Naval History Forums

6) the British count of 5 Bismarck salvos was only when both fire and aft turrets had fired so to the British 1 salvo = A+B, C+D and only then. Probably, although I'm not sure. As far as Bismarck's firing went, I understand she fired initially a ranging group of 3 semisalvos, the 3rd of which strad...

I struggled with that for some time. The solution (?) came from Thorsten, and from Antonio and David. Bismarck wasn't firing 4 guns simultaneously; if you watch the Denmark Strait battle movie frame by frame, you will observe that the appearance of the flame of fire at one gun is different from the...

3rd Artillery Officer on board Bismarck wrote that Bismarck consumed 40 shots to destroy Hood. That means 5 full salvos (5 x (4+4)). Bismarck's firing procedure is well known and thoroughly discussed in other parts of the forum. Bismarck fired semisalvo1 with Anton+Bruno and semisalvo2 with Caesar/...

So I do have a somewhat odd question. Could Bismarck be considered lightly armed for her size? 8x15" seems kind of few especially when we consider what say the RM or the USN were packing which was 9x15/16" respectively while being nearly 100ft shorter (Veneto class, SD class, North Carolin...

I'd actually take all records with a grain of salt mainly because these are battle conditions; humans are prone to extreme stress during such conditions and minute details, like the exact time aren't of relevance at the time. I singled out question 42 as I found it very interesting, PoW's records mu...

Hello, Hmm yes, there is a difference, what I'm trying to say is that perhaps to explain the odd number of shells fired, Bismarck's guns were having problems at some point during the battle thus leading to that number. Thanks for the links, so we can summarize the following as: Rowell: 3-4 salvos be...

KGV displaced about 35,000 tons where as Bismarck displaced 43,000 tons. KGV displaced 37500 tons standard and Bismarck 41700 tons standard. Yes, Bismarck was heavier , but not in the proportion usualy considered. Tirpitz weighed 44200 tons standard, while Anson displaced ~ 42200 tons standard, bot...

The observations support the claim of a double hit, because at least one was non penetrating; hence the brilliant burst observed. However a non penetrating hit would be unlikely to knock out Bruno and most unlikely to knock out Bruno permanently. Moreover a non penetrating hit knocking out Bruno by...

Hi swpz, you wrote: "Is it possible Lutjens was unaware of the actual number of shells fired but instead only aware of the number of shots ordered and that is what he reported" I don't think so as: 1) 93 is not a multiple of 4 and ordered shots should be while firing full or semi salvos; ...

While on paper the KGV class was built to counter whatever German designs existed at the time one needs to remember one thing; the British stayed within treaty limits; the Germans did not. KGV displaced about 35,000 tons where as Bismarck displaced 43,000 tons. This disparity alone gave the Bismarck...

Hi swpz, your doubts are correct (and please don't even pay attention to a poor looser insinuations who, unable to counter arguments, started insulting and mocking, getting the well-deserved title of deniers at any cost :lol: A fair discussion is always accepted). you wrote: " ...it doesn't fi...

Personally I tend to find Campbell's account to likely be credible enough to be accepted at face value. When counting splashes, missed splashes usually implies hits once the target is straddled as was the case for: HMS Hood, HMS PoW and later, Bismarck. Thus at least one non penetrating hit (from th...

swpz wrote: "So assuming that Bismarck fired 3 ranging salvos of 2 shells each....." Hi swpz, I understand both from Jasper Gunnery Report (http://www.kbismarck.com/archives/pg-ktb.zip), from the German firing experts here and from the Baron account in his book that the standard German pr...

I'm actually greatly enjoying everyone's comments here as it's proving to be very detailed with a lot of interesting information. Thanks guys! So given the ranges and the angles involved, short of the shells hitting the prow of the ship and penetrating inwards, deck hits could in some probability si...

Both ships primarily engaged Bismarck's port side. Rodney (and to lesser extent KGV) briefly engaged Bismarck's starboard side. Rodney's salvo record is clear and it states that she opened fire with an incorrect range and it took her some time before she straddled. Bismarck's 13in side armour was l...