Design UP 102 Big Gun Cruiser

Together with the previous OTO Design, arcane37 asked me to draw this cruiser design offered to Romania before WW2 by Italy to expand their navy.

Since the 1920's Romania seek to expand it's navy with major surface combatants of cruisers, which at first the British Vickers offered such designs, starting with Vickers Design 808 of 1923 proposed a heavily armed lightly light cruiser (5x2 152mm, 2x1 102mm AA, 4x3 533mm Torpedo tubes, 76mm Belt on 138,7m long hull), later in 1927 both Sir George Thurston and Vickers offered a larger design (6100tons, 152 and 160m long, armed with 3x2,2x1 152mm guns, 2x1 76mm AA guns, and 4x2 533mm Torpedo tubes) lastly in 1930 Vickers finally offered a modified Arethusa or scaled down Leander design (152,4m 5750tons, 4x2 152mm, 2x1 105mm and 2x2 40mm AA and 2x4 533mm Torpedo tubes). But the political and economical situation of the country prevented of choosing any of these designs. 
Later in the mid and late 1930's when the economical situation improved Romania again started looking for designs to expand it's Navy. This time Italy provided the cruiser proposals: In 1937 the famous Ansaldo company proposed at first a scaled down Deutschland with 256mm Guns this was Project UP 90, which was reworked into a light cruiser with 3x3 152mm guns as Project UP 90bis or modificato in 1938. Later that year Ansaldo offered yet again a big gun cruiser but this time the Italian version of the Deutschland with 2x3 280mm Cannons and 6x2 120mm DP-AA guns, this was Project UP 102.

Ansaldo's UP 102 is basically a direct copy both in capabilities and mission to the earlier German Deutschland class Big Gun Cruisers (Pocket Battleships / Heavy Cruisers). While the Deutschlands more of a functionally aesthetic ship class, the UP 102 design shows the Italian engineers view on how a good looking ship must look like. Many Curved features prominent to the ships built and designed of this period incorporated into the design while the secondary armament was merged into the Dual-Purpose 120mm Guns rather mixed 15cm and 10,5cm Guns of the German ships. Unique feature are the fully enclosed 40mm Bofors guns near the main turrets to protect them from the blasts of the triple 280mm Guns. The usage of Bofors guns correspond with it's export oriented style because Italy had it's own heavy AA calibre the 37mm Model 1932/38/39 Breda guns. 


The design had the following characteristics:
Dimensions: 187,5 (oa) x 21 x 5,8m
Displacement: 10.770tons (standard), 13.500tons (full load)
Engines: 75.000shp Steam Turbines, 4 shafts
Speed: 57km/h (31knots)
Armour: 102mm Belt, 64mm Deck
Armaments: 
2x3 280mm Guns
6x2 120mm DP-AA Guns
8x2 40mm AA Guns
8x2 20mm AA Guns
2x3 533mm Torpedo Tubes
2x Floatplanes (I chose IMAM Ro.43 and Arado Ar-192)

Original drawings:
digilander.libero.it/planciaco…
photobucket.com/gallery/user/a…
i.imgur.com/fV4UhSQ.jpg