Quote:
Originally Posted by RightDeve
Quote:
Originally Posted by jivemi
Well my understanding is that basically in order to destroy a heavy tank you gotta score a direct hit. To immobilize a close miss (or direct hit by lower caliber). Battleships were designed to kill other BBs and heavy cruisers by direct fire with their main armament while saving their secondaries--mostly 4- or 5-inch--for smaller targets like destroyers or torpedo boats. Given that even large tanks are even smaller targets and that the BBs were firing indirectly in your trial, who's to say that the result was unrealistic?
Just my two centavos; perhaps someone better informed might help us out here. Cheers.
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When engaging other ships, I presume the gun would be loaded with AP shells. Not so with indirect targets, which would be HE. |
Yes, so would I. Unfortunately for the Japanese in the naval battle off Samar, their armor-piercing shells usually passed through the "baby flattops" and destroyer escorts without exploding. Apparently unnerved and disoriented by waves of carrier air attacks, damage to many ships and loss of the Musashi the day before; plus constant strafing attacks by planes (armed only with HE) this day, along with determined torpedo attacks by the escorts, they believed they were engaging fleet carriers and cruisers IIRC.