Free Doppelganger by John Schettler

class by a full 12,000 tons, the weight of another decent sized cruiser. Oddly, the ship was conceived as a battlecruiser, meant to be paired with another metal behemoth, the 18-inch gun N3 battleship that had never seen a keel laid down. As such, her nine 16-inch guns were still bigger than anything in the fleet, save Rodney and Nelson. In some minds, Invincible was an upgrade to the former pride of the fleet, HMS Hood, correcting all the deficiencies that had been uncovered in that design. It was fast at 32 knots, up-gunned over Hood’s eight 15-inchers, and much better armored, a fast battleship in every respect.
    Invincible was the seventh ship in the Royal Navy to bear that name, taking it after the earlier battlecruiser that had been built in 1907 and destroyed at Jutland. Now she would face down the Germans again, in the long running naval duel that was collectively the biggest engagement since Admiral Beatty had clashed with the German High Seas Fleet in the last war.
    The ship was one of a kind, unmistakable on the sea with her unorthodox silhouette. Two of her three triple-gun turrets were mounted forward of the conning tower, and the third directly behind it, amidships. This meant her engineering sections and twin funnels were pushed aft to the latter third of the ship.
    Here I am again, thought Tovey, coming late to the scene, and with old Rodney up to her knees in seawater. Better late than never. Blucher did well by Wellington at Waterloo, and now it’s my time.
    The situation looked grim. Renown and Repulse had been the first to Rodney ’s aid, two fast battlecruisers that had engaged and compelled the German fleet to turn in order to bring all their guns to bear in the fight. Fortunately for Rodney , that turn had taken the fight west, away from the foundering battleship, and over the horizon. The Germans might have detached one of their ships to put Rodney down, thought Tovey, but they wisely stayed together. Now they’ll outgun Tennant’s battlecruisers 17 to 12, and they have much better armor for that fight.
    Yet here I come, running full out, guns ready and right in the thick of things. It looks like Lütjens was just about to pile it on and give Tennant much more than he could handle. Now let’s see him take on someone his own size.
    “Second ship sighted!” came the call from the mainmast watch.
    “That will be Hindenburg and Bismarck ,” said Tovey to Captain Bennett.
    “Aye sir,” said the Captain, “and they’ll have us outgunned here as well.”
    “Then we must see that we open the engagement well,” said Tovey. “Cool heads but quick action, gentlemen. Give me ten points to starboard and we can get all three turrets into the action. You may indulge yourself. Target the lead ship.”
    “Aye sir. Mister Connors!”
    The warning bell sounded, and the ship shook with the fires of their opening salvo. Two guns on each of the forward triple gun turrets to test the range. The next salvo would be a three plus two, with the last guns on A and B turret joining with all three guns on X turret behind the conning tower. This unique gun arrangement gave the ship tremendous firepower at angles to either side of the bow, where all nine guns could get into action. By comparison, the twin two-gun turrets on the forward segment of the German battleships saw those ships with their firepower cut in half if they turned to close on the enemy, and Tovey was going to make sure the action started with both sides coming nose to nose, for this very reason.
    Tovey knew his ship well, and was maneuvering to use every advantage her unique design could give him. He remembered that very first engagement he fought aboard King Alfred in the Pacific. That ship had her two biggest guns in a forward turret, and so he had espoused a quick dash in like this as the preferred approach in battle.
    Now that moment when the ship’s Captain Baker had come up behind him in the officer’s mess aboard the old armored cruiser