Taranis-class battleship
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Taranis-class battleship |
| Operators: |
 Royal Ossorian Navy |
| Succeeded by: | Luchtaine-class |
| In commission: | 1914 - 1949 |
| Planned: | 6 |
| Completed: | 6 |
| Retired: | 6 |
| General characteristics (1937 refit) | |
| Type: | Battleship |
| Displacement: |
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| Length: | 190 meters |
| Beam: | 27.4 meters |
| Draught: | 10 meters |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 21 kts |
| Range: | 7,000 nm at 10 kts |
| Complement: | 1,440 |
| Armament: |
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| Armor: |
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The Taranis-class was a class of six battleships built for the Royal Ossorian Navy starting in 1914. The class comprised of the ships Taranis, Grannos, Credne, Áine, Midir, and Beira.
Design
General characteristics
The Taranis-class ships were 190 metres long overall, had a beam of 27.4 m and a draught of 10 m with a normal displacement of 28,890 t. The ships were powered by four turbines driven by steam provided by 18 coal-fired boilers. The engines were rated at 29,000 shaft horsepower and delivered a top speed of 21 knots. Taranis and her sisters were capable of a maximum range of 7,000 nautical miles at a cruising speed of 10 knots.
Armament
The Taranis-class ships mounted a main battery of ten 34 cm guns mounted in five two-gun turrets, all mounted on the centerline. Two turrets were placed in a superfiring pair forward ("Beith" and "Luis" turrets), one turret amidships directly after the two funnels ("Fearn" turret), and two in a superfiring pair aft of the rear superstructure ("Saille" and "Nion" turrets). The gun housings allowed for the guns to depress to −5° and elevate to 20°. The fore and aft gun turrets could train 150° in either direction from the centreline, the amidship turret had a much more limited range, limited to a firing arc of between 30° to 150° from the centerline on either beam of the ship. The guns could fire 635 kg shells at a rate of approximately 1.5–2 rounds per minute, and were capable of firing a variety of shells. At their maximum elevation of 20°, the guns had a range of 21,700 m, though at the maximum effective elevation of 15°, the range was approximately 18,300 m. At a range of 9,000 m, the gun could penetrate approximately 320 mm of cemented steel armor.
The secondary battery consisted of twelve 15 cm guns mounted in casemates in the hull around the forward superstructure. These guns fired 45 kg shells at a rate of approximately 5–7 per minute. The guns could elevate to 20°, which enabled a maximum range of 14,450 m. There were some significant problems with the casemate guns early on, as the installed measures intended to close the gunports in heavy seas. These measures were difficult to maintain in practice and had a tendency to fail, compounded by the fact that the guns had been mounted too low in the hull, and were subjected to a heavier pounding in rough seas. The problem was eventually corrected, by the addition of additional bulkheads in the gun houses and rubber seals to the gunport coverings.
Armor
The Taranis-class ships had a main armor belt that was 300 mm thick in the central area of the ship (covering the ammunition magazines, machinery spaces, and other vital parts of the ship). The belt tapered down to 100 mm towards the bow and stern. The main gun turrets were 250 mm on the sides and 75 mm on the rear, where shells were less likely to hit. The barbettes in which the turrets sat were 250 mm thick. The ships' armored deck was between 100 mm thick.
Ships
| Ship | Namesake | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taranis | God of Storms | HRM Dockyard, Cléire | 1914 | 1915 | 1917 | |
| Grannos | God of Agriculture | HRM Dockyard, Gabhrán | 1914 | 1915 | 1917 | |
| Credne | God of Metalworking | HRM Dockyard, Thiar | 1914 | 1915 | 1917 | |
| Áine | Goddess of Summer | HRM Dockyard, Cléire | 1915 | 1916 | 1917 | |
| Midir | God of Judgement | HRM Dockyard, Thiar | 1915 | 1916 | 1917 | |
| Beira | Goddess of Winter | HRM Dockyard, Gabhrán | 1915 | 1916 | 1917 |