Limit range of casemate guns

[SmoCro]

Recently had some 8" casemate guns on my battleship and when they started to open fire they shot straight ahead...and as soon as the shot left the barrel they arched up 45°.

Graphic error, of course.

Illustrates a more important point though:

How much elevation can you get with casemate guns and how much does that cut into range?

[Shaftoe]

That's an important issue if the game aims to be historically accurate. Good point.

[akd]

I believe casemates were generally limited to 15-20 degrees elevation at most, which was one of their big drawbacks as gun ranges increased.

[disc]

The majority of casemates did not exceed 20 degrees in elevation. The range at that elevation would vastly depend on the gun's power. A 6in gun might reach between 10000 to 21000 yards, depending, so it is hard to say what "should" be without looking at the specific gun and shell.

The elevation restriction was not a hard and fast rule, mind. It is somewhat harder to increase the elevation of a central pivot gun, but this can be worked around. Japan upgraded its casemate guns to 30 to 35 degrees after WWI.

Lower range is also acceptable for fighting off destroyers, which may be expected to make point-blank night attacks. However, the threat of longer range DD day attacks grew over time.

Casemates ultimately died out for a few reasons. They are harder to give high elevations; they have poor firing arcs; unless they are set significantly back from the hull, they suffer from spray and green seas; they may require relatively more armor than a battery concentrated in turrets.

 

[Hrulj]

I think the game should allow the player in the campaign to advance the research of casemate weapons if he so chooses. Things can be improved with higher elevation, better insulation from the sea spray and potentially vertical stabilizers in the later period to eliminate inaccuracy due to ship sway. The thing is you are still left with gun that has a rather limited field of fire. Maybe one direction that can be explored is casemate cupolas on the side of the ships. Range should be limited early on especially though

[Brandon L]

I dont care for the thought of advancing tech in that way. This is not an RPG where you level up your magic, and sword thrusts etc etc.

[akd]

More importantly, the advancements in gun and mounting research lead inevitably to turret mounting rather than improving casemates as turrets were a much better solution.  Past a certain point, casemate research should be a dead end where any improvements are met by or exceeded by turret mountings.

Would like to see casemates with a elevation / range limit regardless of gun tech level, but would also like to see secondary guns given realistic max ranges.

Edited February 1, 2020 by akd

[DougToss]

I think RTW assumes that casemates over 10in are unfeasable. 

[SmoCro]

UA:D casemates are already limited to 8".

[Cptbarney]

Im surprised they can even reach 20 degrees of elevation without messing up the insides of a ship, maybe some nations can be given worse elevation or better based on tech and other factors?

[Latur Husky]

You guys do realize that it's not only elevation that has impact on gun range but also barrel lenght, amount and type of propellant used, shell weight and type etc.? 

Edited February 3, 2020 by Latur Husky

[DougToss]

1 hour ago, Latur Husky said:

You guys do realize that it's not only elevation that has impact on gun range but also barrel lenght, amount and type of propellant used, shell weight and type etc.? 

All else being equal, the reason a turret would have a longer range than a casemate is elevation.

 

[SmoCro]

22 hours ago, Latur Husky said:

You guys do realize that it's not only elevation that has impact on gun range but also barrel lenght, amount and type of propellant used, shell weight and type etc.? 

 

20 hours ago, DougToss said:

All else being equal, the reason a turret would have a longer range than a casemate is elevation.

 

+1

I quite frequently have 5" guns both in turrets and casemates on my ship.

I can see the turrets elevating to 45° at maximum range.

All else being equal the casemate guns would not be able to elevate that high.