Тук не се сдържах и копирах от един чуждестранен форум изпитанията на руските артилеристи, проведени на учебния кораб, бивш броненосец "Чесма" през 1913 г.Смятам, че ще ви бъдат инересни
Here is the report taken from L.G. Goncharov's book "Kurs Morskoy Taktiki: Artilleriya i Bronya" (Course on the Naval Tactics: Artillery and Armor), Leningrad, 1932 (pages 145-150). Translated by me.
Here it goes (I tired to keep the translation as literal as possible):
The results of the Russian firing trials made in 1913 to test the Russian Naval rounds in use at the time. The tests were made against "Hulk #4" former battleship Chesma, on which a full section of the Sevastopol class BB armor scheme was built including the main belt and casemates as well as a conning tower. The firing ship was Pre-dreadnought BB Ioann Zlatoust, which was anchored at the distance of 3 cables (555m) firing the reduced charges to simulate distance, while the list was applied to the target ship to simulate angle of impact. The observation of the trial was made from minelayer Prut anchored 1nm from the scene.
The following areas were tested:
a) firing against the top armor deck
b) firing against thick armor (10" (254mm) conning tower and 9" (229mm) main belt)
c) firing against thin armor (5" (127mm) top of the CT and 5" (127mm) upper belt)
d) firing against unarmored parts of the ship (structure of Chesma)
e) firing shorts near the ship.
The results were as follows:
305mm (12") HE round pattern 1911 with Naval Ministry fuse; weight 470kg (1,038lbs.), burster charge 61kg (135lbs.)
1. Against unarmored part of the ship, exploded 1.5-2m (5-6') behind the side of the ship, opened a hole of 20sq.m. (200 sq.ft.), with total destruction area going into the ship of 8m (25sq.ft.) from the explosion.
2. Against a 37mm (1.5") armored deck with angle of impact of 5-15 deg. exploded and made a hole of 10sq.m. (100 sq.ft.). from the force of the explosion pieces of the deck of up to 0.3sq.m. (3sq.ft) holed the mid 25mm (1") and bottom 12.7mm (0.5") deck. The round exploded in small pieces, most of which damage stuff on the upper deck, the smaller part of the shrapnel from the round which went through the hole in the deck do not piece mid deck. The shots were made at the simulated distance of 83 cables (15.371m) and 50 cables (9260m) [V=427m/s (1400ft/s), 564m/s (1850 ft/s)].
3. Striking 127mm (5") armor:
--a) At the angle of impact of 10 deg. - exploded immediately, made lengthwise hole (Me: or dent, not very clear from the text) of 2x1.2m (6x4') and dent in the plate of 0.5m (1.5'). In the place where the plate met the light bulkhead - the place was moved inward by 1.2m (4'). Damage was mostly centered on the outside of the plate. The shot was made at the simulated distance of 70 cables (13,000m) [V=488m/s (1600ft/s)].
--b) At the angle of impact of 13 deg. (top of the CT), the hole was made in the plate of the size of 0.3sq.m. (3sq.ft.). The round exploded at impact. The shot was made at the simulated distance of 83 cables (15,371m) [V=427m/s (1400ft/s)].
--c) At the angle of impact of 30 deg. - break in the plate takes a quality of the hole and the pieces of the round start penetrating into the hole in larger quantities than in the previous shallower impacts. The explosion however happens outside of the belt. The shots were made at the simulated distance of 83 cables (15.371m) and 70 cables (13000m) [V=427m/s (1400ft/s), 488m/s (1600 ft/s)].
--d) At the simulated distance (angle of impact not mentioned) of 65 cables (12,000m) [V=518 m/s (1700ft/s)], the round penetrated and large part of it entered inside. The round exploded during penetration of the armor.
--e) At the angle of impact of 90 deg., at the simulated distance 83 cables (15,371m) [V=427m/s (1400ft/s)], round penetrated, but most of the force of the explosion was spent outside of the armor. Exploded during penetration.
