RHNS Salamis (BB-1923 (1940-mod))
In 1910-11 the Greek Navy requested designs from various nations for a
proposed battleship purchase. The winning bid came from Germany for hul and
superstructure with the armament being from the US for the 14" guns and the
British for the 5.5" secondary guns.
The design that was finalised in 1912 showed a small battleship with good
armament using superfiring for and aft mountings. The previous 1911 design was a
compromise but would still have been a useful ship.
Work began on the keel
on 23 July 1913, and the hull was launched on 11 November 1914. Construction
stopped in December 1914, following the outbreak of World War I in July of that
year. The German navy employed the unfinished ship as a floating barracks in
Kiel.
The armament for this ship was ordered from Bethlehem
Steel
in the United States and could not be delivered due to the British
blockade
of Germany. Bethlehem sold the guns to Britain instead and they were used to arm
the four
Abercrombie-class
monitors.
The hull of the ship remained intact after the war and became the subject of a
protracted legal dispute.
Salamis
was finally awarded to the builders and the hull was scrapped in 1932.
The drawing below depicts the Salamis as it may have ended up if it had remained
in service. I postulate that the Greeks send the Salamis to Germany for a
complete rebuilding in 1939, when WW2 breaks out the Germans complete the
rebuilding and commission the Salamis into the German Navy as the Brandenburg.
Displacement | 21,250 tons standard, 26,000 tons full load | |
Length | 623 ft | |
Breadth | 84 ft | |
Draught | 27 ft | |
Machinery | 4 shaft Parsons turbines, 70,000shp | |
Speed | 28 knots as completed | |
Range | 5000 miles at 10 knots | |
Armour | 9-6in belt, 2in decks, 10"/7"/4" turrets | |
Armament | As Completed 1914 9 x 12" (3x3) 10 x 5.5" (10x1) 8 x 37mm (4x1) |
As Training Ship 1935-1941 9 x 12" (3x3) 16 x 3.9" AA (8x2) 16 x 2pd (2x8) 8 x 20mm (8x1) |
Complement | 730 (805 as Flagship) | |
Notes |
Original drawing of a turtle called Salamis. Very bad. It was inspired by the
model below. Its superstructure is quite a bit smaller than the drawings.
Displacement | 22,000 tons std. |
Length | 522 ft |
Breadth | 88 ft |
Draught | 28 ft |
Machinery | 2 shaft steam turbines 24,000shp |
Speed | 21 knots |
Armour | 11" side 2" deck |
Armament |
12 x 12" (4x3) 16 x 5" (8x2) 24 x 40mm (6x4) 10 x 20mm (10x1) |
Aircraft | nil |
Torpedoes | nil |