British BL 15" Mark 1 and 2 guns.

[Igneous Stonehammer]

Evening,

Just looking at the range of the 15" Mark 1 gun on the R class, 26" and QE class,42" . It doesn't seem to make much sense. There is a range difference of 16" in VaS. But the gun was supposedly good for 21000 meters.

While the Hood and Vanguard had Mark 2 's which in VaS shoot to 33" but again in reality were good for 33000 meters.

Any ideas on way this?

Cheers

Iggy.

 

[DM]

something not quite right with your posting there. ALL the ships listed carried 152 Mk1 guns. the Mk2 was proposed for the KGV class but never progressed once the KGVs went for the 14" weapon. The range differential is due to the change in elevation of the mounts. Original mounts limited elevation to 20 degrees, and these were later modified in most vessels to a new maximum of 30 degrees, which resulted in greater range. There were also changes in shell design that made them more aerodynamically efficient, again increasing range, and improvements in propellant which had the same effect.

 

[Igneous Stonehammer]

Yes instead of gun I should have said turret, ie Mark 1 or 2 turret. From what I have seen the QE and R class had the same turret. So at a later date did the QE's have them modified whilst the R class did not?

Cheers Iggy.

 

[DM]

Yes, there was a rolling programme to increase elevation in all the 15" armed ships, but inevitably the coming of WW2 curtailed the programme. IIRC the mounts of Repulse, Malaya and Barham, and the Royal Sovereigns were not upgraded.

 

[Joe_Dracos]

While the Hood and Vanguard had Mark 2 's which in VaS shoot to 33" but again in reality were good for 33000 meters.

Yep thats the max range...

unfortunately one of the reasons Battleships went into remission as viable weapon of war is because they could not exploit their maximum range with any degree of accuracy. When firing at full elevation with a full charge they relied more on blind luck and educated guesses (aka the golden beebee effect). It wasn't till the 80's when battleships could not only fire with accuracy to there maximum range, but advances in warheads and charges allowed the range to be extended. Although battleships (aka Arsenalships) will never be the primary vessel in any navy it will still be used for close fire support (if it has large calibure guns) and sea lane denial tactics. The Kirov class (they go by another name now) is an excellent example of this type of ship. While the Russians call it a heavy cruiser because of its thin armour in reality it is in the weight class and size of a battle crusier. The US navy estimates that the Russians could attack a carrier task force with one of these ships and sink all 4 carriers and a good sized portion of its escort group before being sunk itself. The US navy currently has several Arsenalship designs in development.

 

[Igneous Stonehammer]

Thanks for all the useful responses.

"IIRC the mounts of Repulse, Malaya and Barham, and the Royal Sovereigns were not upgraded."

If this is the case why does Barham and Malaya have 42" gun range in the Order of Battle book? Surely they should be the same as the R class ships with 26"?

Cheers

Iggy.

 

[Joe_Dracos]

Your right... that should be QE and Valiant, not Barham and malaya

 

[DM]

If this is the case why does Barham and Malaya have 42" gun range in the Order of Battle book? Surely they should be the same as the R class ships with 26"?

Yes it should. The stats in OOB were in error.

 

[Igneous Stonehammer]

Thanks, I had previously looked through the errata for OOB and could see no reference to the ranges for these vessles being incorrect. I presume the stat line for HMS Warspite is correct?

Cheers

Iggy.