trials and workup when the trumpets of
war heralded the outbreak of World War One. With von Spees squadron still at sea
the Admiralty kept their two brand new battleships at home. The two new ships
were as fast as the two Invincibles that the British Admiralty had ordered to
the South Atlantic to deal with Von Spee. When the British ships called in to
the Port of Artemis to coal ship for the long run south, the two Ares class
battleships and two Aphrodite class cruisers were there to join the force under
Admiral Sturdee. The now Fleet headed South at best economical speed. The
Invincible and Inflexible being coal fired went on to the Falkands where they
wrote themselves into history. The four Atlantean ships being oil fired had to
go to a port in Argentina to fuel. The Atlantean ships returned to the main base
at Demeter having missed the chance of a lifetime. The two Ares class went to
the UK where they joined the 5th Battle Squadron. The Hera and Queen Elizabeth
missed Jutland being under refit at the time. The Ares was tail end Charlie at
Windy corner and turned slightly earlier than ordered to avoid the firestorm
that hit Warspite that was next in line. Ares covered Warspites moments of loss
of control, putting regular broadsides into the 3rd ship of the German line (a
German Konig class ship). Only 3 shells hit the Ares none of which pierced the
armour. A week in port fixed the damage and the Ares was ready to go again. As
history tells us, all the Grand Fleet did after Jutland was drills and patrols.
Back in Atlantis after WW1 the two Atlantean battleships formed Battle Squadron
1 with the two Zeus class battleships. These four ships would form the core of
the Atlantean Fleet till the start of the new builds in the 1930's. The Ares
class ships were slated for a major rebuild from 1936-38. Hera took slightly
longer and returned to the fleet in 1939. The changes included the fitting of
complete new fore and aft superstructures, aircraft handling equipment, eight
twin 5" DP turrets, six of the latest quad 40mm, and 18 twin 1" (25.4mm) AA
cannons. New armoured deck of 5.5" was fitted, which allowed the propulsion
system to also be renewed while the armoured deck was up. 25 years of
improvements allowed for a smaller power plant to produce slightly more
horsepower, both ships now making 27 knots on 95,000shp. Only a half knot
increase but the age of the old equipment meant that the ships had been speed
limited to 24-25 knots for some years.
Both ships spent most of the interwar years doing economic zone patrols and long
periods at the main base at Demeter. With the outbreak of war in 1939 the Ares
and Hera joined the two Zeus class ships in interdiction patrols between
Atlantis and the Pillars of Hercules. Joining the four battleships was the AWS
Aphrodite a large CV whose aircraft were invaluable in checking and processing
shipping passing through. During this period, 4 blockade runners were
intercepted, one being captured the other three scuttling themselves. The two
Ares class ships then joined the carrier Athena and were sent south to help the
search for the Graf Spee. The Graf Spee was found and sunk by British forces and
the ships returned north to Atlantis. 1940 found the two ships again with the
Athena, patrolling the line Atlantis to Florida, hoping to catch the Scharnhorst
and Gneisenau which had broken through into the Atlantic, sinking the
Rawalipindi on the way. The S&G broke the line without contact. With the fall of
France the three ships joined Admiral Sommerville's Force H based on Gibraltar.
The first task was to put the French Fleet in North Africa out of action one way
or another, or the best outcome would be for the French Fleet to join the Free
French and fight on. The ships at Alexandria agreed to be demilitarised and
eventually joined the Allies later. At Mers El-Kebir the French Admiral was
intractable and it was his fault that the events spiralled out of control and
ended with the French Fleet receiving its worst drubbing since Trafalgar.
Thousands of French sailors died needlessly as French battleships and cruisers
exploded and sank under the 14" and 15" guns of the Allied fleet. Only the
Strasbourg escaped relatively unscathed being able to get to sea and run with
the help of a smokescreen provided by two destroyers.
The next job for Force H was to neutralise the Italian Fleet and make the
Western Mediterannean safe. Various sorties were made to see if the Italian
Fleet wanted to come out and play. Finally the two fleets met off Calabria,
ending in the Italians losing two battleships, one to gunfire of the fleet, the
other by the Fleet Air Arm and Atlantean Naval Service aircraft as it tried to
run for home. The rest of the Italian Fleet was left to Admiral Cunningham to
damage and sink what was left in his daring attack of Taranto harbour.
