List of CAR Imports

This is a list of imports by the Cossack Armed Forces. Most descriptions are taken from the Allanean Defense Exports page.

Battlecrab UGV

350 models are currently in possession of the Royal Cossack Ground Forces.

Description

• Weight: 750 kilograms
• Length: 1.6 meters
• Width: 1.2meters
• Height: 1.2 meters
• Armament: Variable, stock version is armed with a 12.7mm machinegun and four Schwerpunkt Orvani launchers.
• Payload: 300 kilograms (assuming unarmed variant).
• Crew: None (UGV)
• Range: 120 km
• Top speed: 12 kilometers/hour
• Cost: $150,000
• DPR cost: 10 billion

The Battlecrab tracked UGV is a modern, high-technology weapon, designed to support infantry, tankers, and combat engineers in combat operations. It is capable of various forms of movement and fire, and can carry out a range of tasks in combat. While it is not completely autonomous, the Battlecrab has strong partial autonomy systems, enabling it to carry out various actions under the command of a remote operator with only minimal training required.

Firepower: The Battlecrab is equipped with ballistics software, high-definition optronics and IR systems and a laser rangefinder. This allows it to aim any weaponry it’s been fitted with (software packages for common weapon types are available off the Allanean Arms website), essentially reducing the job of the remote operator to selecting a target and aiming the on-screen crosshair at it. A Battlecrab’s fire control system can be set to follow a moving target in a ‘pixel follow’ mode, enabling tracking and engagement of moving targets.

When fitted with a heavy machinegun and Orvani launchers Battlecrab can engage infantry, thin-skinned vehicles IFVs and low-flying aircraft. Anti-tank and MANPAD weapons can also be installed, providing the Battlecrab with an ATGM and even AA capacity as needed. If fire designation is provided from other weapons systems, the Battlecrab can fire to the full range of its weapons, for example shooting the heavy machinegun to 4 kilometers via plunging fire or shooting ATGMs at 10 kilometers.

Propulsion: The Battlecrab utilizes a small diesel engine and a set of heavy industrial rubber tracks to move forward at a speed of 12 kph. It can handle minor obstacles on its own, and is too light to set off most anti-vehicle mines. It is, however, emphathetically not a tank or an AFV, and possesses limited mobility compared to those vehicles. It can, however, carry out auxiliary roles in assisting infantry and other branches of the armed forces in combat, especially in urban warfare.

Armor: The Battlecrab is armored against 7.62mm NATO or lighter ammunition and explosive shrapnel.

Communications: The Battlecrab is controlled via an encrypted, high-bandwidth battlefield communication system, and is designed to be compatible with the common BASTION C3I system. As such, it is highly unlikely that opponents will be capable of seizing control of the Battlecrab.

Cargo: In the cargo configuration, the Battlecrab can carry up to 300 kilograms of ammunition or supplies, entirely replenishing an infantry squad’s supply of ammunition in one go. By this means it can extend the operational range of infantry squads. It can also be used to evacuate casualties, albeit it is not designed to do so and space on the platform is at a premium.

Navaja-class submarine

DPR acquired by the Cossack Royal Naval Forces

Description

To improve its stealth characteristics, the Navaja had several important features installed. Not only was the entirety of the submarine covered in advanced anechoic tiles, but its internal components were also reshaped. All instruments and equipment capable of generating vibration were fitted with advanced vibration absorbers. The propulsion is an all-electric diesel, meaning that the shaft isare powered entirely by an electric generator, using permanent magnets to operate the drive shaft. The submarine is equipped with a fuel-cell based air-independent propulsion system, enabling it to operate for a distance of up to 650 nautical miles (1200 km) with the submarine entirely submerged and the snorkel retracted). A lignum vitae wood mounting is used to house the drive shaft itself, further reducing both the noise produced by the submarine, and the requirements for on-board logistics (the wood naturally excretes resin that lubricates the driveshaft, reducing the need for maintenance throughout travel – the cost of this, however, is the need for a housing replacement 20 years later). Finally, the submarine’s body undergoes degaussing, to minimize detection by MAD equipment.

The Navaja's sensors systems are merged into a single, MGM-168 Delphinus active/passive sonar system, capable for tracking some of the most advanced, low-emission targets in targets. To improve the performance of this equipment, the submarine is also capable of deploying a towed Spermaceti sonar array (named after the sperm whale's echolocation organ). With the active sonar in use, the Navaja can detect enemy submarines at a distance of 20-25 km in shallow waters and 50-70 km in deep waters. At maximum, the Navaja use its passive sonar array to detect enemy submarines at a range of 30-60 km, long-range, stealthy torpedoes at a range of up to 30 km, and surface ships at a range of up to 120 km. (Use of the towed sonar array forces a speed reduction to a maximum of 18 knots).

