News HMS Belfast (C35) 80 yrs old.

[Notebook]

Happy 80th Birthday!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Belfast_(C35)

https://www.iwm.org.uk/visits/hms-b...xug-XlVrA_axkh-GPdv0HXkxcGlWl18RoCCn0QAvD_BwE

Went on it many years ago, good fun. Surprised how many small areas in such a large(to me) ship.

N.

 

[boogabooga]

Simulated sinking it many times back when I played Silent Hunter III.

 

[Notebook]

Apchrapoyl tale(can't spell it) that the forw'd main armament is targeted on a "Golden Egg" fast-food restaurant on the North Circular road.
Should really update the story...

Still, given the gun elevation and the ships berth, it should be possible to predict where the shells land.

N.

 

[boogabooga]

Still, given the gun elevation and the ships berth, it should be possible to predict where the shells land.

I know that we have some naval artillery experts on this forum to answer better, but are the main guns firing fixed shells, or bag-loaded?

If the later, then the charge and hence muzzle velocity should be variable. Shells could land anywhere on a line segment and not on a point.

Could be a standard charge mass, but still...

 

[Notebook]

Indeed, no expert on 1940 naval guns. I can check the heading of HMS Belfast at the moment. Guessing a typical 6" gun:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BL_6_inch_Mk_XXIII_naval_gun

Maximum firing range
25,480 yd (23,300 m) at 45 degrees elevation[1]

12 Miles in old money? Better keep my head down.
N.

 

[Urwumpe]

I know that we have some naval artillery experts on this forum to answer better, but are the main guns firing fixed shells, or bag-loaded?

No fixed shells in any case. I am not even sure if the Russian tank guns in that calibre always use fixed shells.

AFAIR, even the smaller guns of the British used bags, while the Germans preferred metal cartridges even for their largest guns (though combined with bags). In this case, it had been cloth bags. In photographs, this might look like they also used metal cartridges, but this is just flash protection because of the cordite.

 

[4throck]

It's well worth the visit and there's a lot to see. Not a small ship at all!

 

[clive bradbury]

Yes, RN 6" guns, including those on Belfast used separate propellant in silk bags.