Naval History Forums

The RF range obtained just before open fire was, in fact, quite accurate. and it agreed with KGV's radar range, although it would probably still been about 500 yds short, given Rodney's position relative to KGV. 0843 entry in the "16-inch Narrative" - 0843. Bismarck was sighted by “Rodney...

Hi Byron, thanks for posting transcript of the 16" narrative. I now realize that there are large discrepancies between this narrative and Rodney's Salvo Plot from the T.S. (Enclosure N.1 to 456/G). E.g., in this latter, salvo 21 did not straddle (22 did) and no further straddle has been highli...

Hello Byron, consistent straddling between salvo 18 and 22 (4 out of 5 consecutive salvoes straddling in 3 minutes from 09:00 till 09:03, while ship was sailing a straight course 85°) are IMHO good sign of quite accurate firing solution. However, just after that, no straddle was noticed anymore unt...

Hello Mr. Angel, thanks for this very interesting analysis. Your friend writes: "...By 0900 the enemy’s fire which had been at the rate of 1 - 1.5 salvos per minute..." It may look as a slow RoF for Bismarck, but IMHO we have to keep in mind that only A and B turret were bearing (in addit...

An analysis of RODNEY's gunnery experience versus BISMARCK on 27 May 1941 provided to me by a friend some years ago: HMS RODNEY GUNNERY ACTION vs BISMARCK Throughout the engagement with Bismarck, which began with Rodney’s first salvo at 08.47, the conditions were very trying for visual observation. ...

... > On the subject of RPC for battleship main battery guns: Bismarck was completed with RPC in elevation; the four war-built US IOWA Class ships had RPC in both elevation and train: IIRC RICHELIEU had RPC. The post-war VANGUARD was the first British battleship to be fitted with main battery RPC. ...

Rodney's FC gear was ~15 years behind KGV's. Rodney was not fitted with cross leveling gear or TIC gear at the time of the action, according to Admiralty comments as part of Rodney's GAR for 27 May. Please re-read my post, dunmunro. My remarks were specifically directed toward RODNEY alone. While o...

Hallo Dummunro, I doubt that Rodney and KGV would shoot very accurately while maneuvering. Did the AFCT get continuous inputs and thus provided continuous firing solution (like on the German C38 or the US Mark 37 FCS), or had it to be fed with data for every new calculation, i.e. were results gener...

Which book does the best job of telling us what's wrong with our bloody ships today? Hi OP, I highly recommend "Battle of Jutland" by John Brooks. Go here for details - https://www.amazon.com/Battle-Jutland-Cambridge-Military-Histories/dp/1107150140 This topic was very recently discussed ...

And I guess no one wants to talk about the remnants of the Imperial Japanese Fleet stashed about various places in the Inland Sea in the summer 1945 . . . sitting ducks for TF-38 strikes, though they, the TF-38 staff, thought it a monumental waste of resources. Absolutely fair comment. We can also ...

Just posted two days ago. Go to “Armoured Carriers” YouTube channel to listen to recorded voice testimony from the three HOOD survivors.

Byron

If i remember correctly, there was a detailed discussion on the Messkette in the Marinearchivforum some months ago. ... Aufschlagmessgerät.jpg The "Aufschlagmessgerät" appears from description as a switchable second zoomed A-scope . That means it shows only a section of approximately 1000...

Double post .....

Re Fire Control Tables, IIRC - RODNEY - AFCT Mk I KING GEORGE V - AFCT Mk V Byron KGV class had a Mk IX AFCT. They also had fully stabilized director sights and RFs along with superior cross leveling gear, not to mention Type 284 and Type 279 radar. You are correct as to Fire Control Table, dunmunr...

Re Fire Control Tables, IIRC - RODNEY - AFCT Mk I KING GEORGE V - AFCT Mk V Byron KGV class had a Mk IX AFCT. They also had fully stabilized director sights and RFs along with superior cross leveling gear, not to mention Type 284 and Type 279 radar. You are correct as to Fire Control Table, dunmunr...