Find the original picture of the original Lexington-class aircraft carrier (namely battle cruiser)

19 17 (note: it is said to be1916)-1919 The naval construction plan authorizes the design and construction of these six Lexington-class combat cruisers (navy number CC1-CCC) Americans insist on defining their mission as a high-speed avant-garde reconnaissance unit as the main fleet before the main battle.

The design process of this class of warships has been seriously delayed. 19 16 originally planned to be a first-class patrol boat with a standard displacement of 34300T and a 356MM naval gun. Its armor is relatively weak, but it has a high speed of 35 knots (in addition, there are 7 chimneys and a large number of boilers in the scheme, a considerable part of which are arranged on the armored deck, and the scheme of 19 19 has modified this. 19 19, this scheme was changed according to the lessons of World War I, the new scheme was bigger and heavier, equipped with 16 inch naval gun, and the protection was improved, but the speed was slightly lower.

If the Lexington class is completed, they will have unusually high speed and heavy weapons as expected, and their protection will be slightly superior to that of the ultra-high-speed war patrol (note: it is suspected that this refers to the 19 16 plan). This class of ship is finally planned to carry 8 16 inch MK2 guns, which are loaded on 4 turrets in a duplex form. However, the main armor belt on its side is only 1.78mm thick, so the dealer has sufficient defense against the cruiser's artillery, but it cannot defend its S-class battleship or any type of main gun that may be loaded on the battle cruiser. This design idea is more like the ultimate product of the traditional concept "super cruiser", which is similar to the brave class in Britain, rather than the heavy protection types such as Hood, G3 and Tiancheng class in Japan (called fast battleship).

Some people think that even a small reduction in armor will become useless in the face of enemy battleships or battle cruiser's main guns, and if all the redundant armor is cut off (note: the "redundant" here refers to the armor difference between battleships' main guns and cruisers' main guns), a lot of weight and cost can be saved. However, opponents point out that this concept of "reconnaissance cruiser" has no practical significance, because its 16 inch main gun is too big for enemy cruisers or small ships, and it lacks protection for the main gun, which means that they will not be able to safely approach the enemy's main guns and attack them with their own weapons.

However, their high speed of 33 knots (design speed) enables them to be converted into fast and flexible aircraft carriers.

Attachment 1: 19 19 final plan

Displacement: standard 43,500 tons, fully loaded 44,638 tons.

Length: 874 feet (266 meters)

Width: 104.3 ft (3 1.8 m)

Draft: 3 1 ft (9m)

Power: steam turbine-electric drive, four-axis and four-paddle propulsion, 16 boiler,180000 SHP;

Speed: 33.5 knots (62 km/h)

Endurance: 12000 nautical miles (22000 km)/10 knots (19 km/h)

Capacity: 12972

Armament: 8× 16 inch (406 mm) /50 naval gun (4×2), 16×6 inch (152 mm) /53 naval gun, 4×3 inch (76 mm) /50 naval gun, 8× 266 naval gun.

Armor: the main armor belt is 7 inches (178mm), the gun base is 5-9 inches (130-230mm), the control tower 12 inches (305mm), and the front of the turret is 1 1 inch (280

Attachment 2: 19 16 Plan Overview

Displacement: 34,300 tons, scale: 874' (full length), 90' 1 1 "(type width).

Power system:180,000 horsepower (note: suspected shaft horsepower) electric driven steam turbine with a maximum speed of 35 knots.

Equipment (main gun): 10 gun 14"/50, equipped with two triple turrets (1&; Turret No.4) and two twin turrets (2&; Turntable 3)

Armed equipment (sub-gun): 18 with a single 5"/5 1 (arranged laterally with 9 doors on each side).

In World War I, the construction of Lexington class was replaced by more urgent tasks, and it was not until the middle of 1920 that the construction of this class began one after another. The following year, the naval arms limitation conference held in Washington sentenced them to death, including, of course, their British-Japanese anti-S. Due to the adoption of the Washington Treaty, the construction of all six ships stopped in June 1922. According to the treaty, two of them were allowed to be converted into aircraft carriers, namely Lexington (CV2) and Saratoga (CV3). The other four patrol ships were officially cancelled in August 1923 and disintegrated in the shipyard.

Six Lexington-class warships were built in four shipyards:

Lexington (CC 1): 192 1 keel laying of Quincy Naval Shipyard, Massachusetts. Later, it was converted into an aircraft carrier (CV2) and sank in the Battle of Coral Sea in 1942. .

Constellation (CC2):1In August, 920, the keel was placed at newport news Shipyard, Virginia. After cancellation and disintegration.

Saratoga (CC3):1In September, 920, the keel was laid in Camden, New Jersey. Later it was converted into an aircraft carrier (CV3); Because its construction progress is higher than the constellation, it was replaced by an aircraft carrier.

Lida (CC4):1921June keel laying in newport news Shipyard, Virginia. After cancellation and disintegration.

Constitution (CC5): 1920 September, keel was laid at the Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After cancellation and disintegration.

Constitution (CC6): 1920 September, keel was laid at the Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After cancellation and disintegration.