1941 Saw the Ares, Hera, working out of Scapa Flow to help close the gaps into
the Atlantic. In company with the British battleships Majestic and King George
V, the four battleships were providing distant cover over the Greenland Strait
and the Iceland-Faeroes gap. The cruiser Norfolk reported contacts to the north,
which resolved into four ships. The four Allied battleships headed northwest to
intercept. The four ships, identified as Ludendorf, Bismarck, Moltke and Prinz
Eugen. Inclement weather forced the grounding of aircraft, so the command went
out "Form Battle Line" and the four Allied battleships headed off to intercept
at 25 knots. The Norfolk was still in radar contact so the Allied forces new to
the inch where the Germans were.
Dawn broke with low ominous skies and misty rain sweeping across the ships.
Admiral Holland sat in his command chair, and waited, he knew the Germans were
there 20 miles away and coming closer, they were just not visible yet. Fire
orders had been given and the Allied ships were in position to cross the Germans
'T'. The latest squall blew past and an indistinct shape came out of the mist 12
miles away, 15 seconds later a second ship appeared, "Here they come" was the
Flag Captains comment. The German ships opened fire and changed course to the
west to bring all their guns to bear. Admiral Holland ordered "Open fire", and
the four Allied ships fired on their targets. Ares and Hera had been given the
battlecruiser Moltke and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen as their targets. At 23,000
yards the shooting was good from both sides. An early strike by the 12 gun
Majestic roared down on the Ludendorf putting out of action the C & D turrets.
Bismarck was firing well and hit the Ares several times, starting fires in the
hangar area. Hera's third broadside hit the forepart of the Moltke knocking out
the A & B 12" turrets and while the fatal damage was not visible two minutes
later the fore part of the Moltke blew away leaving a hulk to be finished off by
the Norfolks torpedoes. It was at this point that the Bismarcks fifth salvo came
in on the Ares, passed through the deck armour and destroyed the turbine room.
Ares speed bled away and the battle moved swiftly away. Hera switched targets to
the Prinz Eugen which then being hit twice from Hera's 14" guns, was ordered by
Admiral Lutjens to break away and make its own way to a port in France. This
left the two German battleships facing the three Allied ships. The Majestic now
proved why its 12 gun armament was so good, with six of 12, 15" shells hitting
the Ludendorf. The shells put the undamaged A & B turrets out of action leaving
the Ludendorf with no main armament to defend itself with. Admiral Lutjens had
been killed and the Flag Captain ordered Bismarck to break away and act
independently, the Ludendorf also turned to give Bismarck cover, sacrificing the
Ludendorf to allow the Bismarck to escape. Admiral Holland ordered the Hera to
go back and cover the damaged Ares, just in case Bismarck or Prinz Eugen came
across the crippled ship. Majestic and KGV finished off the Ludendorf and set
sail after the Bismarck through the heavy weather. The faster German ships
escaped into the heavy weather, Radar was unable to pick them up either. Thus
ended Atlantis' involvement in the Battle of Denmark Strait. The Hera took the
crippled Ares in tow and escorted by cruisers and destroyers made it back to
Scotland where repairs to the turbines could be undertaken.
Hera returned to Demeter for a six month long refit, to update the systems and
give some needed furlough time to the crew after nearly two years of war. Two
months later a jury rigged Ares joined the Hera at Demeter, Ares went straight
into a repair dock where it would stay for the next six months. Hera was
released first and was sent to join Force H in Gibraltar. Ares joined Hera in
March 1942, and they were joined by Aphrodite in June 1942. Aphrodite replaced
Furious that had been with Force H since the loss of Ark Royal in 1941. Various
strikes were carried out by Force H on the Axis bases that could be reached by
the Aphrodites aircraft. August 1942 saw the build up in Gibraltar of the forces
that would carry out Operation Pedestal. Ares and Hera were to be part of the
Battleship cover force, along with Majestic and Barfleur. As history tells us,
Pedestal received lots of damage and losses, the Ares and Hera did nothing more
than firing their AA guns, through to where the large ships withdrew back toward
Gibraltar. 1943 saw the ships supporting the Allied landings in the
Mediterranean. Ares again took major damage from a guided bomb. This time the
Ares was laid up at Demeter as an accommodation ship - its war was over, most of
the crew being transferred to the new ship Olympia then being fitted out. Hera
finished out its Mediterranean service, then went to Britain to become part of
the D-Day preparations. Hera supported Gold Beach and provided fire support to
the Allied forces as they moved along the coast of France, Belgium and the
Netherlands. The Hera was withdrawn to Demeter in December of 1944, where the
Hera joined the Ares in reserve. Both ships were officially removed from the
active service list in 1946 and scrapped.
Service/Fate: