| Captain Blicero | 19 Mar 2009 4:52 p.m. PST |
Can anyone explain the logic behind the naming of battleship turrets? I understand A and B, but Q? X? Y? |
 Virtualscratchbuilder   | 19 Mar 2009 5:01 p.m. PST |
A and B at one end (of the alphabet) X and Y at the other end and Q in the middle. If you are shouting orders, it's a lot easier to think quick when you have the mental image of X and Y at the far end. If they were ABCDE, you'd have to pause for a sec to remember which was where. At least I do not make the mental connection that "D" is 4th back, for example. |
| Regrebnelle | 19 Mar 2009 6:29 p.m. PST |
Virtualscratchbuilder pretty much sums my understanding of it up. Mark |
| Captain Blicero | 19 Mar 2009 7:34 p.m. PST |
Ok, but why X and Y and not Y and Z? (WHY Y Y  ) And for that matter where does Q fit in? If one needs a middle of the alphabet letter why not K or M etc… |
| Virtualscratchbuilder | 19 Mar 2009 7:42 p.m. PST |
Z sounds like C which could cause confusion. X and Y do not sound like A and B when you shout them. K sounds like A. M does not carry as well as Q when you shout it. |
| Captain Blicero | 19 Mar 2009 8:06 p.m. PST |
Ahh,
I follow the logic. Although I was hoping for a more esoteric answer… |
| vaughan | 19 Mar 2009 11:27 p.m. PST |
Since this system of turret naming is British, Z (zed) doesn't sound like Z (zee). |
| Charlie 12 | 19 Mar 2009 11:35 p.m. PST |
It also depended on the country. While the Royal Navy used ABXY, the German Navy used ABCD. And if you're looking for something esoteric, for HMS Agincourt (with 7 twin turrets) the turrets were named after the days of the week. |
| vaughan | 19 Mar 2009 11:47 p.m. PST |
To further complicate things some German ships with off-centre turrets had the letters running around the edge of the ship instead. |
| Big Martin | 20 Mar 2009 5:57 a.m. PST |
In ships with 2 amidships turrets they were P and Q. |
| OldGrenadier at work | 20 Mar 2009 8:37 a.m. PST |
The USN operated a bit differently. Mounts were designated by type and location. For example, on a New Jersey class BB, 161 mount was the foremost 16 inch mount. On a Fletcher, the aft-most mount was the 55 mount. |
| Captain Blicero | 20 Mar 2009 3:33 p.m. PST |
I knew it was more complicated…
If I have learned anything about military logic it's only that little of it very logical.
I have read about HMS Agincourts particular nomenclature. I use her as the Sultan Osman in GWAS games. (Pretending Perfidious Albion was not so perfidious…) In Turkish the days of the week are:
Pazar…Sunday
Pazartesi…Monday
Salı…Tuesday
Çarsamba…Wednesday
Persembe…Thursday
Cuma…Friday
Cumartesi…Saturday So Sultan Osman would have the following turrets:
P,P,S,C,P,C,C
Would get rather confusing I imagine… |
| Captain Blicero | 20 Mar 2009 4:29 p.m. PST |
I found a link to a nice diagram of German turret designation: Link Regards |
| underling | 23 Mar 2009 1:24 p.m. PST |
"I found a link to a nice diagram of German turret designation:" Does anything like this exist for other nationalities? Kevin |
| 138SquadronRAF | 20 May 2009 6:42 a.m. PST |
Question on the US navy – with the double decked turrets, did the lighter upper guns get a different designation to the heavier lower ones? |
| Chouan | 09 Dec 2009 6:24 a.m. PST |
"Ok, but why X and Y and not Y and Z? (WHY Y Y ) And for that matter where does Q fit in? If one needs a middle of the alphabet letter why not K or M etc…" "Z sounds like C which could cause confusion. X and Y do not sound like A and B when you shout them. K sounds like A. M does not carry as well as Q when you shout it." Nearly there. When shouted "Zed" isn't as clear and doesn't carry as well as "Y", or indeed, "X". "A", "B" are also clear letters when shouted. "X" is really the only iffy one. |
| E Murray | 02 Jan 2010 5:50 p.m. PST |
Although Conway's says Agincourt used days of the week to name the turrets, my Jane's reprint lists them as A, B, P, Q, X, Y, and Z. Of course, Jane's is contemporary, for good or ill. |
| Charlie 12 | 03 Jan 2010 8:09 p.m. PST |
For Agincourt's turret naming, the days of the week were nickmanes applied by the crew, NOT the official designations. |
