The Drydock - Episode 069

If someone where to create a searchable index of every topic/answer covered in every drydock so we'd have a way of finding previously answered questions fast, that would be amazing

What was the big clock for on US battleship cages? (Never mind. Found the answer in Drydock 44)

That song was awesome XD

Colonel Cheng

Last night was our weekly wargame. It was ACW Ironclads. There were a LOT of 'critical hits'. A few ships went 'BOOM' and glugged. Everyone was wondering why I was humming 'Battle Hymn Of The Republic'.

Kevin Kennelly

Q&A. Hey Drach. Long time listener, first time caller. The 1918 Royal Navy was a monster. The 1939 Royal Navy was a fair bit smaller but considerably more modern in many ship classes. If they got into a shooting war through some timey wimey shenanigans, which Royal Navy would come out on top? Modernity or mass?

I don't know if this question has been asked before or not, but why was the 5"/38 so effective an AA gun compared to other DP guns of similar size? Better technical capabilities/shells or just the American sense of "why is there deck space here, why isn't there a gun?"

A couple of additional thoughts on your trip to Boston. I believe that your plan is to arrive on a Friday evening and spend Saturday- Sunday touring the Boston area (Constitution et. al.) and Monday-Tuesday at Battleship Cove. I would respectfully suggest that you devote Saturday-Sunday to Battleship Cove instead. Traffic in the Boston area is generally appalling. The trip from downtown Boston (where I presume you're staying) to Battleship Cove is an hour-plus under ideal conditions, possibly much more with weekday traffic. Making the trip on the weekend would be much easier IMHO. Moving around downtown Boston is not much more challenging on a weekday than a weekend, so accessing the Constitution and Navy Yard would be about the same. I don't know what your plans for ground transportation are while in Boston, however I'd like to volunteer my services as chauffeur to and from Battleship Cove should you choose to make the trip on the weekend (I'll be working Mon-Tue). Hopefully this would simplify things for you. One last note, I believe you mentioned at one point that you've never used a firearm but would be open to the experience, possibly while in the States. Should it strike your fancy and if you are able to find the time, I'd like to extend such an invitation - I have all the necessary permissions and access to the appropriate facilities. Best, Chris

Christopher Dent

Q&A: In the age of sail, what sort of design processes went into making a 'fast' battle ship? I imagine adding as much sail as possible would be one way to make a fast ship, but there would be a tipping point when too much sail would make the ship unstable? Hull design would also surely play a part in this (ala Acheron from Master and Commander), can you detail what ship designers might do in order to make their hulls more 'slippery'?

Q&A: Concerning torpedeos; was there ever an thought to developing kenetic kill weapons to counter torpedoes similar to the PHALANX for anti-ship missiles/aircraft, or did the torpedoes simply run too deep ( I am thinking of something like using 20-40mm rapid fire guns firing at the torpedeos as they approach the ship)?

Robert Henry Illston

PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE! Release the Drachinifel sea chant.

Robert Henry Illston

Excellent!! I'll plan on it, and keep watching for details. You can reach me as/when needed at nogripes@aol.com. Larry

That would be awesome :)

Drachinifel

Perhaps a repeat of an earlier offer, but Googlemaps shows the drive from Wilmington, NC to Charleston, SC to be about 3 1/2 hours. If you would rather drive than deal with the airports, I'd enjoy providing that transportation. - Larry Murphy

Hi Drach,

Bravo!