Camelon class Heavy Coastal defense ships
In 1938 Haram Royal Navy ordered building of 5 Heavy Coastal defense ships. They was more heavy than the ordinary Coastal defense ships, they armament was better, and also was the armor. This ships was build for patrolling the inner Coastline and protect it, patrolling the coastal region where larger battleships could not go, bringing in big gun to handle cruiser and destroyers.
Design
Camelon class was designed as fast moving armored artillery platforms. the tonnage was 7200 tons and had a top speed of 17 knots+-. The armament consisted of a twin 250 mm gun that on paper should have a range of 32 km. secondary was 130 mm guns in twin turrets, ant the AA battery and small armament was every thing from hand held 8 mm guns to 40 mm guns.
3. July 1941
HHoMS Raman was on patrol with here sister ships HHoMS Achiles, they task was to patrol the inner ocean between the five larger islands of Haram. To get there they had to go in open sea over an straight, pass many small islands. The was decided to travel between those islands on the way to the patrol area. Around 17.00 "Raman" ran aground due do bad communication between helm and navigation, but "Achiles" managed to tow here of.
4. July 1941
During patrol in Haram inner ocean they spotted an Ise class Battleship and escorted it trough the area. Haram was neutral and had open ocean politics.
5. July 1941
7.00 "Raman" and "Achiles" rendevouz with the other sister ships HHoMS Camelon, HHoMS Mall HHoMS Roder and traveled together back to base.
5. July 1941
23.00 "Achiles" struck a mine and exploded with all lost, "Raman" did an hard turn to port and was struck by five torpedoes and exploded, HHoMS Mall and HHoMS Roder that was further forward detected unknown cruiser in the horizon and opened long range fire with it's 250 mm guns at 16 km distance. 01.00 HHoMS Camelon opened fire at 18 km distance when she was finish piking up survivors. The force destroyers was busy with submarine hunting and when one of the destroyers passed just behind HHoMS Camelon it was struck by a shell at the same time as "Camelon" was struck by several larger shell. This forced this Heavy coastal defense ships to retreat.
Aftermatch
during the insistence Haram lost "Achiles" and "Raman", while "Camelon" was heavy damaged, the total lost in crew was 764 men 34 injured. "Mall" and "Roder" did manage to sink 2 destroyers and 1 cruisers, damaging 2 cruisers and 5 destroyers, and did also manage to deliver long range fire up on unknown Japanese Battleship at 20 km range.
from now Haram is in War!
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Camelon class
Heavy Coastal defense ship
Build: 5
Lost: 2
retired: 3
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tonnage: 7200 tons
Length: 108,4 meters
Beam: 18 meters
Draft: 7,16 meter
Power-plant: 5600 shp giving a speed of 17 knots +-
Complement: max 502, standard: 430
Armament
- 2 x twin 250 mm main guns
- 4 x twin 130 mm guns
- 3 x 40 mm AA guns (This installation varied very much, some had only 20mm)
- several handheld and movable guns.