Shipbucket

Just as a side node, to my knowledge, the imperial measurement system wasn't excatly uncommon within the German industry, despite the metric conversion. Also, even today (I'm working for one of Schwartzkopf's sccessor companies, in fact), when a customer asks for imperial measurements in his request/design, he gets it, no questions askes (no matter how much frustration this causes for the responsible designer). So personally I think it would be rather likely for the US Navy to keep their measring system an recieve items in that measurement rather than to switch.

Also as a little bit of additional fluff:

_________________
My worklist
Any help and source material is always welcome.

1. Endicott believed in simplicity. He just chose the wrong vendor RTL.
2. If I had a choice between Bliss Leavitt and Schwartzkopfs in 1931? I would objectively prefer Bliss Leavitt. It was the USN torpedo station torpedoes made upon Goat Island that were terrible, not the Biss Leavitt prototype wetheaters. The BL made Mark 13s work at Coral Sea as the Shoho is sunk by them. The American government factory ones made, are the ones that fail at Midway^1.

^1 One has to understand that the USN contracted Bliss Leavitt to replace the BL Mk 7 and 8 torpedoes the USN used in the 1920s to match the new Devastator they were to obtain in 1936. BL designed the Mark 13, not the USN. They had a contract run of 200 torpedoes to be delivered by 1933. The torpedoes were delivered, put into storage as first use, then the USN torpedo station proceeded to "redesign" the fish so they could make them at the Naval Torpedo Station. One sees how that worked out?

It makes sense for a military to go all SSI in kg/l/m/s

RTL FLUFF: how to simplify the mathematics for analog computers.

Cams, wheels, gears are the methods available to build log function and trig angle analog solution computers starting around 1900 when the British begin with the Dreyer tables and the Argo clocks. The British have to measure by yards (base 3/12 and time base 5/12) to solve the formulae. Good grief that leads to drift and time errors built in as they have to round up and down to match four different mechanical movement ratios. How much simpler for the Germans, who can do it with two geared ratio sets and two printed ballistic books. And to be even more sarcastic to the British, there are Germans who actually can read an argo plot and do it all in their head without the books?!?

If everything in a moving body problem is measured in time over interval as meters/seconds both in range and time to cross that interval, one can get it all down to one cam/gear analog ratio setup or one log ratio solution and use one ballistics book to find solution angles. That is the current RTL Russian system. It works. It is somewhat analog clumsy but it works. The modern USN has to use a digital computer to juggle the four different measurement ratios it uses.

I prefer the metric system. One can solve trig problems in the head easier. This AU USN needs all the help it can get.

I neglected to mention that Mister McKinley's Navy uses Schwartzkopf torpedoes. In 1898 the surface fleet uses compressed air launchers. Subs use Hunter (1862) swimout torpedo tubes.