4. Striking 229mm (9") and 254mm (10") armor:
--a) At the angle of impact of 35 deg. at the simulated distance 83 cables (15,371m) [V=427m/s (1400ft/s)], plate was not pierced, but the armor fasteners were damaged by the explosion.
--b) At the angle of impact of 65 deg. for the 229mm (9") and the angle of impact of close to 90 deg. for 254mm (10") at the simulated distance 65 cables (12,000m) [V=518 m/s (1700ft/s)], plate was pierced, but most of the force of the explosion was spent outside of the armor. Exploded during penetration.
305mm (12") HE round pattern 1907, without an AP cap, with Naval Ministry fuse; weight 331kg (810lbs.), burster charge 28kg (69lbs.)
1. Against a 37mm (1.5") armored deck with angle of impact of 13 deg. exploded and made a hole of 5sq.m. (50 sq.ft.). from the force of the explosion pieces of the deck holed the mid 25mm (1") deck. The shot was made at the simulated distance of 60 cables (11,112m) [V=373 m/s (1225ft/s)].
2. Against a 127mm (5") armor with angle of impact of close to 90 deg., at the simulated distance 51 cables (9260m) [V=427m/s (1400ft/s)], round penetrated.
305mm (12") AP round pattern 1911, with AP cap, with Naval Ministry fuse; weight 470kg (1038lbs.), burster charge 13kg (32lbs.)
1. Against a 37mm (1.5") armored deck with angle of impact of 13 deg. exploded and made a hole of 5sq.m. (50 sq.ft.). from the force of the explosion pieces of the deck holed the mid 25mm (1") deck. The shot was made at the simulated distance of 83 cables (15.371m) [V=427m/s (1400ft/s)].
2. Against a 127mm (5") armor with angle of impact of close to 30 deg., at the simulated distance 83 cables (15.371m) [V=427m/s (1400ft/s)], round failed to penetrate (Note: in the same conditions 305mm HE round pattern 1911 penetrated the armor).
3. Striking 254mm (10") armor:
--a) At the angle of impact of 60 deg., at the simulated distance 83 cables (15,371m) [V=427m/s (1400ft/s)], round did not penetrate.
--b) At the angle of impact of 90 deg., at the simulated distance 83 cables (15,371m) [V=427m/s (1400ft/s)], round entered, but at the very limit of penetration and exploded outside.
--a) At the angle of impact of 90 deg., at the simulated distance 65 cables (12,000m) [V=518 m/s (1700ft/s)], round penetrated, exploded during penetration.
305mm (12") AP round pattern 1911, with AP cap, with Dzerkovich fuse; weight 470kg (1038lbs.), burster charge 13kg (32lbs.)
(Note: Dzerkovich fuse was designed to function depending on the force of the impact. If the impact was heavy - indicating armor it exploded with delay, while when the impact was lighter - indicating unarmored section it exploded without delay. During production of these fuses there were significant difficulties (Me: nature of difficulties is unspecified)).
1. Against a 37mm (1.5") armored deck with angle of impact of 5 deg. exploded and made a hole of 3.5sq.m. (35 sq.ft.). from the force of the explosion pieces of the deck holed the mid 25mm (1") deck. Fuse went off without delay. The shot was made at the simulated distance of 50 cables (9260m) [564m/s (1850 ft/s)].
2. Striking 127mm (5") armor:
--a) At the angle of impact of 30 deg. - at the simulated distance 83 cables (15,371m) [V=427m/s (1400ft/s)], fuse went off immediately, the same as Naval Ministry fuse. Armor not penetrated, but lots of spalling.
--b) At the angle of impact of 45 deg. - at the simulated distance 83 cables (15,371m) [V=427m/s (1400ft/s)], the round hit the edge of the armor plate, penetrated it and exploded three feet behind the plate, i.e. fuse went off almost immediately.
--c) At the angle of impact of close to 90 deg. - at the simulated distance 83 cables (15,371m) [V=427m/s (1400ft/s)], fuse went off with delay. Plate (base of the CT) was penetrated, the round exploded inside, at the moment of the head entering the armor on the opposite side of the CT, which was also penetrated, ripped out and thrown several meters. Another round hit the casemate, penetrated the 37mm (1.5") bulkhead at the back of the casemate and exploded near other side of the ship.
