Shipbucket

Brændende Kærlighed-class Battlecruisers

Designed in 1912 to be the finest battlecruisers the world had ever seen, the Brændende Kærlighed-class displaced 30,654 tons standard, and had a design speed of 27 kts. They were armored with 467 foot 12" main belt plating tapering to 3.90" uppers and ends, with an unprotected stern. They were built with 3" deck plating and 11.81" and 7.87" conning towers, all in all giving the class some of the best protection ever fitted to a battlecruiser. At a time when most battlecruisers were capable of 27.5 to 28 kts speed, the class could only manage just over 27 kts, due to their comparatively heavy armor scheme.

The class had a main armament of eight 356mm 50 cal. rifles mounted in 11" barbettes. Complementing her main battery was her secondary and tertiary batteries consisting of 14 150mm casemate guns and eight 88mm guns, four on deck mounts and four in casemates.

Each vessel of the class received major rebuilds in the 1930s, during which they were reclassified as fast battleships. Post-rebuild, the vessels were capable of speeds in excess of 31 kts, making them faster than their counterparts, the Japanese Kongou-class fast battleships.

Though they each started their career with peaceful patrols and diplomatic missions, it would not stay that way, as this class saw almost all of the battles in the Pacific War, and contributed to some of the heaviest fighting and the most famous moments in Nyrdanish history.

Ships in class: (laid down-launched-commissioned - fate)

Uforgængelig 1912-1913-1914-Decommissioned in 1992 and permanently moored in Konugenshafn as a museum ship
Uovervindelig 1912-1913-1914-????
Utrættelig 1913-1914-1915-????
Ustoppelig 1913-1914-1915-Sunk during the Battle of the Kuril Islands, 1941

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Uforgængelig as built in 1914


Named Uforgængelig (Indestructible), the lead ship was laid down at the Audbjorn/Mord shipyards in Trellin in mid 1912. She was launched in July 1913 and ultimately commissioned on March 16th 1914. During sea trials she clocked at 27.3 knots, 0.3 knots faster than planned, although on the slower end of battlecruisers at the time. Her 12” main armor belt compensated for the lack of speed, giving her greater protection than comparable ship classes. The admiralty loved the ship, and upon commissioning she was immediately made flagship of the Konugeligt Nyrdanske Floti.
Uforgængelig’s early career was uneventful with Nyrdanmark staying out of World War 1. She was stationed at the naval base in Sleið from 1914 until 1918, when she was transferred to Sakhalin as a show of force to Japan. She remained in Sakhalin until 1923 when she returned to Trellin for refit, where she received eight 20mm anti-aircraft guns, new gun directors and rangefinders. Following refit she was again stationed in Sakhalin. From 1923 until 1932 she patrolled the seas between Nyrdanmark and Japan as tensions rose between the two nations.
In 1932 she again returned to Trellin for refit, this time receiving torpedo bulges, nine more 20mm anti-aircraft guns, two 3” anti-aircraft guns, a scout plane, and new engines bringing her top seed up to 31.2 knots, outpacing the Japanese battlecruiser Kongō. She was then stationed in Amarken, where she remained until 1941. On October 27th, 1941, immediately after the attack on Hæjenjäi and Sakhalin, Nyrdanmark declared war on Japan.
Uforgængelig and a fleet of 43 other vessels made for the Kuril Islands, and contact was made with an IJN fleet believed to be the one responsible for the attacks on the 27th around 18:00 on October 29th. At around 18:15 the line of six Nyrdanish battleships opened fire on the IJN battleships Hiei, and Kirishima, as well as the battlecruisers Amagi, and Akagi. Uforgængelig scored hits on Hiei, and Kirishima while Uforgængelig had suffered severe damage to her bridge, and multiple hits to the main armor belt. At 19:33 Captain Sæunn Kalfdottir on board Ustoppelig signalled Uforgængelig by searchlight informing Viceadmiral Kormak Gavtvidsson that her ship would be leaving formation. Uforgængelig and Uovervindelig moved to cover what they thought was Ustoppelig’s retreat only to see her bearing down on the Japanese fleet by herself. Kormak Gavtvidsson signalled Ustoppelig to return to formation but received no reply and she showed no sign of slowing. Exploiting the disorder now present in the IJN’s line, Uforgængelig and the rest of the Nyrdanish fast battleship formation closed the range with Uforgængelig scoring yet more hits on Hiei, and Kirishima. The Nyrdanish fleet withdrew under cover of darkness and fog at 20:21.

