alecsandros wrote:dunmunro wrote:
There are certainly differences in detail, but both systems provide a vertical reference point so that gun orders are computed with reference to the vertical.
But in the RN battleships, until Vanguard, the firing solution was not
automaticaly executed. We have talked about it less than 1 week ago.
And this is what I was talking about: automation of the turret training/ gun elevation.
My bad about Bismarck's rate of gun elevation.
Yes, but as we have discussed, a well trained turret crew using a follow the pointer system, such as this:
http://www.godfreydykes.info/Directors% ... t%20IV.pdf,
can achieve the same results by keeping their pointers matched. Even the KM system only provided automation in one axis as did Vanguard, so in the KM and Vanguard a sailor in the turret was keeping a training pointer, similar to the above, matched with the output from the FC computer.
I just reviewed this article, and it has some major problems:
http://www.navweaps.com/index_tech/tech-052.htm
for example stating that range and bearing was transmitted by voice, when every WW2 navy had electrical data transmission for range and bearing.
Some other glaring errors:
All RN ships with a DCT also generated a feed back loop to correct FC range keeping errors and many modern RN DCTs had Remote Power Control driven by the FC computer, just as in the USN.
RN rangefinders in the DCT were "not an afterthought" and the RN invested considerable time and effort in developing effective short base RFs. Testing by the US NRDC showed RN Barr and Stroud rangefinders to be excellent, and they were able to outperform US stereo RFs. NRDC testing showed German optics were not superior to US optics.
PoW scored the first hit on Bismarck at 21000 yds range.
In the 2nd engagement, PoW may have straddled Bismarck at 30,000+ yds, using only her duplex 15ft DCT RF for ranging. Bismarck was unable to effectively reply.
Of course there is no mention of the problems that the USN faced in trying to get their automated gun control systems to work reliably, or the failures that the KM experienced with their systems, nor the robust reliability of the RN's follow the pointer systems.
