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ed.goforth writes:
"Gears of war: When mechanical analog computers ruled the waves over at Ars is a quick recap of the history of naval targeting & fire control systems and the transition from analog to digital. In short, you'll never believe just how good those old designs were, and how much work it's taken to make GPS-based guidance be as accurate."
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A Brief History of Analog Targeting Systems
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Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Geezer on Tuesday March 18 2014, @01:34PM
It confirms my general impression when I visited a WWII heavy cruiser about to be scrapped (USS Toledo in San Diego, many years ago). The visible mechanisms of the fire control solution table in Main Battery Plot were like some clockwork-builder's wet dream, and yet allowed for extremely accurate prediction of a projectile's over-the-horizon flight based on numerous analog inputs.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by frojack on Tuesday March 18 2014, @08:26PM
It is also interesting to note that these mechanical marvels also calculated the firing solution based on a specific ship position. Once that solution was locked into the gun, the turret officer would pull the electric trigger, but nothing would happen until the ship rolled or pitched into the calculated position.
There could be a disconcertingly long delay between the firing bell and the actual shot, especially if the trigger was pulled as the ship nosed down into a wave, as the computer would delay the firing until the bow rose again.
This was a totally separate computer, (rather simple compared to the fire control computer). Some turrets were mounted on gimbals, but that wasn't practical on the largest naval guns.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.