Shipbucket

Thanks very much to everyone for your comments, much appreciated.

http://www.navweaps.com/index_nathan/Pe ... States.htm

U.S. 8”/55 gun, Mk 15 Hard-Nose Special Common (1930-45) 260-lb shell with 221.5-lb body weight; maximum range is 31,860 yards.

U.S. 8”/55 gun, Mk 19 1-3 (1938-45) 260-lb shell with 216.3-lb body weight; maximum range is 31,860 yards.

U.S. 8”/55 gun, Mk 21 1-4 (1941-44) 335-lb shell with 268.4-lb body weight; maximum range is 30,000 yards.

U.S. 8”/55 gun, Mk 21-5 (1944-72) 335-lb shell with 271.9-lb body weight; maximum range is 30,000 yards.

No it won't. Typical US Japanese engagements around Guadalcanal usually ranged from 7000 to 5000 meters or much less.

Here are the results;

http://www.combinedfleet.com/atully03.htm

Hei was drilled, perforated and swiss cheesed by US 8 inch/55 Mark 12s and 14s throwing shells into her along with US 6 inch and 5 inch shells.

USS San Francisco (probably) finally ripped fatally into that ship's vulnerable stern wrecking her steering. Hei was better armored and armed than the ship illustrated above.

Point? Depending on who does what and on the crews, no ship is float bubble immune just because of some assigned thickness of belt armor around the raft versus expected gun caliber. Hei was far better handled in battle than Graf Spee or Hood or even Bismark. Yet, in spite of that Japanese professionalism, the Americans got her. And they largely had their artillery to thank for it. That work by USS San Francisco set up Hei for the USS Enterprise to finish wrecking her. After the torpedoes it becomes academic, as in the case of Graf Spee, whether she sank from American damage or a scuttle. She died. All that really matters is first cause and those were those eight inch shell hits.
 

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Really nice work...love the Atlantic bow and the three turret design! Worthy successors to the Deutschlands indeed!

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MS State Guard - 08 March 2014 - 28 January 2023

The Official IJN Ships & Planes List

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