This is going to more then going to getcmy tail kicked. But old Rondey Can't hit the Board side of a barn Nikki
From Wikipedia: Rodney fired 340 16-inch shells, some in 9-gun broadsides and 716 6-inch shells during the battle, scoring many hits from a range of under 3,000 yards (2,700 m) and inflicting most of the damage suffered by Bismarck, whose stern was blown off.[5]
Wikipedia is wrong re the stern. It wasn't blown off but separated cleanly along the weld lines at the aft bulhead that formed the rear of the armoured citadel. You can see this clearly in the You Tube documentary of David Mearns' expeditions to the Bismarck and Hood wrecks in ~2001. It's believed by naval architects that the relative buoyancy of the stern caused the separation while sinking.
are there any Nelsons active, or have there been in the past? How did they distribute the armament? they seem like they'd make a decent platform if built well.
Slow billboards that will be eaten alive by stern sidemounts, while getting retribution on the enemy’s deck. Guns towards the middle mean lots of juicy area before bringing guns to bear.
Before the Nelson Class was allowed dual sidemounts the only way to install 5 guns was 1 in a secondary gun position aft (stern gun), 1 sidemount forward and a triple bow gun. All 4 quadrants couldn't be covered and a dual sidemount wasn't allowed. Alternatively, you could put all of the guns in the main turrets with 2 single sidemounts and a triple firing in the bow quadrant. That's how Ralph Coles built his first RC combat model in 1996; the triple could only go in B turret (due to the rise at the bow forward a triple in A turret couldn't clear the forward deck) and even then couldn't depress significantly due to the roof of A turret being in the way and still needing to clear the bow. Ralph's triple was firing almost horizontally, a complete waste of 3 BB cannons. I don't think he ever hit anything with them but shredded a lot of shrubbery along the shore. I don't think anyone built the Nelson Class then because they were handicapped by the rules. After the rule changes allowing Nelson and Rodney to have 2 dual sidemounts the logical place for the 5th gun was aft in a 6" turret. I've got one of Ralph's 2nd edition of the hull (which I helped him make with more accurate plans), a set of his main and secondary turrets, and a fiberglass deck I made. I did scale drawings that showed BB cannons in A and C turrets would be able to hit the surface of the water within 18" at maximum depression. The ends of the cannon barrels can be depressed almost to deck level so their BBs would not be hitting an opponent's deck unless they were very close to each other. The Nelsons aren't ideal combat models but they've always been my favorite British battleships; I'll probably build Rodney eventually. I hear the Richilieus aren't too bad with 2 dual sidemounts but they're faster (and a bigger target).
alternately, two pumps and dual sidemounts off either side? it'd still be a wall of target, but I imagine the captain would be a madman in the first place and naturally inclined to tomfoolery and mayhem.
That's what I've been considering. Much better ability so slug it out side to side and survive with 2 pumps. Like the County Class British cruisers the 'wall' is not that much higher than other comparable ship classes. Their slightly higher freeboard, flush deck and extra reserve buoyancy helped the 2 Counties and the Canarias survive their '5 minute' call in many NABS battles and Cannats. Nelson's freeboard is about 1/2" higher than Bismarck's or North Carolina's.
Will do. I plan to install Rodney's fiberglass deck this summer but need to install the rudder tube before the deck goes on. The slots for the prop shafts are done and I've received a pair of custom built prop shafts. I've got most of the components I need for the build: Mabuchi 540 drive motors, a pair of Master Airscrew reduction gear units, a BC large bilge pump, tight tolerance stainless steel cannon barrels from Strike, waterproofed servos on modular brass mounts that can be switched between models, and the Clippard CO2 system that was in Hood before it was disarmed and sold.
