Shipbucket

This began as a test of Dropbox . . . oh well stuff happens

This is another “What If” scenario: What If France had laid-down Alsace and completed her hull in time for her to escape in company with Jean Bart to Casablanca where she would spend the war years to finally be completed in 1955 along with Jean Bart.

Armament:
3X3 380mm/45cal main battery (two forward one aft)
3x3 152mm/55cal secondary battery (one forward two aft)
12X2 100mm/55cal model 1945 CAD
11x2 57mm/60cal model 1951 ACAD
14x2 25mm/50cal CAMle

Armour:
Belts: 13 in (330 mm)
Decks: 1.7–6.1 in (43–155 mm)
Barbettes: 16.1 in (410 mm)
Torpedo Bulkhead: 3–7 in (76–178 mm)
Turrets: 15 in (380 mm)
Conning Tower: 1.5–3.1 in (38–79 mm)

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My Avatar is
French Vice-admiral Louis-René-Madeleine Le Vassor de La Touche, comte de Tréville
The original spelling of my last name is: LaTouche.

see PM David


Edit:
I want to be the first to see whatever the new drawing is

No, I think I have dibs on David's drawings nowadays... (Especially if it's a French cruiser!)

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My Avatar:Петр Алексеевич Безобразов (Petr Alekseevich Bezobrazov), Вице-адмирал , царская ВМФ России(1845-1906) - I sign my drawings as Ari Saarinen

I'm presently working on a few projects, one of which is a what if: Alsace as she would have looked had she been laid down and escaped along with Jean Bart and completed in 1955.

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My Avatar is
French Vice-admiral Louis-René-Madeleine Le Vassor de La Touche, comte de Tréville
The original spelling of my last name is: LaTouche.

I believe this should be moved to the Personal Design Forum

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My Avatar is
French Vice-admiral Louis-René-Madeleine Le Vassor de La Touche, comte de Tréville
The original spelling of my last name is: LaTouche.

VERY nice work!

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MS State Guard - 08 March 2014 - 28 January 2023

The Official IJN Ships & Planes List

#FJB

Absolutely beautiful drawing of, in some senses, the ultimate WW2 battleship. The AA fit is without peer.

A few thoughts:

• What would the aircraft hangar be used for? I don't see any way you could utilize helos, and obviously floatplanes are DOA by this era.
• I'm skeptical the French would stick with those high-impact long-base independent rangefinders on the 155mm turrets. Even at the end of WW2, the USN was already shifting to small local radar control with the Mark 27, which would seem in every way superior.

The hanger would most likely be used, as was the case with the US Des Moines-class cruiser, for boat storage. Although I'll most likely have to retain the crane.

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My Avatar is
French Vice-admiral Louis-René-Madeleine Le Vassor de La Touche, comte de Tréville
The original spelling of my last name is: LaTouche.

I am a major fan of the French ships and how good looking they are. But that 'Jean Bart' superstructure does not really enhance the Alsace's looks at all.

erik_t talks about the 6" directors, but I would take it one further and wonder why the 6" would have been carried at all. Surely a direct replacement of the 6" with twin 5" would make more sense. Also another pair of the 5" directors might be useful.

Did the French really still have the 25mm guns after having all the data from the Richelieu's deployments to the East Indies squadrons in 1943-45 vs the Japanese.

Well as for the ugly superstructure, It seems that there was an epidemic going around France in 1955 to wit:

Jean Bart (note that the rangefinders on the aft 152mms are still present)
https://laststandonzombieisland.files.w ... e15e37.jpg

DeGrasse
http://i.imgur.com/xRDda20.jpg

and

Colbert
http://i.imgur.com/jpLtO3g.jpg

As for the 25mm guns, they were an add-on, sort of eye-candy

I'll take them out of the drawing.

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My Avatar is
French Vice-admiral Louis-René-Madeleine Le Vassor de La Touche, comte de Tréville
The original spelling of my last name is: LaTouche.