CSS Georgia (BC-1918 (1940-mod))

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Following on from the successful Cuba class battlecruisers, the Bureau of design had to decide which way to progress the next capital ship. Doctrine was unchanged, fast battleships / battlecruisers were the type to build. How to improve it was causing a problem, more speed, more guns, bigger guns, more armour, all had to be taken into consideration. To increase the speed to 32 knots with the propulsion systems available at time of design (1913-14) a hull length to accomodate the propulsion and armament would be something in the order of 850 feet. The ship worked out to be huge. Keeping the same speed as the Cuba's (28 knots) while adding one gun per turret to the design (12 guns) would be workable on a ship approximately 8-10 feet wider and 50 feet longer. Added to these smaller changes was that the ships could be built in existing shipyards without having to rush through building new docks.

Having used the Cuba's as the basis for the new design gave the ships a very similar appearance while the Georgia's had an extra deck level to the superstructure, plus this area was used to add extra 6" casemate secondary guns. While these ships were under construction the British in answer to the German building plans and the start of WW1, laid down and built the 15" Repulse class, which was bigger and faster than the Georgia class, and with eight 15" guns at least as well, if not better armed. News that the Japanese had laid down 16", and the Germans 15", battleships and battlecruisers, made what had been the Confederate giants not so big any more. The original order for two ships had been expanded to four but only three were completed to the original design, the fourth was taken in hand in 1917, after the work the British had done with aircraft carrying ships was shared with its Allies, to be converted to a ship for carrying wheeled aircraft.

Like the other ships before them the Georgia class was taken in hand for modernisation in the late 1930's. The older tripod masts of the previous rebuilt ships were replaced with pole masts. The center of the ships were completely gutted from B to X turrets with new propulsion, armoured deck and bridge superstructures being inserted. The version above is from 1943 and reflects the advances in radar that had taken place since the outbreak of war.

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