David K. Brown的评价,出自The Grand Fleet: Warship Design and Development, 1906-1922
The Admiralty did not rest on its laurels when the fighting stopped. There were many technical developments in hand and work on most continued albeit at reduced pace. Some of the most important related to protection against shells, torpedoes and bombs and it is convenient to consider these as the sequel to the lessons of the war itself.
战争结束后,海军部并没有满足于现状。当时正在进行许多技术开发,并且大多数工作仍在继续,尽管速度有所放缓。其中一些最重要的项目与防御炮弹、鱼雷和炸弹有关,可以将这些视为战争教训的继续。
During the autumn of 1919 the new type of 15in shell was fired against plates arranged to represent Hood’s protection. The weakness was that the upper 7in belt could easily be penetrated and the shell, which would explode about 40ft from impact, was still capable of penetrating the deck and magazine roof. The main deck over the magazine was increased to 3in which was thought to be the best that could be done with this old-fashioned ship, already grossly overweight.
1919年秋天,使用新型15英寸炮弹向模拟胡德防御结构的装甲板射击。其缺点是上部7英寸装甲带很容易被击穿,而且炮弹在击穿后会在继续前进40英尺后爆炸,但仍然能够穿透甲板和弹药库上方甲板。弹药库上方的主甲板增加至3英寸,这被认为是这艘已经严重超重的老式船所能做到的最好的弥补。
The salvaged German battleship Baden was used for firing trials on 29 September 1921. Thirty-one 15in shells were fired by the monitors Erebus and Terror, the range was about 500yds but the charge was adjusted to give striking velocities of 1550 or 1380ft/sec, equivalent to ranges of 15,500 or 21,800yds respectively. At 1550ft/sec a 14in turret face plate was penetrated by APC at 18½° to the normal. The 14in conning tower resisted a hit at 30°. Another shell went through the 10in upper belt at 14½° to the normal and burst 38ft later against the funnel casing having gone through a 1.2in bulkhead and a ½in deck on the way.
1921年9月29日,被打捞上来的德国战列舰巴登号被用来进行射击试验。厄瑞玻斯号和恐怖号浅水重炮舰发射了31枚15英寸炮弹,距离约为500码,但装药经过调整,落弹速度为1550英尺/秒(472米/秒)或1380英尺/秒(421米/秒),分别相当于15500码(14.17公里)或21800码(19.93公里)的射程。APC以1550英尺/秒的速度和与法线成18.5°的角度穿透14英寸的炮塔正面装甲。指挥塔的14英寸装甲成功抵抗了30°入射的一枚炮弹。另一枚炮弹以与法线成14.5°的角度穿过10英寸的上层装甲,并在38英尺外爆炸,途中穿过了1.2英寸的舱壁和0.5英寸的甲板。
Three 15in APC rounds were fired through 7in battery armour, at least one of which hit and nearly penetrated the 7 in barbette beyond. CPC shells were fired against the decks and caused very severe blast damage. It seems to have been concluded that the new generation of shells would penetrate thick armour and the new fuses would explode them about 40ft beyond the point of impact. The filling, Shellite in the APC, Trotyl in CPC, would explode violently causing severe damage. This conclusion at least contributed to the adoption of the ‘all or nothing’ system of protection in the new Nelson class battleships. These and other tests showed that the German armour was almost identical in performance to British plates.
三发15英寸APC击穿了7英寸炮郭装甲,其中至少一发击中并几乎击穿了远处的7英寸炮座。CPC命中甲板并造成非常严重的爆炸破坏。似乎可以得出结论,新一代炮弹可以穿透厚重的装甲,而新的引信将在距弹着点约40英尺的地方爆炸。APC中的谢尔特装药和CPC中的三硝基甲苯装药会剧烈爆炸,造成严重破坏。这一结论至少有助于在新型的纳尔逊级战列舰上采用“全有或全无”(全面防护)的防护系统。这些和其他测试表明,德国装甲的性能与英国装甲几乎相同。
Some plates from Baden were fitted in the Superb for further tests on 2 May 1922. The plates and supporting structure were similar to that envisaged for the ‘G 3’ battlecruisers with a 14in belt which the shells would strike at 34° and a 7¼in deck over ¼in plating which was struck at 59°. Both deck and side protection was fired on with 15in shells fired from Terror. The range was 500yds but the charge was adjusted to give a striking velocity equivalent to battle range. Some of the deck plates were 290lb (7¾in) and it was thought that there might be difficulties in providing adequate support. However, the supports proved satisfactory except for some failures in welded joints. Two inert-filled APC hit the deck and only scooped the surface of the armour, though the beams below were seriously damaged. The 14in belt was hit by two APC at 1350ft/sec which broke up with little effect on the plate, though damage was caused when the bottom of one plate moved 15in inboard at its lower end.
1922年5月2日,一些来自巴登的装甲板被安装在壮丽号上进行进一步测试。装甲板和支撑结构与G3战列巡洋舰的计划类似。14英寸的主装甲带以34°的角度被炮弹撞击。叠加在0.25英寸甲板上的7.25英寸甲板,以59度入射角被炮弹撞击。恐怖号发射的15英寸炮弹攻击了甲板和舷侧防护。射程为500码,但发射药经过调整,可提供相当于正常战斗距离的落弹速度。一些甲板厚290磅(7.75英寸),被认为存在支撑上的难度。然而,除了焊接接头出现一些故障外,支撑结构被证明是令人满意的。两枚填充了惰性物质的APC命中甲板,只破坏了装甲的表面,但下面的横梁受到了严重损坏。14英寸的装甲带被两枚APC以1350英尺/秒(411米/秒)的速度击中,虽然其中一个装甲板的底部向内移动15英寸,造成了损坏,但炮弹碎裂了,对装甲板影响不大。
Monarch was fired on both by cruisers and battleships on 21 January 1925. Her protective deck was penetrated by fragments of 6in shell from the cruisers. APC 13.5in shells, filled with shellite, were capable of penetrating the 11in barbette and supporting structure before exploding. Some experimental shells with a TNT filling and a gaine worked well causing very severe blast damage. Several of these trials involved tests with bombs which will be described in a later volume.
1925年1月21日,君主号遭到巡洋舰和战列舰的共同射击。她的防护甲板被巡洋舰的6英寸炮弹碎片击穿。填充谢尔特的13.5英寸APC能够在爆炸前穿透11英寸炮座和支撑结构。一些装有TNT和助爆药盒的实验炮弹效果很好,造成了非常严重的爆炸损坏。其中一些试验涉及炸弹测试,这将在后面的卷中描述。
It is clear that the new shells in the magazines of the Grand Fleet in 1918 could penetrate any side or deck armour then in use and burst reliably and violently many feet from impact.
很明显,1918年大舰队弹药库中的新炮弹可以穿透当时的任何侧面或甲板装甲,并在击穿较长距离后可靠而猛烈地爆炸。
British Battleships 1919-1945书中的纳尔逊装甲布局图