...however it has been diverted from its topic, and not by me...Wadinga wrote: "This thread was about technical solutions"
Bye, Alberto
Moderator: Bill Jurens
...however it has been diverted from its topic, and not by me...Wadinga wrote: "This thread was about technical solutions"
Agree.paul.mercer wrote: ↑Fri Mar 19, 2021 10:51 am Hi RF,
That's a very good point although it would seem that after the torpedo hit and Lutyens statement to the crew that moral was not very good and according the the 'Baron' in his book moral was not very good on the bridge either.
Re leaving Rodney behind and KGV taking Bismarck on by herself, I think that the final action made it quite plain that sinking another well armoured battleship with shell fire alone was always going to be very difficult unless one went in the magazine. As Bismarck was unable to steer properly I would think that Bismark would have eventually bee battered into silence by a rain of 14" and either the Cruisers or the Swordfish waiting their chance to attack would have finished the job. even if Bismarck had managed to land a few hits on KGV. Once Bismarck was crippled she was as good as sunk, the RN were pulling in capital ships from everywhere so it was only a matter of time and Lutyens knew it.
Bill Jurens wrote: ↑Fri Mar 19, 2021 11:53 pm Serigo wrote:
"About Bismarck steering problems, It’s obvious that at least one of the rudder was still operational, mean attach to the pope, otherwise the ship wouldn’t have steering problems. So blow it up. Could you please clearify if that’s true because otherwise I don’t know what was the steering problems come from."
I'd have to disagree. The port rudder was likely gone. The starboard rudder was hopelessly jammed in position, and half-missing. So no rudders were operational. Removing the port rudder wasn't necessary. Removing the starboard rudder was impossible, and even if it had been done would then have left the ship rudderless. Rudderless ships are, almost by definition, impossible to steer properly, which is why rudders were installed in the first place.
Bill Jurens
Nobody in their right mind would have tried this sort of operation in a drydock, much less in the open sea with the British in hot pursuit
Not at 9 knots, 15 knots or 5 knots, they are all wishful thinking.The Baron says, when speaking of Junack's testimony,a sequence of telegraph orders could have been done to keep Bismarck pointing towards the French/Spanish coast, at even nine knots
Subsequently when the stop engines order was given, Junack wanted to run the turbines at slow speed to stop them seizing through thermal expansion, he was told "Ach, do as you like!". It is described that Bismarck was stopped and athwart the seas and wind rolling heavily, at various times. Windage on her hull and superstructure, when stopped, probably caused her to drift downwind at 1-2 knots, ie towards France. The Baron implies this cessation of control efforts was around 08:00 ie after many, many hours of trying different telegraph orders.Towards morning, he later said, full power orders gradually stopped coming and the atmosphere in the ship gradually became calmer.
My italicsFrom there on, a serpentine line showed our swerving course to the northwest, into the wind
Slow forward speed, necessary with a 59m beam vessel in the Canal, could not give enough steerage control to counteract this strong wind. The Canal has been blocked for over 24 hours.that the ship “was suspected of being hit by a sudden strong wind, causing the hull to deviate from waterway and accidentally hit the bottom and run aground”