Unfortunately this is largely true, though not the original intention of the site. Efforts are made (I am a moderator), with Forum rules to distinguish between Own Designs and real history, but they are not generally very successful.In regard to the site http://www.phpbbplanet.com/warshipprojects/index.php?mforum=warshipprojects, view most items in this site with caution as the majority are fiction or even fantasy creations by the contributors. Unlike Secretprojects there in no attempt to keep within the realms of actual projects.
NEVER BUILT 'NEXT' - TAIHO CLASS CARRIERS
By Noriki Suzuki
IJN carriers were very successful in the early stages of the war but were defeated in June 1942 at Midway, when four carriers were lost. So serious was the loss that the IJN modified its wartime supply plan 'Maru-Go' (Circle Five) to 'Kai-Maru-Go' (Revised Circle Five), intending to reinforce its air strike capability. The "Next-TAIHO class carriers" were a part of that plan. TAIHO was the only carrier included in 'Maru-Yon' (Circle Four) shipbuilding plan, featuring heavy armor, quite untypical for traditional IJN carriers.
The 'Next-TAIHO' class carrier was to be a larger, advanced version of TAIHO. TAIHO's displacement was 34,200 tons (trials); 'Next-TAIHO' was to be 35,800 tons and 4 meters longer. TAIHO's flight deck length was 257.5 meters and 'Next-TAIHO' 261.5 meters. TAIHO had six 100mm twin AA guns Type 98; 'Next-TAIHO' was designed to have eight Type 98s as suggested by TAIHO gun crews.
Another improvement was the revised anti-torpedo protection. Recognizing the development of enemy torpedo power, 'Next-TAIHO' had a well-designed under-water protection structure, enough to withstand a 350kg torpedo explosion. Again learning from Midway the electrically powered bucket chain hoists for bombs and torpedoes, connected flight deck and magazine directly. According to Revised Circle Five plan, the 'Next-TAIHO' was designed under basic design G-15.
The plan was to build five of these ships, numbered 5021 to 5025 at the following shipyards:
No.5021 at Kure Navy Yard
No.5022 at Kawasaki Kobe Yard
No.5023 at Mitsubishi Nagasaki Yard
No.5024 at Yokosuka Navy Yard
No.5025 at Kure Navy Yard
However, the war situation prohibited building such high-quality giant flattops that needed too much tooling. Mass-produced medium carriers, with lesser attack capability but needing less building work were required. Therefore IJN authorities decided to build the UNRYU class prior to 'next-TAIHO' according to the same Revised Circle Five plan. UNRYU's design was based on HIRYU but featured some improvements. With the worsening war situation, the shortage of materials prevented any ship keel lay and abandoned their building.
Triton said:Armament: 9 × 310 mm (12.2 in)/50 caliber guns (3×3)
16 × 100 mm (3.9 in)/65 caliber dual-purpose guns (8×2)
12 × 25 mm (1 in) anti-aircraft guns (6×2)
4 × 13 mm (0.51 in) machine guns (2×2)
8 × 610 mm (24 in) torpedo tubes (4×2)
Madurai said:According to Jentschura & Jung, the design was still Project 64 when it still had the 31cm guns and torpedoes. The Project 65 was an iteration of that with the torpedo tubes deleted and the main battery increased in caliber to 14", in response to reports of the Alaska-class.
Triton said:Artist impressions of Design A-140 project design concepts. The Design A-140 project would become the Yamato-class battleship.
Triton said:Design A-220 or Fujimoto "Dream Battleship".
Madurai said:Triton said:Armament: 9 × 310 mm (12.2 in)/50 caliber guns (3×3)
16 × 100 mm (3.9 in)/65 caliber dual-purpose guns (8×2)
12 × 25 mm (1 in) anti-aircraft guns (6×2)
4 × 13 mm (0.51 in) machine guns (2×2)
8 × 610 mm (24 in) torpedo tubes (4×2)
According to Jentschura & Jung, the design was still Project 64 when it still had the 31cm guns and torpedoes. The Project 65 was an iteration of that with the torpedo tubes deleted and the main battery increased in caliber to 14", in response to reports of the Alaska-class.