3. Against 127mm (5") armor (with fuse set to short delay) out of the two rounds, one was a dud, which penetrated armor of both sides and went overboard, while on the other one penetrated the armor, fuse functioned correctly, exploding 4m (13') behind the armor at the angle of impact of 65 deg. at the simulated distance 83 cables (15,371m) [V=427m/s (1400ft/s)]. The round made a hole in the back armor of the casemate of 1.5sq.m. (18sq.ft.).
4. Against 229mm (9") armor at the angle of impact of 65 deg., at the simulated distance 65 cables (12,000m) [V=518 m/s (1700ft/s)], round (without an AP cap), penetrated the plate, fuse functioned with delay. The round most likely exploded in the machinery spaces. Ship started sinking rapidly.
5. Against 254mm (10") armor at the angle of impact of close to 90 deg., at the simulated distance 83 cables (15,371m) [V=427m/s (1400ft/s)], round penetrated the plate, hit the back side of the CT armor and exploded.
305mm (12") AP round, pattern 1907, with Naval Ministry fuse; weight 331kg (810lbs.), burster charge 4kg (10lbs.)
1. Against 127mm (5") armor of the casemate at the angle of close to 90deg. at the simulated distance 48 cables (8900m) [V=488m/s (1600ft/s)], broke pieces off the armor and dented it. Turret like shield was ripped off, the round exploded into small pieces. the explosion most likely happened inside.
2. Against 254mm (10") armor at the angle of 65deg. at the simulated distance 51 cables (9260m) [V=427m/s (1400ft/s)], broke pieces off the armor near CT viewing slit.
203mm (8") HE round, pattern 1907, without AP cap; weight 112kg (247lbs.), burster charge 15kg (36lbs.)
1. Against a 37mm (1.5") armored deck with angle of impact of 5 at the simulated distance of 35 cables (6500m) [396m/s (1300 ft/s)], round ricocheted.
2. Hit on the edge of the side, the explosion penetrated 37mm (1.5") armored deck and destroyed armored observation post of the secondary artillery battery commander.
3. Against 127mm (5") with angle of impact of 65 deg. at the simulated distance of 58 cables (10,700m) [351m/s (1150 ft/s)], did not penetrate.
152mm (6") HE round, pattern 1907, without AP cap, with Naval Ministry fuse; weight 47kg (101lbs.), burster charge 3.7kg (9lbs.)
1. Hit on the smoke stack with the plating width of 9.5mm (3/8”) at the simulated distance of 22 cables (4070m) [427m/s (1200 ft/s)], round exploded and made significant damage.
2. Against a 37mm (1.5") armored deck with angle of impact of 5 and 10 deg. at the simulated distance of 30 cables (5555m) [366m/s (1200 ft/s)], round ricocheted.
3. Hit on the turret-like gun shield of 76mm (3”) thickness with angle of impact of 90 deg. at the simulated distance of 22 cables (4070m) [427m/s (1200 ft/s)], made a hole in the shield of the size of 76 x 76mm (3 x 3”); the shield was jammed and its mountings were destroyed.
4. Against 127mm (5") with angle of impact of 65 deg. at the simulated distance of 22 cables (4070m) [427m/s (1200 ft/s)], did not penetrate, but damaged wooden backing.
305mm (12") HE round pattern 1911 shots next to the target:
1. Most of the rounds, especially at the angles of 10 and 15 deg. and sometimes at the angles of 5 deg., rounds exploded hitting the water. Therefore it can be concluded that the fuse is sensitive enough.
2. It seems that there were no cases of rounds hitting the ship from the ricochets, therefore it is unknown if the rounds explode in that condition.
3. After the round hitting the water, it seems that a significant change of the trajectory happens toward the sky, because in all of the cases of that type, rounds, irrespective of distance of the short, over flew the ship.
Conclusions from the trial:
1. 305mm (12”) HE round, pattern 1911, is very successful and works against both armored and unarmored parts of the ship at all of the speeds and MVs.
