Gunnery in the Grand Fleet
Churchill noted in a memorandum of May, 1915, "Every nerve should be strained to increase the supply of naval ammunition, as the expenditure in a Fleet battle at long range may be very large."[1] This demand would prove wise, as opportunities to fire upon enemies would prove rare, and on those occasions, a zesty enthusiasm for firing would be the best way any officer could justify the great efforts taken to create the fleet in which he served.
Contents
Battle Fleet
The Grand Fleet Battle Orders stated that:[2]
It must be clearly understood that under no circumstances is fire to be withheld for the purposes of obtaining a 'plot'; it should not even be delayed for rangefinder ranges if there is the smallest possibility of disadvantage resulting from the delay.
This same principle would be emphasized in post-war reporting on the performance of the Dreyer Fire Control Tables, which were essentially driven by plotted ranges: plots – even a single good range, sometimes – took time to develop and indicate a range or suggest a rate.
Battle Cruisers
On 24 February, 1915, Chatfield wrote to Captain Phillimore of Inflexible that, "Whoever gets the biggest volume of fire, short or hitting, will gain the ascendancy and keep it as the other fellow can't see to reply."[3]
Practice
On 12 June, 1915 the Battle Fleet and Cruiser Squadrons carried out target practice. Commander the Hon. Matthew R. Best aboard Iron Duke noted in his journal, "Warspte & QE salvoes were delightful to watch. MacKinnon spread about 200 [yards] with ½ charges at 12000 [yards].[4] What seems unusual in this account is that MacKinnon was gunnery officer in Indomitable during this time.
See Also
Footnotes
- ↑ Churchill. The World Crisis. II. p. 1412.
- ↑ Brooks. The Battle of Jutland. p. 69.
- ↑ Acheson Papers. Imperial War Museum. IWM 1617 P160. Quoted in Gordon. Rules of the Game. p. 47.
- ↑ Commander Matthew Best's notebook entry for 12 June, 1915. Liddle Collection. University of Leeds. RNMN/BEST. Box 1. Volume III.
Bibliography
- Seligmann, Matthew (January 2012). "A German Preference for a Medium Range-Range Battle? British Assumptions about German Naval Gunnery, 1914-1915". War in History 19 (1): pp. 33-48.
Primary Sources
- The National Archives. Causes of Explosion in British Warships, when Hit by Heavy Shell. ADM 1/8463/176.
- The National Archives. H.S.A. 229 (Committees Formed to Consider Experience at Jutland). ADM 137/2027.
- The National Archives. H.S.A. 230 (Committees Formed to Consider Experience at Jutland). ADM 137/2028.
- The National Archives. H.S.A. 231 (Committees Formed to Consider Experience at Jutland). ADM 137/2029.
