Hydra-class battleship
 Line drawing of the Hydra class battleship
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| Class overview | |
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| Name: | Hydra class |
| Builders: | Isenstadt Naval Works |
| Operators: | Arcaenian Navy |
| Built: | 1939–1944 |
| Planned: | 4 |
| Completed: | 4 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Type: | battleship |
| Displacement: |
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| Length: |
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| Beam: | 39 m |
| Draft: |
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| Installed power: | 192,000 shp (143,000 kW) |
| Propulsion: | 12 V24 diesel engines, 4 shafts |
| Speed: | 30.5 knots |
| Range: | 19,000 nautical miles (35,000 km) at 19 knots (35 km/h) |
| Complement: |
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| Armament: |
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| Armor: |
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| Aviation facilities: | 1 Aircraft catapult |
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Design
General characteristics
Propulsion
Armament
Main battery
The primary armament of the Hydra class battleships consisted of four 42 cm SK L/50 guns mounted in four two-gun turrets, two forward and two aft. The 42 cm SK L/50 gun is 50 calibers long and fired both APC and HE shells weighing 1,220 kg (2,690 lb) at a muzzle velocity of 830 meters per second (2,700 ft/s). The turrets could each rotate 150° to either side of the ship's center-line at 4° per second and could be elevated from -8°(0° for the super-firing guns) up to +40° at up to 12° per second. At maximum elevation the maximum firing range of the guns was 45,000 m (49,000 yd). Training of the turrets was electric while elevation, loading, and all other functions was hydraulic. Traverse and elevation were both controlled remotely. The loading angle of each gun was fixed at an angle of 2.5° and rate of fire was 2-2.5 rounds per minute per gun, depending on elevation. As was common with all Arcaenian naval guns of the era the guns used a horizontally sliding wedge breech block. The breech was fully sealed with a 127 kg (280 lb) brass (later mild steel) cartridge case that contained a 180 kg (400 lb) smokeless RPC main propellant charge which was supplemented with a bagged fore charge containing an additional 187 kg (412 lb) of RPC propellant. The guns featured a removable loose liner that was expected to last 200 rounds before replacement. The main battery was supplied with 960 rounds, or 120 rounds per gun.
Secondary battery
The secondary armament of the Hydra class was twenty 12.8 cm (5") SK L/45 dual-purpose guns housed in ten twin turrets, five located along each side of the superstructure. Originally designed a destroyer weapon these guns were added to the Hydra class to give them a dual-purpose secondary armament capable of effectively engaging both air and surface targets. Each turret could be depressed to -10° degrees and elevated to +80°. The guns used single piece ammunition weighing 49 kg (108 lb) and fired HE shells weighing 28 kg (62 lb) at a muzzle velocity of 830 m/s. At 45° degree elevation the maximum range was 22,000 m (24,000 yd). Maximum anti-aircraft ceiling of the guns was 14,800 m (16,200 yd) at an elevation of 80°. The guns features a loose-liner and a semi-automatic horizontally sliding breech block which opened automatically under the force of recoil. Integral shell hoists with automatic fuze setters were fitted to each turret which allowed for loading at any elevation. Rate of fire was 15-20 rounds per minute for each gun and ammunition storage was 50 ready rounds per gun in the turret with an additional 400 rounds per gun located in each magazine.