2. 305mm (12”) AP round, pattern 1911, is unacceptable due to the fuse (Me: highlighted in the text). It is imperative that the Dzerkovich fuse should replace the current fuse. It seems that with Dzerkovich fuse and with longer delay (judging from the test results), the round will work much better at the angles no less than 60 deg. and with guarantee that the round will go through the hole without breaking up. (Note: the 1920 firing trials showed that AP round with the Dzerkovich fuse worked very well and head a very good quality).
3. 305mm (12”) HE round, pattern 1907, met expectations, but should be fitted with AP cap.
4. 152mm (6”) HE round, pattern 1907, should also be fitted with AP cap.
5. The trails were made using single shots with long intervals between shots, so any conclusions about danger of fires should be made carefully. In the spaces where the explosion happened wood, cloth and wires were set on fire.
6. The stockpiling of charges and rounds near guns is unacceptable and should never be done and if ammo feed is to slow for the rate of fire, the charges should never be kept open.
7. FC equipment is easily put out of service. Especially bad is equipment directly attached to the side armor or the overhead, while equipment attached using special mountings was not disabled.
8. The armor scheme of Sevastopols was deemed very weak since the 229mm (9”) belt was pierced by 305mm (12”) rounds from the distance of 65 cables (12,000m) at the angles of over than 60 deg., while 127mm (5”) armor was pierced from the distance 83 cables (15,371m) at the angles of over 30 deg. by both HE and AP rounds.
9. The mounting of the armor was too weak. Especially it was found that due to the absence of the mounting between the armor plates even the rounds that didn’t penetrate would make the plate oscillate with destroyed the bolts and the backing behind the armor.
10. The CT armor was to thin, but the mounting of the armor plates using the “swallow tail” fasteners was good and durable.
11. The placement of the decks was found to be erroneous – placing the thickest deck on the top caused the pieces of it to break through the mid and bottom deck in almost all of the cases. The conclusion was that the best way to place decks was to have the thickest deck on the bottom while the top deck was supposed to be only thick enough to detonate rounds before they get to the other decks.
Vladimir
Here is the report taken from L.G. Goncharov's book "Kurs Morskoy Taktiki: Artilleriya i Bronya" (Course on the Naval Tactics: Artillery and Armor), Leningrad, 1932 (pages 145-150). Translated by me.
Here it goes (I tired to keep the translation as literal as possible):
The results of the Russian firing trials made in 1913 to test the Russian Naval rounds in use at the time. The tests were made against "Hulk #4" former battleship Chesma, on which a full section of the Sevastopol class BB armor scheme was built including the main belt and casemates as well as a conning tower. The firing ship was Pre-dreadnought BB Ioann Zlatoust, which was anchored at the distance of 3 cables (555m) firing the reduced charges to simulate distance, while the list was applied to the target ship to simulate angle of impact. The observation of the trial was made from minelayer Prut anchored 1nm from the scene.
The following areas were tested:
a) firing against the top armor deck
b) firing against thick armor (10" (254mm) conning tower and 9" (229mm) main belt)
c) firing against thin armor (5" (127mm) top of the CT and 5" (127mm) upper belt)
d) firing against unarmored parts of the ship (structure of Chesma)
e) firing shorts near the ship.
The results were as follows:
305mm (12") HE round pattern 1911 with Naval Ministry fuse; weight 470kg (1,038lbs.), burster charge 61kg (135lbs.)
1. Against unarmored part of the ship, exploded 1.5-2m (5-6') behind the side of the ship, opened a hole of 20sq.m. (200 sq.ft.), with total destruction area going into the ship of 8m (25sq.ft.) from the explosion.
2. Against a 37mm (1.5") armored deck with angle of impact of 5-15 deg. exploded and made a hole of 10sq.m. (100 sq.ft.). from the force of the explosion pieces of the deck of up to 0.3sq.m. (3sq.ft) holed the mid 25mm (1") and bottom 12.7mm (0.5") deck. The round exploded in small pieces, most of which damage stuff on the upper deck, the smaller part of the shrapnel from the round which went through the hole in the deck do not piece mid deck. The shots were made at the simulated distance of 83 cables (15.371m) and 50 cables (9260m) [V=427m/s (1400ft/s), 564m/s (1850 ft/s)].
