IJN Hiraga Battleship Design (Kongo replacement)

[fluorophil]

This one is for brigman...and thanks to Sir Val for the great models! Aesthetically, I think that they are still ugly (IMHO – but Gibbons also wrote that)! The production and construction of these (and the Fujimoto design) ships was put on hold by the extension of the naval building “holiday” from the London Naval Treaty of 1930 until the end of 1936, but by 1934 Japan had renounced her Treaty obligations. However, by that time the Japanese naval authorities had moved on to bigger and better designs (i.e. the Yamato class).
Breyer states that a smaller superstructure would equal more armour to the citadel. I can't find any sources for armour thickness, so I have given them more than the Fuso / Kongo Classes (and the Tosa class stats), (or is that too much?)...but Breyer also wrote that the protection was on a par with the Nelson class – so that's why I'm giving it 19...
The torpedo layout is conjecture only...
I have given this design (as well as the Fujimoto design) an AA rating 12 (minimum) – should this be higher?
As always, I am open to suggestions to gain consensus on the final stats...(brigman? Shigure? Harry?)
Sources consulted include:
Breyer – Battleships and Battlecruisers, 1905 – 1970. (1974 reprint)
Garzke & Dulin – Battleships: Axis & Neutral Battleships in World War II. (1990 reprint)
Gibbons – The Complete Encyclopedia of Battleships and Battlecruisers. (1983)
Ireland & Gibbons – Jane's Battleships of the Twentieth Century. (1996)
Jentschura, Jung, Mickel – Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869 – 1945. (1996 reprint)
Ships in Class: (Nil – Design studies only)
Proposed stats:
Hiraga Class Fast Battleship Design (7+) (“Kongo replacement”)
Hull: 140 (35000 t)
Speed: 7
Armour: 19
SAV: 6
AA / ASW: 12 / 0
Move Step: Battleship
Shoot Step: Battleship
Fire Control: JAP
Primary Weapon: 10 x 406mm (2 x 3, 2 x 2)
Secondary Weapons: 16 x 6”, 8 x 5”AA
Primary Data:
Short: 21 Med: 42 Long: 63 Ext: 84
Arcs: 2 x [1] F / P / S, 3 x [1] F / P / S
3 x [1] A / P / S, 2 x [1] A / P / S
Pen: 14 Dmg: 11
Secondary Data:
Short: 13 / 7 Med: 26 / 14 Long: 39 / 21 Ext: 52 / 28
Arcs: 1 x [4] P, 2 x [2] P, 1 x [4] S, 2 x [2] S (6”)
2 x [1] F / P, 2 x [1] P, 2 x [1] F / S, 2 x [1] S (5”AA)
Pen: 4 / 2 Dmg: 3 / 2
Aircraft: 2 (Recon) Flight Ops: 1
TT: 2 x 24” (Under Water) 1 x F / P
1 x F / S

[brigman]

Very cool Phil, thanks for posting!

[brigman]

Looking closer - Phil, for the primary gun stats, I'd use the 16.1"/45s from Nagato as the baseline. They were essentially the same rifles, just more of them. Likewise, the secondaries would probably be the same as on Fuso, with the same stats.

Gibbons lists the Hiraga design with 8x 4.7" AA. These are probably the same guns as on Akagi.