dunmunro wrote:
That's a lot of stuff to go through. In any event the standard displacement calculation on this website should be enough to show the actual differences in weight between KGV, Bismarck, and VV.
Bismarck's TDS was built with the liquid part as an integral, and essential component. The TDS wouldn't work without the ~ 1800 tons of water inside it, so the standard displacement included the water in the TDS. WIthout it, the ship would be around 40.000 tons, or slightly less. (but it is just for theoretical discussions, as the ship could not function without the liquid)
The external armour plate was designed to tear off the false cap of an armour piercing shell while the main armour structure broke up the shell. In tests, the system functioned as designed, when a 381mm projectile was fired from a limiting range of 16,000 meters. The armoured splinter protection bulkheads contained fragments resulting from this projectile, but some shells did manage to penetrate the belt armor system before breaking up. Similar tests indicated that the 70-mm outer plating was sufficient to withstand the effects of the detonation of a 203-mm high-explosive shell.
Who knows ? G. Elder wrote that there were many more tests done, but information about them did not survive or did not surface.
The tests of VV armor array are not easily comparable. My suspicion is that RMB received documentation from Ansaldo and put up their tests using already conceptualized work done by Umberto Pugliese. What is important is that the theory was tested in Italy and in Germany. They arived at similar results*.
British tests did not produce conceptualized work to be cross-referenced with other conceptualized work. So far I've seen examples of tests organized for various thicknesses, shells and distances, but no attempt at a formula to encompass them.
*However, the final practice in building own battleships was different in Germany then in Italy. The Germans used one very thick main plate in front, and one thinner plate (Wh) behind (Bismarck - 320mm KC + 110mm Wh). The Italians did exactly the opposite (80mm homogenous + 280mm KC).