Shipbucket

That link is rife with anecdotal information.

The rifles themselves came from a common pool of rifles kept for all 15-inch gun battleships (some of them may have been newer than the KGV!) and I'm not sure where the turrets themselves came from.

Actually all the 15" gun barrels (which Klagldsf is referring to) were manufactured at the same time as the QE and RS classes of battleships were constructed. In fact, some barrels had already been shipped onboard Queen Elizabeth, Ramillies and, possibly Barham! Turrets were the surplus ones from Courageous and Glorious when they were rebuilt into carriers. However, their armor was updated, as was the elevation and some other essential features of the guns themselves. And, since the British, 15" gun generally has been regarded as the best naval capitalgun ever designed, the Vanguard received a worthy armament!

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My Avatar:Петр Алексеевич Безобразов (Petr Alekseevich Bezobrazov), Вице-адмирал , царская ВМФ России(1845-1906) - I sign my drawings as Ari Saarinen

Ummm...yeah? They wouldn't sail them unarmed, would they?

Ok,Klags, lest you misunderstood me: when designing the new, revolutionary gun mounts for the Queen Elizabeths and the Royal Sovereigns, the Royal Ordinance allowed for a pool of gun barrels to be manufactured as well. That means that if the ships between them had 16 15" guns, a pool of 48 barrels were manufactured. Also, only in the case of outright wearing down and the additional risk of barrel fatigue, the barrels themselves were never really discarded. Rather they were relined, re-grooved and then stored for the next exchange. That's how Vanguard was to get her barrels; some which had actually been used by, for instance the Quuen Elizabeth! Now, when the Renowns and Jackie Fisher's odd Large Cruisers were authorised and built, the barrel allowance was subsequently increased. It was, in fact so much increased that, when the 'Mightly 'Ood' was launched, she could be outfitted entirely with pooled guns! It was strictly speaking a question of economics! - So, in other words: no ship sailed unarmed. They did, however, on a regular basis exchange their gun barrels. These were unshipped, inspected, and, in most cases, relined and then stored for later usage!

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My Avatar:Петр Алексеевич Безобразов (Petr Alekseevich Bezobrazov), Вице-адмирал , царская ВМФ России(1845-1906) - I sign my drawings as Ari Saarinen

Thats about right.According to Neil McCart's book the turrets came from Glorious and Courageous,refurbished, with extra armour on the turret faces and increased elevation.The barrels themselves were at one time or another fitted to Queen Elizabeth,Ramiles,Royal Soveriegn,Resolution and the monitor Erebus.Thats in the 15" gun log in the ordnance depot at Priddy's Hard,Gosport.

Hear, hear!

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My Avatar:Петр Алексеевич Безобразов (Petr Alekseevich Bezobrazov), Вице-адмирал , царская ВМФ России(1845-1906) - I sign my drawings as Ari Saarinen

All that means that although HMS Vanguard was too late to fight in WW2, and never fired a shot in anger (having missed the Korean war) her guns actually were used against an enemy.

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Thank you Kim for the crest

"Never fear to try on something new. Remember that the Titanic was built by professionals, and the Ark by an amateur"

Yeah,thats about the long and the short of it.Possibly Jutland possibly Normandy,depending on what guns were fitted to which ships at the time.So can we call these done?

Maybe you should make a note on the second drawing that says Royal Cruise 1947 or some such.

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“Close” only counts with horseshoes, hand grenades, and tactical nuclear weapons.
That which does not kill me has made a grave tactical error

Worklist

Source Materiel is always welcome.

I've got an idea. Remember that link I provided? Why not copy that cute pic of Elizabeth and paste it on the Royal Cruise pic??? Who can mistake that??? - But seriously Bombhead; you created a magnificent illustration of Vanguard. Kudos to you. And I belive you've got the positions of the flags basically correct. The photos does not exactly reveal in too much detail their exact lanyard positions, and the foretopmast appears crowded with the primitive 1940s electronics as it is. I shall save both versions on my HD!

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My Avatar:Петр Алексеевич Безобразов (Petr Alekseevich Bezobrazov), Вице-адмирал , царская ВМФ России(1845-1906) - I sign my drawings as Ari Saarinen