Furthermore, the Navaja is equipped with automated, digital systems for tracking and analysis of all data from the sonar arrays and management of all weapon systems. These include an Argus-E supercomputer for analysis and improved tracking of the sonar import data, and simultaneous tracking of multiple enemy targets.

• Manufacturer: Snogohsian Naval Yards
• Crew: 35
• Autonomy: 45
• Range:
• Top speed (surfaced): 10 knots
• Top speed (subsurface): 25 knots
• Range (Economic): 16000 nautical miles (29,632 km)
• Range (submerged): 650 nautical miles (1,203 km).
• Displacement (surfaced): 1765 tons
• Displacement (submerged): 2650 tons
• Operational Depth: 250 meters
• Max depth: 300 meters
• Length: 66.8 meters
• Width: 7.1 meters
• Armament: x6 633mm torpedo launchers (can be used to fire 533mm torpedos with adapter), x 10 VLS, MANPAD launcher
• Deployed aircraft: x2 long-range quadcopters, possibility for long-range VLS-launched drones

Maxim PM1910-M

DPR acquired by Cossack Army

Description

The Maxim series of machineguns has been popular throughout the world since the late 19th century to this very day. A watercooled, incredibly accurate gun, the Maxim machinegun had been used in conflicts of every scale, from being used by all sides of the World Wars, to being utilized by the Jews of the Old Russian Empire to machinegun pogrom mobs in Odessa. Today, it is still being used by militaries around the world, including the forces of Mazara Palani and the Free Kingdom of Allanea. Moreover, the Maxim’s reliability and accuracy has been praised by private entities and collectors around the world.

It is true of course that the Maxim is a fairly heavy gun. However, when emplaced on vehicles, for defense of fixed positions, or on boats, this is not a big concern, and in fact the heavy weight serves to improve reliability and accuracy. Even Hiram Maxim’s original gun was capable of burning through 50,000 rounds without barrel replacement. Now, generations later, we have improved reliability from that point.

Moreover, we have added significant changes in ergonomics of the gun, improving its service capability. As can be seen in the promotional art above, the gun has been fitted with a large opening on top of the receiver, enabling refilling of the gun in all weather conditions with water, snow, ice, and even urine if so necessary. A service opening at the bottom of the barrel jacket allows also hooking the gun up to a larger water container for refilling¸ or hooking it up for an electric water pump for almost indefinite firing from bunkers, boats, etc.

Allanean Arms has also fitted the gun with Picatinni rails on the sides, top, and bottom of the gun’s jacket and receiver. This enables fitting the PM-1910M to be used with every manner of modern accessory, from lights, to lasers and scopes, as well as more exotic items such as radar sights for over-the-horizon fire or ballistic calculations computers.

Moreover the Maxim PM1910-M is available in the following variants for collectors and private purchasers:

1. Maxim-Hunter – Semi-automatic only.
2. Maxim LMG – Similar in concept to the MG 08/15 Maxim guns, this gun is designed to be carried off-hand or on a bipod. It weighs a hefty 12 kg, and is not actually recommended for military use (although is still used by some private organizations).
3. Maxim-R - the R stands for Retro. This gun lacks Picatinni rails, and looks externally like a WW2-era Maxim gun with a ribbed jacket. It can also be ordered in versions with a polished brass jacket, with or without the upper opening (obviously it can still be refilled normally by attaching a pipe to the jacket’s refilling opening).

• Weight: 18 kg (body only), utilizes a variety of mounts from a 5-kilogram tripod to a 10-kg wheeled mount
• Feed: Cloth or disintegrating belt
• Rate of fire: 600 rpm cyclic
• Effective range (direct fire): 2,000 meters
• Effective range (indirect fire): 5,1000 meters
• Price: $5000
• DPR: $500 million