3. Striking 127mm (5") armor:
--a) At the angle of impact of 10 deg. - exploded immediately, made lengthwise hole (Me: or dent, not very clear from the text) of 2x1.2m (6x4') and dent in the plate of 0.5m (1.5'). In the place where the plate met the light bulkhead - the place was moved inward by 1.2m (4'). Damage was mostly centered on the outside of the plate. The shot was made at the simulated distance of 70 cables (13,000m) [V=488m/s (1600ft/s)].
--b) At the angle of impact of 13 deg. (top of the CT), the hole was made in the plate of the size of 0.3sq.m. (3sq.ft.). The round exploded at impact. The shot was made at the simulated distance of 83 cables (15,371m) [V=427m/s (1400ft/s)].
--c) At the angle of impact of 30 deg. - break in the plate takes a quality of the hole and the pieces of the round start penetrating into the hole in larger quantities than in the previous shallower impacts. The explosion however happens outside of the belt. The shots were made at the simulated distance of 83 cables (15.371m) and 70 cables (13000m) [V=427m/s (1400ft/s), 488m/s (1600 ft/s)].
--d) At the simulated distance (angle of impact not mentioned) of 65 cables (12,000m) [V=518 m/s (1700ft/s)], the round penetrated and large part of it entered inside. The round exploded during penetration of the armor.
--e) At the angle of impact of 90 deg., at the simulated distance 83 cables (15,371m) [V=427m/s (1400ft/s)], round penetrated, but most of the force of the explosion was spent outside of the armor. Exploded during penetration.
4. Striking 229mm (9") and 254mm (10") armor:
--a) At the angle of impact of 35 deg. at the simulated distance 83 cables (15,371m) [V=427m/s (1400ft/s)], plate was not pierced, but the armor fasteners were damaged by the explosion.
--b) At the angle of impact of 65 deg. for the 229mm (9") and the angle of impact of close to 90 deg. for 254mm (10") at the simulated distance 65 cables (12,000m) [V=518 m/s (1700ft/s)], plate was pierced, but most of the force of the explosion was spent outside of the armor. Exploded during penetration.
305mm (12") HE round pattern 1907, without an AP cap, with Naval Ministry fuse; weight 331kg (810lbs.), burster charge 28kg (69lbs.)
1. Against a 37mm (1.5") armored deck with angle of impact of 13 deg. exploded and made a hole of 5sq.m. (50 sq.ft.). from the force of the explosion pieces of the deck holed the mid 25mm (1") deck. The shot was made at the simulated distance of 60 cables (11,112m) [V=373 m/s (1225ft/s)].
2. Against a 127mm (5") armor with angle of impact of close to 90 deg., at the simulated distance 51 cables (9260m) [V=427m/s (1400ft/s)], round penetrated.
305mm (12") AP round pattern 1911, with AP cap, with Naval Ministry fuse; weight 470kg (1038lbs.), burster charge 13kg (32lbs.)
1. Against a 37mm (1.5") armored deck with angle of impact of 13 deg. exploded and made a hole of 5sq.m. (50 sq.ft.). from the force of the explosion pieces of the deck holed the mid 25mm (1") deck. The shot was made at the simulated distance of 83 cables (15.371m) [V=427m/s (1400ft/s)].
2. Against a 127mm (5") armor with angle of impact of close to 30 deg., at the simulated distance 83 cables (15.371m) [V=427m/s (1400ft/s)], round failed to penetrate (Note: in the same conditions 305mm HE round pattern 1911 penetrated the armor).
3. Striking 254mm (10") armor:
--a) At the angle of impact of 60 deg., at the simulated distance 83 cables (15,371m) [V=427m/s (1400ft/s)], round did not penetrate.
