I would like to start a discussion of the KGV battleship class of 1939. I hope you'll all contribute pictures and comments, stories, and information. I have run across some old issues of Warship, which have a detailed 4 part technical series about this class, written by Robert Dumas. I will try to post regular summaries about them over the next few weeks. They also saw a lot of action, one was lost, and they had some notable victories against enemy battleships, and they were the last large class of British battleships (only one ship followed them). If we have some good stuff in older threads that you find, please post links to it in this thread. I am inspired by the success of the ongoing Fletcher class thread, if we end up with something half that good, this would exceed expectations.
King George V, 1937, 1939, 12/11/1940 scrapped 1957
Prince of Wales, 1937, 1939, 3/31/1941 sunk, 12/10/1941
Duke of York, 1937, 1940, 11/4/1941 scrapped 1957
Howe, 1937, 1940, 6/22/1942 scrapped 1957
Anson, 1937, 1940, 8/29/1942 scrapped 1958
Specs:
38,000 tons Std disp 1940. 44,460 tons full load 1944
745'x103'x32.6'
8 boilers, 4 geared turbines, 4 screws; 134,000 SHP, 28 knots, 5,400 nm @ 18 knots
Complement: 1,631
10 x 14"/45 (2x4, 1x2), 16 x 5.25"/50 (8x2), 32 x 2pdr (4x8) (additional AA weapons added later)
Armor: 14.7" belt, 12.75" turrets & barbettes, 5.9" deck
4 aircraft (Walrus) 1 double ended catapult
links
H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood: H.M.S. Hood Reference Materials - ADM 234/509: H.M.S. Prince of Wales' Gunnery Aspects of the "Bismarck" Pursuit (gunnery at denmark strait)
http://funsite.unc.edu/hyperwar/UN/U...ette/38038.pdf (sinking of Scharnhorst)
http://www.rina.org.uk/c2/uploads/de...battleship.pdf (sinking of POW)
HMS King George V, British battleship, WW2 (KGV history)
HMS Duke of York, British battleship, WW2 (DOY history)
HMS Anson, British battleship, WW2 (Anson history)
British 14"/45 (35.6 cm) Mark VII (Main guns)
Britain 5.25"/50 (13.4 cm) QF Mark I (secondary guns)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Ge...ttleship_(1939) (Class overview)
Royal Navy Flag Officers 1904-1945: Reference Documents and Resources-Admiralty Documents - ADM 239/268: C.B.04039, Armour Protection (1939) (good comparitive specs)
ARMOR PROTECTION OF KM BISMARCK by Nathan Okun 9/6/91 (Bismark is the primary subject but KGV is discussed in detail)
H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood–The History of H.M.S. Hood: The Battle of the Denmark Strait Documentation Resource, Battle Damage Sustained by H.M.S. Prince of Wales, 24 May 1941 (damage done to POW by Bismark)
MaritimeQuest - HMS Prince of Wales Page 1 (good POW pictures)
Below: HMS Howe, and the engine room of HMS PoW, armor plan view, view of POW showing wide beam
There were five King George V class battleships completed:
Ship, Laid Down, Launched, Commissioned, FateKing George V, 1937, 1939, 12/11/1940 scrapped 1957
Prince of Wales, 1937, 1939, 3/31/1941 sunk, 12/10/1941
Duke of York, 1937, 1940, 11/4/1941 scrapped 1957
Howe, 1937, 1940, 6/22/1942 scrapped 1957
Anson, 1937, 1940, 8/29/1942 scrapped 1958
Specs:
38,000 tons Std disp 1940. 44,460 tons full load 1944
745'x103'x32.6'
8 boilers, 4 geared turbines, 4 screws; 134,000 SHP, 28 knots, 5,400 nm @ 18 knots
Complement: 1,631
10 x 14"/45 (2x4, 1x2), 16 x 5.25"/50 (8x2), 32 x 2pdr (4x8) (additional AA weapons added later)
Armor: 14.7" belt, 12.75" turrets & barbettes, 5.9" deck
4 aircraft (Walrus) 1 double ended catapult
links
H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood: H.M.S. Hood Reference Materials - ADM 234/509: H.M.S. Prince of Wales' Gunnery Aspects of the "Bismarck" Pursuit (gunnery at denmark strait)
http://funsite.unc.edu/hyperwar/UN/U...ette/38038.pdf (sinking of Scharnhorst)
http://www.rina.org.uk/c2/uploads/de...battleship.pdf (sinking of POW)
HMS King George V, British battleship, WW2 (KGV history)
HMS Duke of York, British battleship, WW2 (DOY history)
HMS Anson, British battleship, WW2 (Anson history)
British 14"/45 (35.6 cm) Mark VII (Main guns)
Britain 5.25"/50 (13.4 cm) QF Mark I (secondary guns)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Ge...ttleship_(1939) (Class overview)
Royal Navy Flag Officers 1904-1945: Reference Documents and Resources-Admiralty Documents - ADM 239/268: C.B.04039, Armour Protection (1939) (good comparitive specs)
ARMOR PROTECTION OF KM BISMARCK by Nathan Okun 9/6/91 (Bismark is the primary subject but KGV is discussed in detail)
H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood–The History of H.M.S. Hood: The Battle of the Denmark Strait Documentation Resource, Battle Damage Sustained by H.M.S. Prince of Wales, 24 May 1941 (damage done to POW by Bismark)
MaritimeQuest - HMS Prince of Wales Page 1 (good POW pictures)
Below: HMS Howe, and the engine room of HMS PoW, armor plan view, view of POW showing wide beam
Comment