Interesting new findings about Elizabeth I's navy

[Wolfwood]

Worth a read:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7899831.stm

I found the bit about the first standardized cannons pretty interesting!
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It is much better to be armed with a sword that has two edges than with an estoc [...], which is nothing more than a stick with a point. (Rapier Master G. Morsicato Pallavicini, La Scherma Illustrata, p. 14.)

[loki59]

Pretty cool, Thanks for that.

[Dave the Knave]

Great story, thanks, Wolfwood.

I've read that, In Henry VIII's navy, sailors had to frantically test cannonballs to see if they would fit into their weapons, and many did not- a rather poor way to hunt for ammunition while in action!

Remember that England's population was less than a quarter of that of Spain, and perhaps a fifth of France, at that time. England was still a second-rate European power, her survival as a nation very much in doubt. She needed an edge to survive- opportunism, technology, folklore, perhaps- against those two Superpowers of the era.
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Rule, Britannia! Britannia, rule the waves;
Britons never shall be slaves.

[Tom Pullings]

Very cool. And small in comparison with the guns in the later age of sail.

[ExtraCrispy]

[corsair91]

REF: sailors had to frantically test cannonballs

similar issues happened even later

Back in WW1 all pilots tended to hand load their own machine gun belts of ammo to ensure they did not have bent bullets or damaged cartridge cases which could cause stoppages or jams.
They learned by experience that loaded belts from the ammo factory could not be
relied upon to function properly.
Ground Gunners also often frequently loaded their own belts for similar reasons.

Pilots also carried small mallets to pound on the Machine guns cocking levers
to force the gun to load, clearing jams.


The US in WW1 bought The French Chauchat light machine gun.
Only problem, the US messed up the 30.06 conversion of the gun
and it was prone to feed jamming.
US troops trained with the working French 8mm version only
to have that swapped out for the jamming US version going into
combat.

In WW2 when the US tried to build a 30.06 version of the German
MG-42 machine gun, it did not go well with jamming issues.
Thankfully they did not ever issue it to the troops.


Back in Henry 8th's navy they were still initially using stone shot
so a hammer and chisel were essential for the mix of gun calibres
they carried. They still had archers aboard ship to engage the enemy
crew with arrows.

A smart captain would have the crew pre-size & sort the shot
before combat

The Spanish Armada had to load their cannon by
lowering somebody over the side of the ship with the powder & shot.
Not ideal for combat in stormy weather.
They intended to fight boarding actions as had long limber land gun
carriages aboard for the Ship Guns. (Difficult to run the Ship Guns in & out)

The English expected to sink by gunfire, so having standard guns &
ammo with short Naval gun carriages, more seaworthy ships gave them
the advantage in fighting a war of Ship movement & cannon salvos.

The Royal Navy always practised rapid Broadsides during the Age of Sail
to outshoot the enemy.

This was a disadvantage at Jutland as the German Navy was more
accurate as had better optics & rangefinders along with full shell
handling safety procedures in place (having learned from previous experience)
The British had stacked more shells in the turrets and throughout the ship
as expected to shoot empty the shell magazines.
The ability to fire rapidly is not helpful if you cannot hit the target.

The preferred Fuses for British shells pre-ww1 was the German Krupp Fuses.
It took the British a number of years to build their own reliable Fuses.
Possibly as late as well into 1917.

There is one Western Front Story of a German officer offering to
send back the British Dud Shells as the Germans had more than enough
of their own shells and did not need the British to donate any more shells.


It is often said that the best ASW weapon the Japanese had in WW2
was the US Bureau of Ordnance (BuOrd).

Operation Pacific (1951)
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