Majestic Class Battleship (1894)
Armament
Guns
The 12-in guns were Mark VIII, though the turrets used differed by ship:[1]
| Mounting | Ships |
| B III | Caesar, Illustrious |
| B II | Jupiter, Prince George |
| B ??? | Others |
Torpedoes
Fire Control
Though it may have little relevance given the age difference, the general system of wiring between the TSs in ships prior to Lord Nelson class is illustrated in Handbook for Fire Control Instruments, 1914.[2]
Rangefinders
Evershed Bearing Indicators
It is unlikely that this equipment was ever provided.[Inference]
Directors
These ships never received directors for main or secondary batteries.[3]
Gunnery Control
The ship's guns were organized in 3 groups:[4]
- Two 12-in turrets
- Starboard 6-in guns ('A' & 'X')
- Port 6-in guns ('B' & 'Y')
Local Control in Turrets
There was no provision in these ships for local turret control wherein the receivers in the turret could be driven by transmitters in the officer's position at the back of the turret.[5]
Transmitting Stations
These ships likely had fore and aft TSes.[6][Inference]
A C.O.S. allowed[Inference] control options of
- Fore
- After
- Separate
Each control group had range, order and deflection transmitters with a pair of receivers, one wired directly to the transmitter as a tell-tale, and the other fed off the wires going to the distant guns (i.e., the aft guns for the fore TS and vice-versa) as a repeat. "These repeat receivers are necessary to keep the idle transmitters in step; when changing back from separate control they are required to enable both halves of the group to be set alike before being paralleled on to one transmitter."[7]
Dreyer Table
These ships never received Dreyer tables.[8]
Fire Control Instruments
By 1909, the ships were equipped with Barr and Stroud Mark II instruments for range and rate, Barr and Stroud Mark I for orders, and Vickers deflection instruments, except Illustrious and Victorious.[9]
For the majority of the ships (probably excluding Illustrious and Victorious with their dissimilar equipment), the Handbook for Fire Control Instruments, 1909 lists the equipment on this class as:[10]
- Range (B. & S. Mark II): 6 transmitters, 30 receivers
- Orders (B. & S. Mark I): 6 transmitters, 20 receivers
- Rate (B. & S. Mark II): 4 transmitters, 8 receivers
- Deflection (Vickers): 6 transmitters, 26 receivers
Additionally, this class had the following Siemens fire control equipment:[11]
- Group Switches: 3 (converted by Chatham)
- Turret fire gongs: 8 with 2 keys
- Fire Gongs: 12 with 4 keys
- Captain's Cease Fire Bells: 18 with 1 key
Illustrious and Victorious had Vickers, Son and Maxim equipment as well as Barr and Stroud rate instruments[12] as follows:[13]
- Vickers range transmitters: 6
- Vickers deflection transmitters: 6
- Vickers combined range and deflection receivers: 6
- Vickers C.O.S.: 3
- Vickers Check fire switches: 6
- Barr and Stroud rate transmitters: 4
- Barr and Stroud rate receivers: 8
- Siemens turret fire gongs: 8 with 2 keys
- Vickers fire gongs: 12 with 4 keys
- Captain's Cease Fire Bells: 18 with 1 key (supplier not stated)
These ships lacked Target Visible and Gun Ready signals.[14]
Torpedo Control
See Also
Footnotes
- ↑ The Sight Manual, 1916, p. 109.
- ↑ Handbook for Fire Control Instruments, 1914, p. 50 & Plates 50 and 54(I).
- ↑ Director Firing Handbook, 1917, pp. 142-3.
- ↑ Handbook for Fire Control Instruments, 1914, p. 8.
- ↑ Handbook for Fire Control Instruments, 1914, p. 50.
- ↑ Handbook for Fire Control Instruments, 1914, p. 50 & Plates 50 and 54(I).
- ↑ Handbook for Fire Control Instruments, 1914, pp. 50-1.
- ↑ Handbook of Capt. F.C. Dreyer's Fire Control Tables, p. 3.
- ↑ Handbook for Fire Control Instruments, 1909, pp. 56-7, 59.
- ↑ Handbook for Fire Control Instruments, 1909, p. 59.
- ↑ Handbook for Fire Control Instruments, 1909, p. 59.
- ↑ Handbook for Fire Control Instruments, 1909, pp. 56-7, 59.
- ↑ Handbook for Fire Control Instruments, 1909, p. 60.
- ↑ Handbook for Fire Control Instruments, 1914, p. 11.
Bibliography
- Admiralty, Gunnery Branch (1910). Handbook for Fire Control Instruments, 1909. Copy No. 173 is Ja 345a at Admiralty Library, Portsmouth, United Kingdom.
- Admiralty, Gunnery Branch (1914). Handbook for Fire Control Instruments, 1914. G. 01627/14. C.B. 1030. Copy 1235 at The National Archives. ADM 186/191.
- Template:BibUKDirectorFiringHandbook1917
- Template:BibUKDreyerTableHandbook1918
- Template:BibParkesBritishBattleships