--b) At the angle of impact of 90 deg., at the simulated distance 83 cables (15,371m) [V=427m/s (1400ft/s)], round entered, but at the very limit of penetration and exploded outside.
--a) At the angle of impact of 90 deg., at the simulated distance 65 cables (12,000m) [V=518 m/s (1700ft/s)], round penetrated, exploded during penetration.
305mm (12") AP round pattern 1911, with AP cap, with Dzerkovich fuse; weight 470kg (1038lbs.), burster charge 13kg (32lbs.)
(Note: Dzerkovich fuse was designed to function depending on the force of the impact. If the impact was heavy - indicating armor it exploded with delay, while when the impact was lighter - indicating unarmored section it exploded without delay. During production of these fuses there were significant difficulties (Me: nature of difficulties is unspecified)).
1. Against a 37mm (1.5") armored deck with angle of impact of 5 deg. exploded and made a hole of 3.5sq.m. (35 sq.ft.). from the force of the explosion pieces of the deck holed the mid 25mm (1") deck. Fuse went off without delay. The shot was made at the simulated distance of 50 cables (9260m) [564m/s (1850 ft/s)].
2. Striking 127mm (5") armor:
--a) At the angle of impact of 30 deg. - at the simulated distance 83 cables (15,371m) [V=427m/s (1400ft/s)], fuse went off immediately, the same as Naval Ministry fuse. Armor not penetrated, but lots of spalling.
--b) At the angle of impact of 45 deg. - at the simulated distance 83 cables (15,371m) [V=427m/s (1400ft/s)], the round hit the edge of the armor plate, penetrated it and exploded three feet behind the plate, i.e. fuse went off almost immediately.
--c) At the angle of impact of close to 90 deg. - at the simulated distance 83 cables (15,371m) [V=427m/s (1400ft/s)], fuse went off with delay. Plate (base of the CT) was penetrated, the round exploded inside, at the moment of the head entering the armor on the opposite side of the CT, which was also penetrated, ripped out and thrown several meters. Another round hit the casemate, penetrated the 37mm (1.5") bulkhead at the back of the casemate and exploded near other side of the ship.
3. Against 127mm (5") armor (with fuse set to short delay) out of the two rounds, one was a dud, which penetrated armor of both sides and went overboard, while on the other one penetrated the armor, fuse functioned correctly, exploding 4m (13') behind the armor at the angle of impact of 65 deg. at the simulated distance 83 cables (15,371m) [V=427m/s (1400ft/s)]. The round made a hole in the back armor of the casemate of 1.5sq.m. (18sq.ft.).
4. Against 229mm (9") armor at the angle of impact of 65 deg., at the simulated distance 65 cables (12,000m) [V=518 m/s (1700ft/s)], round (without an AP cap), penetrated the plate, fuse functioned with delay. The round most likely exploded in the machinery spaces. Ship started sinking rapidly.
5. Against 254mm (10") armor at the angle of impact of close to 90 deg., at the simulated distance 83 cables (15,371m) [V=427m/s (1400ft/s)], round penetrated the plate, hit the back side of the CT armor and exploded.
305mm (12") AP round, pattern 1907, with Naval Ministry fuse; weight 331kg (810lbs.), burster charge 4kg (10lbs.)
1. Against 127mm (5") armor of the casemate at the angle of close to 90deg. at the simulated distance 48 cables (8900m) [V=488m/s (1600ft/s)], broke pieces off the armor and dented it. Turret like shield was ripped off, the round exploded into small pieces. the explosion most likely happened inside.
2. Against 254mm (10") armor at the angle of 65deg. at the simulated distance 51 cables (9260m) [V=427m/s (1400ft/s)], broke pieces off the armor near CT viewing slit.
203mm (8") HE round, pattern 1907, without AP cap; weight 112kg (247lbs.), burster charge 15kg (36lbs.)
1. Against a 37mm (1.5") armored deck with angle of impact of 5 at the simulated distance of 35 cables (6500m) [396m/s (1300 ft/s)], round ricocheted.
2. Hit on the edge of the side, the explosion penetrated 37mm (1.5") armored deck and destroyed armored observation post of the secondary artillery battery commander.
