134:
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115:(conduct or control) the vessel, controlling movements of the ship by giving orders to those responsible for the ship's engine, rudder, lines, and ground tackle. It is usually located as high on the ship as is practical, to give the conning team good visibility of the entirety of the ship, ocean conditions, and other vessels.
597:
Another feature of interest is the retention of the heavily armoured conning towers in the
American, French and German navies. These structures were of little use and added considerably to the top weight and weight of armour. That of the Bismarck certainly seems to have done little to protect her
275:
combat revealed that command personnel were unlikely to use an armoured conning tower, preferring the superior visibility of unarmoured bridge positions. Older RN battleships that were reconstructed with new superstructures had their heavily armoured conning towers removed and replaced with much
451:
of its own, typically connected to the control room inside the boat's main pressure-hull via a watertight hatch to mitigate the risk of flooding if the viewports or periscopes were damaged. Thus, the conning tower effectively became the boat's dedicated attack center, from which the commanding
276:
lighter structures. These new conning towers were also placed much higher in the ship, for superior visibility. There is no evidence that RN captains and admirals used the armoured conning towers on those ships that did have them during World War II, with, for example,
686:, guide of Task Force Sixteen, while that vessel maneuvered radically without signal at twenty-seven (27) knots during the attack. Due to the limited visibility aft, handling the ship under such conditions from the Conning Tower is not practicable."
408:. The boat's conning tower is more of a "conning tube", as it lies parallel with the main pressure hull. Just over 6 metres (20 ft) long, with a diameter of roughly twice the distance between the weather deck and the bottom of the number "383".
663:
Throughout this action, heavy stuff was whizzing over
Massachusetts and splashing in the water close aboard. Admiral Giffen and Captain Whiting disdained the protection of the armor-cased conning tower, and directed the battle from the open flying
471:. As conning towers were eventually built large enough that crewmen could comfortably stand on top of them, the collapsible bridges gave way to fixed structures, leading to the development of the so-called "bridge fairwater". To clarify:
481:
The fairwater is a streamlined casing around the conning tower and/or around the bridge. The tapering aft end of this casing also provided a sheltered location for the boat's air intakes, as well as an elevated base for various
270:
class, had comparatively light conning tower protection with 110-millimetre (4.5 in) sides, 76-millimetre (3 in) front and rear, and 51-millimetre (2 in) roof and deck. The RN's analysis of
490:
In the post-1950s era, an increased focus on deep submerged operation, together with improvements in technology that allowed periscopes to be made longer, removed the need for a raised conning station.
299:
The USN had mixed opinions of the conning tower, pointing out that its weight, high above the ship's center of gravity, did not contribute directly to fighting ability. Beginning in the late 1930s, as
444:
Early naval submarines were typically fitted with a small watertight protrusion on top of their hulls, from which the boat's crew could observe their surroundings through a number of viewports.
374:
battleships, the conning tower is a 439-millimetre (17.3 in) thick vertical armour-plated cylinder with slit windows located in the middle of the bridge, climbing from the
680:: "21. Ship control was maintained in the Pilot House on the Navigation Bridge where personnel were in an exposed position. This was necessary in order to keep station on the
475:
The conning tower is the small watertight compartment above the control room, from which the boat's commanding officer would command the boat during submerged attacks.
498:(laid down 1956) was the last US submarine to have a conning tower, after which the conning tower's function as an attack center was integrated into the
195:, speaking tubes or telephones, and perhaps a steering wheel. At all other times than during battles, the ship would be commanded and helmed from the
191:. Designed to shield just enough personnel and devices for navigation during battles, its interior was cramped and basic, with little more than
598:
officers, communications and fire control arrangements, all of which suffered heavily in the early stages of her action with KGV and Rodney.
133:
303:
surpassed visual sighting as the primary method of detecting other ships, battleships began reducing or eliminating the conning tower. The
162:
armour layout, with conning tower having the same heavy 11 inches (28 cm) armour as the gun turrets while the bridge is unarmoured
478:
The bridge was built on top of—but not considered part of—the conning tower, and was used for surfaced navigation and signalling.
