Hi Tom,Tom17 wrote:All,
Is it correct to say that POW's salvo nos. 19, 20 and 21 were fired using the shells loaded in the guns in the turret (4 shells fired in total and not full turret salvoes, 12 shells fired) as I see the timings for the firing are only 20 seconds apart and therefore not of a long enough interval to reload. So why didn't 'Y' turret fire all it's guns in one salvo? Why 2, 1 and 1?
Tom
Based on McMullen's report, guns 2 and 3 were out of action - gun 2 had been out from salvo 14 to the end, gun 3 missed salvos 15 to 20. ( So with 1 gun out of action in A-turret, PoW had 7 guns functional when she started her turnaway.)
So, it follows that salvo 19 was fired using guns 1 and 4, salvo 20 was a reload of either 1 or 4. Salvo 21 was from gun 3 - the problem being a shell having been hoisted without cordite charges to fire it - so once they got the charges they could fire.
The following defects occurred in "Y" turret:-
Salvo 11 - No. 3 central ammunition hoist was raised with shell but no cordite; No. 25 interlock having failed to prevent this. The interlock was functioning correctly before the engagement. There has been no opportunity to investigate this. It is also reported that the reason no cordite had been rammed was that the indicator in the cordite handling room did not show that the cage had been raised after the previous ramming stroke. This caused the gun to miss salvoes 15 to 20.
Salvo 12 - Front flashdoors of No. 2 gun loading cage failed to open and cage could not be loaded. Flashdoors on transfer tubes were working correctly and investigation showed that adjustment was required on the vertical rod operating the palm levers which open the gun loading cage doors. To make this adjustment, three-quarter inch thread had to be cut on the rod. This defect was put in hand after the engagement had been broken off and was completed by 1300. It would appear that the operating gear had been strained, possibly by the foreign matter in the flashdoor casing making the doors tight. The doors were free when tried in the course of making the repair. This caused the gun to miss salvo 14 onwards.
Salvo 20 - Owing to the motion of the ship, a shell slid out of the port shell room and fouled the revolving shell ring while the latter was locked to the trunk and the turret was training. The hinge tray was severely buckled, putting the revolving shell ring out of action. The tray was removed, but on testing the ring it was found that No. 3 and 4 hinge trays of the starboard shell room had also been buckled and were fouling the ring. The cause of this is not yet known. The trays were removed and as the action had stopped by this time, No. 4 tray was dressed up and replaced. The ring was out of action until 0825.