The German fleet avenged the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau at Jutland; the Invincible and other British BCs tended to explode violently on contact with, well, anything.
Especially high explosives. Though the RN's habit of ignoring their own cordite handling procedures didn't help either.
Having done some research, it wasn't the cordite-handling procedures but the cordite itself that was the cause. German cordite was more stable, so it never exploded; only burned. This was true in both wars, and a number of German ships suffered magazine fires without huge explosions. The RN's cordite, on the other hand, was very energetic. Lots of hot gas in a short amount of time, could easily generate the pressure necessary to tear a ship apart. It was also enough to tear through the flimsy anti-flash protection of the day, as HMS Lion's cordite flash demonstrated. The ammunition boxes and cages did not protect the cordite, and her bulkheads buckled enough for the flash to reach the magazine. If Lion's magazine had not already been flooded, it would have been the next ship to explode. For more detail, check this out: http://jutland.wikia.com/wiki/Damage
It's something of a chicken and egg story. The RN cordite was less stable than the German propellants, and the German practice of using metal casings help. Neither side had really good flash resistance but evidence from the Jutland wrecks (Invincible? I forget which one) found that the flash resistant doors were not sealed as they should have been. There is probably not one "big" reason, just a chain of smaller failings that when put together came out unpleasantly.
It makes me wonder what would have happened if the German ships were armed 13 inch guns instead of 11 inch....
Ahoy Garret, if you need any more reasons to build an I-boat, how about a name? I'm sure you've heard of the famous HMS Invincible, and HMS Indefatigable, and HMS Inflexible, but are you aware of their lesser-known siblings? Ships like HMS Invisible and HMS Inaudible were also important ships in the fleet, but their contributions are often as overlooked as HMS Immemorable. Of course, HMS Immobile, HMS Innavigable, and HMS Incapable made less of a contribution. Then there were ships like HMS Informidable and HMS Inflatable, which for unknown reasons were always assigned second-line duties. And lastly I must mention the legend that surrounds the one time HMS Insufferable and HMS Irritable visited the same port of call. You can read the complete list of I-boats here: http://www.rcnavalcombat.com/Portals/0/Users/Kotori87/Complete%20List%20of%20I-boats.txt
We've got dibs on the Inconceivable and the Insufferable out here - our resident i-boat is typically Insufferable and when it works, Inconceivable
Hahaha I like the new I boat names. On a different note, has anyone had any experience with the K class cruisers from Battlers Connection?
All the 2.5 unit ww2 light cruisers have a single rudder and similar length and width. Agano, Glorie, Atlanta, Koln, etc. which makes them all near equivalents, with Agano having a slight edge due to hull shape. Personally I like them as a smaller beginner boat for learning cruiser tactics, and they make good secondary ships later. They have enough weight and hull volume to make a relatively easy build, but you do need to watch where you place your components and keep the superstructure light. Ron Hunt
