4 ms·
Reading this, and looking at the pictures and discussions about range reminded me of a time years ago (when I was a kid) reading the journal of a WWII combat ve
by cyberferret 7y ago
Reading this, and looking at the pictures and discussions about range reminded me of a time years ago (when I was a kid) reading the journal of a WWII combat vessel captain.
He was captain of a large battleship (akin to the Bismarck or Tirpitz) and I guess these ships were mainly used in long range stand off attacks, because he would talk about seeing the muzzle flashes of enemy ships through his telescope, then waiting 30 to 90 seconds to see where the shells would land near/on his ship.
I was always enthralled by the fact that you knew shells were heading your way bringing death and destruction, but you had to wait around a minute to see if they missed you or they impacted your vessel, and in that time, you had to plot an evasive manoeuvre as well as return fire solutions.
The distance and isolation of sea combat somehow makes it more haunting than the land warfare equivalent of an artillery barrage.
- sandworm101 7y agoWhen cannons were common on land it was not unussual to see cannonballs bouncing across the field towards you. As they were subsonic, you also could hear them coming.
- RobertRoberts 7y agoAfter seeing this video I am not so sure those reports are accurate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jL1DkrYL70s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jL1DkrYL70s
- cyberferret 7y agoI am thinking @sandworm is talking about the old round iron cannonballs (akin to those fired from pirate ships etc) rather than the more modern explosive projectiles that are shown in your video post. That also reminds me of another story I read that was penned by a cavalry officer in the 1800's. He said that the only time you could see a cannonball in flight on the battlefield was when it was pretty much heading straight for you. He recalls an incident once when he met a fellow horseback officer in the middle of a battlefield during a lull in combat, and while talking, the other officer's horse rested its head against his leg. While chatting, he noticed a black blur approaching in the sky out of the corner of his vision and reactively flinched back, and a cannon ball brushed his collar and smashed into the horse's head that was leaning against his leg, instantly killing the poor creature.
- IIAOPSW 7y agoAh the classic story of the headless-horse man.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- sandworm101 7y agoI meant older cannon than that, but notice that even in that video you can hear the projectile long before impact. Id bet you could see the shell in flight if you were standing right in front of it. A half-second is an eternity on a battlefield.
- Someone 7y agoThat is shell fire, not round shot (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Round_shot https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Round_shot) https://www.networkworld.com/article/2221266/mythbusters-accidentally-set-cannonball-on-path-of-destruction.html https://www.networkworld.com/article/2221266/mythbusters-acc...
- benj111 7y agoI've seen footage of modern tanks firing projectiles, and you can see the projectiles, it was from near enough directly behind though.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]