Insect Class Gunboats

[oldpop2000]

For those of you who might be interested, here is a link a discussion of the Insect Class Gunboats of WW1. frankstaylorfamilyandroyalnavyhistory.net/InsectClassRiverGunboats.html

They were contracted in 1915 for Mesopotamia but were to be used on the Danube if the Dardenelles Campaign had been successful.

[oldpop2000]

Just for fun, I designed my own insect class with limited information, in Springsharp. I am still researching estimated freeboard and ammunition storage.

HMS Tse-Tse, Great Britain Gunboat laid down 1915

Displacement:
591 t light; 610 t standard; 620 t normal; 628 t full load

Dimensions: Length (overall / waterline) x beam x draught (normal/deep)
(240.00 ft / 240.00 ft) x 40.00 ft x (5.00 / 5.04 ft)
(73.15 m / 73.15 m) x 12.19 m x (1.52 / 1.54 m)

Armament:
2 - 6.00" / 152 mm 45.0 cal guns - 108.92lbs / 49.41kg shells, 50 per gun
Breech loading guns in deck mounts, 1915 Model
2 x Single mounts on centreline ends, evenly spread
1 - 3.00" / 76.2 mm 45.0 cal gun - 13.62lbs / 6.18kg shells, 150 per gun
Breech loading gun in deck mount, 1915 Model
1 x Single mount on sides amidships
Weight of broadside 231 lbs / 105 kg

Machinery:
Coal fired boilers, simple reciprocating steam engines,
Direct drive, 2 shafts, 1,204 ihp / 898 Kw = 15.00 kts
Range 500nm at 8.00 kts
Bunker at max displacement = 18 tons (100% coal)

Complement:
61 - 80

Cost:
£0.084 million / $0.337 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
Armament: 35 tons, 5.6 %
Machinery: 188 tons, 30.3 %
Hull, fittings & equipment: 368 tons, 59.3 %
Fuel, ammunition & stores: 29 tons, 4.7 %
Miscellaneous weights: 0 tons, 0.0 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
829 lbs / 376 Kg = 7.7 x 6.0 " / 152 mm shells or 0.5 torpedoes
Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 2.11
Metacentric height 4.1 ft / 1.2 m
Roll period: 8.3 seconds
Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 39 %
- Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.03
Seaboat quality (Average = 1.00): 0.60

Hull form characteristics:
Hull has raised forecastle,
a normal bow and a cruiser stern
Block coefficient (normal/deep): 0.452 / 0.454
Length to Beam Ratio: 6.00 : 1
'Natural speed' for length: 15.49 kts
Power going to wave formation at top speed: 39 %
Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 0.00 degrees
Stern overhang: 0.00 ft / 0.00 m
Freeboard (% = length of deck as a percentage of waterline length):
Fore end, Aft end
- Forecastle: 15.00 %, 8.00 ft / 2.44 m, 8.00 ft / 2.44 m
- Forward deck: 30.00 %, 5.00 ft / 1.52 m, 5.00 ft / 1.52 m
- Aft deck: 40.00 %, 5.00 ft / 1.52 m, 5.00 ft / 1.52 m
- Quarter deck: 15.00 %, 5.00 ft / 1.52 m, 5.00 ft / 1.52 m
- Average freeboard: 5.45 ft / 1.66 m
Ship tends to be wet forward

Ship space, strength and comments:
Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 114.5 %
- Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 95.8 %
Waterplane Area: 6,134 Square feet or 570 Square metres
Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 129 %
Structure weight / hull surface area: 58 lbs/sq ft or 281 Kg/sq metre
Hull strength (Relative):
- Cross-sectional: 1.45
- Longitudinal: 1.01
- Overall: 1.11
Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is cramped
Room for accommodation and workspaces is adequate
Caution: Lacks seaworthiness - very limited seakeeping ability

[oldpop2000]

QUESTION TO FW OR AN ANYONE:

Can SAI handle the Black Sea Naval operations and the Danube Naval operations? They are a neglected area of study by historians, as I remember. It would be interesting to link the Dardenelles Campaign with those two.

[Fredrik W]

I am afraid riverine operations would be hard to handle. The space for maneuver would be too constricted, and the AI is not geared for it. Nor is the LOS routines really intended for cases with lots of terrain.

[randomizer]

SAI does not handle any riverine naval situations as there are no rivers in the SAI world. Russo-Turkish operations in the Black Sea reproduce well as history since the principle activities were largely sea-control sweeps, mine-laying and bombardments missions with surface and AV units with the Russians being the aggressive superior force. These activities are within the scope of the game and there are a couple of custom Black Sea scenarios in the scenario download page.

I had built much of a Black Sea campaign for SAI but the situation really does not lend itself to an interesting game as the Turkish fleet becomes strategically useless if it takes minimal losses as was the case in the event. I never uploaded it (and have no plans to do so) as game play quickly becomes tedious, particularly from the Turkish Player's perspective. Despite the legends surrounding the Goeben (Yavuz) and Breslau (Midelli), the Black Sea was essentially a Russian lake after the disastrous Turkish fleet sortie of April 1915 although offensive mining operations and German U-Boats would harass the materially vastly superior Russians until the Revolution knocked the latter out of the War in 1917. One-sided campaigns rarely make exciting game situations without inserting counterfactuals, at least in my opinion.