Huh. I did not know that. I don't even recall ever seeing pictures of them. Clearly I do not pay attention.
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Why Are There Clocks on the Superstructure of Battleships?
- Thread starter mTk
- Start date
I also watched that video just the other day and also never knew about those clocks.
Another fun fact was that each ship apparently used different colours in their shells (to be able to know which ship had fired the shells that found the range), so if you imagine all the battleships in a line opening up with their multicoloured high explosives, the target would have been engulfed in a rainbow of colours like something out of Sargeant Pepper.
Another fun fact was that each ship apparently used different colours in their shells (to be able to know which ship had fired the shells that found the range), so if you imagine all the battleships in a line opening up with their multicoloured high explosives, the target would have been engulfed in a rainbow of colours like something out of Sargeant Pepper.
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Never heard of the range clock on a warship?
Where have you been, living under a rock? Also, a good explanation of colored dye usage for ranging is in any book on the Battle of Leyte Gulf. There are many accounts from US sailors describing the different color shell splashes from the Japanese gun salvoes. You might read Hornfischer's Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors for some of those recollections.
Nah, just never been that interested in WW2 naval warfare. Seemed too one-sided for me. The Germans and Japanese got beaten so quickly and decisively it didn't seem like much of a fight.
It was exciting though. The Guadacanal battles were something indeed.
Japanese did a good job of it there.
"Neptune's Inferno" is an absolute must read. You can get it on Amazon here:
Japanese did a good job of it there.
"Neptune's Inferno" is an absolute must read. You can get it on Amazon here:
Amazon.com: Neptune's Inferno: The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal eBook : Hornfischer, James D.: Kindle Store
Neptune's Inferno: The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal - Kindle edition by Hornfischer, James D.. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Neptune's Inferno: The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal.
www.amazon.com
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mTk is correct. I have read a lot about the naval warfare in and around Guadalcanal and Neptune's Inferno by James Hornfischer is IMO the best of the many that cover that theater. Hornfischer is just a very special writer and really conveys the ferocity of the combat in and around "The Slot" and Guadalcanal. Truth is, the Pacific naval and to some extent, the air war was decided in and around Guadalcanal. Any Hornfischer book is well worth your time to read, he was that great a historian and writer.l
I think they were just about obsolete by WW2, which is why they weren't so noticeable by then?
Agreed, especially after the advent of radar fire control.
