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Rangekeeper
Rangekeepers were electromechanical fire control computers used primarily during the early part of the 20th century. They were sophisticated analog computers whose development reached its zenith following World War II, specifically the Computer Mk 47 in the Mk 68 Gun Fire Control system. During World War II, rangekeepers directed gunfire on land, sea, and in the air. While rangekeepers were widely deployed, the most sophisticated rangekeepers were mounted on warships to direct the fire of long-range guns.Technically, it would be more accurate to use the term "rifle" for long-range ship-board cannon. However, the term "gun" is commonly used and that nomenclature is maintained here. These warship-based computing devices needed to be sophisticated because the problem of calculating gun angles in a naval engagement is very complex. In a naval engagement, both the ship firing the gun and the target are moving with respect to each other. In addition, the ship firing its gun is not a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fire-control System
A fire-control system (FCS) is a number of components working together, usually a gun data computer, a director and radar, which is designed to assist a ranged weapon system to target, track, and hit a target. It performs the same task as a human gunner firing a weapon, but attempts to do so faster and more accurately. Naval fire control Origins The original fire-control systems were developed for ships. The early history of naval fire control was dominated by the engagement of targets within visual range (also referred to as direct fire). In fact, most naval engagements before 1800 were conducted at ranges of . Even during the American Civil War, the famous engagement between and was often conducted at less than range. Rapid technical improvements in the late 19th century greatly increased the range at which gunfire was possible. Rifled guns of much larger size firing explosive shells of lighter relative weight (compared to all-metal balls) so greatly increased the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
QF 4
QF may stand for: Businesses and organisations * Qantas, an Australian airline (IATA:QF) * Qatar Foundation The Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development () is a state-led non-profit organization in Qatar, founded in 1995 by then-List of emirs of Qatar, emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and his second wife Moza bint Nasser Al-Miss ..., a non-profit * Quiverfull, a Christian movement Military * Quds Force, an Iranian expeditionary unit * Quick-firing gun, an artillery piece * A gun breech that uses metallic cartridges; see British ordnance terms#QF * Q-Fire, a decoy fire site used in World War II Other uses * Quality factor, in physics and engineering, a measure of the "quality" of a resonant system {{disambig fr:QF ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
QF 4 Inch Mk XVI Naval Gun
The QF 4 inch Mk XVI gunMk XVI = Mark 16. Britain used Roman numerals to denote marks (models) of ordnance until after World War II. Mark XVI indicates this was the sixteenth model of QF 4 inch gun. was the standard British Commonwealth naval anti-aircraft and dual-purpose gun of World War II. Service The Mk XVI superseded the earlier QF 4 inch Mk V naval gun on many Royal Navy ships during the late 1930s and early 1940s. The ammunition fired by the Mk V gun and the Mk XVI guns were different. The ammunition for the Mk V gun was long and weighed , while the ammunition fired by the Mk XVI gun was long and weighed . The weight of the high-explosive projectile grew from for the Mk V to for the Mk XVI. There were three variants of the gun produced with differing construction methods. The original Mk XVI had an A tube, jacket to from the muzzle and a removable breech ring. The Mk XVI* replaced the A tube with an autofretted loose barrel with a sealing collar at the front of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pom-Pom Director
"Pom-Pom" director was a Director (military), director for British anti-aircraft guns on British warships of the 1930s into the Second World War. Development The Vickers 40 mm QF 2 pounder naval gun, QF 2 pounder "Pom-Pom" gun anti-aircraft mounting was introduced to the Royal Navy in the early 1930s. The multi-barrel mounting was capable of a tremendous volume of fire but the crew had great difficulty in aiming the mounting due to the smoke and vibration created by the guns. It was, therefore, essential to aim the mount from a remote location, using a Director (military), director that had a clear view, free from smoke and vibration. The director crew would aim at the target aircraft and, in the early versions of the director, cause the layer (altitude) and trainer (azimuth) pointers to rotate on the gun mount. The gun crew would then move the mount to match the pointers rather than having to try and aim at the target aircraft. Mark I - III directors Directors I to III contr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
QF 2-pounder Naval Gun
The 2-pounder gun, officially the QF 2-pounder ( QF denoting "quick firing") and universally known as the pom-pom, was a British autocannon, used as an anti-aircraft gun by the Royal Navy.British military of the period traditionally denoted smaller guns in terms of the approximate weight of the standard projectile, rather than by its bore diameter, which in this case was 40 mm. References to 40-mm anti-aircraft guns invariably mean the Bofors gun, while references to 2-pounder anti-aircraft guns mean this gun. The name came from the sound that the original models make when firing. This QF 2-pounder was not the same gun as the Ordnance QF 2-pounder, used by the British Army as an anti-tank gun and a tank gun, although they both fired , projectiles. Predecessors – Boer War and the Great War QF 1 pounder The first gun to be called a pom-pom was the 37 mm Nordenfelt-Maxim or "QF 1-pounder" introduced during the Second Boer War, the smallest artillery piece of that war. It fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Searchlight
