Zarro
Member
Very interesting, all about the Dreadnaughts in the First World War but rather surprising to hear an historian saying that Hitler's ships were better at gunnery! I had never realised he was in charge during that war!!
I think that is what he should have said but it sounded like Hitler. A Freudian slip?
If one reads about the battle of Jutland neither side comes out too well but on balance it might just have been a win for the Germans.
In WWII Hitler's cruisers and the 2 battleships were said to have more accurate radar guided gunnery, - see HMS Hood - but it didn't help Bismark much against the RN's response of plastering with 15" shells from battleships and 6" from cruisers all around, with air dominance and torpedos.
Air power sorted out the Tirpitz and many other things in other theatres but we still have berks on here saying we don't need aircraft carriers...![]()
Think Hood's demise, was due to 'ready' ammunition aft exploding, as well as design deficiencies particularly armour.
PS, what Battleships, are we going to fight with our new carriers?
The Hood's demise is thought to have been via ' plunging shot ' dropping vertically through the thinly armoured deck straight onto a magazine, a known problem even in Nelson's day.
Seeing as a battleship's guns have a range of around 15 miles, and a carrier's aircraft with bombs and anti-ship missiles have a range of aound 400 miles +, my money would be on the carrier which anyway has escorts with missiles good for 40 miles +.
Nobody anywhere operates battleships any more, but carriers are increasingly popular, for example Russia, China and India are building big ones as fast as they can...
And realistically a fleet on fleet action involving us is very unlikely. Russia and China would be the most likely candidates and I can't see them ( or us) wanting to risk that. Most likely it will be a case of using the aircraft to strike land based targets or to enforce no fly zones or embargoes. Far safer than having a permanent air base in a neighbouring country where there is every chance of sympathisers being around who could take action either against the airbase of against the personnel when they were vulnerable. Harder for sympathisers to strike a ship 100 miles out to sea.
Very interesting, all about the Dreadnaughts in the First World War but rather surprising to hear an historian saying that Hitler's ships were better at gunnery! I had never realised he was in charge during that war!!
Jac,
I presume you have read ' The fleet that had to die ' about the pre- WW1 Russians trundling halfway around the world, shooting up the British fishing fleet at Dogger Bank, then being virtually instantly anhialated for their troubles by the Japanese ?...
If one reads about the battle of Jutland neither side comes out too well but on balance it might just have been a win for the Germans.
jac,
it's a long time since I read that book, but I have the impression the Russians had Dreadnought class ships, they simply cocked up support - ie coal - and every level of command !
T
... but carriers are increasingly popular, for example Russia, China and India are building big ones as fast as they can...
As already mentioned above both the Japanese and Russian fleets consisted of pre-dreadnoughts at the battle of Tsushima. It was because of this battle that the Royal Navy became convinced that all big guns was the way to go and so lead to HMS Dreadnought being launched as such the following year.jac,
it's a long time since I read that book, but I have the impression the Russians had Dreadnought class ships, they simply cocked up support - ie coal - and every level of command !