Comments by "William Cox" (@WildBillCox13) on "The Drydock - Episode 123" video.

  1. <Kido Butai in the fog> "I Hiryu, but I didn't Soryu."
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  2. There were still Sumner/Gearings in commission when I was in the Navy (early '70s).
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  3. What ifs: 1) What if the IJN had employed Ainu "code-talkers", a la the USA's Navaho "Talkers". 2) Similarly, what if the Kriegsmarine had employed "Do not Respond" protocols on U-waffe transmissions? 3) What if the Nihon Kaigun had replaced all its triple 25mm tubs with quadruple Mk VIII 40mm Pompoms? They'd just about fit. 4) What if Pu Yi was a mecha pilot and his palace in Manchukuo the support center for a hi-tech Special Forces group? <Pu Yi> "Form blazing sword!" <Queue the Voltron Assemble Theme> <High above, a USAAF B29 Co-pilot taps his commander on the shoulder> "There it is, Joe." <Captain Wigglesworth commanding B29 "Hell's Belles"> "Pete! Get on the Norden! We're making a run!" <The US Army Chorus singing*> "Are we really happy with the weapons choice we made, A-Bombs are so "no way", Dropping bombs on cities is better than pinpoint play, Here comes a particle cascade . . ." *To the tune of Lost in a Masquerade
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  4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eg8vlK_BJas&ab_channel=SteveFranklin You are most welcome.
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  5. Consider the differences in design philosophy. Battleship HighCap has a base charge equal to about 7% of the round's total weight. Regular artillery HE has explosive filler equal to over 75% of the shell's total weight. HiCap is mostly a giant penetrator. Artillery HE is equivalent to a giant flash-bang grenade (with shrapnel percs). They are used differently, they detonate differently and the detonations have markedly different effects. The HiCap explosive charge is pretty much a high speed rocket motor/base bleed charge. It DOES NOT DESTROY THE PROJECTILE. It isn't powerful enough. So, upon initiation, the charge jets outward at a very narrow angle, nonproblematic in an enclosed space but extremely inefficient as a high explosive when striking soil, clay, or even rock. With that said, the crater caused by sheer transfer of kinetic energy from any Battleship projectile* is big enough to look like a large bore artillery shell hole. Artillery HE does destroy the projectile; in fact, that's how it gets those shrapnel percs. Its detonation is not confined** and explands omnidirectionally. It has much greater concussive effects near the target, but little penetration of armor, earth, or clay. Moreover, many fuzes (especially grazing fuzes) fail against soggy loam, humous, or wet clay. Battleship HiCap was NOT meant for shore bombardment, other than against casemated or turreted shore batteries. Can it be turned to purpose? Yes. Definitely. Is it as effective at "shelling" as ordinary tube artillery on a per bore size basis? No. *Main Armament/Main Battery. (Line Throwing guns not included) ** Unless detonating in a building or bunker
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