Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 8:12-9:05

Why the 1921 target ships did not need radio control

A radio-controlled moving target would have made the attack harder, but it would have answered a different question from the planned damage trials.

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Question

Could the 1921 trials have used a radio-controlled target ship?

Short answer

Not for the purpose of these tests. They measured weapon damage, while a moving radio-controlled target would test the crews' ability to hit a ship.

Notes

A radio-controlled ship would be useful for gunnery practice or aircrew training against moving targets. These trials were intended to assess the damage caused by weapons. Inspectors needed a target they could examine after it was hit, and movement added nothing essential to that task. The stationary setup therefore suited the experiment, although it did not reproduce combat against a maneuvering warship.