Colossus Class Battleship (1910)
Fire Control
Rangefinders
Evershed Bearing Indicators
The two units were fitted with this equipment before late 1914, albeit in a slightly different manner[1].
Colossus's transmitting positions were
- Conning Tower
- Fore control platform (transmitters to port and starboard with C.O.S. to select one in use)
- 'A' turret
- 'X' turret
Hercules's transmitting positions were
- Conning Tower
- Fore bridge (transmitters to port and starboard with C.O.S. to select one in use)
- 'A' turret
- 'X' turret
The protocols for handling wooding of the turrets is outlined in the Handbook for Fire Control Instruments, 1914[2].
Gunnery Control
The control arrangements were as follows[3].
Control Positions
- Fore top
- Gunnery control tower
- 'A' turret
- 'X' turret
Some ships had C.O.S.s within the control positions so they could be connected to either TS[4].
Control Groups
The five 12-in turrets were each a separate group with a local C.O.S.[Inference] so that it could be connected to
- Forward TS
- After TS
- Local control from officer's position within turret
Directors
Main Battery
The ships were fitted with a cam-type tripod-type director in a light aloft tower on the foremast along with a directing gun (in 'Y' turret?)[5]. The battery was not divisible into groups for split director firing[6].
Secondary Battery
The 4-in guns never had directors installed[7].
Torpedo Control
Transmitting Stations
Like nearly all large British ships of the era prior to King George V and Queen Mary[8], these ships likely had 2 TS.
Dreyer Table
The ships were eventually retro-fitted with a Mark I Dreyer table[9], but was never given Dreyer Turret Control Tables[10].
Shipwide Network
Breaking a pattern of acquisition dating back to the Bellerophon class, this class used Vickers F.T.P. Mark III range and deflection instruments when sending data to gun sights, retaining Barr and Stroud (probably Mark II*[Inference]) instruments for other destinations[11].
The ships also had Target Visible and Gun Ready signals, with indications of which turret could see the target and which guns were ready being visible in the TSs and control positions[12].
See Also
Footnotes
- ↑ Handbook for Fire Control Instruments, 1914, p. 36.
- ↑ Handbook for Fire Control Instruments, 1914, p. 36.
- ↑ Handbook for Fire Control Instruments, 1914, p. 7.
- ↑ Handbook for Fire Control Instruments, 1914, p. 7.
- ↑ The Director Firing Handbook, 1917. pp. 88, 142.
- ↑ The Director Firing Handbook, 1917. p. 88.
- ↑ absent from list in The Director Firing Handbook, 1917. pp. 143.
- ↑ Handbook for Fire Control Instruments, 1914, pp. 6-7.
- ↑ Handbook of Capt. F.C. Dreyer's Fire Control Tables, p. 3.
- ↑ absent from list in Handbook of Capt. F.C. Dreyer's Fire Control Tables, p. 3.
- ↑ Handbook for Fire Control Instruments, 1914, pp. 72.
- ↑ Handbook for Fire Control Instruments, 1914, p. 11.
Bibliography
Admiralty, Gunnery Branch (1914). Handbook for Fire Control Instruments, 1914. G. 01627/14. C.B. 1030. Copy 1235 at The National Archives. ADM 186/191. Template:BibUKDirectorFiringHandbook1917 Template:BibUKDreyerTableHandbook1918
