Naval History Forums

I believe that Bismarck's final battle was a good demonstration that it is not necessary to sink a ship in order to defeat it, and Bismarck was defeated without being able to inflict any real damage to her enemies. There are many good reasons for that, of course, not a criticism of the ship. I could...

I'm the person who played the AGS vs Renown battle 12 times in Atlantic Fleet, and it simply proves to me that the game can be totally unbalanced. Renown was faster, better protected and more heavily armed. Such a fight would be a battlecruiser vs a heavy cruiser, and I don't believe that Langsdorff...

I guess those are from people playing the game 'Atlantic Fleet'? I play that myself and, while fun, it's not terribly accurate. The devs seem to have bought into the idea that the German ships were almost unsinkable, whereas the British ones (except, to an extent, the KGV class) were made of balsa w...

On the HMS Rodney fuel situation, there are a number of excerpts from the timeline of events here: https://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-01BB-Rodney.htm (26th) At 1821 hours the CinC signalled the Admiralty and the CinC Force H; unless BISMARCK’s speed had been reduced by midnight he would have t...

What does puzzle me is that Rodney was apparently loaded with spares and on her way to the USA for refit, which would suggest that she had enough fuel for the Atlantic crossing, so why did she run short - even though she was originally sent in the wrong direction during the hunt? I imagine that the...

I've read that, in addition to the oil purification and water desalination equipment damage, ammunition for the main guns could have become an issue. I've seen figures of between 60% and "2/3" of the 11" ammunition already expended. If true, a fight against Cumberland and the 2 light ...

There were two hits from Prinz Eugen which had started two separate fires which were observed from a spotter plane I believe was operating out of Iceland (referred to in the subsequent Hood sinking enquiry) plus the hit you mention from Bismarck's third salvo, then the fourth salvo a shell took off...

Hood was in a bad way before it was blown up.... maybe it was a lucky shot, but with British battlecruisers it had happened before, at Jutland. In a bad way? IIRC, there was a fire amongst some of the smaller calibre ready ammunition (above the main deck, I believe?), the smoke from which was causi...

Hoods' fate demonstrates that it was not a battleship. Further the Bismarck was not the most heavily armed of battleships either. I think it demonstrates that the protection was not 100% perfect - most theories I've seen suggest that it was a very lucky shot that destroyed her. The protection was c...

Yes, plus the G3 and similar designs being discussed here. It is arguable that HMS Hood, in any other navy, would have been called a fast battleship since the armour was comparable to the Queen Elizabeth class.

Hi Dunmunro and RF, thanks for your replies, Surely, if they were 'fully armoured and capable of standing against a battleship of the same size there was not much point in designing them as they may just as well produced a fast battleship... I'm sure those more knowledgeable than I will correct me ...

The conclusion as the the most likely scenario is interesting, and not a theory that I've seen before. I'm no expert, but it seems to fit what was observed, and appears plausible given the photo at 34:20mins (taken with Hood en route to the Denmark Strait). It suggests that no improvement to Hood's ...

The book "Most Secret Squadron: The First Full Story of 618 Squadron and its Special Detachment Anti-U-Boat Mosquitos" by Des Curtis is an interesting read, covering the development of the Highball weapon and 618 squadron that was to carry it. Des Curtis was part of 618 squadron, so the bo...