Comments by "Sar Jim" (@sarjim4381) on "The Drydock - Episode 002" video.

  1. Dang, missed this one when it came out. Another issue for big gun (6" and up) accuracy is dispersion caused by mutual interference from guns in multiple gun mounts. The Italians were big believes in the idea that speed was paramount over all other considerations for cruisers. The Italians insisted on a trial speed of 35 knots, a speed many destroyers couldn't hope for. The only way to achieve high speeds was to install a massive power plant or have a long, narrow hull. The Washington naval treaty limiting heavy cruisers ot 10,000 made it impossible to install a large enough power plant so the only option was a finely detailed narrow hull. This meant the main battery guns had to be installed in narrow turrets with single cradles and the guns mounted closely together. Eight inch mounts had barrels a mere meter apart. The single cradle meant a turret couldn't engage more than one target, and the closely mounted guns, combined with the poor quality control of Italian ammunition, caused shot dispersion of over 50 meters at 9,000 yards. All sorts of tricks were tried to reduce dispersion including reducing muzzle velocity, especially in 6" guns. None of the tricks worked very well, and shot dispersion remained a problem right up to the Zara class. In addition to the Washington naval treaties leading to conversions of battle cruiser hulls to aircraft carriers, it also directly led to advances in submarine technology. Since the numbers and size of submarines wasn't limited under the treaties, all the major powers diverted funds from building major warships to larger ocean going submarines. The technology needed for these vessels led directly the fleet type submarines of WWII. German research into submarine technology led to higher underwater speeds and the Walthers hydrogen peroxide power plants.
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