Admiral-class heavy cruiser
As Europe plunged into chaos in 1939, the Royal Navy began work on the next generation of cruiser designs. No longer restricted by the London Naval Treaty of the interwar years, which had previously set a 10,000-ton size limit to cruisers, these ships would be much larger than the earlier County-class. What would eventually be referred to as the Admiral-class was intended to carry 3x triple 8-inch guns and displace 18,500 tons. The large size was necessary to accommodate a bulky ‘Queen Anne’s mansion’ style superstructure, two aircraft hangers, stronger internal subdivisions, and heavier anti-air firepower than previous cruisers. A class of four ships were approved by March 1941, to be named after famous British admirals: Albemarle, Blake, Cornwallis and Hawke.
By 1942, combat experiences had convinced the Royal Navy that these heavy cruisers would be highly vulnerably and of limited value against ever-growing aerial threats. It could also not afford to build cruisers as the demand for more destroyers and aircraft carriers surged. The class was thus cancelled in March 1942. This build represents my interpretation of how the ships would’ve look had they launched in late 1944, with the addition of several Bofors 40mm AA and more fire-control hardware. No mods needed. Credits to Tzoli for his interpretation of the design and for finding the historical data here: https://imgur.com/BAVTBdT.
Specifications
Length: 201.5m
Beam: 25.4m
Powerplant: 120,000 horsepower driving 4 shafts
Speed: 32 knots
Weapons
3 x triple 8-inch/203mm main gun
8 x twin 4-inch/100mm dual purpose secondaries
5x quadruple 40mm pom-pom AA
4x quadruple 40mm Bofors AA
9x 20mm Oerlikon AA
Armor
140mm/5.5 inches belt
100mm/4 inches deck over magazines
50mm/2 inches deck over machinery