Hood Superdreadnought

1 Hood in possession of the Cossack Navy

Description

• Length: 362.9 meters (LOA) 355.6 meters (LWL)
• Beam: 47 meters
• Draft:: 11.1 meters
• Tonnage: 120,000 DWT
• Displacement: 165,000 tonnes (full)
• Propulsion:
• • 4 x United Nigerian TMN-240-40E gas turbine generator set (40 MW each)
• • 2 x United Nigerian DMN-340-5E auxiliary diesel generator set (5 MW each)
• • 2 x 7-bladed 5-meter fixed-pitch propellers (80,000 shp each)
• • 2 x 5-bladed 4-meter fixed-pitch azimuth thrusters (25,000 shp each)
• • 4 x 4-bladed 3.2-meter bow thrusters (3.2 MW each)
• Speed: 33 knots estimated
• Range: 25,000 nautical miles @ 30 knots
• Capacity: 67,000 m2 vehicle cargo space, 9,000 m2 deck space, up to 45,000 tonnes fuel
• • 4 vehicle cargo decks with 5 meter maximum clearance
• • 2 movable plate sections in upper forward vehicle decks to accommodate light trucks
• Cargo Handling:
• • 3 x single-pedestal twin crane, 120 tonne capacity combined
• • Port/starboard hatches with crane-emplaced ramp, max 200 tonne capacity
• • Rear slewing ramp, max 340 tonne capacity
• Complement: 26-45 crew, up to 50 active duty
• Protection: Double hull around fuel spaces, watertight doors in vehicle cargo decks
• Armament: AA-EW-55 Electronic Warfare System, two decoy launchers, hard-kill and soft-kill surface ship torpedo defense system, x2 SeaRAM launchers
• Aircraft Handling: Helicopter landing area
• Sensors and Control Systems: SW/ETN-975 X-band navigation radar, SW/ETI-846 FLIR
• Developer: CNAE
• Builder: Allanean Arms (Principal Subcontractor: Yavanna Fleet Yards, Menelmacar).
• Service: 2010-present
• Price: 1 billion per unit

• Length: 1,919 meters
• Beam: 282
• Draft: 51
• Armament: 30 81-cm ETC guns in 6 quintuple turrets.
• 20,000 standard Mk 41 VLS cells
• Various CIWS and RIM missiles.
• Max speed: 26 knots
• Displacement: 21,275,700 tons
• Complementt: 27,500 Ratings
• 135 Officers
• 5 High Tier Commanders
• 30 pilots
• 570 aircrew
• Aircraft: 20 seaplanes or UAVs
• Price: 900 billion NSD
• Contractor: Kazansky Heavy Industries, Allanean Arms, or other authorized contractors.

GENERAL ARRANGEMENTS AND HULL STRUCTURE

HMS Hood, a Heavily Armoured Battleship of the Questarian Royal Navy, the largest warship in the world, as the Admiralty claims. Her final design draught stood Hood at 1,919 metres in length overall and 1904 at the waterline, 282 metres in beam, and 51 metres in draught. Her block coefficient is .635, astoundingly high for a warship. The hull itself weighs 19,833,520 tons – with a normal displacement of 21,275,700. The maximum displacement the hull can take before major structural damage is 21,958,220 tons.

All designs included a bulbous bow, however, the usefulness of this bulbous bow was limited through the different designs. The design chosen has a bulbous bow that reduced water resistance by 11%. Further streamlining added a further 3.3% in reduction, a figure designers and Admiralty staff alike were very pleased with. The ship itself handles extremely well – because of her freeboard of 33 metres, and the high beam figure, many waves simply bounce off the vessel and the weight/draught ratio allows it to stay steady among these. She has a rolling period of 17 seconds, which is an extremely steady figure. Coupled with the metacentric height of 2.9 metres, she was a very stable gunboat and a pleasure to serve on.

One of Hood’s most interesting features is her bow, which curves smoothly up and stops for a forecastle emplacement. It gives the vessel a rather graceful look, which is prevalent when silhouetted. Compared to Renown and Yamato, the two other RN supercapitals, which have pointed prows, it also gives her a distinct difference. It is said that one can point out the different RN supercapitals just with the shape of their eloquent bows. Right on the prow of the Hood, a shield with the ships badge endowed upon it, made entirely from tungsten. Since Hood is as much of a ceremonial vessel as it is a combat one, full detail was made to creating a conference room and a small area where up to 20 VIPs can stay in absolute luxury. Several conferences were held on Hood’s conference room, notably the extension of Hong Kong’s lease from China for a further 99 years.

Hood’s three command rooms are also important. The first command room is known as the ‘Ops Room’ is located deep within the center of the vessel and is virtually invincible. It is provided with a lift straight up to the Bridge, which is the uppermost observation point where the Admiral usually resides, his quarters being almost next to the Bridge. The Bridge is a box with a cylindrical top where the communication electronics is stored. The box was created as an armoured box just like the main armour, and is 1100mm thick. The cylindrical part is 800mm thick. Both are constructed from PH type steel (see Protection). This lift draws its power from the ship’s main energy source but also has two auxiliary batteries. The third command room is located on the aft of the ship behind U turret and is a replica of the Bridge, and holds a lot of the electronic warfare equipment. There are a number of observation decks scattered throughout the vessel.

