The only part that was not swapped out was the hull itself! They just weren't much different! [13] By 1943 officials concluded that she required a complete modernization to extend her service life. With Nelson forced to return home for repairs, Vice-Admiral James Somerville transferred his flag to Rodney on 30 September. There was a fair bit of experimentation leading up to the M4... but once it was decided that was adequate, it was full speed ahaed on the production lines, and only slight tinkering around the edges was allowed form then on. As the British ship manoeuvred to bring 'X' turret to bear while closing the distance, she exposed herself to fire from Bismarck's aft turrets which only managed to straddle Rodney. Their speed was lower than the German battleship, but her rudders were damaged, locked and the full manoeuvrability was dramatically lost. The battleship developed serious problems with her rudder on 29 November and was forced to return to Liverpool, steering only with her engines, for repairs that lasted until 31 December. Under the cover of darkness in the early morning hours of May 19, 1941, the most formidable battleship to have ever been built slipped into the Baltic Sea on its maiden voyage. 56, 63, Ballantyne 2008, pp. The former ship arrived at Greenock to replenish her ammunition, fuel and supplies on 29 May and departed for Halifax on 4 June together with the ocean liner Windsor Castle and escorted by four destroyers. I am not really keen on v's arguements as I think alot boils down to luck (Hood POW V Bismark Prinz Eugen) but its is interesting that the Yamato Class wieghs nearly twice as much as Nelson class but was she twice as good ( I am not comparing as built but say 1943). After an ineffectual air raid on the ships off Sword Beach that afternoon, Rodney withdrew to replenish her ammunition at Milford Haven. Why build them? [33], When Great Britain declared war on Nazi Germany on 3 September 1939, Rodney and the bulk of the Home Fleet were unsuccessfully patrolling the waters between Iceland, Norway and Scotland for German blockade runners and then did much the same off the Norwegian coast from 6–10 September. A pair of torpedo-control directors with 15-foot rangefinders were positioned abreast the funnel. [52] Twenty minutes later, Rodney opened fire with her main guns on a wave of approaching Italian torpedo bombers, hoping to knock some of them down with shell splashes, which "frightened us, our escort and [the] Italians". I just do not think the class was ugly. The ship was fitted with an aircraft catapult on the roof of 'X' turret and a collapsible crane abreast the bridge was also added in 1937 to hoist the aircraft in and out of the water. [8], Underwater protection for the Nelsons was provided by a double bottom 5 feet (1.5 m) deep and a torpedo protection system. The turbines were rated at 45,000 shaft horsepower (34,000 kW) and intended to give the ship a maximum speed of 23 knots. Captain William Whitworth replaced Custance on 21 February 1936 and he was relieved in his turn by Captain Ronald Halifax on 25 July. Also keep in mind that the Yamato was better amoured than the Bismarck was. They had a total depth of 12 feet (3.7 m) and were backed by a torpedo bulkhead 1.5 inches thick. The following morning Rodney began engaging targets in Caen proper, beginning the gradual devastation of the city, including the destruction of the spire of the Church of Saint-Pierre. TDS 7 Guess Speed 17 26 vs 25 knots. 98–100; Haarr 2013, p. 243; Rohwer, p. 16, Admiralty Historical Section, pp. Dalyrmple-Hamilton declined to pursue Gneisenau when she turned away at her top speed of 31 knots (57 km/h; 36 mph) and was able to rescue 27 survivors and 2 dead seamen from one lifeboat before returning to her convoy. Britannic was taking civilians to Canada and would be bringing Canadian troops and airmen back to Britain. Of course to make it really equal you would have to give the Germans air superiority and equal numbers of people. They were completed on 28 March and Rodney steamed back to Scapa where she arrived on 1 April. In poor condition from extremely heavy use and a lack of refits, she was reduced to reserve in late 1945 and was scrapped in 1948. She also carried 521 military passengers bound for Halifax, as well as an American assistant naval attaché conveying important documents back to the United States. Other ships had dealt with the warships in Oran's port of Mers-el-Kebir, but the four 194-millimetre (7.6 in) coast-defence guns of Fort du Santon overlooking the harbour were still shooting at the British ships. She was transferred to BISCO early that year for disposal and the ship was allocated to Thos W Ward on 26 March to be scrapped at Inverkeithing.[67]. 6 years ago | 11 views. Ahmed Yamani. "[2] The emphasis on saving weight resulted in deficiencies which affected the performance of Rodney during the Second World War. You may sink one Nelson, but its almost certain that getting both is impossible. oh - if i were Yamato i would definately concentrate on one NelRod... hopefully i could hurt it enough/destroy it before turning to the other without taking too much in return... at worst i could prabably quite badly hammer one and then withdraw (if my speed is unaffercted). Repairs at Rosyth began on the 18th that included structural reinforcement of the hull plating and general reinforcement of the forward hull structure. Seems such a waste! These have dealt with the British King George V Class, French Dunkerque and Richelieu Classes, ItalianVittorio… That day the ship also fired at coast-defence guns at Houlgate and Benerville-sur-Mer. There are some shots of Nelson taken from off her starboard bow from a smallc raft. 130–133; Ballantyne 2008, pp. She arrived back at Rosyth on 2 December where she was docked in No. [65], Long-range artillery on the German-occupied island of Alderney was disrupting Allied operations off the north west corner of the Cotentin Peninsula after the landings in Normandy. 156–159, 162; Burt, p. 383, Ballantyne 2008, pp. [16], While under repair at Rosyth in August–September, four additional Oerlikons were added on the quarterdeck. 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