A searchlight (or spotlight) is an apparatus that combines an extremely luminosity, bright source (traditionally a carbon arc lamp) with a mirrored parabolic reflector to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a particular direction. It is usually constructed so that it can be swiveled about. The most common element used in modern searchlights is Xenon, Xenon (Xe). However, Rare-earth elements such as lanthanum, lanthanum (La) and cerium, cerium (Ce) are used in phosphors to improve light quality in some specialized searchlights. Military use The first use of searchlights using carbon arc technology occurred during the Siege of Paris (1870-71), Siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War. The Royal Navy used searchlights in 1882 to dazzle and prevent Egyptian forces from manning artillery batteries at Bombardment of Alexandria, Alexandria. Later that same year, the French and British forces landed troops under searchlights. By 1907 the value o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HMS Champion (1915)
HMS ''Champion'' was a light cruiser of the Royal Navy that saw service during World War I. She was part of the ''Calliope'' group of the C class. Construction Eight light cruisers were ordered for the Royal Navy in the 1913 budget. The six ships of the ''Caroline'' class used conventional direct-drive steam turbines but two, ''Champion'' and , had experimental engine designs using geared reduction to match optimum working speeds of turbines and propellers. This followed experimental designs ordered in 1911 using geared high-pressure turbines for the destroyers and and in 1912 using gearing for both high-pressure and low-pressure turbines in the destroyers and . ''Champion'' and ''Calliope'' tested different designs.Brown, pp. 24–25 Built by Hawthorn Leslie and Company at Tyneside, England, ''Champion'' was laid down on 9 March 1914, launched on 29 May 1915, and completed in December 1915. ''Champion'' had two propeller shafts, the port one being driven from the ster ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland () was a naval battle between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet, under Vice-Admiral Reinhard Scheer, during the First World War. The battle unfolded in extensive manoeuvring and three main engagements from 31 May to 1 June 1916, off the North Sea coast of Denmark's Jutland Peninsula. It was the largest naval battle and only full-scale clash of battleships of the war, and the outcome ensured that the Royal Navy denied the German surface fleet access to the North Sea and the Atlantic for the remainder of the war. Germany avoided all fleet-to-fleet contact thereafter. Jutland was also the last major naval battle, in any war, fought primarily by battleships. Germany's High Seas Fleet intended to lure out, trap, and destroy a portion of the British Grand Fleet. The German naval force was insufficient to openly engage the British fleet. This was par ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dumaresq
The Dumaresq is a mechanical calculating device invented around 1902 by Lieutenant John Dumaresq of the Royal Navy. It is an analog computer that relates vital variables of the fire control problem to the movement of one's own ship and that of a target ship. It was often used with other devices, such as a Vickers range clock, to generate range and deflection data so the gun sights of the ship could be continuously set. A number of versions of the Dumaresq were produced of increasing complexity as development proceeded. Geometric principle The dumaresq relies on sliding and rotating bars and dials to represent the motion of the two ships. Normally the motion of the ship carrying the dumaresq is represented by a metal bar running above the instrument. Below the bar is a round metal plate inscribed with a coordinate plot, and an angle scale around its outer rim. The fixed bar is mounted on a bearing that allows it to be turned to represent the direction of motion of the ship, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frederic Charles Dreyer
Admiral Sir Frederic Charles Dreyer (8 January 1878 – 11 December 1956) was an officer of the Royal Navy. A gunnery expert, he developed a fire control system for British warships, and served as flag captain to Admiral Sir John Jellicoe at the Battle of Jutland. He retired with the rank of admiral in 1943, having served through two world wars and having already retired once. Background and early life Frederic Dreyer was born on 8 January 1878 in the Irish town of Parsonstown (now Birr) in King's County (now County Offaly), the second son of the Danish-born astronomer John Louis Emil Dreyer who was director of the Armagh Observatory. Educated at The Royal School, Armagh, in 1891 Dreyer joined the Royal Navy and entered the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth. Royal Navy career Early years At Dartmouth Dreyer performed well in his examinations and was placed fifth in his term. He then served as a midshipman in HMS ''Anson'' (1893–1896) and HMS ''Barfleur'' (1896–1897). ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RQ-2 Pioneer
The AAI RQ-2 Pioneer is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that was used by the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, and United States Army, Army, and deployed at sea and on land from 1986 until 2007. Initially tested aboard USS Iowa (BB-61), USS ''Iowa'', the RQ-2 Pioneer was placed aboard s to provide gunnery spotting, its mission evolving into reconnaissance and surveillance, primarily for Amphibious warfare, amphibious forces. It was developed jointly by AAI Corporation and Israel Aircraft Industries. The program grew out of successful testing and field operation of the Tadiran Mastiff UAV by the United States armed forces, American and Israel Defense Forces, Israeli militaries. Essentially, the Pioneer is an upgraded IAI Scout which was re-engined to accommodate a greater payload by request of the US Navy. To accomplish this, the original "Limbach" two-cylinder two-stroke engine was replaced with a Fichtel & Sachs two-cylinder two-stroke. The Limbach mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