The first part of the superstructure, before the funnels, is comprised of five different pieces. One main tower, for the bridge, that extended down and was armoured around the sides by 800mm of NPNC and 300mm PH Type. Behind that, the after part of the primary superstructure which covered around the main tower for the bridge and was armoured by 900mm of again, NPNC and 200mm of PH Type. In front of that, on both sides, another citadel that covered the bridge tower and some of the after citadel, which was protected in a similar vein to the after citadel. Ahead of that, a for’ard citadel which was protected by 1,100mm of NPNC and 200mm of PH type. That meant that the bridge tower was protected by another piece of the citadel in every direction (which were all built in different parts and put together by gigantic cranes). The citadels extended a little way down into the main armour box so that the ops room could be located in the after tower, in its own armoured box of 600mm HTNC. This meant the ops room was shielded by at least two different citadel parts, their armour, and the armour belt, which meant in some cases at least 5 metres worth of armour alone.

There are a grand total of 37,347 watertight compartments [WTC} that the hull divides itself into. Hood can maintain 17,356,254 tons of reserve buoyancy, which makes her extremely stable and naturally the battleship can take extremely high amounts of punishment. Estimates fell into 190,000 kg of ordnance before she dropped a metre in freeboard.

Protection Originally, Hood was designed to resist only the 29.5” shell that the Praetonians used on Iron Duke – however, it was decided, with more and more 30” shells being used, that it would have to have higher resistance, and so specification was;

‘Resistance of a 31” shell hitting at 650 m/s on both deck and belt, and full resistance of 2,000-4,000kg bunker busters from enemy aerial assets.’

Hood’s main protection comes from three great armour boxes. The armour box method was chosen because it can provide greater hull strength and will keep the armour belt from snapping or simply falling off, which is actually a severe problem. Hood’s armour and damage control was the greatest researched part, and many thousands of hours of manpower and billions of pounds went into researching it. Secondly, the choice for three armour boxes over one was made for stability too; it was thought that Hood was too long for just one box. Six different types of armour plating were used on Hood.

ARMOUR TYPES

The three boxes are labeled A,B, and C, and their locations on the ship can be seen on this diagram. [SEE DIAGRAM] The total length spanning the ship with the armour box is 64%, which at a glance does not sound much but is in fact a rather large number when in comparison to most battleships. Box C and A are equally armoured, although box B has more armour because it covers the boilers. Between the boxes, armour plates of 900mm PH type act as ends to cover the joint inbetween.

ARMOUR BOXES

Each box is armoured on its sides and its top, sides hereafter reffered to as belt armour and top as deck armour. Anti torpedo defences and pumping/flooding will be covered later. Firstly, the front and the back of each box were protected by 600-750mm worth of HTNC and construction was assisted by titanium and tungsten rods from one side of a bulkhead to another behind the armour, and inbetween the small space between the armour and the side of the ship to provide hull strengthening and armour strengthening. This was assisted by honeycomb steel rods as well as more tungsten reinforcements behind the honeycomb. The belt, the sides of the box, was protected by an armour scheme classified as ROGER WILLIAMS. It was not named after any historical character, just the firstname of a random employee of John Brown and Co and the surname of a cousins first daughters husband of the design team leader.

The belt consisted of one layer of 650mm worth of PC type, backed by a further 650mm of PH type. In front of that, a layer of HTNC about 400mm strong with a higher tensile strength protects from direct attacks, with a layer of extremely low carbon steel about 100mm thick that protects from direct attacks. At this point the system can ‘bounce’ – Royal Navy slang for resist, 16inch shells with no damage whatsoever. This is the first layer of the belt armour. Behind that a small layer of more tungsten reinforcements with honeycomb steel rod supports and then two layers of 900mm plain NPNC steel. Armour Box B, in accordance with the boiler protection idea, had a further backing of 150mm of CCA and 450mm of HTNC. In total, this adds up to 390cm, 3900mm, or 3.9 metres worth of protection. Armour Box C tallies up to 450cm. In testing, Hood’s objectives where achieved. Whether it is capable of doing this under sustained fire in the field is arguable.

The deck armour pattern was known as the ‘RUSTY IJIKAWA’, the name of the design team leader’s German shepherd. Its first layer was a decapping layer of specialized HSLA steel boxed and 350mm thick underneath the cypress decking. This specialized steel’s low tensile strength allowed it to act better as a decapper, essentially robbing shell’s armour piercing values and its kinetic strength by the time it had penetrated (if it had) the decapper. It was thought that the decapper could effectively carry this out from anything up to as large as an 18 inch gun or a 1000 kg bomb. Behind the deck armour, a layering of 600mm PC Type steel and a further 400mm of PH Type. 550mm of CCA layered thinly between 500mm of HTNC type was the last layer after 500mm of NPNC. The honeycomb method used for the belt armour was also applied for the deck armour. This provides, in total, 250cm, 2500mm, or 2.5metres of armour.

