Fellow Contributors,
It has been suggested that Admiral Santarini's exhaustive statistical analysis is based on false understanding. Since there is no detail about Bismarck's firing recorded anywhere, his hypotheses are at least as valid as any others, and since he respects the Baron's information, probably much better.
On page 74 and 75 in tables 7 & 8 he advances two hypotheses, one exactly supporting the Baron as eye witness, and one assuming, not unreasonably that those in Bismarck did not know instantaneously after the explosion that Hood was doomed and that therefore they were free to divert their firepower instantaneously to PoW.
Thus 40 shells/rounds/projectiles/chunks of metal fired in 5 minutes (Hypothesis B) or that two more semi-salvoes might be fired at Hood before it was clear a change of target was justified, thus 48 shells/rounds/projectiles/chunks of metal fired in 6 minutes (Hypothesis A). Since Hood had slowed dramatically, causing a clear miss and retrospectively it is clear that 40 shells/rounds/projectiles/chunks of metal had finished her, the Baron could repeat this with confidence whichever actually occurred.
Admiral Santarini then assumes having established this rate of 8 shells/rounds/projectiles/chunks of metal per minute, on pages 76 & 77 Tables 9 & 10 he extends this to consider shells/rounds/projectiles/chunks of metal fired against PoW. Since the target started extreme manoeuvring and Bismarck too, he considers this rate maintained into 06:06 being another 40 shells/rounds/projectiles/chunks of metal fired. Since Bismarck then makes emergency turns to starboard and then back to port, this period only another 5 shells/rounds/projectiles/chunks of metal until stopping firing at 06:09 as Hypothesis A.
Hypothesis A total shells/rounds/projectiles/chunks of metal =93
Hypothesis B total shells/rounds/projectiles/chunks of metal =93
These hypotheses respect the Baron's evidence and avoid the illogical suggestion that rapid firing by Bismarck seen in the film happened at a time when both she and her target were turning at maximum rates and such firing would be a waste of ammunition. It also avoids the tendentious suggestion lying at the heart of the so-called reconstruction that PoW's compass platform was hit 50 seconds after Hood blew up, including the time of flight of the shells/rounds/projectiles/chunks of metal.
The precise (within due tolerances) reconstruction done by Antonio in 2005 has become only now annoying, because it has unveiled all the above.
The gross errors and mistakes in even the earliest reimagining of 2005 were identified at the time, but only when, instead of admitting the mistakes and correcting them, a series of further errors and baseless assertions were made in creating the relative positions of other vessels did things become at all "annoying". Later, the alleging of widespread falsification of records, lying under oath and a cover up of enormous proportions without any supporting evidence, made it clear a giant calumny was being perpetrated, motive to be determined.
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All the best
wadinga