Vickers Fire Control Instruments
Vickers manufactured a variety of Step-by-Step Fire Control Instruments and bells for shipboard communication. The Royal Navy tested and deployed Vickers instruments in a number of ships, eventually favouring their F.T.P. instruments for use in keeping sights set to the proper range and deflection.
Dial Instruments
TODO:
- HFCI Plate 6 diagram circuit
- HFCI Plate 7 range tx
- HFCI Plate 8 combined range and def rx
- HFCI Plate 9 check fire switch
- HFCI Plate 10 Cross-connecting gear
Vickers dial instruments were step-by-step devices. The range and deflection transmitters had tell-tale receivers built into them to indicate the value, and a single handle by which to drive the value through its range.
There were no separate order instruments, but the transmitters featured a 3 position "check fire switch" could be set to "Control Fire" or "Check Fire" to cause the receivers to expose a red or a white disc, respectively. The intermediate position of this switch was labelled "Off" and removed power from the attached instruments entirely.
F.T.P. Instruments
The need to keep sights set for range and deflection was one that suffered from error and latency if the process were not automatic or at least one that could be done in a manner catering to simple eye-hand mechanics. The Royal Navy experimented with a number of efforts to entirely automate sightsetting, but the difficulties were such that a follow-the-pointer was seen as a reliable and reasonable expedient.
As a result, the front-line ships of the Royal Navy in the war relied on Vickers F.T.P. instruments to allow indicated data to be quickly and accurately established on sights at guns and directors.
See Also
Footnotes
Bibliography
- Template:BibUKARTS1903
- Template:BibUKARTS1904
- Template:BibUKARTS1906
- Template:BibUKTorpedoDrillBook1905
- Template:BibUKTorpedoDrillBook1908
- Template:BibUKTorpedoDrillBook1912
- Template:BibUKTorpedoDrillBook1914
- Admiralty, Gunnery Branch (1910). Handbook for Fire Control Instruments, 1909. Copy No. 173 is Ja 345a at Admiralty Library, Portsmouth, United Kingdom.
- Admiralty, Gunnery Branch (1914). Handbook for Fire Control Instruments, 1914. G. 01627/14. C.B. 1030. Copy 1235 at The National Archives. ADM 186/191.
