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by Vic Dale
Sat Jul 12, 2008 1:40 pm
Forum: Bismarck General Discussion
Topic: Bismarck speed during last battle
Replies: 260
Views: 34130

Re: BS speed - last battle

Hi Dougie. Bill Jurens makes precicely this point and I too agree that longer range plunging fire would cause more damage, but survivors reports tell us that the fragments from bursting shells at all ranges were contained betwen the two layers of armour and the main citadel was not pentrated in this...
by Vic Dale
Sat Jul 12, 2008 12:57 pm
Forum: Bismarck General Discussion
Topic: Marschall instead of Lutjens
Replies: 179
Views: 40117

Re: Marschall instead of Lutjens

Hi to all. I don't suppose Marschall would have done anything greatly different to Lutjens during the operation. Bismarck was not lost through any incapacity on Lutjens' part, but by a determination by the British to get at her regardless of the risks to which convoys and other operations were put i...
by Vic Dale
Sat Jul 12, 2008 11:47 am
Forum: Bismarck General Discussion
Topic: Bismarck speed during last battle
Replies: 260
Views: 34130

Re: BS speed - last battle

Hi to all. Gunfire did not sink the Bismarck and neither did torpedoes. The ship was scuttled. Inspection of the wreck confirms that the belt armour was only penetrated in a couple of places so flooding would have been localised and contained by damage control measures. None of the machinery spaces ...
by Vic Dale
Fri Jul 11, 2008 11:52 pm
Forum: Bismarck General Discussion
Topic: Smoke on NH 69731
Replies: 22
Views: 19043

Re: Smoke on NH 69731

Hi to all. we are getting more heat than light here. !. PoW hauled out of line to starboard to avoid Hood's wreckage This will have been an immediate reaction, but battlehships do not react as quickly as men and given the speed at which the base of the smoke cloud expanded outwards, (see Barham's fu...
by Vic Dale
Fri Jul 11, 2008 9:02 pm
Forum: Bismarck General Discussion
Topic: Hood's Last Trick
Replies: 19
Views: 5799

Re: Hood's Last Trick

Hi to all. GHG worked perfectly well and managed to alert Lutjens of ships long before even their smoke was visible. I think we have to be very clear that when a ship is in battle with enemy units in the close proximity, that sound warnings have to be taken seriously for the threat which they MIGHT ...
by Vic Dale
Thu Jul 10, 2008 3:44 pm
Forum: Bismarck General Discussion
Topic: Hood's Last Trick
Replies: 19
Views: 5799

Re: Hood's Last Trick

Hi to all. Battery powered low-power generators and DC voltage converters will have automatically swithed to battery power so as to provide continuous, uninterrupted current supply for radio receivers and transmitters and possibly radar installations. Uninterrrupted supply is possible during the cha...
by Vic Dale
Wed Jul 09, 2008 4:46 pm
Forum: Bismarck General Discussion
Topic: Hood's Last Trick
Replies: 19
Views: 5799

Re: Hood's Last Trick

Hi To All. At 0555, Holland ordered a turn to port of 20 degrees and though it was presumably intended to open the after 'A'-arcs, it did not do so in PoW until the salvo fired at 0557:50, which is quite a long time. Hood was firing at Prinz Eugen - 3000m ahead of Bismarck, so it is unlikely that Ho...
by Vic Dale
Tue Jul 08, 2008 6:01 pm
Forum: Bismarck General Discussion
Topic: Smoke on NH 69731
Replies: 22
Views: 19043

Re: Smoke on NH 69731

Hi to all. Take a close look at this photo and you will clearly see Prinz Eugen's guard rails square-on to the image. That has to mean that it is before 0604 since Prinz Eugen turned away at 0603:45 and filming was moved to the other side of the ship where Bismarck could be seen out on the quarter. ...
by Vic Dale
Tue Jul 08, 2008 2:13 pm
Forum: Bismarck General Discussion
Topic: Photo Nh 69730 evaluation
Replies: 47
Views: 14215

Re: Photo Nh 69730 evaluation

Criticism has been made of Holland for not dividing Hood's fire between Prinz Eugen and Bismarck, after the turn at 0555 which eventually opened "A" arcs aft. Vic I am not clear why Hood should divide her fire between a battleship (the primary target) and a cruiser (a minor target in comp...
by Vic Dale
Tue Jul 08, 2008 1:53 pm
Forum: Bismarck General Discussion
Topic: Photo Nh 69730 evaluation
Replies: 47
Views: 14215

Re: Photo Nh 69730 evaluation

Consider, if the guns remained trained on empty space and Suffolk HAD come into the fray and launched an attack, there would have been some heated questioning as to why the forward guns had not sought her out. Vic But such an attack would take some time to develop, giving adequate time for response...
by Vic Dale
Tue Jul 08, 2008 7:20 am
Forum: Bismarck General Discussion
Topic: Photo Nh 69730 evaluation
Replies: 47
Views: 14215

Re: Photo Nh 69730 evaluation

Fire was not directed at Suffolk. That is a matter of history. It doesn't however mean that guns were not trained on the cruiser and observations taken with a view to engaging her should she have come close. Mullenhein Rechbberg was using exactly the type of director I have described - the persicope...
by Vic Dale
Mon Jul 07, 2008 11:15 pm
Forum: Bismarck General Discussion
Topic: Photo Nh 69730 evaluation
Replies: 47
Views: 14215

Re: Photo Nh 69730 evaluation

Hi Bgile You have completely missed my point. I said the optics used in naval gunnery could put a spot on the base of the funnel or align masts vertically to show that the fall of shot could be observed as a comparison to the huge white shrouds 200 feet high mark where shot has fallen.. The forward ...
by Vic Dale
Mon Jul 07, 2008 9:15 pm
Forum: Bismarck General Discussion
Topic: Photo Nh 69730 evaluation
Replies: 47
Views: 14215

Re: Photo Nh 69730 evaluation

Vic, You still haven't dealt with the fact that MR never took control of A&B turrets to fire on Suffolk. That would have been necessary. The forward position was controlling the secondary armament and the foretop was shooting at PoW, so MR's position would have to take control of whatever guns ...
by Vic Dale
Mon Jul 07, 2008 6:45 pm
Forum: Bismarck General Discussion
Topic: Photo Nh 69730 evaluation
Replies: 47
Views: 14215

Re: Photo Nh 69730 evaluation

I disagree with the idea that A&B turrets would engage Suffolk at 27,000 yds if they were temporarily wooded, especially since it was a temporary turn away on the part of Bismarck. Furthermore, the Baron would have mentioned it in his book since he was tasked with observing the British cruisers...
by Vic Dale
Mon Jul 07, 2008 4:16 pm
Forum: Bismarck General Discussion
Topic: Photo Nh 69730 evaluation
Replies: 47
Views: 14215

Re: Photo Nh 69730 evaluation

Hi to all. Firstly this photo of Bismarck with her guns mis-aligned is NOT from the after port heavy flak, but the starboard middle flak. Look at the guard rails beside the mounting. They are of the wire type, whereas the rails around the raised sponsons fore and aft are fixed rigid rails. The odd c...