The Imperial War Museum London

[Joram]

I enjoyed the museum and even though most these pics are WW2 they have a lot of items or at least presentations stretching back from the late 1800s I believe.  
 
The Holocaust exhibit was very well done but a bit of a tear jerker even for someone like me who's actually visited Dachau.  Had to go out and unwind after seeing it!

[Capt. Harlock]

The guns are the famous 15", the finest naval gun Britain ever produced. They entered service with the Queen Elizabeth class, and armed many others not least the Hood and our last battleship - the superb Vanguard.

The 15" were good guns, but for my money the 14" on the King George V class were even better. (Higher muzzle velocity and greater penetration.) And don't forget the 16" models on the Nelson and Rodney -- those are the lads that did the heavy lifting in pounding the Bismarck to a wreck.

[Ironclad]

No, I hadn't overlooked the others. The 15" was a class act from the start and had great accuracy. The 16" was a more natural progression than the sometimes temperamental 14" which the RN had to compromise on given the design restrictions in the lead up to war. All these weapons had great destructive power when they were on target but its worth noting that Bismarck was still afloat (although wrecked) after numerous hits, many at exceptionally close range.

Of course the true successor of the 15" was Fisher's projected 18" but we will never know whether it would have been as successful a design (doubts have been raised about its likely efficacy). The Japanese managed to introduce a working 18" whereas the USA opted for improvements through their super heavy 16" shells and better fire-control; probabably the more cost-effective approach.

[JamesM]

Thank you for the photos JD

[IronDuke_slith]

ORIGINAL: JudgeDredd

And to all who thanked me for showing, it was my pleasure. I had a great day out...truly awesome. We were there for about 5 hours. Free of charge too!

Couldn't help but put a deep sea diver in the collection box though.

Have you seen the Tank Museum at Bovington?

If you haven't, I'd recommend it. Far more vehicles, although obviously less on everything else. I spent 6 hours grinning like a five year old at the Cadbury's factory. Tiger, Panther, they had everything.

Regards,
ID

[JudgeDredd]

Yes I have. I enjoyed it thoroughly, though it needs another visit, because that was quite a few years ago. I remember the Tiger well....beautiful tank! Panther is a looker as well, but I honestly can't remember it there. We were on our way back from holiday in Wales, so we didn't have a great deal of time.

[Ironclad]

Thanks JD. Good set of photos - that jagdpanther is still a deadly looking beast.