Q&A · 1:53:37-1:56:19

Long-range 15-inch fire and a different Jutland

Higher-elevation 15-inch/50 guns would enable longer-range plunging fire and could make Jutland far more destructive for Germany.

Question

What if the Queen Elizabeths and R class had 15-inch/50 guns with 45-degree elevation from construction?

Short answer

They gain long-range plunging fire that could devastate German battlecruisers and turn Jutland into a much heavier German defeat.

Notes

At 45 degrees elevation, the longer 15-inch guns could engage at much greater range and deliver plunging fire. In this counterfactual, shells arriving steeply could penetrate the deck and explode deep inside a hull. A successful hit would therefore be especially dangerous because of where the shell detonated. Jutland could become a much heavier German defeat, although the destruction of the First Scouting Group would probably prompt Scheer to withdraw the rest of the High Seas Fleet.