This is my arguably better attempt at a hybrid battleship, being with a much more advanced launch system and a better platform to build off of in general (I did away with any recovery system, though). Happy Independence Day everyone.
STORY
The New York-class battleships were built in the years preceding conflicts with Mexico in the 1910s. Both New York (BB-34) and Texas (BB-35) served in both World Wars and were the first superdreadnought battleships in the US navy, paving the way for later superdreads like Iowa.
The Imperial Japanese Navy had their own dreadnoughts: the Ise-class, which they converted into hybrid carriers. In 1942, a commission found out about this from submarine reports detailing a very peculiar battleship that seemed to have an empty stern. The US Navy deduced a potential hybrid, so Congress authorized construction of their own hybrids. The New York-class was chosen due to the relative versatility of their construction. Conversion of the other two wasn't done because New York Navy Yard was building another New York-class, so alteration of an under-construction battleship was easier and cheaper than a pre-built.
Two concepts were considered: A1923, which included only two of her turrets and a system of metallic wheels acting as an impromptu catapult for a high-speed aircraft. This was beyond the technology of the time, so that wasn't done. A1943 was chosen due to the retaining of three of her original turrets along with a propellor-driven torpedo bomber [AUTHOR'S NOTE: I wasn't able to make a Vought Kingfisher in time for this to be launched, so I went jet]. The battleship was christened USS Manhattan on September 11, 1943, and just in time for the ending phases of the war. She served in multiple campaigns across the world, ranging from assisting the British in the Battle of the Atlantic to the 1944 Battles for Leyte Gulf.
Manhattan boasted an AA armament that even competed with the North Carolina-class battleships, and vastly outclassed her older sisters' AA suites; as a result, she was credited with destroying well over 44 aircraft.
The death knell of Manhattan was at the hands of a Pennsylvania scrapyard in 1946. No historical records of the ship exist [probably because she's fiction lol].
Specifications
General Characteristics
- Predecessor USS New York (The 1k Special)
- Created On iOS
- Wingspan 29.5ft (9.0m)
- Length 228.6ft (69.7m)
- Height 53.2ft (16.2m)
- Empty Weight 49,694lbs (22,541kg)
- Loaded Weight 253,477lbs (114,975kg)
Performance
- Power/Weight Ratio 0.039
- Wing Loading 703.0lbs/ft2 (3,432.1kg/m2)
- Wing Area 360.6ft2 (33.5m2)
- Drag Points 51571
Parts
- Number of Parts 364
- Control Surfaces 6
- Performance Cost 1,849
INSTRUCTIONS
BATTLECARRIER
AG 8 controls the ship's propulsion, so you can keep her going full speed while the plane is controlled.
AG 1 controls the three 356mm turrets; operate via VTOL and Trim.
AG 2 controls the quintuple torpedo tube; AG 7 for full salvo of five torpedoes.
AG 3 for AA guns; controlled via VTOL and Trim. It consists of flak guns and guns in general.
AG 4 allows the catapult to be rotated.
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AIRCRAFT
AG 5 to launch and control engine of the aircraft; also turns on the two machine guns it has.
AG 6 to launch the two torpedoes of the plane; can be used as discount bombs.
This was HANDS DOWN, one of my most ambitious projects to date. I had to design my own catapult for the build and build a not-sucking layout. Paint and drag points is the biggest issue from this...
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Catapult downloadable part will be out soon. I'll be finishing a build I took up 4 months ago and posting that. Then I guess I'll just try sticking to carriers or planes in general maybe...