Spotters

[hyndridge]

Were spotters really used like artillery spotters to adjust the range and direction of gun fire?

I thought they were used as a form of advance warning to spot fleets way before visual contact, it would seem to be a very dangerous place for a slow old bi-plane to be in the middle of a battle to be directing fire!

Roland

 

[DM]

They were used occasionally, but were not all that effective against mobile targets (they were much more useful against static targets, shore targets etc. although they often took advantage of aerial spotters from elsewhere). The gunnery and doctrinal manuals for all the major fleets have sections on aircraft corrected gunfire. The British used a Seafox from Ajax during the River Plate battle. There aren't too many more examples.

Their most obvious use is in reconnaisance which means their effect isn't really simulated (wait for the operational level rules), although the initiative bonus kind of accounts for that in some ways.

 

[Reaverman]

If the Yamato was to use her guns to full advantage, she had to use spotters. Since the curvature of the planet, blocked line of sight....no I am not kidding it was true

 

[DM]

Thats true for most battleships (anything with a gun range in the rules of 30" or more). Engagements over 30,000 yards inevitably required outside assistance. However, the hit probabilities at much more than that distance were pretty minimal and doctrine tended to forbid such long ranged fire (the longest confirmed hits were approx. 27,500 yards).

 

[Reaverman]

Thats true for most battleships (anything with a gun range in the rules of 30" or more). Engagements over 30,000 yards inevitably required outside assistance. However, the hit probabilities at much more than that distance were pretty minimal and doctrine tended to forbid such long ranged fire (the longest confirmed hits were approx. 27,500 yards).

Yeah, but you are going to start worrying, when you are being showered in geisers, and no clue to where they are coming from

 

[Silvereye]

Thats true for most battleships (anything with a gun range in the rules of 30" or more). Engagements over 30,000 yards inevitably required outside assistance. However, the hit probabilities at much more than that distance were pretty minimal and doctrine tended to forbid such long ranged fire (the longest confirmed hits were approx. 27,500 yards).

I think there is a RN ship that accurately hit a moving target at over 30,000 yards. I can remember reading it somewhere, but cannot find it anymore.

 

[DM]

The longest succesful gunnery engagements were Warspite at the Battle of Calabria (a hit on the Giulio Cesare at a range of approximately 26,500 yards) and Scharnhorst and Gneisenau versus Glorious in June 1940, also 26.500 yards). I've seen claims for both being the "longest in history".

 

[Silvereye]

Warspite. That was the name. I guess either the text I read was wrong, or I just misremembered.

Cheers for the info DM.