Search found 20 matches

by SteveSmith
Sat Aug 19, 2023 8:18 pm
Forum: Books and Reference
Topic: New Book: Armor of the Iowa-Class Battleships
Replies: 2
Views: 1201

Re: New Book: Armor of the Iowa-Class Battleships

The author posted on SN that due to a printer problem of some kind, the book will only be available from LULU.COM and from museum bookstores. https://www.lulu.com/shop/john-miano/armor-of-the-iowa-class-battleships/hardcover/product-jr9wkg.html I called the author for explanation. He said he uses tw...
by SteveSmith
Sun Jul 09, 2023 4:18 am
Forum: Books and Reference
Topic: New Book: Armor of the Iowa-Class Battleships
Replies: 2
Views: 1201

New Book: Armor of the Iowa-Class Battleships

The second volume in J. Miano's series on the Iowa-class battleships out: Armor of the Iowa-class Battleships. I got mine from Lulu.com. The author says those have the best print quality. The book has just appeared on Amazon as well but those use a different printer. The book is nearly 400 pages dev...
by SteveSmith
Sun Jul 09, 2023 4:00 am
Forum: Hypothetical Naval Scenarios
Topic: Scharnhorst vs Alaska
Replies: 34
Views: 10146

Re: Scharnhorst vs Alaska

Scharnhorsts were very definitely battlecruiser since, while they were armored like battleships, they lacked the armament to harm battleships. German and British battlecruisers had specific design attributes that separated them from battleships. One such attribute is that German battleships had thr...
by SteveSmith
Sun Jan 29, 2023 12:07 am
Forum: Books and Reference
Topic: Anatomy of the Ship Iowa/Stefan Draminski
Replies: 28
Views: 10133

Re: Anatomy of the Ship Iowa/Stefan Draminski

First, I am very familiar with (some of the) AOTS books. So I agree, I'd expect to see mostly the interior. And I am not implying the criticism is / wasn't legitimate. But that is no reason (and I see none here so far) to be be rude / downright nasty (as some of the boys at that pit of vipers Steel...
by SteveSmith
Sat May 07, 2022 6:48 pm
Forum: Buy, Sell and Trade
Topic: Bismarck Fire Control Systems
Replies: 1
Views: 1692

Bismarck Fire Control Systems

Are there any good descriptions of Bismarck's fire control systems? I have always been puzzled by Bismarck's poor performance in its final engagement. My puzzlement is enhanced by my knowledge of contemporary American battleships whose fire control systems were designed to fight this kind of battle....
by SteveSmith
Sun Mar 27, 2022 4:33 pm
Forum: Naval History in General
Topic: Are the Iowas Battlecruisers?
Replies: 23
Views: 4510

Re: Are the Iowas Battlecruisers?

We are getting into the problem of tabular comparison of armor protection. If you look at the actual structure of a battleship's protective scheme, things can get pretty complicated. The are a lot of structural issues in addition to the armor as well as the issue of armor placement. On WIKIPEDIA, th...
by SteveSmith
Wed Mar 23, 2022 3:47 pm
Forum: Naval History in General
Topic: Are the Iowas Battlecruisers?
Replies: 23
Views: 4510

Re: Are the Iowas Battlecruisers?

Two situations where the big guns would come into play. The thought was a battlecruiser could outrun anything it could not outfight. Imagine a shore bombardment. You send your battlecruisers out to shell an enemy coastal city. You want big guns for that and you want to be able to run away when oppos...
by SteveSmith
Wed Mar 23, 2022 1:20 am
Forum: Naval History in General
Topic: Are the Iowas Battlecruisers?
Replies: 23
Views: 4510

Re: Are the Iowas Battlecruisers?

What are the attributes of battlecruiser? I think you have to start with what is a battleship? 1. Has the largest caliber gun 2. Well-armored, generally to the point of protection against its own guns. Usually, with a clearly defined immunity zone. 3. Designed to operate in a battle line A battlecru...
by SteveSmith
Mon Mar 21, 2022 4:57 pm
Forum: Naval History in General
Topic: Greatest admiral of all time
Replies: 219
Views: 214461

Re: Greatest admiral of all time

A top admiral's list and neither Themistocles nor Agrippa are on it?????????
by SteveSmith
Mon Mar 21, 2022 4:49 pm
Forum: Naval History in General
Topic: Are the Iowas Battlecruisers?
Replies: 23
Views: 4510

Re: Are the Iowas Battlecruisers?

The flaw in the proposition is that Battlecruisers and Battleships were significantly different structurally. British battleships had one more deck than battlecruisers. German battlecruisers had four shafts while battleships had three. In the case of the US there is little compare with on the battle...
by SteveSmith
Fri Jan 21, 2022 6:13 pm
Forum: Hypothetical Naval Scenarios
Topic: Scharnhorst vs Alaska
Replies: 34
Views: 10146

Re: Scharnhorst vs Alaska

The Alaskas made every "heavy cruiser" obsoelete. As gun cruisers go, that's it. Cruiser armaments largely peaked at about 8" during WW I for a variety of factors. There were some exceptions but that covered most of the cruiser range. After WWI, the London treaties limited cruisers t...
by SteveSmith
Sat Jan 15, 2022 12:15 am
Forum: Hypothetical Naval Scenarios
Topic: Scharnhorst vs Alaska
Replies: 34
Views: 10146

Re: Scharnhorst vs Alaska

Every original plan I have found for the Alaska class describe them as "Large Cruiser." The Alaskas did not follow the pattern of battlecruisers, as in the size of a battleship, with guns the size of contemporary battleships, but having a larger power plant, less armor, and higher speed
by SteveSmith
Thu Jan 13, 2022 5:36 am
Forum: Bismarck General Discussion
Topic: Was the battleship Bismarck really the best of its time?
Replies: 220
Views: 60315

Re: Was the battleship Bismarck really the best of its time?

Just some clarifications to the above. For the U.S. Navy, Class A referred to any face hardened armor whether cemented or non-cemented. Class B referred to any homogenous armor. Special Treatment Steel (STS) was a form of Class B armor (unless it was face hardened). While STS was technically Class B...
by SteveSmith
Mon Jan 10, 2022 7:42 am
Forum: Bismarck General Discussion
Topic: Was the battleship Bismarck really the best of its time?
Replies: 220
Views: 60315

This may be heresy but ....

IMHO, by the 30's, face hardened armor was a total waste of money. Look at what happened in the tank world. From the beginning and by happenstance, the allies used capped anti-tank projectiles while the Germans used uncapped. The allies used homogenous armor while the Germans used face hardened armo...
by SteveSmith
Mon Jan 03, 2022 7:50 pm
Forum: Bismarck General Discussion
Topic: Bismarck's TDS so abysmal?
Replies: 16
Views: 4958

Re: Bismarck's TDS so abysmal?

On the Iowas and SODAKs their are four torpedo bulkheads compared to Bismarck's two. The supports on the inner two bulkheads are staggered so that the those for bulkhead no. 3 are at half frame locations. If there were a blast against bulkhead No. 3, there is no bracing to transmit the force directl...