Further plating of 215mm of CCA steel over the fore and aft parts around the VLS and up to the armoured citadel, and in fact, ontop of the armoured citadel (underneath fittings like AA guns) this CCA plating could resist a 1000kg bomb. The deck is planked with hinoki cypress wood in some parts.

At Kure Naval Yard’s (the leading armour company in Questers) primary testing basin at Southampton, the deck and belt were tested. A section of the belt was put into the ground, and a 30” gun from HMS Warspite that was being used by John Brown and Co was shipped over by the company to be used. A piece of deck armour was covered on a steel building and Kure even went to such lengths as to charter a monitor, HMS Thiosulphate, to fire at the armour with its 30” gun. Both belt and deck resisted the 8,953kg armour piercing shell fired by Thiosulphate’s B gun.

Ijikawa’s team did not disregard the idea of a missile being shot down the funnel, or a bomb being dropped down it. In fact, they put a lot of effort into stopping this. Research showed that perforated armour was lighter than grating armor, and that significant amount would be needed to stop the missiles or bombs; three perforated plates with 800mm plating and 350mm armoured holes. This was known to be extremely effective in its task. Furthermore, 150mm HTNC Plating was extended around the funnels which were also armoured with two 800mm plates of PH and PC Type (PC Type coming first, as usual). The funnels could resist heavy missiles and 25” shells. Furthermore, the design also gave the funnels considerable anti air armament, so the chance of a missile actually going down the funnel was greatly reduced by a number of CIWS and Pom-Poms covering the entrances. This was something Ijikawa himself was greatly concerned about.

Anti torpedo defence was also extremely important. As well as certain CIWS systems (mentioned later), there was considerable thought gone in to defending Hood from underwater attack. Below the armour belt, special reinforcements had been emplaced to defend from torpedoes and mines. Firstly, honeycombing with titanium rods was done 900mm into the ship, followed by a 350mm layer of NPNC armour. Teak planking backed both sides of this NPNC armour. Further structural supports were added behind this for a metre, and then pressurised void space was built in watertight and airtight compartments. Behind that, a further 600mm layer of NPNC, again backed by teak planking. More void space, then behind that another 600mm layer of NPNC which was also backed by teak planking. Teak was used to improve buoyancy and because it is an extremely strong wood. The keel is supported by horizontal framing; tungsten carbides and titanium rods make up most of the bottom of this framing, and the upper frames are made from 750mm rods of HTNC and NPNC steel. A ‘second keel’ was fitted below the original keel, which was more of a support keel, which was made from HSLA steel and with armoured HTNC supports.

MACHINERY

The decision was straight away made to use nuclear power for Hood’s propulsion. A total of eight reactors was chosen, to be provided by Questarian Atomix Plc, providing 8,000,000 shaft horsepower, and two smokestacks with six boilers, three per smokestack arranged along the breadth of the ship. Special care was taken to have the right amount of SHP, as the engines would be unalterable – they were completely covered by Armour Box C. The main rudder housing was provided with its own armour box, which was 700mm thick – the PH type steel (see Protection) was chosen for this purpose. The rudder was 30m x 25m in dimensions and two auxiliary rudders half that size were also put in place. As per tradition, the rudder was made from steel, filled with teak planks, and then coated over with more steel.

Twelve shafts and six waterjets were also chosen. In sea trials, Hood generated 8,434,219 SHP and accelerated at 26.36 knots. This overachieved expectations and to this day Questarian Atomix uses this as one of their great victories.

ACCOMMODATION

Hood was a fairly pleasant ship to serve on, for the 28,110 ratings and 140 officers. She was fully equipped with air conditioning and proper ventilation systems, central heating, and many toilets for the crew. Each man was provided with 4 square metres living space (average), and there were two recreational rooms, each the size of a football pitch. Two messes, also each the size of a football pitch were situated above the rec rooms, which also had full wireless Internet access so crew members could contact friends and family. Several full five star hotel-esque suites were provided for VIPs around the Officers quarters, which indeed is where the Royal Family stayed for their duration onboard the ship. Considerable thought was gone in to making the ship comfortable for the complement, and Hood had a reputation for being a comfortable ship to serve on.

There was food store space for eighteen months of stores, which was not usually loaded unless the ship was ferrying supplies, and Hood could act as a makeshift supply ship.