260:
367:
By the end of World War II, US ships were designed with expanded weather bridges enclosing the armoured conning towers. On
328:
declined to use the armoured conning tower during the battle. Soon the heavy battleship conning towers were removed from
436:
706:
and
Admiral Lee fought 2nd Guadalcanal from the unarmoured bridges of their battleships. Musicant makes reference to
576:
447:
As larger and larger submarines were made, and eventually fitted with periscopes, this protrusion grew into a small
385:
With the demise of battleships after World War II, along with the advent of missiles and nuclear weapons during the
521:
153:
187:, the conning tower was a heavily armored cylinder, with tiny slit windows on three sides providing a reasonable
463:
In addition to their primary purpose, conning towers also served as elevated attachment points for air intakes,
751:
308:
675:
231:
In the Royal Navy, the conning tower became a massive structure reaching weights of hundreds of tons on the
634:
289:
647:
History of United States Naval
Operations in World War II: Operations in North African Waters, Volume Two
321:
on the superstructure, many exposed crewmen were killed or wounded; yet
Admiral Lee and Captain Davis of
304:
232:
296:(USN), battleship captains and admirals preferred to use the unarmoured bridge positions during combat.
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350:
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Bridge personnel observing the battle but remains silent on their use of the armoured conning tower.
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operators' stations inside this compartment to maximize the commander's situational awareness.
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officer would command the boat whilst submerged. Some late 1930s designs even located their
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506:(fin in British usage), or fairwater of a modern submarine as a "conning tower".
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Raised platform on a ship or submarine used to command the vessel
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U.S.S. North
Carolina - Action of August 24, 1942, report of.
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of subsequent designs. Thus it is incorrect to refer to the
104:
171:
On surface ships, the conning tower was a feature of all
118:
The naval term "conn" may derive from the Middle
English
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during World War II briefly slowed this trend: when the
111:, often armoured, from which an officer in charge can
389:, modern warships no longer feature conning towers.
245:), and formed part of a massive armoured citadel (
210:. They were then fitted to the first ironclad the
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202:Conning towers were used by the French on their
360:reconstructions and replaced with much lighter
569:Warrior Restoring the World's First Ironclad
559:
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145:'s conning tower during construction c. 1892
571:. Conway maritime press. pp. 149–150.
539:The Spanish–American War Centennial Website
259:, which had armour over a foot thick. The
122:(study, become acquainted with) or French
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416:Bridge fairwater of the Polish submarine
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292:from her unarmoured bridge. Even in the
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179:from about 1860 to the early years of
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183:. Located at the front end of the
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732:The New Student's Reference Work
649:, p93. On November 8, 1942, USS
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228:which had 3 inches of armour.
221:(RN) conning tower appeared on
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305:Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
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624:British Battleships of WW2
611:British Battleships of WW2
593:British Battleships of WW2
486:(anti-aircraft) platforms.
103:is a raised platform on a
699:, p118. Captain Davis of
309:Japanese battleship
435:of the French submarine
51:conning tower and bridge
635:Testimony of Ted Briggs
522:OED definitions 4 and 6
467:, and even collapsible
364:-style conning towers.
212:French battleship
193:engine order telegraphs
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378:all the way up to the
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752:Watercraft components
725:"Conning Tower"
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266:, in contrast to the
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137:Armoured cylinder of
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401:Bridge fairwater of
278:Vice-Admiral Holland
622:Raven and Roberts,
609:Raven and Roberts,
591:Raven and Roberts,
535:"The Conning Tower"
358:Pearl Harbor attack
249:) on the mid-1920s
465:magnetic compasses
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356:during their post-
294:United States Navy
204:floating batteries
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697:Battleship at war
524:at Lexico website
382:on the 05 level.
208:Battle of Kinburn
177:armoured cruisers
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181:World War II
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288:during the
284:commanding
273:World War I
257:battleships
173:battleships
130:(conduct).
126:from Latin
746:Categories
703:Washington
695:Musicant,
683:Enterprise
510:References
454:hydrophone
438:Casabianca
393:Submarines
346:California
325:Washington
219:Royal Navy
160:battleship
701:USS
544:3 January
493:USS
418:ORP
405:Pampanito
403:USS
351:USS
344:USS
339:Tennessee
337:USS
330:USS
323:USS
316:USS
311:Kirishima
240:HMS
238:(such as
223:HMS
214:La Gloire
139:USS
128:conducere
109:submarine
46:HMS
567:(1987).
387:Cold War
376:03 level
124:conduire
737:. 1914.
664:bridge.
423:in 1940
362:cruiser
225:Warrior
206:at the
734:
613:, p415
575:
495:Triton
484:AA gun
372:-class
349:, and
268:Nelson
254:-class
252:Nelson
197:bridge
157:-class
81:Bridge
458:RADAR
420:Orzeł
301:radar
264:class
120:conne
573:ISBN
546:2019
504:sail
456:and
433:sail
431:The
370:Iowa
314:hit
286:Hood
280:and
242:Hood
175:and
113:conn
105:ship
48:Hood
661:: "
107:or
748::
728:.
554:^
537:.
342:,
335:,
199:.
99:A
666:"
600:"
581:.
548:.
77:2
61:1
37:2
32:1
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
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