3. Against 127mm (5") with angle of impact of 65 deg. at the simulated distance of 58 cables (10,700m) [351m/s (1150 ft/s)], did not penetrate.
152mm (6") HE round, pattern 1907, without AP cap, with Naval Ministry fuse; weight 47kg (101lbs.), burster charge 3.7kg (9lbs.)
1. Hit on the smoke stack with the plating width of 9.5mm (3/8”) at the simulated distance of 22 cables (4070m) [427m/s (1200 ft/s)], round exploded and made significant damage.
2. Against a 37mm (1.5") armored deck with angle of impact of 5 and 10 deg. at the simulated distance of 30 cables (5555m) [366m/s (1200 ft/s)], round ricocheted.
3. Hit on the turret-like gun shield of 76mm (3”) thickness with angle of impact of 90 deg. at the simulated distance of 22 cables (4070m) [427m/s (1200 ft/s)], made a hole in the shield of the size of 76 x 76mm (3 x 3”); the shield was jammed and its mountings were destroyed.
4. Against 127mm (5") with angle of impact of 65 deg. at the simulated distance of 22 cables (4070m) [427m/s (1200 ft/s)], did not penetrate, but damaged wooden backing.
305mm (12") HE round pattern 1911 shots next to the target:
1. Most of the rounds, especially at the angles of 10 and 15 deg. and sometimes at the angles of 5 deg., rounds exploded hitting the water. Therefore it can be concluded that the fuse is sensitive enough.
2. It seems that there were no cases of rounds hitting the ship from the ricochets, therefore it is unknown if the rounds explode in that condition.
3. After the round hitting the water, it seems that a significant change of the trajectory happens toward the sky, because in all of the cases of that type, rounds, irrespective of distance of the short, over flew the ship.
Conclusions from the trial:
1. 305mm (12”) HE round, pattern 1911, is very successful and works against both armored and unarmored parts of the ship at all of the speeds and MVs.
2. 305mm (12”) AP round, pattern 1911, is unacceptable due to the fuse (Me: highlighted in the text). It is imperative that the Dzerkovich fuse should replace the current fuse. It seems that with Dzerkovich fuse and with longer delay (judging from the test results), the round will work much better at the angles no less than 60 deg. and with guarantee that the round will go through the hole without breaking up. (Note: the 1920 firing trials showed that AP round with the Dzerkovich fuse worked very well and head a very good quality).
3. 305mm (12”) HE round, pattern 1907, met expectations, but should be fitted with AP cap.
4. 152mm (6”) HE round, pattern 1907, should also be fitted with AP cap.
5. The trails were made using single shots with long intervals between shots, so any conclusions about danger of fires should be made carefully. In the spaces where the explosion happened wood, cloth and wires were set on fire.
6. The stockpiling of charges and rounds near guns is unacceptable and should never be done and if ammo feed is to slow for the rate of fire, the charges should never be kept open.
7. FC equipment is easily put out of service. Especially bad is equipment directly attached to the side armor or the overhead, while equipment attached using special mountings was not disabled.
8. The armor scheme of Sevastopols was deemed very weak since the 229mm (9”) belt was pierced by 305mm (12”) rounds from the distance of 65 cables (12,000m) at the angles of over than 60 deg., while 127mm (5”) armor was pierced from the distance 83 cables (15,371m) at the angles of over 30 deg. by both HE and AP rounds.
9. The mounting of the armor was too weak. Especially it was found that due to the absence of the mounting between the armor plates even the rounds that didn’t penetrate would make the plate oscillate with destroyed the bolts and the backing behind the armor.
10. The CT armor was to thin, but the mounting of the armor plates using the “swallow tail” fasteners was good and durable.
11. The placement of the decks was found to be erroneous – placing the thickest deck on the top caused the pieces of it to break through the mid and bottom deck in almost all of the cases. The conclusion was that the best way to place decks was to have the thickest deck on the bottom while the top deck was supposed to be only thick enough to detonate rounds before they get to the other decks.
Vladimir
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