Greek battleship Salamis
 | This article or section is in a state of significant expansion or restructuring. You are welcome to assist in its construction by editing it as well. If this article or section has not been edited in several days, please remove this template. If you are the editor who added this template and you are actively editing, please be sure to replace this template with {{in use}} during the active editing session. Click on the link for template parameters to use.
This article was last edited by Parsecboy (talk | contribs) 15 years ago. (Update timer) |
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2009) |
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Greece | |
| Ordered | 1912 |
| Laid down | 23 July 1913 |
| Launched | 11 November 1914 |
| Fate | scrapped 1932 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement | 19,500 t (19,200 long tons; 21,500 short tons) |
| Length | 173.7 m (570 ft) |
| Beam | 24.7 m (81 ft) |
| Draft | 7.6 m (25 ft) |
| Propulsion | list error: <br /> list (help) 18 Yarrow-type boilers AEG turbines 3 shafts 40,000 shp |
| Speed | 23 kn (43 km/h; 26 mph) maximum |
| Armament | list error: <br /> list (help) 8 × 14-inch (356 mm) guns (4 × 2) 12 × 6-inch (152 mm) guns in casemates |
| Armor | list error: <br /> list (help) Belt: 100–250 mm (3.875–9.875 in) Deck: 75 mm (3.0 in) |
Salamis (Template:Lang-el) was a dreadnought battleship ordered for the Greek Navy from the AG Vulcan shipyard in Hamburg, Germany in 1912. She was named after the Greek naval victory over a Persian fleet at the battle of Salamis in 480 BC. Construction stopped after the outbreak of World War I in 1914. The armament for this ship was ordered from Bethlehem Steel in the United States and could not be delivered due to the British blockade of Germany. Bethlehem sold the guns to Britain and they were used for arming the Abercrombie-class monitors. The hull of the ship remained intact after the war and became the subject of a protracted legal dispute. She was finally awarded to the builders and the hull was scrapped in 1932.
Design
General characteristics
Salamis was 173.7 meters (570 ft) long at the waterline, and had a beam of 24.7 m (81 ft) and a draft of 7.6 m (25 ft). The ship was designed to displace 19,500 t (19,200 long tons; 21,500 short tons). Had the battleship been completed, she was to have been powered by 3-shaft AEG turbines, which were supplied with steam by 18 Yarrow boilers. This would have provided Salamis with 40,000 shaft horsepower and a top speed of 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph).[1]
Armament
The primary armament of the ship was eight 14 in (36 cm) /45 caliber guns mounted in four twin gun turrets. Two turrets were to be mounted in a superfiring arrangement forward of the main superstructure, with the other two mounted similarly aft of the funnels.[1] These guns had a rate of fire of between 1.25 and 1.75 rounds per minute; they were capable of firing 1,400 pounds (640 kg) armor-piercing or high explosive shells. The guns were estimated to be able to fire 500 rounds before wear on the barrels would necessitate repair. The shells were fired at a muzzle velocity of around 2,500 feet per second (762 m/s); at elevation of 15°, the guns could hit targets out to 19,900 yards (18,200 m). At a range of 12,000 yd (13,120 m), the shells were expected to penetrate up to 13 in (33 cm) of armor plate.[2]
The ship's secondary battery was to consist of twelve 6 in (15 cm) /50 guns mounted in casemates amidships, six on either side.[1] These guns fired 105 lb (47.7 kg) projectiles at a rate of about 6 per minute. The shells were fired at a muzzle velocity of 2,800 f/s (853 m/s), and had a range of 15,000 yards (13,720 m) at 15°.[3] Salamis's armament was rounded out by twelve 75 millimetres (3.0 in) quick-firing guns, also mounted in casemates, and five 50 cm (20 in) submerged torpedo tubes.[1]
Armor
Salamis had an armored belt that was 9.875 in (250.8 mm) thick in the central section of the ship, where it protected critical areas, such as the ammunition magazines and machinery spaces. On either ends of the ship, past the main battery gun turrets, the belt was decreased to 3.875 in (98.4 mm) thick; the height of the belt was also decreased in these areas. The main armored deck was 2.875 in (73.0 mm) in the central portion of the ship, and as with the belt armor, in less important areas the thickness was decreased to 1.5 in (38 mm). The main battery gun turrets were protected by 9.875 in-thick armor plate on the sides and face, and the barbettes in which they were placed were protected by the same thickness of armor. The conning tower was lightly armored, with only 1.25 in (32 mm) worth of protection.[1]
Construction and cancellation
Salamis was ordered from the German shipbuilder AG Vulcan, based in Hamburg, in 1912. The initial design called for a ship 458 ft (140 m) long with a beam of 72 ft (22 m), a draft of 24 ft (7.3 m), and a displacement of 13,500 t (13,300 long tons; 14,900 short tons). The ship was designed with 2-shaft turbines rated at 26,000 shp for a top speed of 21 kn (39 km/h; 24 mph). The armament was to be six 14 inch guns in twin turrets, eight 6 inch, eight 3 in (7.6 cm), and four 37 mm (1.5 in) guns, and two 45 cm (18 in) torpedo tubes. The design was revised several times; by 23 January 1912, the design was finalized. The ship was to be delivered to the Greek Navy by March 1915, at a cost of £1,693,000.[1]
The keel was laid down on 23 July 1913; the hull was complete and ready for launching by 11 November 1914. The main battery and secondary guns were sub-contracted to Bethlehem Steel in the United States. However, the outbreak of World War I in August 1914 had drastically altered the situation; the naval blockade of Germany emplaced by Great Britain meant that the guns could not be delivered. Work was halted on 31 December 1914. The 14 inch guns were instead sold to the British, who used them to arm the four Abercrombie-class monitors.[1]
After the end of the war, the Greek navy refused to accept the incomplete hull. AG Vulcan sued the Greek government in 1923. A lengthy arbitration ensued; on 23 April 1932 the arbitrators determined that the Greek government owed AG Vulcan £30,000, and that AG Vulcan would be awarded the hull. The ship was broken up for scrap in Bremen that year.[1]
Footnotes
References
- Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds. (1984). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906–1922. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0870219073.