A bit more History. To aid the Empire and Emperor's, there were regional governors appointed to the various small regions. In most cases the Governors came from the previous ruling houses of the countries that now made up Khmer. It was not unusual for the Emperor's wives and concubines to come from these governors family's. This stopped the Liu Dynasty from too much inbreeding and cemented them into the local upper class structures. The Wong class here was also known as the 'Governor' class as all were named for regional governors.
Having had to build six battleships in short order, the country was bled dry by the Navy. It would be a few years before the next class could be ordered. This gave the Navy time to watch, with wide eyes, as the Germany -v- Commonwealth building race sent battleships from 20,000 to 40,000 tons in just 8 years. Gun sizes went from 11" to 16", shell sizes from 660lb to 2,200lb. From twin turrets to quadruple turrets. It all gave the Khmer designers a lot to think about. The design process started in 1911 on completion of the Xiaowu class. The Cobra was under construction and many of that ships features would be incorporated into the Wong class. The design for the new ships would have to be set in concrete by the end of 1912, with the two ships two be ordered and laid down in Jan-Feb 1913. Completion then expected at the end of 1916.
The current 12" gun and turret could not be carried forward to the new class. Ships with 13.4", 13.5", 13.8", 14", then 15" were laid down while the design process was under way. News from Japan gave the Japanese Navy building battleships and battlecruisers with 14" guns. That would be the minimum gun size acceptable. Next was the number of guns, the number and turret size (twin or triple) and where to source the design from. The French were building ships with 13.4" guns in twin then quadruple turret sizes. Watching the design differences between the French and Royal Navy ships, Khmer felt the French hulls with RN type armaments would be a good match for them. To aid speed of construction a 14" gun design was bought from Elswick, the same as ordered by Chile for its new dreadnoughts. The layout would follow the Cobra with five inline twin turrets, three aft and two forward. A much bigger hull than the Cobra was required and a much more powerful powerplant was also required to move the larger displacement.
These were the last two battleships designed and built in Khmer for nearly 20 years. Smaller ships in cruiser size would be the way forward for new construction in the Khmer shipyards.
I am not sure if I like that or not. By its stats it is of a size with the real life Dunkerque class. The bridge superstructure always looks too big for the ship. Top heavy, adding radar would be interesting.
The two ships would have the most comprehensive rebuilds so far. Added to what was done to the Cobra, the Wong class also had their bows changed out to improve sea keeping and provide space for enlarged fuel tanks. The 14" guns were first class and with a 25 degree elevation fired out past 29-30,000 yards depending on shell type.
