Search found 1224 matches

by paul.mercer
Fri May 26, 2023 9:37 am
Forum: Bismarck General Discussion
Topic: How close was the final battle?
Replies: 256
Views: 2592185

Re: How close was the final battle?

Gentlemen, Surely the rudder issue must come into the question? If a ship cannot steer the course it wants or needs to take during an action then that ship must be at a severe disadvantage - add not being able to use its speed to turn in order to put off the aim of its opponents and that ship is in ...
by paul.mercer
Mon May 22, 2023 8:51 am
Forum: Bismarck General Discussion
Topic: How close was the final battle?
Replies: 256
Views: 2592185

Re: How close was the final battle?

Sorry if this has been asked before. If the bismarcks salvo at 8:50 was a few meters closer, would it have struck the Rodney's fire control and won? The King George was weaker and would be at a disadvantage. Was all of history decided by a few meters? I don't think it was close at all, Bismarck cou...
by paul.mercer
Tue May 09, 2023 8:58 am
Forum: The Ironclad & Pre-dreadnought Era (1860-1905)
Topic: Fire Control of Pre-Dreadnoughts
Replies: 43
Views: 5821

Re: Fire Control of Pre-Dreadnoughts

Thanks Byron, Re the pic - WOW! As for reloading taking 6 minutes, an enemy ship travelling at around 20 knots would be roughly 2 miles further on by the time a second shot was fired, I'm not surprised that they didn't hit each other very often. It makes me wonder what it was like at Trafalgar with ...
by paul.mercer
Mon May 08, 2023 9:23 am
Forum: The Ironclad & Pre-dreadnought Era (1860-1905)
Topic: Fire Control of Pre-Dreadnoughts
Replies: 43
Views: 5821

Re: Fire Control of Pre-Dreadnoughts

With all that paraphernalia needed about re-loading, I'm not surprised it took so long - if a 13'5" needed that time to reload, heaven knows what a16" would take! >>>>> In the 1870s, Armstrong-Elswick built eight 17.7-inch 100-ton rifled muzzle-loading guns for the Italian navy - to be mo...
by paul.mercer
Thu May 04, 2023 9:41 am
Forum: The Ironclad & Pre-dreadnought Era (1860-1905)
Topic: Fire Control of Pre-Dreadnoughts
Replies: 43
Views: 5821

Re: Fire Control of Pre-Dreadnoughts

Hello Paul, In fact as Marcelo's diagram makes clear the loading gear is under a deck in this design. However in the so called barbette ships the breech loading gun crews were totally exposed during loading. These ships expected to fight at close range 1-2000 yds max and incoming shells would have ...
by paul.mercer
Wed May 03, 2023 9:29 am
Forum: The Ironclad & Pre-dreadnought Era (1860-1905)
Topic: Fire Control of Pre-Dreadnoughts
Replies: 43
Views: 5821

Re: Fire Control of Pre-Dreadnoughts

Thanks to you both Marcelo and Byron. With all that paraphernalia needed about re-loading, I'm not surprised it took so long - if a 13'5" needed that time to reload, heaven knows what a16" would take! What puzzles me about is the reloading mechanism shown in Marcelo's picture, which looks ...
by paul.mercer
Mon May 01, 2023 9:08 am
Forum: The Ironclad & Pre-dreadnought Era (1860-1905)
Topic: Fire Control of Pre-Dreadnoughts
Replies: 43
Views: 5821

Re: Fire Control of Pre-Dreadnoughts

>>>>> Seeing that you posted this inquiry on my birthday, I will do my best to help. Hi, all. In ships such as HMS Inflexible (1881) who had big ol' 16" (406mm) muzzle loaders as her main armament, and HMS Sovereign (1891) who had 2 twin 13.5" (343mm) guns - how did these ships direct the...
by paul.mercer
Thu Apr 20, 2023 8:22 am
Forum: Naval History (1922-1945)
Topic: imaginary encounter
Replies: 18
Views: 3983

Re: imaginary encounter

Hello Mr. Malara, hit you are referring to is (according to a debatable sequence) hit n.1. It hit in compartments XX and XXI (almost extreme bows), out of protected 'citadel'. It had consequences on BS mission but it was not 'very serious' in itself, because at extreme bow BS had no vital equipment...
by paul.mercer
Wed Apr 19, 2023 8:56 am
Forum: Bismarck General Discussion
Topic: PoW, Bismarck, Vittorio Veneto Torpedo Hits
Replies: 17
Views: 9345

Re: PoW, Bismarck, Vittorio Veneto Torpedo Hits

Has anyone produced an article or pictures on the state of HMS Repulse?
by paul.mercer
Fri Apr 14, 2023 8:40 am
Forum: Hypothetical Naval Scenarios
Topic: Prince of Wales in front
Replies: 32
Views: 9966

Re: Prince of Wales in front

Hi Byron. I think that manoeuvre would have been highly dangerous for both ships, particularly when Hood overtakes PoW as Bismarck's gunners will have (for a short time) two ships fairly close together to shoot at with any 'Overs' on the first ship possibly hitting the other one, also would PoW maki...
by paul.mercer
Wed Apr 12, 2023 8:56 am
Forum: Hypothetical Naval Scenarios
Topic: Prince of Wales in front
Replies: 32
Views: 9966

Re: Prince of Wales in front

Gentlemen,
Going back to the original question about putting PoW in front of Hood, it would have been interesting to see if history would have been changed!
by paul.mercer
Wed Apr 12, 2023 8:51 am
Forum: Naval History (1922-1945)
Topic: imaginary encounter
Replies: 18
Views: 3983

Re: imaginary encounter

Interesting that 14"/50 is considered of no consequence against Bismarck, and yet PoW seems to have done damage of consequence with fewer, less powerful guns. Wasn´t the impact of PoW on Bismarck in an unprotected area? Regards Hi Marcelo, I think it would be difficult to tell exactly what imp...
by paul.mercer
Wed Apr 12, 2023 8:41 am
Forum: The Age of Sail (1571-1860)
Topic: Spanish artillery in the age of sail
Replies: 37
Views: 3508

Re: Spanish artillery in the age of sail

I've read that the Armada sailed with cannons in field livery, full-sized wheels and limbers. Is this factually correct? Do you mean the 1588 Armada? Don´t know for sure, but they may be intended for the land campaign to follow. I believe that they did, there have been several programs over the yea...
by paul.mercer
Tue Apr 11, 2023 9:21 am
Forum: The Age of Sail (1571-1860)
Topic: Spanish artillery in the age of sail
Replies: 37
Views: 3508

Re: Spanish artillery in the age of sail

Gentlemen, A very interesting discussion. What does puzzle me is why they bothered to fit a flintlock firing mechanism at all, surely in the heat of battle a small amount of powder around the touch hole and fires with a lighted taper would be much faster, particularly when all the business of spongi...
by paul.mercer
Sun Apr 02, 2023 9:01 am
Forum: Hypothetical Naval Scenarios
Topic: Prince of Wales in front
Replies: 32
Views: 9966

Re: Prince of Wales in front

Thanks for that Hans,
You are probably correct in your reasoning, for all her faults, Rodney was still a very powerful ship, although I do wonder if Lutyens, having 'seen off' one KG class battleship, decided that Rodney was a far more dangerous proposition and opened up on her first?