Naval History Forums

G . F . = " Dear Lady Wife "

Thats it then , mystery solved . Thanks everyone !

Thanks Marcelo .
Ive been having a look at some pictures of British pre-dreadnoughts and cruisers , and several of those show shapes hanging in similar positions , so it looks like this was a pretty universal thing at the time .

I can see the need to signal/indicate to the next astern , as his bows are only 2 to 3 shiplengths behind your stern . At 20 knots or so that doesn't give you time to see the one in front actually begin to swing , before you give your own helm order , especially in a ponderous battleship . If you go...

Sorry for the "essay" length ! I'm an old man , and I do chunter on . An interesting candidate for the prize for WORST AA gun of the war might be the twin 8 inch , as fitted in all the County class cruisers , including Norfolk and Suffolk , and the later mini two , Exeter and York . Those ...

Such a pity Antony Quinn is no longer with us - Sir Robert Arbuthnot ?

And surely Brian Blessed would be Beatty ?

The difficulty is going to be that , cinematically , Grey warships , in a grey mist , on a grey sea , vomiting grey funnel smoke everywhere is going to be a bit Non-gripping as a spectacle . And if portrayed correctly in detail , very confusing for the non-buff , ....... unless we fall back on that ...

Thanks Terje , Yes they are the ones ! But ........ Rudder position indicators ..... why would anyone want to glance up and see ? Who , and in connection with what tasks ? Fore and aft deck crews during mooring ? ..... but why ? On the conning and control positions you would use a "telegraph&qu...

Hi Wolflen , you came to the right place , there are people in here who could give the Admiraltys a run for their money , believe me !

How can we help you ? What would you like to know ?

With regard to the British Pom-Pom , this weapon had a very long history , starting life among the first of the machine guns in the late 1890s. You are all familiar with the classic Maxim machine gun with the cylyndrical water jacket around the barrel , and its Vickers 1912, Maxim "Spandau"...

I'm seeing nothing here about the British twin 4 inch . Developed well before WW2 started , it was used throughout , and thought good enough to equip the " Bay " class AA figates at the war's end , lasting in at least one case until December 1961 , when HMS St Brides Bay returned to the UK...

I think the best place to start looking would be in the Ship Plans Department of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich . Before David Mearns did his TV sponsored expedition to Hood and Bismark I went down there to do some research ( basically I was going to reconoitre to see what they actually h...

This business about the desirability of using smaller , faster shooting guns goes right back into the pre and intermediate dreadnought era . The two pre-dreadnoughts Swiftsure and Triumph were bought by the Royal Navy prior to WW1 , while being completed for a South American Navy in their British bu...

Arnold Schwartzenegger as Admiral Franz von Hipper . Sher as his Gnadige Frau . Oh Dear God , ..................

Until recently the problem with making Naval films was that the ships were not available and later substitutes ( as used in Battle of the River Plate ) looked "wrong" Models rarely looked completely convincing ( I think Tora Tora Tora is a superb exception to that ) While "mocked up&q...