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For general reference - THE CAPABILITIES AND LIMITATIONS OF SHIPBORNE RADAR CHAPTER IV - Limitations Imposed on Radar by External Factors - C. WEATHER https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ref/RADONEA/COMINCH-P-08-04.html CHAPTER V - Limitations Inherent in Radar Equipment https://www.ibiblio.org/hyp...

Hello Byron, thanks for your data, confirming that 284 (in 1941 version) was considered able to reliably and profitably track enemy at no more than around 20.000 yards (max). The point here is not 284 technical capability to detect (under exceptional / occasional conditions) an echo over 20.000 yar...

See CB4182/45 - RADAR MANUAL (Use of Radar) Low Angle Gunnery - RDF Type 284M – Power = 150Kw . Introduced into service January 1942. BB (aerial ASF @ 100ft) versus BB target: 30,000 yards (reliable) 32,000 yards (maximum) >>> Range varies approximately as fourth root of power and square root of aer...

Hello all, "...as each new radar range was noted, it would be transmitted to the AFCT, ..." This is possibly not the case. KGV GAR, chapter "Ratekeeping", explains that, on two other instances, either radar ranges were not reflected into plot because AFCT operators did not trust...

I came across some interesting entries in the below-referenced publication, which I pass along for possible interest – https://archive.org/details/navalattachesrep41915unit/page/n177/mode/2up?q=sinking+of+bismarck NAVAL ATTACHE’S REPORTS O. N. I. April 1915 NWC ARCHIVES – ARCHIVE OF THE U.S. NAVAL W...

[q]Rodney was not astern of KGV and their range to Bismarck at open fire was very similar, the difference at 0847( Rodney) and 0848 (KGV) was about +4% of KGV's range for Rodney. Of course there's a lot of minor variations in the data so putting it all together has a large margin of error. Rodney op...

Firstly, dunmunro is correct in that, at the moment of opening fire, RODNEY and KGV were in Line Abreast at 1600 yards interval (per the reproduced tactical track chart in the below-mentioned book. The data in the post below has been excerpted from the following book – ON HIS MAJESTY’S SERVICE Obser...

The RF range obtained just before open fire was, in fact, quite accurate. and it agreed with KGV's radar range, although it would probably still been about 500 yds short, given Rodney's position relative to KGV. 0843 entry in the "16-inch Narrative" - 0843. Bismarck was sighted by “Rodney...

Hi Byron, thanks for posting transcript of the 16" narrative. I now realize that there are large discrepancies between this narrative and Rodney's Salvo Plot from the T.S. (Enclosure N.1 to 456/G). E.g., in this latter, salvo 21 did not straddle (22 did) and no further straddle has been highli...

Hello Byron, consistent straddling between salvo 18 and 22 (4 out of 5 consecutive salvoes straddling in 3 minutes from 09:00 till 09:03, while ship was sailing a straight course 85°) are IMHO good sign of quite accurate firing solution. However, just after that, no straddle was noticed anymore unt...

Hello Mr. Angel, thanks for this very interesting analysis. Your friend writes: "...By 0900 the enemy’s fire which had been at the rate of 1 - 1.5 salvos per minute..." It may look as a slow RoF for Bismarck, but IMHO we have to keep in mind that only A and B turret were bearing (in addit...

An analysis of RODNEY's gunnery experience versus BISMARCK on 27 May 1941 provided to me by a friend some years ago: HMS RODNEY GUNNERY ACTION vs BISMARCK Throughout the engagement with Bismarck, which began with Rodney’s first salvo at 08.47, the conditions were very trying for visual observation. ...

... > On the subject of RPC for battleship main battery guns: Bismarck was completed with RPC in elevation; the four war-built US IOWA Class ships had RPC in both elevation and train: IIRC RICHELIEU had RPC. The post-war VANGUARD was the first British battleship to be fitted with main battery RPC. ...

Rodney's FC gear was ~15 years behind KGV's. Rodney was not fitted with cross leveling gear or TIC gear at the time of the action, according to Admiralty comments as part of Rodney's GAR for 27 May. Please re-read my post, dunmunro. My remarks were specifically directed toward RODNEY alone. While o...

Hallo Dummunro, I doubt that Rodney and KGV would shoot very accurately while maneuvering. Did the AFCT get continuous inputs and thus provided continuous firing solution (like on the German C38 or the US Mark 37 FCS), or had it to be fed with data for every new calculation, i.e. were results gener...