Difference between revisions of "Indefatigable Class Battlecruiser (1909)"
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The protocols for how her crew should handle [[Wooding|wooding]] of the turrets was outlined in the ''Handbook for Fire Control Instruments, 1914''.<ref>''Handbook for Fire Control Instruments, 1914'', p. 36.</ref> | The protocols for how her crew should handle [[Wooding|wooding]] of the turrets was outlined in the ''Handbook for Fire Control Instruments, 1914''.<ref>''Handbook for Fire Control Instruments, 1914'', p. 36.</ref> | ||
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| + | ===Mechanical Aid-to-Spotter=== | ||
| + | At some point, ''Australia'' and ''New Zealand'' were equipped with two [[Mark I Mechanical Aid-to-Spotter]]s on each side of the foretop, keyed off the Evershed rack on the director. As the need for such gear was apparently first identified in early 1916, it seems likely that these installations were effected well after Jutland.<ref>''The Technical History and Index: Fire Control in HM Ships, 1919'', pp. 25-6.</ref> | ||
===Gunnery Control=== | ===Gunnery Control=== | ||
Revision as of 16:09, 2 October 2009
Fire Control
Rangefinders
Evershed Bearing Indicators
All 3 ships were likely fitted with this equipment at some point, but only Indefatigable is explicitly mentioned in Handbook for Fire Control Instruments, 1914.[1]
The transmitting positions were
- Fore control platform (transmitters to port and starboard with a local switch to select one in use)
- 'A' turret
- 'X' turret
- Upper aft conning tower
The protocols for how her crew should handle wooding of the turrets was outlined in the Handbook for Fire Control Instruments, 1914.[2]
Mechanical Aid-to-Spotter
At some point, Australia and New Zealand were equipped with two Mark I Mechanical Aid-to-Spotters on each side of the foretop, keyed off the Evershed rack on the director. As the need for such gear was apparently first identified in early 1916, it seems likely that these installations were effected well after Jutland.[3]
Gunnery Control
The control arrangements were likely as follows.[4]
Control Positions
- Fore top
- Main top[Inference]
- 'A' turret[Inference]
- 'Y' turret[Inference]
Some ships had C.O.S.s within the control positions so they could be connected to either TS.[5]
Control Groups
The four 12-in turrets were separate groups, each 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 tripod-type director in a light aloft tower on the foremast along with a directing gun in the Y turret.[6] The battery was not divisible into for split director firing.[7]
Secondary Battery
The 4-in broadside guns are not listed as ever having had directors installed.[8]
Torpedo Control
Transmitting Stations
Like all large British ships of the era prior to King George V and Queen Mary, these ships had 2 TSes.[9]
Dreyer Table
As of 1918, the New Zealand and Australia carried Mark I Dreyer tables[10]. As to time of installation, one secondary source asserts that Indefatigable and New Zealand had Mark I tables at the Battle of Jutland,[11] but no primary source confirms this. Moreover, a first-hand account seems to suggest a manual plotting board was being used in the T.S. of New Zealand.[12]
The ships were never given Dreyer Turret Control Tables.[13]
Fire Control Instruments
The ships used Vickers F.T.P. Mark III range and deflection instruments to send data to gun sights, retaining Barr and Stroud (probably Mark II*[Inference]) instruments for other destinations.[14]
Target Visible and Gun Ready signals mounted in the TSes and control positions indicated which turrets could see the target and which guns were ready.[15]
See Also
Footnotes
- ↑ Handbook for Fire Control Instruments, 1914, pp. 33-9.
- ↑ Handbook for Fire Control Instruments, 1914, p. 36.
- ↑ The Technical History and Index: Fire Control in HM Ships, 1919, pp. 25-6.
- ↑ Handbook for Fire Control Instruments, 1914, pp. 7-8. (some inferences drawn due to fundamental differences between this design and that of Orion to which it is likened).
- ↑ Handbook for Fire Control Instruments, 1914, p. 7.
- ↑ The Director Firing Handbook, 1917. pp. 88, 142.
- ↑ The Director Firing Handbook, 1917. p. 88.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Sumida, Jon. In Defence of Naval Supremacy p. 300.
- ↑ Midshipman Gordon Eady quoted in Steel & Hart. Jutland 1916, p. 75.
- ↑ 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
Template:BibUKDirectorFiringHandbook1917 Template:BibUKDreyerTableHandbook1918 Template:BibSumidaIDNS Template:BibBrooksDreadnoughtGunnery Template:BibRobertsBattlecruisers Template:BibSteelHartJutland1916 Template:Indefatigable Class (1909)
