There can be no set pattern size for any ship as on any given day the sea state is different and the ship’s heading with respect to the waves is different. This changes the pattern size.
As the sea state changes and the ship’s heading changes with respect to the waves and troughs, the bending and twisting of the ship changes. The bending and twisting of the ship changes the alignment of the roller paths of the turret, gun mounts, and directors with respect to each other, and affects the size of the pattern and the range of the MPI of salvos.
The pattern size can only apply to the ship on the day of firing and at the particular ship’s course in relation to the waves on that day. For these reasons the USN did not and could not produce a table that reflected an accurate pattern size for any ship, nor could any other navy.
- USN Gunnery and Fire Control
- Iowa Class Battleship Projectile Stowage Quantity and Total Projectile Loadout
- Parbuckling
- Accuracy of Shipboard Gun Fire
- Pattern Size Decreases
- As Gun Elevation Increases the Range Pattern Decreases
- The Effect of Variation of Gun IV Due to Powder
- Pattern Size and Causes of Variation
- USN Provided Information
- Drift of a Projectile
- Coriolis Force
- Projectile Seating
- Mouth Plugs
- Range Tables Column 11
- Temperature of the Gun after Repeated Firings
- Manufacture, Assembly and Machining of United States Naval Guns
- Naval Ordnance and Gunnery — Gun Barrel Construction
- Meanwhile Back at the Gun Factory
- OP 127 — United States Naval Guns, Their Marks and Modifications
- United States Navy Range and Ballistic Tables 1935
- United States Navy Exterior Ballistics 1935
- United States Navy Range and Ballistic Tables 1946 (under construction)
- Range vs. Gun Elevation
- OP 945 — Range Table for 20mm AA Gun
- OP 245 — 8-Inch Range Table, 260-Pound Projectile, 2750 FS IV, Long Pointed Projectile
- OP 253 — 8-Inch Range Table, 260-Pound Projectile, 2100 FS IV, Long Pointed Projectile
- OP 770 — Range Tables for the 16″/50 Gun IV 2500 F.S., 2700-Pound Projectile
- OP 757 — Range Tables for the 16″/45 Gun IV 2300 F.S., 2700-Pound Projectile
- OP 1091 — AA Range Tables for the 16″/50 Gun IV 2615 F.S., 1900-Pound HC Projectile
- OP 1100 — Range Tables for the 16″ HC MK 13 Mod 0, 1900-lb Projectile, for the 16″/50 Gun IV 2690 F.S.
- 16″/50 Gun Jump when Firing the 1900-lb HC MK 13 MOD 0 Projectile
- OP 1188 — Abridged Range Tables for 16″/45 and 16″/50 Caliber U.S. Naval Guns
- OP 1457 — Range Tables for the 16″ AP Mark 8 Mod 0, 2700-lb Projectile, for the 16″/50 Gun IV 2425 F.S.
- 5″/38 Range Tables
- 8″/55 Range Tables
- 5″/38 Caliber Guns Mark 7 — Wear and Erosion Data
- 16″/50 Caliber Guns MK 7 — Wear and Erosion Data
- Coast Defense Guns
- Analog Computers of Hannibal Ford and William Newell
- 10797-A — Naval Ordnance and Gunnery (NAVPERS)
- 10783-B — Principals of Naval Ordnance and Gunnery (NAVPERS)
- 10784-A — Principals of Guided Missiles and Nuclear Weapons
- Understanding Soviet Naval Developments
- Powder Magazine — USS North Carolina
- Powder Flat — USS Alabama
- Firing Tables for Gun 8-Inch Mark VI Mod 3A2
- Kodiak Military History Museum (external link)
Note: OP 1457 Range Tables for the 16″ AP MK 8 MOD 0 2700-lb Projectile and OP 1100 Range Tables for the 16″ HC MK 13 MOD 0 1900-lb Projectile are for the 16″/50 guns of the Iowa Class Battleships. Full (service charge) for both projectiles is 6 bags; the total weight of the six bags being 650 lbs.