Complement is as follows: 27,500 Ratings 135 Officers 5 High Tier Commanders 30 pilots 570 aircrew

ARMAMENT

Mark V RP12 81.0cm 92 calibre guns. These guns were tested at John Brown and Co Testing Facility in North Wolverhampton, providing further range, greater accuracy, and harder hitting power than the 76.25cm guns and the 68.7cm guns mounted on previous super-battleships of the Royal Navy. After the sinking of the Hood in 2006, three calibres had been put forward to the RN for evaluation for the new Hood – the 68.7cm gun, the 76.25cm gun, and the 81.0cm guns. The 81.0cm was chosen for the its better accuracy and hitting power and range, as opposed to the 76.25cm and the 68.7 which had better range and reload respectively.

The design team from John Brown and Co under Richard J Wilkinson was given a significant amount of resources and the first test gun was produced in August 2007. The testing stopped in September and the guns were modified with a higher calibre in September. In October 2007, they were again modified to fire at 52 degrees. This was the last modification to the Mk V RP12. The gun fires at a velocity of 882ms with a striking velocity of 540ms.

The weight of these guns was 1000 tons per gun and 8000 tons per quintuple turret. The gun itself is 74.520 metres long. Six of the turrets were mounted on Hood – three aft and three stern, classified as A, B, C, and X, Y, Z.

The number of projectiles per gun was 120 rounds, with 30 stored in the turret, making for 150 shells stored in each turret. Therefore, altogether 4,800 shells are stored in the ship.

Each turret is equipped with four 1800 hp hydraulic motors for the training of the turret, one motor for each turning gear. This achieved 3 degrees per second rotation rate. Maximum elevation for each gun is 45 degrees and the minimum -3 degrees. A rate of 8 degrees a second was achieved for elevation of the guns. Hydraulic valves in assistance with the pumping system could flood the magazine within 16 minutes, and sprinklers and automatic fire extinguishers were added in each turret and magazine for auxiliary fire defence.

The turret itself consisted of seven boxes, two for equipment and crew support and five for each gun. The equipment compartment stretches out the length of the turret to accommodate the 45m rangefinders and the crew compartment is behind that with a pair of entrance hatches above and two behind.

A pair of 600mm HTNC and PH Type plates protected the face of the turret , providing 1200mm of face protection. The sides and back of the turret were protected by 900mm of HTNC and the top was given even more protection with two 800mm plates of HTNC and PH Type. A mock turret, without any fittings or guns, was created at Southampton Testing Basin and the turret was successful in halting Tomahawk, Harpoon, Exocet, Sunburn, Yakhont, Moskit, and several international missiles, although this design will not specify which ones. In fact, the turret also ‘bounced’ the Questarian main VLS anti shipping missile.

Projectiles The 81.0cm guns supported two offensive projectile types. The Mark II APCBC – Armour Piercing Capped + Ballistic Cap projectile was the primary projectile used by the RP12 Mk V 81.0cm. This round weighed 9500 kg and was designed to shoot into the water just short of the target and hit the belt ends / torpedo defence were the armour was weakest .The shell was specially made for this purpose and is hydrodynamic in shape – the Royal Navy was highly impressed with testing results. These shells were designed to be used against other superbattleships were standard hits against the strongest part of the armour would prove useless.

The second projectile type was the Mark IIV 8 crh superheavy shell. This shell weighed 10100 tons and contained 2500 kg of tri-nitro anisole (TNA). It was used against smaller battleships were the sheer power of the shell would be enough to annihilate the armour of the vessels completely.

In addition, Hood’s main guns were provided with the Mk II IHF [Incendiary, Heavy Flak) round. This round was specially designed to put up a giant wall of flame to knock down incoming waves of missiles. It was used on the first Hood to good effect and the second variant was tested at John Brown and Co’s testing yard at North Wolverhampton in Spring of 2012 and loaded on Hood and her sister ships in the following year. Renown already had the Mk I.

The IHF weighed 10,150 kg and could achieve the same range as the previous shells. It was filled with 6,000 incendiary tubes and a fuze sets the shell off approximately 60km after firing. Steel and magnesium stays are packed into the warhead and when it explodes, shrapnel and flame are propelled in a 22 degrees cone. A millisecond or so later the incendiary tubes are ignited, burning at 3000 degrees centigrade making a flame about 15 metres long for as long as ten seconds.

The longest range achieved from these projectiles was 142,000 metres at 42 degrees.

Missile Armament The main missile armament for Hood was four giant vertical launch boxes. Each box contained 5,000 cells and the missiles were launched in opposite order; for example, one missile from the first cell, the next from the last cell. Each cell was 11 metres deep and 1 metre wide and long; they were used for mounting anti air and light anti shipping missiles, and some anti submarine missiles.

