Difference between revisions of "Caledon Class Cruiser (1916)"
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==Torpedoes== | ==Torpedoes== | ||
− | Four double 21-in mounts, two each side, bearing 60-120 degrees.<ref> ''Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1916'', p. 35.</ref> | + | Four double 21-in mounts, two each side, bearing 60-120 degrees. |
+ | |||
+ | As the 6-in guns fired over these, they proved untenable for manned firing as the 6-in guns would have necessitated a blast shield projecting fully 18 feet from the muzzle. The ugly expedient taken was to train the tubes to a pre-arranged bearing on coming to action stations and to use remote firing from the primary and secondary control positions.<ref> ''Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1916'', p. 35.</ref> | ||
==Fire Control== | ==Fire Control== | ||
Line 27: | Line 29: | ||
Guns 1 through 3 were a group and guns 4 and 5 a separate control group.<ref>''The Director Firing Handbook, 1917''. Plate 82.</ref> | Guns 1 through 3 were a group and guns 4 and 5 a separate control group.<ref>''The Director Firing Handbook, 1917''. Plate 82.</ref> | ||
− | The [[ | + | The [[T.S.]] had a 3 position [[C.O.S.]] for firing, elevation and training signals: |
# all guns on director tower | # all guns on director tower | ||
# all guns on #4 directing gun | # all guns on #4 directing gun | ||
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===Directors=== | ===Directors=== | ||
[[File:DFHPlate82.jpeg|thumb|480px|'''Director Firing Circuits'''<br>''Director Firing Handbook, 1917'', Plate 82. ]] | [[File:DFHPlate82.jpeg|thumb|480px|'''Director Firing Circuits'''<br>''Director Firing Handbook, 1917'', Plate 82. ]] | ||
− | All ships were completed with gunnery directors in place on the tripod foremast.<ref>''The Technical History and Index: Fire Control in HM Ships, 1919'', p. 11.</ref> The director was in a tower on a pedestal mounting and was augmented by use of their 'X' (or number 4) gun as a [[Directing Gun|directing gun]].<ref>''Handbook of Captain F.C. Dreyer's Fire Control Tables, 1918''., p. 142 and plate opposite.</ref> | + | All ships were completed with gunnery directors in place on the tripod foremast.<ref>''The Technical History and Index: Fire Control in HM Ships, 1919'', p. 11.</ref> The director was in a tower on a pedestal mounting and was augmented by use of their 'X' (or number 4) gun as a [[Directing Gun|directing gun]].<ref>''Handbook of Captain F. C. Dreyer's Fire Control Tables, 1918''., p. 142 and plate opposite.</ref> |
Each gun had a local COS to switch it between director and local firing. Seemingly, these were 2-position, director or local, and lacking the customary option to cross-over the local main and aux pistols and circuits. The gunnery director tower had 3 firing pistols, main, auxiliary and "local", and a 3-position COS to govern their behavior. It is not apparent to the editor what the "local" pistol did.<ref>''The Director Firing Handbook, 1917''. Plate 82.</ref> | Each gun had a local COS to switch it between director and local firing. Seemingly, these were 2-position, director or local, and lacking the customary option to cross-over the local main and aux pistols and circuits. The gunnery director tower had 3 firing pistols, main, auxiliary and "local", and a 3-position COS to govern their behavior. It is not apparent to the editor what the "local" pistol did.<ref>''The Director Firing Handbook, 1917''. Plate 82.</ref> |
Revision as of 16:30, 8 May 2011
The four light cruisers of the Caledon Class were completed in 1917.
Armament
Guns
The five 6-in guns on the centre-line had a maximum elevation of 30 degrees.[1]
Torpedoes
Four double 21-in mounts, two each side, bearing 60-120 degrees.
As the 6-in guns fired over these, they proved untenable for manned firing as the 6-in guns would have necessitated a blast shield projecting fully 18 feet from the muzzle. The ugly expedient taken was to train the tubes to a pre-arranged bearing on coming to action stations and to use remote firing from the primary and secondary control positions.[2]
Fire Control
Rangefinders
Sometime during or after 1917, an additional 9-foot rangefinder was to be added specifically to augment torpedo control.[3]
Evershed Bearing Indicators
These ships may have had Evershed gear for gun control from delivery, as this feature for light cruisers was inaugurated by the Centaur class.[4]
Orders for Evershed installations for searchlight control from February 1917 first applied to the Danae class, but may not have applied to Caledon.[5]
Gunnery Control
Control Positions
Control Groups
Guns 1 through 3 were a group and guns 4 and 5 a separate control group.[6]
The T.S. had a 3 position C.O.S. for firing, elevation and training signals:
- all guns on director tower
- all guns on #4 directing gun
- guns #1 - 3 on director tower, guns #4 and 5 on directing gun
Directors
All ships were completed with gunnery directors in place on the tripod foremast.[7] The director was in a tower on a pedestal mounting and was augmented by use of their 'X' (or number 4) gun as a directing gun.[8]
Each gun had a local COS to switch it between director and local firing. Seemingly, these were 2-position, director or local, and lacking the customary option to cross-over the local main and aux pistols and circuits. The gunnery director tower had 3 firing pistols, main, auxiliary and "local", and a 3-position COS to govern their behavior. It is not apparent to the editor what the "local" pistol did.[9]
The director was powered by either of a pair of motor alternators, with a C.O.S. available to choose which was to be used.[10]
Torpedo Control
Transmitting Stations
Other than the control details mentioned above, no information on its equipment is available. Presumably, there was at least a range clock, dumaresq, and range and deflection transmitters, and likely in pairs to match the control grouping provided for director firing.
Dreyer Table
These ships had no fire control tables.[11]
Fire Control Instruments
[TO BE CONTINUED - TONE]
See Also
Footnotes
- ↑ Progress in Naval Gunnery, 1914-1918", p. 10.
- ↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1916, p. 35.
- ↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1917, p. 199. (possibly pertinent: C.I.O. 481/17)
- ↑ The Technical History and Index: Fire Control in HM Ships, 1919, p. 29.
- ↑ The Technical History and Index: Fire Control in HM Ships, 1919, p. 29.
- ↑ The Director Firing Handbook, 1917. Plate 82.
- ↑ The Technical History and Index: Fire Control in HM Ships, 1919, p. 11.
- ↑ Handbook of Captain F. C. Dreyer's Fire Control Tables, 1918., p. 142 and plate opposite.
- ↑ The Director Firing Handbook, 1917. Plate 82.
- ↑ The Director Firing Handbook, 1917. Plate 82.
- ↑ absent from list in Handbook of Capt. F.C. Dreyer's Fire Control Tables, p. 3.
Bibliography
- Template:BibUKDirectorFiringHandbook1917
- Admiralty, Gunnery Branch (1910). Handbook for Fire Control Instruments, 1909. Copy No. 173 is Ja 345a at Admiralty Library, Portsmouth, United Kingdom.
- Template:BibUKDreyerTableHandbook1918
- Template:BibUKFireControlInHMShips1919
- Template:BibUKProgressInNavalGunnery1914-1918