Oblique angle penetration testing

Ran some tests to see if the 15 degree offset side mounts on my Atlanta CL could pen the side of my Barham. This was to test the overall concept of quasi side mounts on CL's and DD's. The Barham has fresh skins and passed IRC penetration testing.

First test was both ships parallel to each other. Test one targeted midships of the Barham which presented the most oblique angle of these tests.. All shots bounced.

Test 1



Second test targeted the bow area which presented a less oblique angle. Two of the three shots penn'd.

Test 2





In the following test a angled the Atlanta to the Barham bow on to see where I could start seeing reliable penn's. This also pushed the Atlanta's guns about 24" away from the Barham. The angle in the pic was giving me consistent penn's.






Conclusions? I guess that you won't get much penetration parallel midships. Bow on aiming for the opponents bow offers the best opportunity to land shots. A t-bone attack looks promising but offers the chance for an inadvertent ram. Crossing the bow or stern of an opponent can get you some good angles also but can get you rammed easy. Of course the testing was with bone dry balsa. Wet balsa will penn easier so the parallel attack may be an option after the first sortie of the day.

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Or just look at the results from battling the Nassau. 15 deg. Side mounts. Please Steve not everything is NEW. Just new to you.

 

Just posting test results Carl. Hopefully they may be a benefit to others.

 

I appreciate your work Steve, it’s nice to see real testing where typically we rely on baseless claims.

Have you considered water penetration testing (in general, not just this set up)? My apt has limited capabilities for splash zones

 

Thanks for the test results Steve; quite helpful for planning gun installations for Profintern and the Hawkins Class.

Your test showed an angled attack on bow or stern is most likely to get penetrations and side to side shots with an amidships gun (which I'd considered for both the Hawkins and Profintern) won't be effective.

 

Side attacks may still be viable. Turns out the balsa I was shooting at was not passing pen testing. I had to re-sheet that side of the Barham for Nat's.