Naval History Forums

Bismarck radio and radar Hallo Wadinga, also long time no see. Just a word. 2,40 meters is not low frquency. It is VHF. The other frequency mentioned by Illrich is 209 MHz, also VHF. A lower frequency is not per sé a low quality wave. Each radar type has been designed to do a specific job. The high...

As I said before, I believe that if China were to attack the US Fleet with nuclear weapons, the US would destroy China with nuclear weapons. The Chinese do not have the capability to reply to such an attack effectively. The US would suffer terrribly and several cities might be destroyed, but China w...

First, I agree with some of what you say about the emergence of China as a great power, but I have the following points to make: Obsolete is a very strong word. Battleships never became obsolete as long as they were capable of defending carriers with their AAA and bombarding shore installations with...

I always thought that the Bismarck was constructed quite well as an armored ship, but that the most serious and deadly construction flaw was in the layout and conceptual plan for adequate antiaircraft defenses of the time. Even at dockside they never shot down an attacking aircraft for certain! Is ...

It's almost impossible to protect a ship against an explostion underneath it. Double or triple bottoms served as protection against grounding and small explosions, but a torpedo size explosion a few meters under a ship would do a lot of damage to the interior. One thing it wouldn't do is effect stab...

Your post says a lot, Ulrich. Nothing I could say would be of much significance after that.

Do we know that the radar above the Bismarck's conning tower was EVER working? Maybe it was "tagged out" due to some other failure beforehand that doesn't appear in the QM log because it didn't result in a major loss of capability. Then when the one on the foretop failed, that was a signif...

The radar that was put out of action was the one forward on top of the main conning tower, and not the one in the foretop. The reason is simple, the foretop is 30 meters over sea-level and the blast of the forward guns doesn't reach that high with force enough to damage it. Do you have documentatio...

Not having the capability of remote pumping of the forward compartments containing fuel has been mentioned. Her AAA was hopelessly deficient but that was in common with most of her contemporaries in 5/41. Lack of a DP secondary has been mentioned but the Japanese had the same failing and the British...

There are many variables that may effect a warships night fighting capabilty, beyond it's equipment. A case in point are the night battles fought between the USN and the IJN in the waters around Guadalcanal. The IJN didn't have radar and the USN did. Moreover, the USN probably had more advanced fir...

I don't know why Tirpitz would be better suited to fight at night than Scharnhorst. Are you aware of anything that would indicate that? As far as I know, the real problem was the big difference in radar technology and number of ships. In what way did the Bismarck do well against the nighttime destro...

George, I understand your feelings w.r.t. the mud slinging. However, some information came to light that I was not aware of during the process, and for that I am thankful. I think there were many individuals who DID butt out, such as myself. You yourself are acerbic at times, but are an interesting ...

While I'm an admirer of the German ships in question, I'm afraid the outcome would have been similar against Tirpitz. IMO the main determining factors here are superior British radar and the large number of ships against just one German. My recollection is that Scharnhorst didn't score even one hit ...

I would present it from the German point of view. I would include the material about the survivors in the bridge area and the incredible trauma they went through during the final engagement. I am not aware of any presentation of the battle from the point of view of the German sailors. People are bec...

Absolutely! I have been on an old diesel submarine on the surface in a big storm, and the stern was the worst. You get the "elevator" feeling going up and down, plus the shaking as the screws sink back into the water as Ulrich mentioned. You do get a bit of a shake as the bow buries itelf,...