Search found 200 matches

by RobertsonN
Fri Sep 24, 2021 7:13 pm
Forum: Bismarck General Discussion
Topic: Bismarck range
Replies: 44
Views: 7713

Re: Bismarck range

The usual figures quoted for range at a limited cruising speed were probably most appropriate for peacetime. In wartime oil fuel was often regarded as part of the torpedo defence system. This system was most effective over a fairly limited range of fuel carried, something like with tanks between 70 ...
by RobertsonN
Thu Sep 16, 2021 7:36 pm
Forum: Bismarck General Discussion
Topic: The so-called "GKdos100"
Replies: 12
Views: 4271

Re: The so-called "GKdos100"

As I understand it in Gkdos100 Vol. a the Germans used ballistic data from WW1 for their first 38 cm gun and its 750 kg APC shell. For the penetration calculations they used material available in the late 1930s for the L4.4 series of shells. Because of this the calculations involved a shell that nev...
by RobertsonN
Wed Aug 05, 2020 9:18 pm
Forum: Bismarck General Discussion
Topic: Was the battleship Bismarck really the best of its time?
Replies: 220
Views: 60425

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

Possibly because of greater friction in the barrel due to higher speed the lighter shell will need a slightly higher charge than the heavy one to achieve the same muzzle energy. At the other end of the range spectrum the lighter shell has a longer range, perhaps significantly so. Beyond the range of...
by RobertsonN
Wed Aug 05, 2020 3:07 pm
Forum: Bismarck General Discussion
Topic: Was the battleship Bismarck really the best of its time?
Replies: 220
Views: 60425

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

To complete the last post on the armament side. The German guns were of the lighter shell/higher muzzle velocity type. These had the advantage of a greater danger space at most ranges and they also reduced the benefit of sloped side armor a bit in enemy ships as the obliquity angle was less and pene...
by RobertsonN
Wed Aug 05, 2020 11:40 am
Forum: Bismarck General Discussion
Topic: Was the battleship Bismarck really the best of its time?
Replies: 220
Views: 60425

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

A related question, which is perhaps easier to answer was: Was Bismarck well suited to its design requirements? Each nation had its own requirements and, as others have pointed out more of one characteristic inevitably meant less of another. The weights devoted to each of the following: hull, fuel c...
by RobertsonN
Tue Jul 14, 2020 10:56 am
Forum: Bismarck General Discussion
Topic: Secundary guns turrets
Replies: 26
Views: 26596

Re: Secundary guns turrets

Just an addition to my last post. In Yamato the wing secondary turrets were mounted inboard and had proper barbettes. Their magazines were on two levels, the upper one being above the waterline, not the best of locations, but direct. The inboard location of these turrets greatly reduced the extent o...
by RobertsonN
Mon Jul 13, 2020 6:37 pm
Forum: Bismarck General Discussion
Topic: Secundary guns turrets
Replies: 26
Views: 26596

Re: Secundary guns turrets

The ammunition supply arrangements for the midships and aft secondary turrets in Bismarck were criticized in the AVKS-700 report during the ship's commissioning period. This was on grounds of complication and the relatively high manning requirement. By contrast the fore 5.9 in turrets did have a con...
by RobertsonN
Thu Apr 30, 2020 5:55 pm
Forum: Bismarck General Discussion
Topic: Kriegschiffsbau by H Evers (1943)
Replies: 5
Views: 2266

Re: Kriegschiffsbau by H Evers (1943)

I add this as a separate post as the editing function is not working at the moment.

I missed out a sentence at the end of the first quoted paragraph of the last post. That sentence is:

'To counter this, there must be sufficiently large trim cells in the ship's ends.'

Neil Robertson
by RobertsonN
Thu Apr 30, 2020 2:01 pm
Forum: Bismarck General Discussion
Topic: Kriegschiffsbau by H Evers (1943)
Replies: 5
Views: 2266

Re: Kriegschiffsbau by H Evers (1943)

I quote from Section 4 on p. 288 about equipment for counterflooding. It contains remarks about the loss of Audacious that I have not seen elsewhere: 'The principle of the balancing pipe lies in outer compartments on opposite sides of the ship being connected by a straight pipe of large diameter. Th...
by RobertsonN
Sun Apr 26, 2020 10:02 am
Forum: Bismarck General Discussion
Topic: Kriegschiffsbau by H Evers (1943)
Replies: 5
Views: 2266

Re: Kriegschiffsbau by H Evers (1943)

This book is not just a narrow text on naval architecture. It starts out with a very general overview of the whole naval field. The indispensability of aircraft carriers is accepted for extended naval operations over a wide area. The limitations of then current submarines through having engines depe...
by RobertsonN
Thu Apr 23, 2020 5:52 pm
Forum: Bismarck General Discussion
Topic: W. Hadeler: Kriegschiffsbau
Replies: 1
Views: 1427

W. Hadeler: Kriegschiffsbau

I have today received from Germany a copy of this work by the naval architect published in two volumes in 1968. They have come in only four days from me placing the order. They are in excellent condition. It appears they were once on the training ship Deutschland. The cost was 70 euros + 11 euros po...
by RobertsonN
Wed Apr 22, 2020 10:38 am
Forum: Bismarck General Discussion
Topic: Kriegschiffsbau by H Evers (1943)
Replies: 5
Views: 2266

Re: Kriegschiffsbau by H Evers (1943)

My copy cost 35 euros + 12 euros for postage. This is not much in relation to some out of print books such as Raven and Roberts. There are still a number of copies of this book available. I got this one through a site called Booklooker which I had not heard of,

Neil Robertson
by RobertsonN
Tue Apr 21, 2020 7:26 pm
Forum: Bismarck General Discussion
Topic: Kriegschiffsbau by H Evers (1943)
Replies: 5
Views: 2266

Kriegschiffsbau by H Evers (1943)

This morning a package came probably before I got up. It was from Karlsruhe and contained the copy of this book I ordered the week before last. It is in very good condition for its age. I wonder how many previous owners it has had? It is in what is now normal text and not the Gothic that is often us...
by RobertsonN
Tue Apr 21, 2020 11:48 am
Forum: Bismarck General Discussion
Topic: Comment on Rebuilt US Battleships
Replies: 13
Views: 3033

Re: Comment on Rebuilt US Battleships

I have just received the copy of Kriegschiffsbau by the naval architect H. Evers. Considering it is 77 years old it is in very good condition. The values for the block coefficients given in this book of WW1 British and German ships are often different from the ones Friedmann gives. On the subject of...
by RobertsonN
Tue Apr 21, 2020 12:34 am
Forum: Bismarck General Discussion
Topic: Comment on Rebuilt US Battleships
Replies: 13
Views: 3033

Re: Comment on Rebuilt US Battleships

Yes. For the ships I have mentioned I have used the waterline length at the normal displacement. For some ships the waterline length is not given and so no accurate figure can be calculated. It is also the case that the block coefficient usually changes with draft and so I presume that the stated CB...