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Simon Harley Profile picture
Simon Harley
@simonharley
Naval historian. Motorbikes sales. Retired hygiene operative and parliamentary intern. The Royal Navy 1854-1919 is my area of expertise. Also at @navyhistorian.
May 31, 2022 • 6 tweets • 3 min read
It is the 106th anniversary of the Battle of Jutland. I’m just going to cover one particular aspect based on my ongoing research into the loss of a third of the British battle cruisers which took part. 1/ The principal propellant, Cordite M.D., consisted of cords which where bundled together (shown in 📽 IWM 580) and covered in a silk bag. At one end was a gunpowder igniter in a wool bag. The whole was called a cartridge, and was meant to burn up in the breech of the gun. 2/
May 31, 2021 • 33 tweets • 11 min read
A thread on propellant loading and safety precautions at the Battle of Jutland. This image shows a simplified cross section of a British dreadnought battleship or battle cruiser mounting and is fairly representative of the various calibres. #history 1/ The propellant was called cordite for obvious reasons. Cords were bundled together in a silk bag and called a cartridge. At ONE end was a gunpowder igniter covered by a protective tear off disc. Four cartridges were required for each shell. 2/
May 31, 2021 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
There is a very different version of this story. It is in John Campbell’s “Jutland: An Analysis of the Fighting”. Read on … 1/ #history Campbell writes that the order to flood came from the Captain via the Transmitting Station (the fire control room below decks) and was sent by a Stoker after the order had been double checked. 2/
Mar 8, 2020 • 11 tweets • 4 min read
I’m going to take you on a journey now. How do you make a 15-inch battleship gun? This is quite a long thread and is an amazing insight into British engineering in the early 20th century. The clips speak for themselves. Enjoy and share! #history 1/ Molten steel being tapped from the furnace. 2/
May 30, 2018 • 13 tweets • 5 min read
A quick, angry #history thread about Room 40 because apparently historians are still making shit up about its location. Last year Barry Gough wrote that it was "in a quiet wing of the Old Admiralty Building". 1/ Those windows outlined in green? That's Room 40. Where the blue lines are? That's the Board Room. @thehistoryguy should know, he's been filmed in it, but still talked rubbish about Room 40. The red lines? The Chief of the Staff's office. In orange? The war room. 2/