Livorno Class Battlecruiser for my Austrio-Hungarian AU.
Designed as a counter to a growing number of Austrio-Hungarian cruiser fleet, and concerns based on rumors that the KuK was developing battlecruisers of its own, Italy did not want to be left behind like it did with the first dreadnoughts, with the Tegetthoff commissioning before the Dante Alighieri. Work started in 1911 with a bunch of ideas, ranging from lightly armored designs similar to the Invincible and Indefatigable, to more heavily armored ones. more similar to the Lion, and Tiger. The design chosen was the more armored one. Though the armor was similar to the Conte di Cavour class, and with the same armaments, namely 12x12in guns, armor was lighter on the decks, and the bow/stern, and casemate armor. Designed in parallel with the Andrea Doria class, the Livorno would share many of its features, though with smaller guns and less armor. Speed, like the armor was hotly debated. Some wanted a high top speed of 30-32 knots, though with armor around 8 inches in the belt, and 50mm at the deck. Others argued for a slower speed of 26-28 knots, with the slower ships having 12 inches of belt armor, and 100mm of deck armor like the Andrea Doria class. In the end, an intermediate design was chosen, as it had a balanced armor-speed ratio. Two ships were ordered, Livorno was laid down in 1912, and commisioned in 1917. Venezia was laid down in 1914, and commisioned in 1920.
The Livorno would see some service in the great war, most of the time was spent cruising around waiting for Austrio-Hungarian ships to come out for battle. The KuK obliged in 1918, when a battle was fought between the KuK and the Regia Marina. The battle was inconclusive, with only smaller ships lost. Italy may have lost tactically, as the new KuK ships of the Ersatz Monarch SMS Graf Daun and SMS Hunyádi proved to be quite tough ships, easily overpowering the Conte di Cavour and Giulio Cesare, and the Tegetthoff class keeping the Livorno, Dante Alighieri and Leonardo da Vinci in line. Balance was achieved when the two ships of the Andrea Doria class with their 13,5in guns arrived. Both fleets retired with light to moderate damage sustainted to the heavy units. There would be no further battles between the KuK and Regia Marina for the rest of the war. In the post war environment the Livorno was joined by the Venezia, and together, they formed the high speed wing, serving on the flank of the more powerful battleships of the Francesco Caracciolo class when they were commisioned in the early-mid 20s. They were slated for scrapping in the mid 30s, but were kept, and rebuilt when the waters of Europe were getting hotter.
Battlecruiser Livorno as commisioned in 1917:
Springsharp report:
Livorno Class, Kigdom of Italy, Battlecruiser, laid down in 1912
Displacement:
24 945 t light; 26 099 t standard; 27 869 t normal; 29 285 t full load
Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
656,17 ft / 656,17 ft x 91,86 ft x 29,00 ft (normal load)
200,00 m / 200,00 m x 28,00 m x 8,84 m
Armament:
12 - 12,00" / 305 mm guns (4x3 guns), 864,00lbs / 391,90kg shells, 1912 Model
Breech loading guns in turrets (on barbettes)
on centreline ends, evenly spread, 2 raised mounts - superfiring
14 - 6,00" / 152 mm guns in single mounts, 108,00lbs / 48,99kg shells, 1912 Model
Breech loading guns in casemate mounts
on side, all amidships
4 - 3,00" / 76,2 mm guns in single mounts, 13,50lbs / 6,12kg shells, 1912 Model
Breech loading guns in deck mounts
on centreline ends, evenly spread
Weight of broadside 11 934 lbs / 5 413 kg
Shells per gun, main battery: 88
4 - 21,0" / 533,4 mm submerged torpedo tubes
Armour:
- Belts: Width (max) Length (avg) Height (avg)
Main: 9,80" / 249 mm 364,50 ft / 111,10 m 15,00 ft / 4,57 m
Ends: 4,00" / 102 mm 287,50 ft / 87,63 m 8,50 ft / 2,59 m
4,17 ft / 1,27 m Unarmoured ends
Upper: 4,00" / 102 mm 651,10 ft / 198,46 m 8,50 ft / 2,59 m
Main Belt covers 85 % of normal length
Main belt does not fully cover magazines and engineering spaces
- Torpedo Bulkhead:
2,00" / 51 mm 365,50 ft / 111,40 m 8,00 ft / 2,44 m
- Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
Main: 11,0" / 279 mm 6,00" / 152 mm 9,00" / 229 mm
2nd: 5,00" / 127 mm - -
- Armour deck: 2,50" / 64 mm, Conning tower: 9,00" / 229 mm
Machinery:
Oil fired boilers, steam turbines,
Geared drive, 4 shafts, 95 818 shp / 71 480 Kw = 28,00 kts
Range 4 800nm at 15,00 kts
Bunker at max displacement = 3 186 tons
Complement:
1 078 - 1 402
Cost:
£2,661 million / $10,644 million
Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
Armament: 1 492 tons, 5,4 %
Armour: 8 444 tons, 30,3 %
- Belts: 3 605 tons, 12,9 %
- Torpedo bulkhead: 216 tons, 0,8 %
- Armament: 2 484 tons, 8,9 %
- Armour Deck: 1 960 tons, 7,0 %
- Conning Tower: 178 tons, 0,6 %
Machinery: 3 820 tons, 13,7 %
Hull, fittings & equipment: 11 088 tons, 39,8 %
Fuel, ammunition & stores: 2 924 tons, 10,5 %
Miscellaneous weights: 100 tons, 0,4 %
Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
32 419 lbs / 14 705 Kg = 37,5 x 12,0 " / 305 mm shells or 4,0 torpedoes
Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1,07
Metacentric height 5,0 ft / 1,5 m
Roll period: 17,3 seconds
Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 54 %
- Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0,74
Seaboat quality (Average = 1.00): 1,09
Hull form characteristics:
Hull has raised forecastle, rise forward of midbreak, low quarterdeck
Block coefficient: 0,558
Length to Beam Ratio: 7,14 : 1
'Natural speed' for length: 25,62 kts
Power going to wave formation at top speed: 53 %
Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): -10,00 degrees
Stern overhang: -1,50 ft / -0,46 m
Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
- Stem: 26,00 ft / 7,92 m
- Forecastle (20 %): 25,50 ft / 7,77 m (24,50 ft / 7,47 m aft of break)
- Mid (50 %): 24,50 ft / 7,47 m (16,50 ft / 5,03 m aft of break)
- Quarterdeck (15 %): 16,50 ft / 5,03 m (24,50 ft / 7,47 m before break)
- Stern: 17,50 ft / 5,33 m
- Average freeboard: 22,22 ft / 6,77 m
Ship tends to be wet forward
Ship space, strength and comments:
Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 111,7 %
- Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 167,4 %
Waterplane Area: 42 384 Square feet or 3 938 Square metres
Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 99 %
Structure weight / hull surface area: 181 lbs/sq ft or 882 Kg/sq metre
Hull strength (Relative):
- Cross-sectional: 0,96
- Longitudinal: 1,46
- Overall: 1,00
Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is cramped
Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent