A Naval History Quiz...

C

Captains Cat

New member
Here's a picture of the USS Texas in 1919. Note the clock on the superstructure in the red circle. What was its function?

USS_Texas_1919.sized.jpg


Charlie
 
Most historians would say it was a Range Clock, but the real story involves WW1 Marines who could not understand ships bells. They needed something with a big hand and a little hand to properly tell time, so in addition to being a Range clock, it kept the Marines on time.

Don
ETCM(SS) USN RET
 
Sneaks":1se16jwb said:
Marines who could not understand ships bells. They needed something with a big hand and a little hand to properly tell time, Don
ETCM(SS) USN RET
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And why do they care what time it is? :wink


Airborne, All The Way! :smiled
 
Captains Cat":1oedmpd3 said:
Here's a better picture, this one from the USS Utah. You'll note that it only has 10 numerals on it. Perhaps it was for the marines after all. They wouldn't have to take off their shoes to figure it out :roll: What is it?

USS_UTAH.jpg
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It had two functions:1/ to send semaphore to surrounding ships of the line and, 2/to indicate how much time remained before they could no longer edit a post. .
 
dotnmarty":2wm1gmtz said:
It had two functions:1/ to send semaphore to surrounding ships of the line and, 2/to indicate how much time remained before they could no longer edit a post. .
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Semaphore is a good guess but no cigar..

Actually, #2 would have been very useful for some of us! :lol: :wink:

Charlie
 
Range clocks were mechanical and wound and calibrated in 100 yard increments. Spotters called out the range to enemy ships to the gunners. They were set when the ships were initially spotted.
 
Not exactly but it's close enough. They weren't mechanical at all, but set by hand to indicate the range to a target that a line of battleships were shooting at.


On the UTAH photograph, the large dial with numbers at the center top was popularly known as a "range clock." This dial, along with one on the aft side of mainmast, was used to indicate the range to the target to other battleships in line ahead and astern. The numbers painted around the base of the turret (foreground) similarly indicated the azimuth, or direction, to the target. These two devices together, it was believed, would allow a squadron of battleships to concentrate their gunfire on a single target even if some of the ships couldn't actually see the target themselves due to smoke or weather conditions. The UTAH photo is a U.S. Naval Historical Center photo NH76569.

BTW CWO2, I really like your TV recording device :roll: :lol:

Charlie Capt USN Ret.
 
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