4 ms·
I wonder what the rules are? Naval rifle guns have achieved hits beyond 20 miles in combat
by TylerE 4y ago
I wonder what the rules are? Naval rifle guns have achieved hits beyond 20 miles in combat
- Retric 4y agoLooks like +/- 2 inch accuracy which is well beyond naval guns at 20 miles. Custom guided artillery shells could probably hit that kind of accuracy at significantly longer ranges, but pure ballistic weapons simply aren’t designed for extreme accuracy at range.
- rjsw 4y agoIn theory it may not be possible for naval guns to hit targets 20 miles away. In practice it has happened more than once [1] [2]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Calabria https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Calabria [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Glorious#Sinking https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Glorious#Sinking
- Retric 4y agoShips are a lot larger than a 2 inch radius circle. Even +/- 30 feet is more than good enough for a long range naval shelling.
- sbaiddn 4y agoNaval shells have much lower surface to mass ratios. In the limit that that ratio goes to zero the fluid forces disappear and you're left with simple parabolic motion + rotation of the Earth. The fluid flow is the hard one!
- TylerE 4y agoYou’re grossly oversimplifying. Naval firing calculations include factors like the temperature of both the air and the barrel and minor variations in powder quality - and then of course both the thing you’re trying to hit AND the gun itself are both moving in 3 dimensions. Even WWII mechanical fire computers took 30-40 variables as input
- sbaiddn 4y agoBut those factors are physically present in small bullets too, except they're ignored because other forces dominate.
- NaturalPhallacy 4y agoNaval guns can have bullets 18" in diameter and weigh 3,848 lbs though. Source: used to work at NSWCDD