The Horizontal Launch System was the main anti shipping armament for the vessel. It was formed from thirty horizontal cells in the after superstructure, fifteen port and fifteen starboard, that were eight metres in diameter and twenty metres deep. The area around them was given further armour with the box they were all mounted in together armoured with 600mm NPNC. These could not be reloaded, but they could mount the most potent of anti shipping missiles in the Questarian arsenal, including nuclear weapons.

HIGH ANGLE GUNS

Hood is equipped with two calibres of High Angle Guns; the Mk XI RP10 twin 13.3cm 70 cal and the Mk XX QF10 twin 8.3cm 70 cal. Both are fitted in shield-covered emplacements around the ship.

Mk XI RP10 twin 13.3cm 70 cal: 22 of the turrets were mounted on Hood. Each gun is capable of 7 RPM and shoots to a range of 29,500metres. The guns originally mounted on Hood were Mk X twin 13.3cm guns but these were replaced with the newer model for a faster rate of fire. The Mk XI has a crew of six, and can use both armour piercing, AHEAD, and the Mk II ILF (Incendiary, Light Flak) rounds. The ILF rounds are identical in construction to the ones used in the Mk V RP12 main guns except proportionally smaller.

Mk XX QF10 twin 8.3cm 70 cal: 78 of the turrets were mounted on Hood. Each gun is capable of 20 RPM and shoots to a range of 15,640metres. These guns were only considered for Hood in two of the designs set forward; the others used purely 13.3cm guns. The 8.3cm was chosen for its rate of fire. The Mk XI has a crew of four, and can use both armour piercing, AHEAD, and the Mk II ILF (Incendiary, Light Flak) rounds. The ILF rounds are identical in construction to the ones used in the Mk V RP12 main guns except proportionally smaller.

LIGHT ANTI AIRCRAFT WEAPONRY

Machine Guns The vessel, which is essentially a ‘fast’ floating fortress, is covered with machine guns and high calibre AA guns. In fact, wherever there was a space the designers put in a machine gun, which actually led to some widescale inefficiencies. Hood is equipped with 600 quad 15.5mm anti air machine guns, totaling 2,400 15.5mm MG barrels. The Mk 4 L6A2 long barreled anti air machine gun is a fully automatic weapon that fires 15.5x132mm 80 cal anti air shells. The weapon’s barrel is 1,240mm long and four barrels are attached to one aiming piece, each barrel with a RPM of approximately 900. The range is 7,300 metres horizontal and 5,500m vertical. Each gun has a crew of three and enough ammunition for four minutes burst, although the gun cannot achieve that (it would break down after one minutes continuous burst).

This means that Hood can in theory put out 2,160,000 15.5x132mm AA shells per minute. In practice of course this is much lower due to ammunition restraints, however this is still a formidable number.

The second type of AA gun mounted on Hood was the Mk 5 45mm 65 cal ‘Pom-pom’, of which 230 installations were mounted. The pom-pom is an incredibly effective anti aircraft platform. The system consists of an aiming system, a traversing system, a loading system, and eight barrels. The weapon effectively acts as a chaingun and is controlled by a crew of two by remote control. It is manually reloaded. Each barrel is 3250mm long and the weapon can achieve a range of 9,000m with a maximum elavation of 80 degrees. It effectively acts as a secondary CIWS system that is capable of taking down missile waves. The shell is 45x250mm and the weapon operates at 500 RPM.

The weapons are installed in protected mounts for the crew, mostly. As the designers fitted the weapons wherever there was space, the inefficiencies that plagued earlier Hood’s were not fixed. Such problems like ammunition handling and the hard-to-reach areas where the guns were mounted were addressed in later vessels by cutting down the number of MG’s and pom-poms installed. Both Mk 5s and MGs are aimed via the Mk X Fire Director. More Mk X were installed in following refits and sister ships to give the small calibre weapons better fire control.

CLOSE IN WEAPON SYSTEMS AND ROLLING AIRFRAME MISSILES

Hood is well endowed with RADAR guided point defence, as a ship her size should be. The main CIWS system used is the 35mm ‘Sea Guardian’ CIWS. This six barreled, RADAR guided point defence weapon can fire at 1,300 RPM per barrel, giving a total RPM of 7,800 35x221mm shells. The RADAR can track up to thirty incoming targets and prioritise them in order of engagement within split seconds and coordinate with the Mk XI PD Fire Director to either lump with other CIWS or manage targets more effectively. The range is 11km. There are a total of 104 Sea Guardian units installed on the vessel.

