Back to Panganaean Navy page
The previous class of battleships were a very good first effort. The use of the triple turret to give a 50% increase of firepower was a masterstroke. The next class would follow general practice and be what would become semi-dreadnoughts. The same layout of the Resolution was followed but the 6" guns were replaced with five twin turrets of 10" guns. A slight increase in all dimensions and weight was required to take the ships to a new level. This was Panagaea's trial between turbine and triple expansion engines. Redoubtable was fitted with the turbine machinery. One thing that this required was a change from two to three funnels.
The turbine trials were a success. For the same weight of machinery, the turbines produced more power and therefore more speed. The other trial that turned out well was the mounting of the 10" turret in X position. A lot of Naval pundits postulated that the concussion from the 10" guns firing directly aft would have a damaging effect on the crew inside the 12" turret. This never happened. Hardly had the ships entered service than the Royal Navy revealed the Dreadnought to the world. All of the Pre-Dreadnoughts and Semi-Dreadnoughts were obsolete at one stroke. The Resolution was still a good ship, just not as good as the Dreadnought.
.png)
The Redoubtable was converted to an Area Defence Vessel 1930-32. The Panganaean Navy had a use for this ship. At the North-east tip of the land was a volcanic area rich in gem stones. The Panagaean Government had had a base in March Bay where the volcanic island joined the mainland. The volcanic area had nowhere an airfield could be placed. The Redoubtable was the answer. Being able to house aircraft of its own and to have larger flying boats based on it meant the area could be kept under surveillance to stop people helping themselves to the gemstones without the Government getting its cut. The Redoubtable did this job well. Its aircraft spotting may suspicious craft, which were then intercepted by the destroyers on station. Early 1942 and as the Japanese struck at the Aleutian Islands, they had not forgotten to neutralise as much of the Panagaean infrastructure as they could reach. This included the March Bay base. The Redoubtable received two torpedo and four bomb hits which was too much for the old ship to handle and it capsized. The hulk was broken up post war.
