Really Dave,
I'm surprised how easily you are persuaded.
We may know the angle at which the Compass platform was struck, and therefore derive the course on which PoW was at that instant, referenced to whichever German ship hit her.
For instance if there was no turn to conform with Hood's last turn, then the instant PoW starts to turn to starboard to avoid the wreck, away from 280T neither German ship can hit her, because the angle is wrong, and this situation continues until the turn to starboard is killed, and a corresponding turn to port is made to go back through 280T, whereupon PoW is already turning to port when the hit is made, temporarily disabling the Compass Platform staff. Superman Leach, despite being being within 3m of a supersonic shockwave generating shell, instantaneously either runs down below or steps to the undamaged voicepipes and gives the order to turn to port. Which is unnecessary.......... as they are already turning to port.
Dang!...... OK lets run that again. This time in Rowell's words
We put the wheel over to starboard to give us a greater clearance from the wreckage and by the time we were abreast of her all that apparently remained were three large sections of the hull which were unrecognisable and themselves slipping into the water.
"only I actually forgot to mention that even though we were steering a 35,000 ton battleship where nothing happens if you put the rudder hard over, for at least 30 seconds, an instant after we turned the wheel to avoid a sinking battlecruiser, we instantly turned the wheel back again so that 50 secs after the battlecruiser blew up we passed through 280T and a shell came in through the window. Then the Captain gave the order.......Except we would be turning port already....."
"We turned hard to starboard, then we turned to port, then we turned hard to starboard again, then we turned to port again so as to steady on 280T when the shell came in the window." In 50 seconds. No really!
Despite the dockyard report being so definite about the Compass Platform hit, with no direct evidence, the HA DCT hit which is said to be from the same salvo has always been "possibly" 8". Does that mean the same is true of the CP hit?
If the HA DCT hit had happened after the CP hit, Woods would have been killed along with the men he was helping, out on the open deck.
All the best
wadinga