The ‘Sea Goalkeeper’ Rolling Airframe Missile System provides AMM support. The Sea Goalkeeper is a four-barreled point defence missile launcher that uses its own RADAR to seek out targets of a certain size, leaving the CIWS to hit the smaller missiles. The Sea Goalkeeper’s missile is designed specially to take out larger missiles, such as ICCMs, SLBMs, or light ICBMs. The ‘Sea Goalkeeper’ can detect its target using the main ships RADAR and engage it from up to 45km out. It may need to fire off all four missiles to achieve a kill. There are a total of 40 Sea Goalkeeper’s and they may not be reloaded at sea.

The ‘Sea Stallion’ Anti Submarine and Torpedo defence system [AST] provides the ASROC support for the vessel. Four launchers are mounted fore and four launchers stern, and each is wired to its own powerful SONAR; four different SONARs, two port and two stern. If the SONAR detects a mine, a torpedo, or a midget submarine, it will inform the missile which will then destroy the target.

The missile section of the Sea Stallion is a rolling airframe missile with six barrels that can rotate and fire its missile extremely fast. It has a heavy warhead that can knock out the heaviest torpedoes and mines and the SONAR can sweep to at least 11,000m underneath the water to ultimate precision.

SENSORS AND FIRE CONTROL

Fire Control The primary fire control system mounted for the main battery was the Mark III Supercapital Low Angle Fire Director. The main parts of the installation were the rangefinders, which are in the following positions:

Two 60m rangefinders in the after superstructure and one in the main tower, and six 45m rangefinders, one in each turret. The tower bridge rangefinder was stereoscopic. These rangefinders could bracket their targets within several salvos, with notably high accuracy for the calibre chosen. Nightfighting gear was excellent, as was all optics employed in the Questarian arsenal, a speciality somewhat countering the quality of Questarian sensors. The fire directors sent information to the extremely powerful computers in the main bridge and it was relayed back again. A large number of Mk V High Angle Fire Directors were mounted for the 13.3cm guns and the 8.3cm guns. The Mk VIII MG Directors were used for the MGs and Pompoms. The CIWS and RAM had their own RADARs.

Sensors The Mk 313 Air Search RADAR was mounted in Hood in the largest radome visible on the port drawing. It was able to scan out to 511km for incoming aircraft and could receive up to 11,000 targets, missiles or planes. It had IR, LADAR, and LIDAR backup mounted behind the aft bridge. The RADAR’s wave length was 5m with a 25 gW power source.

The Mk 404 Surface Search RADAR was mounted in the main bridge and received its IR, LADAR, and LIDAR support from the RADAR mounting and from a radome behind the second funnel, and another radome below the main bridge. It had a detection range of 93km for similar sized ships and around 60km for destroyers. A pair of ladder type antennas were fitted on the Fire Directors for assistance and relaying of information for the anti shipping role of the Surface Search RADAR.

The Mk 237 Sea Search RADAR was added to augment the anti aircraft capability of the Mk 404. It was located in the same ‘radome’ and allowed for better accuracy of the RADAR and pinpointing of the targets.

The Mk 999 Missile Guidance Sensor was linked to both the Mk 313, the Mk 404, and later the Mk 237 for assistance in guiding the VLS and HLS missiles.

The Mk 44 A2 C4I suite provided complete Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence support for warships within 30 km of the ship, able to direct attacks, relay information, coordinate attacks and information, encrypt and decrypt orders, interact with satellites.

AIRCRAFT AND BOAT ARRANGEMENTS

Aviation Hood had scout seaplanes equipped with air and sea search RADARs for ASW, ASAC, and AWACs work. There were 20 seaplanes, all stored in the stern and raised from elevators. There were ten turntables and different tracks leading to either other turntables or the six ramps that launched the seaplanes. They could either be collected by taxiing next to the ship and being picked up by crane, or they could land on a steel mat that was unfurled from the ships stern that the planes could temporarily rest on, allowing them to land and be loaded back on the plane.

Boats Hood had a considerable number of boats that were stored in the stern with the aircraft and lowered down the sides from opening blast doors. There were fourty fifty-man boats stored in the stern, ten hundred man boats, and a pair of extremely large two hundred man boats that took considerable time to drop. Also, behind X turret was the Admiral’s Pinnace, a converted light frigate that took twenty minutes to deploy, and had enough fuel for 2,000 miles steaming. It was designed specially for an Admiral, or VIPs to travel in. This was located on the port side; on the starboard side were two two hundred man boats. Carley rafts and lifejacket were stocked all around the ship, giving every man a lifeboat, a raft, or a jacket in theory.