Go to top of page and click FAQs on the menu bar.
There are 2 posted and the top one is the one you want, i hope.
This might answer your questions or point you to someone who can answer.

JMW
www.ViscoAnalyser.com
 

close but no bana2, the squid thing aint like the army thing,
I did find a reference that might date it to 1942, but that seems real late,
BB

That brings up my time in the navy, early 80's, they still had these 5" gun analog Mk 56 computers made out of synchros and servos that looked like something out of the 50's.  The computer was in this big room and the computer took up most of the room and of course had this humming sound all the time. My one friend was so proud to get this school, I kind of felt sorry for him.

But I got this really up to date radar system where the main computer was this six bays long.  One side that had 3 bays of cards was the main program, then the other side was 3 bays of cards, that did the arithmetic functions.  Man was that state of the art designed from the sixties. lol  When I got out and started looking at what intel was doing, that computer was basically the same as their chip, that was in a 2" x 2" size, that was in the desktop computers.

 

Brian,

1. you are from the US of A, supposedly - but that isn't readily apparent from your posting - could cause confusion, as many countries have/had "Coast Artillery", and

2. the M1 designation is for the computer, or the gun?  Assume the computer.  US military designation, from what branch?  The US Army manned the coast guns, not the navy.  So jmw gave good info...

also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_Data_Computer

Analog computers dated back to at least the 1910's.

Battleship Texas (BB-35), sister ship to the USS New York, was built with pre-WWI technology, and had an analog gun control for the main battery of 13 inch guns.  Compensated (by gears and motors) for curvature of the earth, Coriolis effect of the earth's rotation while in flight, latitude of the ship, own ship's course and speed (obviously), target course and speed, air temperature, gun barrel temperature ( not positive! ), and type of shell being fired.   

If you are ever in Lisbon, visit the maritime museum, it has an extensive collection of pre WW1 gun computers, I wish I'd taken photos.
 

Cheers

Greg Locock

SIG:Please see FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

There was very estensive disussion about these computers at one time here. I can't seem to find it.

I think most of the big ships in the maritime parks still have their computers. I believe the Alabama in Moble still has it's fire control computer.

Unclesyd,
the author created the FAQ referred to above.

JMW
www.ViscoAnalyser.com
 

I ran into this one while doing some research on coastal gun emplacements near Tarifa, Spain.  The Fortress Study Group.  Perhaps of some general interest. The 32/text.html page is devoted to Spanish guns.

http://www.fsgfort.com/DB/C076/21/text.htm
<next> running to
http://www.fsgfort.com/DB/C076/32/text.htm

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