Naval History Forums

I´m sure the cordite was ONE of the factors that produced the fatal explosions aboard the British BCs at Jutland. But why the enemy´s projectile got there is what I´m wondering. I heard his two theories: 1. The one that was more widely accepted is that the German projectiles hit the BCs turrets and ...

Jutland was the greatest dreadnought clash. As a matter of fact it was, most probable, the only one into which the original planners and designers of the Grand Fleet and the High Seas Fleet were thinking in the first place. Before it there were only minor encounters and after it the same history. At...

"Nobody can say for sure if Hood´s explosion was caused by a shell exploding in the turret (and the explosion reaching the magazines) or a shell piercing the horizontal armour (and exploding in the magazines itself)" Sorry, I stated the previous point wrong. I wasn´t talking about Hood when stated a...

Jutland. Even if no one had a full victory the consequences were such that, in the end, favored Britain and led Germany to it´s defeat. (WWI was a defeat in that meaning?).
Well, considering it maybe Lepanto, Trafalgar and Midway had the same efect over History and Society.

I saw in a lot of pictures a "clock" pending from the top of the American Battleships. I believe I saw it on the Arizona´s. Years ago, in this same forum, someone explained to me that it was a comunication device to tell the ships tailing the leader where to go and who to shoot at in the middle of t...

So, to conclude: 1. Indeed, the Battlescruiser was an idea of Lord Fisher 2. Their golden era was pre WWI and the WWI 3. The main idea was not to be a scout but to operate as an independent squadron and/or unit to patrol the high seas and defy cruisers, raiders and so forth. 4. Their use at Jutland ...

Indeed it´s difficult to study the military facts as they were. :negative: Last year I bought a book about Operation Citadel called "The Battle of Kursk" (Glantz and House) in which the authors had access to new evidence and documents. To be more specific they had at their disposal the operational s...

Earlier, when referring to Battlescruisers I became confused at the answers I got. :think: So, first things first. What´s a battlecruiser? As far as I know a Battlecruiser is: 1. An idea of Lord Fisher to outgun smaller ships and outrun bigger ships. 2. A ship that is lighter and faster than a battl...

Yep. A year ago I buyed the video of the movie "Midway" with Charlton Heston. If you put it in Spanish when they really say "carriers", referring to aircraft carriers, they say "cargueros" refering to transport ships. And, yes, for them "fighters" are "combatientes" not aircraft. When watching a cha...

James Cameron it´s a first rate filmaker and we owe him his interest in naval history. But, after watching again his documentary, there a lot in it doesn´t feel well. First. The documentary doesn´t explain very well the naval situation by 1941, specially about the inferiority of the Kriegmarine comp...

I do not agree that EVERYTHING about the Bismarck is a myth. 1. In Denmark Straits the Bismarck, after blowing he Hood with only five salvoes, was in a very good position and situation to go after Prince of Wales and sink it too. If Norfolk or Suffolk were able to interfere there was always the Prin...

But, as a matter of fact, the USN never listed any of their ships as a Battlecruiser but only as heavy cruisers or battleships. Isn´t it.
Why is it that some consider the very heavy and armored Battleships of the Iowa class as Battlecruisers?

I´ve been wondering, from a while, that the US Navy, the mightiest of the US armed branches from the turn of the 20th century to WWII, never showed interest in a Battlecruiser. Money wasn´t the problem, considering that by 1941 they had BBs, cruisers, destroyers and aircraft carriers. So, it have to...

Sure there have been myths about Bismarck as there are myths about everything, moreover if it´s a war affair. These are all subject to the passions aroused. But Bismarck was a very fine fighting vessel, probably the most advanced for 1941 and it´s Rheinubung cruise was legendary. As a matter of fact...