Valerna-class destroyer
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| Two Valerna-class destroyers near Port-Mel in 1972 | |
| Class overview | Name | Valerna-class destroyer |
| Builders | Silivian national shipyards |
| Operator | Silivian national navy |
| Preceded by | Silivian destroyer 1 |
| Succeded by | Silivian destroyer 3 |
| Cost | 1000K persicotis |
| Built | 1960 |
| In commission | 1970-1975 |
| Planned | 50 |
| Completed | 50 |
| Lost | 15 |
| General characteristics as per final plan | Type | Multi-purpose destroyer |
| Displacement | 1,110 tons standard |
| Lenght | ??? |
| Beam | ??? |
| Draught | ??? |
| Propulsion | One eternal dynamo, one boiler driving one steam turbine two 3-bladed propellers |
| Speed | 70 kmph |
| Armament | 2x 30cm batteries 1x multi-purpose gun battery 3x triple-AA small guns 8 torpedo tubes 4 depth-charge launchers one sonar |
| Armor | 200 mm side armor |
The Valerna-class multi-purpose destroyer (also known as destroyer 2) was a class of destroyer used by the Silivian National Navy during the Atlantic war.
It was designed to be able to sink submarines, aircrafts and other ships of the same size or smaller. Its relatively small cost, its speed and its versatility were highly appreciated by the Silivian sailors.
Background
In the 30s, the Elidian Navy began researching and building submarines. It was a totally new type of naval vessel and the Silivian Navy had nothing at the time to counter-act these new weapons. Its previous destroyer was exclusively designed to shot down aircrafts but had nothing to face submarines. First the Silivian Navy studied the possibility of upgrading its old destroyers so they would carry a new type of depth torpedoes. However such a thing was deemed impossible by naval engineers because there was no room aboard the old destroyer to fit torpedoes and their control and firing rooms. Several old destroyers were still upgraded but at the cost of their anti-aircraft guns.
As tensions were becoming more bright between Silivia and Elidia in the 60s, the need was felt to design a new type of escort destroyer capable to shot down both aircrafts and submarines. The result was the versatile Valerna-class destroyer.
Design
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| The first plan ever drawn for the destroyer 2. Note that some details have been changed in the final version |
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| One of the final prototypes of the Valerna-class destroyer being tested in November 1964 |
The first plans were laid down in early 1962, and construction of a first prototype began in July 1962. It was ready to be tested in November of that year, but was filled with flaws, mainly the lack of room for the crew. However the Navy was satisfied by its speed performances (more than 65 kmph) and the smooth inclusion of the recently developed eternal dynamo, which had only been tested on an old type of cruisers.
The engineers went back to work to draw new plans and correct the flaws of the previous versions, but despite the satisfactory results of the eternal dynamo, they were told to keep a traditional fuel and boilers system in the case the eternal dynamo would not work on the longterm. The new plans were finished in early 1963 and two prototypes were built by the end of that year, one of which included a new, smaller version of the eternal dynamo (the famous GEE-minus), as well as a pedal-dynamo. The reduced size of the new dynamo allowed engineers to draw new plans and to add a torpedo-weapon system. Eventually the final prototypes were built and tested in late 1964 and were deemed satisfactory, and the Valerna-class destroyer went into production.
Specifications
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| A model of the final version of the ship. The starboard torpedo tubes are visible |
Armament
The Valerna-class destroyer was designed be able to face aircrafts, submarines and other ships of the same size or smaller. As such it was armed with two 30 cm batteries (four guns, artillery), one 10 cm multi-purpose battery (three guns, AA or artillery), three triple-AA guns (nine small guns), 8 torpedo tubes (the ship can carry up to 32 torpedoes and the tubes can launch depth-torpedoes) and four depth charge launchers (the ship can carry up to 20 depth charges). This armament made the Valerna-class destroyer capable of sinking or shooting down about anything it faced at sea, provided that he was not alone, as one of these ships alone could not likely withstand the firepower of other, bigger and more specialized warships.
Armor
The ship's hull was protected by a standard, 20 cm steel armor belt, while the bridge tower was only reinforced with 10 cm thick steel plates. It proved not nearly enough to allow the ship to take more than three or four HE shells before sinking, but the manoeuvrability of the ship made up for the lack of armor.
Propulsion
The inclusion of a small but efficient eternal dynamo allowed the Valerna-class destroyer to be fast and manoeuvrable, and dependant entirely on its own generated electric power. While it was concieved to primarily work on electricity, the ship could also be powered by traditional fuel. The presence of a fuel system was felt needed in case of the new dynamo proved inefficient on the longterm. However it appeared that the dynamo was working perfectly and it was even planned to build new prototypes of the destroyer 2 without the chimney and the fuel system, but it was never done because of the Revolution and the end of war a few months later.