RN AAcruiser

[ILikeTanks]

So you mean you have the real, actual L.90 preliminary drawings?

 

[ptdockyard]

I believe so. My copy of that edition is MIA at present. I remember seeing it and it was a basic layout as part of an article on RN small cruisers.

 

[ILikeTanks]

Then can you copy the original drawing in Warship 2017?

I believe so. My copy of that edition is MIA at present. I remember seeing it and it was a basic layout as part of an article on RN small cruisers.

 

[EwenS]

Then can you copy the original drawing in Warship 2017?

Not in Warship 2017 I'm afraid.

 

[ptdockyard]

My mistake. It was the slightly smaller L72 and it was in Warship 2011.

 

[Tzoli]

Here is a data table about the L class designs:
All were designed in 1937, the final L class design was accepted in 1938 and you can see it's design designation should be L.48 based on her engine power. L class had 2x Admiralty type boilers so I except the other designs would had 3 boilers except L.44 which was to have 2 and L.90 which was to have 4.

	L.44	L.56	L.60	L.70	L.72	L.90	L as finished
Dimensions	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	124,97x12,19m	128,01m	144,78m	105,3/107,9/110,5x11,2x4,39m
Displacement	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	2.500tons	2.745tons	3.205tons	1.920/2.660tons
Engine Power	44.000shp	56.000shp	60.000shp	70.000shp	72.000shp	90.000shp	48.000shp
Speed	67km/h	Unknown	Unknown	74km/h	73km/h	74km/h	67km/h
Main Guns	3x2 120mm QF Mk IX	3x2 120mm QF Mk IX	3x2 120mm QF Mk IX	3x2 120mm QF Mk IX	4x2 120mm QF Mk IX	4x2 120mm QF Mk IX	3x2 120mm QF Mk IX
AA 1	1x4 40mm/39 QF Mk VIII	1x4 40mm/39 QF Mk VIII	1x4 40mm/39 QF Mk VIII	1x4 40mm/39 QF Mk VIII	1x6 0,661"/90 QF Mk I	2x4 40mm/39 QF Mk VIII	1x4 40mm/39 QF Mk VIII
AA 2	2x4 12,7mm/62 MG Mk III	2x4 12,7mm/62 MG Mk III	2x4 12,7mm/62 MG Mk III	2x4 12,7mm/62 MG Mk III	2x4 12,7mm/62 MG Mk III	1x6 0,661"/90 QF Mk I	2x1 20mm/70 Oerlikon Mk I, 2x4 12,7mm/62 MG Mk III
Torpedoes	1x4 533mm	1x4 533mm	1x4 533mm	1x4 533mm	2x4 533mm	2x4 533mm	2x4 533mm
Other Armament							Depth Charge (110)

 

[smurf]

A bit late, but for completeness:
The labelled L90 and L72 are John Jordan's drawings for Warship 2011, based on (IIRC) my photos of drawings in the L class Ships Cover. In the end only L72 made it into my article on RN small cruisers. The other two are my attempts, based on them, at "final version" artists impressions of L90, but I can't get the pic of L90 to display.

 

[Toryu]

Using heavy cruiser to anti other cruisers, light cruiser to anti destorys, air defense cruiser to anti aircraft is not cost-effective. The general cruiser is coming out . In the history of the RN, there is a tradition of the main ship with light main gun and heavy auxiliary gun. Based on the Exeter, the project 131 of Spain is a suitable model. We can strengthen the dual-purpose gun from 120 to133 , which can take into account three mission requirements.

I made that drawing years ago. Project No.-131 is real, but except for the layout of the main and secondary towers, I don't know what it looked like, because I haven't found the plans.

 

[DWG]

L class destroyers don't have names starting with G.

Just noticed this on re-reading the thread. HMS Gurkha (G63) is in fact the real name of one of the L class, Larne was renamed while building when the previous Gurkha (F20) of the Tribal class was sunk off Norway in April 1940.

Of course Gurkha/Larne was built as the AA variant of the L, not to L90 as in the illustration being challenged.

 

[A Tentative Fleet Plan]

A bit late, but for completeness:
The labelled L90 and L72 are John Jordan's drawings for Warship 2011, based on (IIRC) my photos of drawings in the L class Ships Cover. In the end only L72 made it into my article on RN small cruisers. The other two are my attempts, based on them, at "final version" artists impressions of L90, but I can't get the pic of L90 to display.
View attachment 742502

Great to finally see an accurate sketch of L90. Do you have the dimensions for the machinery spaces, as with L.72?

 

[smurf]

Machinery spaces: I don't have explicit figures for L90, but the 0 to 50 ft scale alongside L90 should apply to L72 as well, and John Jordan was always careful that his drawings were accurate to scale.

I think (it's 15 years since I wrote my cruiser article in Warship 2011) that the figures for L72 would have been taken from measurements on the drawings (whether JJs or the originals in the L cover I can't now say). That would have been done for the published drawing - that is, just for L72.

 

[smurf]

DWG said: Gurkha/Larne was built as the AA variant of the L, not to L90 as in the illustration being challenged

As I've dug out the relevant drawings, here is Gurkha )I don't know the source of the photo) The AA guns are 4in twins.

EDIT: There is a version of the photo in "Fighting Flotilla" by Peter C. Smith (William Kimber 1976) which is by far the most detailed study of the development of the L class destroyers and their wartime service. The chapter on 'Origins' includes several pages on the L72 and L90 derivatives, though these are not illustrated.