Shipbucket

Brown and Moore's excellent 'Rebuilding the Royal Navy' contains some basic plans of several Landing Ship Tanks designed in 1958, but ultimately not built in those forms. Here I've reproduced them in SB. They are based on the plans but, as with all never-weres, the detailing and the porthole layout are my interpretations based on the plans. All boats, landing craft and deck cargo locations are as on the plan. The Seaking's are shown on the decks, but here are to SB rules hovering over the decks where they could land. The Seakings are an interesting feature on these ships as the Wessex was maintained for the amphibious vertical assault role well into the 1970s/80s.

In October 1958, a study group reported into three studies of landing ships, two LST studies covering five designs and an LSD (to follow here later).


LST Design SL/A
Three stern-beaching LSTs were designed. SL/A was powered by a 20,000hp Y.100 steam turbine set for 23kts at deep displacement (the underwater hull shows no difference from the SL/B and SL/C, so a single-propeller seems unlikely since it wouldn't fit easily and I've gone with a two-prop layout here). There is a ramp from the upper deck just ahead of the superstructure.


SL/B and SL/C were identical but had different powerplants. SL/B had two gas turbines giving 10,000shp for 19kts deep and SL/C had four Deltic diesels for 6,000shp for 16kts deep. The operational plan was to beach, lower the LCMs and load them from the stern door for all these stern-door types, however it would take five hours and require calm conditions to do so. The only advantage was the better bow form for higher speed. Estimated costs were £3-£3.5 million for the SL series (plus £15,000 for each LCA and £50,000 for each LSM).


BL/C and BL/D were typical bow and stern door LSTs. Both were identical, BL/C having the Deltics for 14kts and D two gas turbines for 16kts. There are two ramps to the main tank deck, one between the two funnels and derricks aft and another just ahead of the superstructure forward leading to the bow doors. The superstructure actually being two separate units mounted side-by-side with a tunnel between. Estimated costs were £2.75-£3 million for the BL series (plus £15,000 for each LCA).


I have clearer versions of the Bedford ML lorry, Landrover Series II or the Abbot SPG if anyone wants them (plus a Charioteer not shown here).

_________________
Hood's Worklist
English Electric Canberra FD
Interwar RN Capital Ships
Super-Darings
Never-Were British Aircraft

intresting ships indeed. cant wait for the LSD naturally

_________________
Shipbucket mainsite, aka "The Archive"
New AU project "Aravala"

Interesting ships, British designers were so creative in those times and I love this!

Fantastic work!

Its been some time, but the inspiration to complete this series has struck!

This is the first of two LSD designs described in Brown and Moore's 'Rebuilding the Royal Navy'.


In 1958, alongside the LSTs studies illustrated above, two LSDs were designed based on the US Thomaston Class but omitting some of the expensive items of equipment.
Design Study DL/A was powered by two Y100 steam turbines producing 20,000shp. Deep displacement speed was 20kts, and deep displacement was 11,500 tons. It could carry a full battalion. The dock could accept 9x LCM or 1x LCU and 2x LCM. The plan view in the book shows the vehicle deck to accommodate 16 tanks, 8 self-propelled guns and 10 lorries. More could be carried on the upper deck ahead of the well deck, and this doubled as a helicopter landing pad for at least 1, possibly 2 Sea King-sized helicopters. It was this design that began the evolve into the Fearless, via the plans of the USS Raleigh which were made available, and an Admiralty constructor went aboard Raleigh as a Constructor Commander. The sketch design for Fearless was agreed in 1960.

The drawing shows no LCAs nor self-defensive armament, but given Fearless carried four LCAs, I have added them here and provided a basic self-defence armament of 4x1 40mm Bofors L/60 as proposed for the 1958 LSTs.

Next to follow will be the smaller DL/B design.

_________________
Hood's Worklist
English Electric Canberra FD
Interwar RN Capital Ships
Super-Darings
Never-Were British Aircraft

very nice! I look forward to more.
by chance, do you have some data for the sizes of these ships? I would like to include them in my reference chart

_________________
Drawings are credited with J.Scholtens
I ask of you to prove me wrong. Not say I am wrong, but prove it, because then I will have learned something new.
Shipbucket Wiki admin

I'm willing to bet these evolved into the Roundtable and Fearless classes, as you kind of alluded to.

Very interesting, and of course great drawings.

Excellent drawings, indeed!

Nice one Hood I wondered when that one would get drawn, be good to see DL/B design too.