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Uovervindelig as built in 1914


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Utrættelig as built in 1915


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Ustoppelig as built in 1915


The final vessel of the class was laid down in September of 1913 at the Audbjorn/Mord shipyards in Trellin, and launched in May 1914. She was commissioned into the Konugeligt Nyrdanske Floti on June 12th, 1915 and stationed in Trondby until 1924. She was refit at Trellin in 1924, receiving ten 20mm anti-aircraft guns, new gun directors and rangefinders. She again was stationed in Trondby until 1926 when she was moved to Amarken. In 1934 Ustoppelig went in for a major rebuild in Trellin, adding torpedo bulges, two 3” anti-aircraft guns, eight more 20mm anti-aircraft guns, a scout plane, and new engines bringing her speed in line with the rest of the class. Following her reconstruction she was stationed in Sakhalin until the outbreak of war on October 27th, 1941.
Ustoppelig was attached to the fleet sailing to the Kuril Islands, contact was made with an IJN fleet believed to be the one responsible for the attacks on the 27th around 18:00 on October 29th. At around 18:45 the line of six Nyrdanish battleships opened fire on the IJN battleships Hiei, and Kirishima, as well as the battlecruisers Amagi, and Akagi. By 19:30 Ustoppelig’s primary rangefinder had been destroyed, she was burning amidships, and had acquired a 10 degree list to port. At 19:33 captain Sæunn Kalfdottir notified Uforgængelig that she would be taking Ustoppelig out of formation, and ordered the signal flags Golf Mike to be hoisted. Ustoppelig then turned starboard to cross the IJN battle line, speeding up to 22 knots. Ustoppelig’s fire was focused on Amagi and she scored hits on the fire control, bridge, and #2 turret. Ustoppelig was torpedoed by the destroyer Isokaze at 19:36, jamming her rudder into a starboard turn and increasing her list to 20 degrees. At 19:38 Ustoppelig collided with the bow of Amagi, cutting Amagi’s bow off and destroying her own. Ustoppelig’s aft secondary battery magazines detonated at 19:39 and caused a chain reaction which detonated the #3 and #4 turret magazines and breaking the ship in two. Amagi began to sink at 19:40, succumbing to flooding and fires, and Ustoppelig was lost at 19:41 with all hands.

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"The first phase of the operation did not go as planned." - Anonymous

Týr-class Battleships

The Týr-class battleships had a standard displacement of 30,200 tons and were powered by 24 coal/oil burning boilers linked to four steam turbines generating a total of 40,000 shp. This machinery ideally propelled her to a design speed of 24 knots, though this was never achieved and the ships never exceeded 23.2 kts, leading to them being quickly outpaced by newer ships and falling into neglect.

The class was armored with a 12" main belt tapering to 4" uppers and ends, with an unprotected stern as on the Brændende Kærlighed-class. They had 2" deck plating, and 14" conning towers.

They carried an armament consisting of a main battery of twelve 356mm 50 cal. rifles in 12" barbettes, 16 150mm secondary casemates, and eight tertiary 88mm guns half in deck mountings and half in casemates.

Being among the slowest ships in the fleet, the class was not widely liked by the admiralty, finding difficulty using it effectively in KNF doctrine. In addition, her internal layout was a nightmare due to the placement of her six turrets. As a result of this, both ships of the class were scrapped after just 20 years of service, to be replaced by modern treaty-compliant battleships.

Ships in class: (laid down-launched-commissioned - fate)

Týr 1912-1913-1914-Mothballed in 1924, broken up for scrap in 1934
Jotunn 1913-1914-1915-Mothballed in 1924, expended as target ship in 1936

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Týr as built in 1914


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Jotunn as built in 1915

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"The first phase of the operation did not go as planned." - Anonymous

You see, these are absolutely beautiful ships, but there is an issue here... How would a barren island nation with a small population located in the arctic circle be able to build, finance, and man such vessels, let alone accommodate them...

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Best regards,

RegiaMarina1939

Nyrdanmark is not barren, and the KNF has plenty of men to crew the ships.

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"The first phase of the operation did not go as planned." - Anonymous

I assumed that a nation in the Arctic circle would be rather barren and underpopulated... Apparently I am mistaken. Wonderful work on those BB's.

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Best regards,

RegiaMarina1939

There is a population history in the OP and a count of personnel in the navy in the third post.

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"The first phase of the operation did not go as planned." - Anonymous

I like mashed potatoes and bacon as much as the next guy, but I don't think I'd name a class of Battle Cruisers after it.

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“Close” only counts with horseshoes, hand grenades, and tactical nuclear weapons.
That which does not kill me has made a grave tactical error

Worklist

Source Materiel is always welcome.

The Brændende Kærlighed-class' name is just a bit of sillyness in an otherwise mostly serious AU.

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"The first phase of the operation did not go as planned." - Anonymous

Very nice battleships,
Uforgængelig very nice early fast battleship.

Týr do you have a sim? My only question is would the stern mounts fit between the shafts or would you need to add say 15-20m?

I spent a good 15 minutes figuring out the shape of Týr's stern with the help of Ace, and using Fusou as a reference. We both agreed that the turrets would fit.

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"The first phase of the operation did not go as planned." - Anonymous