Naval Gun droop.

[duncan99210]

The fire control tables were computers but they were analog not digital. Each of the factors in old in aiming the guns (range, temperature, wind speed etc) were reduced to a set of cogs and cams: as you turned the control knobs, this moved the works and reduced all the inputs to 2 outputs, azimuth and elevation. That was relayed to each gun in the form of indicator dials which the gun layers used to aim the guns.
Sounds simple, but because the ship and the target were moving, it required constant updating into the table, which in turn required constant updating of the actual position of the gun right up until the moment of firing. The German tables were of slightly better quality, their training was also slightly better and their gun ranges longer: hence the higher rate of hits by them on RN ships.
I can remember being shown how RA gunners laid their guns in the early 80’s, using circular slide rules to work out elevation and azimuth as well as the correct charges to use for a particular range. It took a number of people working together to do the sums to pass the the gunners. I understand it’s all automated these days....

 

[fisherman]

Apparently, the Carronade worked best if you could get behind the stern of the enemy ship and fire it through the captain's windows. An admiral's windows would be even better. If done properly, the shot would sweep through the length of the cleared gun decks taking out most or all of the gun crews.

Bit like an incident in Lowestoft. I saw a pic of a row of terraced houses, on close examination they looked a bit 'crook'. During WW1 Lowestoft was shelled, and one round had entered the row at the end, hit the floor half way along, bounced up and stopped under the bed in number 17, without detonating. My friend rather hoped there was a 'tink' sound as it stopped.

 

[JumbleDuck]

You should see how they cleaned the heads!

Presumably - if the rumours at every school I ever went to about the next one up were true - by the Big Sailors flushing your head down the heads on your birthday.

 

[Poignard]

Presumably - if the rumours at every school I ever went to about the next one up were true - by the Big Sailors flushing your head down the heads on your birthday.

Not true. But anyone who did not keep himself clean (a 'crab') was liable to get some rough treatment.

I suppose that would be classed as bullying nowadays.

 

[Stemar]

Must have been hell on the receiving end!

And only a little better inside the turrets, I should think. Am I right in thinking that the blast from firing a full broadside meant that no crew could be on deck?

 

[Whitlock]

And only a little better inside the turrets, I should think. Am I right in thinking that the blast from firing a full broadside meant that no crew could be on deck?

In theory and the gun crew had to wear anti flash protection.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

And only a little better inside the turrets, I should think. Am I right in thinking that the blast from firing a full broadside meant that no crew could be on deck?

In the early days of dreadnaughts, they avoided super-firing turrets because of the potential that the blast from the upper guns might damage the lower turret. I presume better armour allowed super-firing. There are some pretty impressive photos of battleships firing their main guns that show the sea being flattened by the blast over large areas.

The blast is the combination of the shockwave from the supersonic projectile and the gases (also supersonic) released from the barrel.

 

[fisherman]

Gun facts
Definitions and Information about Naval Guns - NavWeaps

 

[Alicatt]

My solicitor invited my wife and myself for a day out at the fort in Naarden in the Netherlands, part of it was a demo of the gun firing drill, there is much more to it than in this short clip.
From how they tested the power of the powder with a small charge and a vertically firing gun to see how far up a pole they could get the shot and from that they could work out how much of that batch of powder to use in the main guns to achieve what they wanted.

I too recommend Drachinifel's channel, I found it when looking for info on steam boilers, there are also some good naval instruction videos on how the firing solution computers work and their internal analogue computers. The first one I seen was at the Hartlepool BSAC diving club hut at Hartlepool harbour, an impressive hunk of brass!
Drachinifel

Found it: internal mechanisms of the firing solution computer

 

[wombat88]

Did a bit of a search on HMS Vanguard. 5.9 inch the re-use of her 'pre atomic steel' got me googling

 

[Blue Sunray]

The presenter is not the best, but if you can stick with him a pretty good overview of Battleship fire control:

 

[fisherman]

Bit like an incident in Lowestoft. I saw a pic of a row of terraced houses, on close examination they looked a bit 'crook'. During WW1 Lowestoft was shelled, and one round had entered the row at the end, hit the floor half way along, bounced up and stopped under the bed in number 17, without detonating. My friend rather hoped there was a 'tink' sound as it stopped.

There is a postcard about it...
german shell kent roAd lowestoft - Google Search

 

[Alicatt]

Night Diving in Wick Bay off the north shore we came across a group of 3 16" shells amongst other ammunition in about 18m of water close to the shore, they looked huge under the water in the torch light.
Next day we reported it and later that year the RN divers came along and cleared as much as they could then blew the lot up, HUGE dirty brown column of water went almost 100m in the air and fairly rattled the windows.
Now there is a restriction on diving in the bay as too many people have been bringing up ammo from the SS Isleford that sank there in 1942
ISLEFORD

 

[zoidberg]

Apropos 4.5" guns, I can advise that the 'Leander' trials-frigate 'HMS Penelope' had the 4.5 removed. That left a quite large round space which was immediately forward of the Wardroom. An opening was made, and the round space equipped with about the most sophisticated sound-system the navy could cadge, and the 'round space' became a dance floor/disco for use during Goodwill Visits.

The 'radar tracking up the wire' issue frst came to light during early trials of the Rapier missile system at the Benbecula range, in the early 70s. This weapon was designed as a 'hit-ile' , the towed Rushton targets were on the end of a ( reeled ) wire up to 48,000 feet long, and no-one expected that the radar would acquire and lock-up the hand-made Luneberg lens-equipped Rushton at over 12 miles..... and shortly thereafter start tracking up the wire, on the front end of which were US inside a TT18 Canberra.

Many years later I became friends with the fellow who was Rapier Head of Test at the time. He told me that the Range Safety Officer that day was very sharp and spotted the readout of 'range to target' to be decreasing much faster than our Canberra was flying/towing, and also figured out what was going on. My friend the Head of Test - a bloody-minded sort - told me he would have been quite at ease with letting the test progress to its 'conclusion', for it certainly proved the radar system's performance was hugely better than the Mil. Spec. called for..... and the RAF had plenty of Canberras.

Speaking of which, the B(I)8, and the South African variant the B(I)12, came with a conformal gun-pack fitted into the bomb-bay which mounted 4 x 20mm Hispano cannons. The South Africans modified some of the gun-pack shells and fitted an array of cameras in the large space that provided, for long-range reconnaisance.