battleship conversion

[Cliffy B]

OK good, glad you didn't waste any money yet 

LCMs need cranes to launch, LCVPs can use davits which is always preferable to using cranes.  Davits afford a lot more control and safety.  If you want to have the stern full of landing craft in davits then fill them with LCVPs.  If you want to add some heavy lift boom cranes then add in some LCMs.  I say that because that was standard practice it seems for WWII amphib ops.  This is a whiff design though and your design, so if you want to put LCMs in davits then go for it.  Just build them and mention that they are much larger and stronger than contemporary designs.  As far as loading goes if you chose to use LCMs, I'd limit them to just troops loading at the deck edge or the cargo net method.  Trying to lower one with a tank inside over the side with davits or a crane would be too risky IMO and would require a much larger capacity davit/crane.

Also something to consider is how fast you want this ship to be able to launch its landing craft.  Davits would afford the speediest method with smaller craft while cranes would be far slower but get you larger craft.  Where would this ship be during the invasion?  Would she anchor with the rest of the transports and launch all her craft with theirs in the first wave or would she be on the gun line first and launch her craft after the beach had been secured.

Just try and figure out how realistic vs whiff world you want the design to be and you'll be set 

[Joe C-P]

If you want to keep the post-WW2 basis, consider that France was involved in southeast Asia in the 1940s and 50s, trying to keep the remnants of her Far East empire. A troop-carrying battleship might have made a useful vessel, travelling up and down the very long coast to drop off raiders and supporting them with the big guns.

For others considering a similar idea, between the World Wars the USN might have considered converting some pre-Dreadnoughts or early Dreadnoughts into Marine transports, landing most of the medium guns and perhaps some of the main turrets to make room for landing craft and adding troop accommodations.