Hood vs. Scharnhorst

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marty1
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Hood vs. Scharnhorst

Post by marty1 »

Just for giggles…hypothetical match up between Hood and Scharnhorst. Who has the edge and why?

My vote is with Hood.
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Javier L.
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Post by Javier L. »

In 1940-41 the Scharnhorst is 1-2 knots faster than Hood, armor is more or less similar in both ships, but in my opinion Hood has the edge because she has bigger guns. I'm not sure if the 11-inch gun has power enough to penetrate to Hood magazines like Bismarck did, but the 15-inch from Hood can do a lot of damage to Scharnhorst. I remember the battle of North Cape where the unfortunate hit of a 14-inch shell from Duke of York destroyed a Scharnhorst boiler room .
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Post by Tiornu »

DoY's 14in shells were extremely effective against Scharnhorst. I think Scharnhorst's crew would have to outfight Hood's in order to win such a duel.
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Javier L.
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Post by Javier L. »

Tiornu wrote:I think Scharnhorst's crew would have to outfight Hood's in order to win such a duel.
What do you mean? How?
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Post by DesertFox 1943 »

haha.... guess it boils down to tactics and accuracy and range of gunfire... :dance:
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attlante
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Post by attlante »

Hood's fire director system was particularly obsolete. The caliber of the gun is not the only question when confronting both artillery platforms.
The accuracy of the german battlecruisers was quite well proven during the long range shooting that crippled the Glorius. The Hood ability to obtain any hit would decrease dramatically after the first impacts received becouse the british did not protect particularly well their fire control system. With Hood would result far more efficient HE bombardment from long distance in order to disable the poor fire control station, while the chance to receive a hit from Hood from Hood would result quite small.
After the Hood would be forced to shift to local control, local fire the Scharharnorst could remain far from the victim, the best protection of the Germans warships being the obsolescence of the fire control system.
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Matthias
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Post by Matthias »

I agree with Attlante, during the Denmarck Strait battle Hood never took his main aim (Prinz Eugen) despite of the many salvos shooted with his A and B towers.

May be in a long range fight Scharnorst fire precision would have been made the difference.

But who knows, lucky is blind...
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RF
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Post by RF »

Remember what happened when Renown came across Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, and Gneisenau got hit.

With this sort of engagement I think the winner is the first ship that lands the heavy hits, and yes KO the oppenents fire control.
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Gary
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Post by Gary »

In 1940-41 the Scharnhorst is 1-2 knots faster than Hood,

Hood was only good for about 29 knots by that Time.

Scharnhorst could hit 32 knots.

This battle would in all probabilty be a British victory
God created the world in 6 days.........and on the 7th day he built the Scharnhorst
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Karl Heidenreich
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Post by Karl Heidenreich »

Gary:
In 1940-41 the Scharnhorst is 1-2 knots faster than Hood,

Hood was only good for about 29 knots by that Time.

Scharnhorst could hit 32 knots.

This battle would in all probabilty be a British victory
Agree, Schanhorst 11" are not a match for Hood´s 15". The speed will help only to run away.
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miro777
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Post by miro777 »

Hood
Die See ruft....
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RF
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Post by RF »

Karl Heidenreich wrote:Gary:
In 1940-41 the Scharnhorst is 1-2 knots faster than Hood,

Hood was only good for about 29 knots by that Time.

Scharnhorst could hit 32 knots.

This battle would in all probabilty be a British victory
Agree, Schanhorst 11" are not a match for Hood´s 15". The speed will help only to run away.

What if Scharnhorst had six 15 inch guns?
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Terje Langoy
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Post by Terje Langoy »

Wouldn't the outcome of the battle be dependent of a whole lot more than just gun size..? I mean factors like: Who spots who first and at what range? Bearing and speed of each ship? Course of action made by each of the commanders? (although I think the Hood would have pursued any possibility as the Scharnhorst would not) And how about weather and sea conditions? Time of day?

I think they would have made a status quo in a stern chase and thus make it a matter of endurance or luck. If the Scarnhorst had 15-inches, I guess she would not tuck tail and run but then again it would be a question of who's landing the first heavy hit. That's how I see it...

Regards
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miro777
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Post by miro777 »

hey....

if we include decisions taken by commanders, etc...
then we could never assess a battle between two ships...
because we can never really predict wat a commander would hav done at wat moment, etc

one thing is the weather....
both ships were very WET ships...
still i think the Scharnhorst would be worse affected....

and even with 15in guns....i must say the odds are still on for the Hood...

although i LOVE the scharnhorst...


miro
Die See ruft....
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Terje Langoy
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Post by Terje Langoy »

Hello...

First of all, you're completely right concerning the commanders...

But, the 11-inches of the Scharnhorst should be able to penetrate the armour of the Hood at some range, right? They weren't just toy guns!
How about rate of fire, accuracy and range between the BC's? Doesn't this also matter a lot? :think:

If the Hood can exploit her bigger guns at great range I'd favour her, but in a close-up... :?:

Regards
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