Originally posted by jjoutlaw3
i don't think it matters that much...the accuracy of the cannonballs and whatnot...
It doesn't really, most movies have something dramatized by Hollywood. But I just bring it up sense lots of people like the movie 'because' of its realism and the cannon balls are something that detracts from that (although it goes unnoticed by most).
Originally posted by Myth
Those cannons were highly inaccurate. They seriously couldn't shoot accurately for more than a couple hundred feet. I know it wasn't a full mile, but it was definitely out of the accuracy range for what those things did back in those days. Hell, even the old shitty pirate movies were better about having cannon balls miss and hit the water.
No, I am sorry, you are wrong. I will repeat what I said- an 18 pounder at full elevation had an effective range of a mile. Do you understand what an effective range is? It's not the maximum range, it's the range at which you can be expected to do anything. At half a mile they could reasonably penetrate 30cm of wood, and did so quite often.
You are getting confused because the most effective way to actually seriously damage a ship was to close to point blank range and broadside. This is because, in the days before truly explosive shells, it was almost impossible to actually sink ships in those days unless you set them on fire- you could pound the shite out of them for hours and they wouldn't sink, though the rather less durable crew might not be looking too good.
Surprise was not critically damaged by that opening gunfire. But people died, and that is entirely accurate. There is no reason to think that a decent and planned surprise attack at that range would not have scored hits. Like I say, only the smallest amount of dramatic licence was involved- you might call it a little lucky, but the scene is far from unbelievable.
Originally posted by Ushgarak
No, I am sorry, you are wrong. I will repeat what I said- an 18 pounder at full elevation had an effective range of a mile. Do you understand what an effective range is? It's not the maximum range, it's the range at which you can be expected to do anything. At half a mile they could reasonably penetrate 30cm of wood, and did so quite often.You are getting confused because the most effective way to actually seriously damage a ship was to close to point blank range and broadside. This is because, in the days before truly explosive shells, it was almost impossible to actually sink ships in those days unless you set them on fire- you could pound the shite out of them for hours and they wouldn't sink, though the rather less durable crew might not be looking too good.
Surprise was not critically damaged by that opening gunfire. But people died, and that is entirely accurate. There is no reason to think that a decent and planned surprise attack at that range would not have scored hits. Like I say, only the smallest amount of dramatic licence was involved- you might call it a little lucky, but the scene is far from unbelievable.
Well, I guess if I'm wrong, it was still boring as hell.