Recent content by Wavelength

Allow me to highlight two particular egregious examples of the failings of the KM bureaucracies, which affected the war at sea at critical times. The first was the Torpedo Failures Scandal. KM torpedoes usually didn't work for the first year of the war. If they had, the initial U-boat campaign...

Once you study the failings of the KM naval bureaucracies, it becomes clear that is one primary reason why they were unable to compete in the war at sea.

Yes, nevertheless, the only feasible means to accomplish this was to win the Battle of the Atlantic.

Parsifal, I'm am not new to this, nor am I a German apologist. The need to prevail at sea, and in the air, is a given. Thank you, for agreeing that the Germans were not entirely saddled with obsolete weapons.

parsifal, I never wrote that the FW was superior.

Stona, I don't dispute that those two failing would have been difficult to rectify, but those were ultimately required to win the war they brought onto themselves.

The idea that the Germans soldiered on with obsolete equipment doesn’t hold up to scrutiny, in my opinion. A late model FW-190A, also the Dora, was more or less as capable as a late model Spitfire. An ME-262 was probably a better jet than its contemporary rival jets. A Type XXI U-boat was a...

Yes, that is correct. US face hardened armor is considered among the worst quality of ww2. It is considered about 25% less effective against large caliber ordinance than British CA (cemented armour). British CA is considered the standard of face hardened armor quality. So, that 12-inch belt on...

That is a pretty damning example of the unrealistic battle scenario expectations, battle doctrine, and subsequent ship design, that existed in the USN prior to WW2 and continuing on through the war. Indeed many of these same doctrinal fallacies continue today on the internet. One of mine own...

Electric arc welding as it is known today came of age during WWII. The US and Germany employed extensive welding in warship construction. Nobody else, if we don’t count HMS Vanguard, did until post WWII. I was told once that 18,000 welding rods were used in the construction of the Yamato, but...

MDV550 Heft 7 (aka GKdos 1390/41) contains the German primary documentation on this battle. It clarifies some of the statements listed in the wiki narrative posted above. It contains detailed battle maps, and charts of what type and how much ammo was expended on which targets, how long it took...

The USN was also strapped for fuel during the first year or so. It took awhile to build up the fuel supply. The Japanese failed to go after the stock piles at Pearl when they had the chance.

Which brings up something the IJN should have developed, but didn't in time. Develop effective radar directed fire control for its warships.

I have it right here. It is the SKL analysis of the radar equipment performance. It says that the first salvo’s blast tore the IFF device from its mountings and destroyed it. It says this forced Kummetz to revise his attack plan which was to send in the destroyers while supporting them with...

Only that radar or larger range finders ect.. won't help the probability scoring hits at longer range from a straddle. Having more salvos to spot and correct from would probably help to obtain more straddles more quickly though.