The Bismarck 1941 by Angus Konstam

The Bismarck 1941 by Angus Konstam

Author:Angus Konstam
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: The Bismarck 1941: Hunting Germany’s Greatest Battleship
ISBN: 9781782008439
Publisher: Osprey Publishing


The British gunnery officers reported the course change to Holland. Less than ten minutes after Lütjens changed course Holland did the same, turning to starboard onto a new heading of 300 degrees. The trouble was, this new course meant that the aft guns on both British ships couldn’t fire, as the guns couldn’t train far enough ahead to engage the enemy. This meant the British ships lost almost half of their firepower, but it reduced the time the Hood remained within its ‘zone of vulnerability’ for plunging fire. The German ships were now 40 degrees to starboard of the British flagship, but the angle was decreasing as the range closed. Once within the Hood’s ‘zone of invulnerability’ when the range dropped to 18,000 yards (9 miles), Holland planned to alter course to port, to put his two ships on a parallel course to his German opponents.

At 5.52am the range had decreased to 25,000 yards (12 miles), and Captain Kerr of the Hood gave the order to open fire. The Prince of Wales fired her first salvo of six 14in. shells less than a minute later. At that range it took 50 seconds for the salvo to reach its target. Once it landed the gunnery officer would note where the shell splashes fell, then correct his aim. In 1941 gunnery was a process of gradual refinement as the range was corrected with every salvo until falling shells straddled the target. Then only minor corrections were needed to make sure that the guns continued to track the enemy ship as it moved. Once straddled it was only a matter of time before shells began hitting the enemy ship, and ripping through its decks at long range, or the armoured belt if the range was shorter. The only problem was that the Hood was firing her guns at the wrong target.



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