I found this on Facebook. Makes the Tillmann BBs look sensible, doesn't it?
Developed during the fall of 1920, this submarine was intended to be able fight it out on the surface against escort ships. It accomplished this with eight 8" (20.3cm) guns in four twin turrets and enough armor to resist the typical guns carried by escort ships.
Supporting the primary armament were six torpedo 21"(533mm) torpedo tubes in the bow along with two addition 21" torpedo tubes in the stern. The submarine would also carry four aircraft to scout for potential targets. The aircraft were stored upright within watertight compartments forward of the conning tower.
The powerplant was turbo-electric, similar to that used on the United States capital ships of the day. Diesel motors drove electric generators which provided electricity for electric motors driving the screws. 8800 SHP was estimated to drive the submarine at 15 knots on the surface with a maximum range of 20,000nmi.
All of this required an incredibly large hull. At 490' in length and 60' at the beam, this cruiser submarine would have been 90' longer and 20' wider than Japan's I-400 class of World War 2! Displacement would have been double that of the Japanese submarine aircraft carriers, 13,500 tons vs 6,560 tons.
This design was a byproduct of the general trend of the day to develop the so-called cruiser submarines. Large submarines capable of operating far away from supporting bases for great lengths of time. In addition, the idea that torpedoes were not sufficient to adequately engage enemy ships led to the idea that large calibre guns would be superior. This monstrosity was simply the ultimate culmination of these design concepts.
After further study, and perhaps a dose or reality, the design was not pursued further.
statistics: Posted by MBecker01 — 11:55 AM - 1 day ago — Replies 2 — Views 99