Some things to note about the British and German heavy units facing off in this battle:
As for Hood being easy to destroy, it must be considered that she was not in her immune zone when she was hit by a *very* lucky shot. Golden Twinkees (warships1 slang for magazine hits) are very rare things. If she can stay in her immune zone and avoid plunging fire, she should be OK since her belt is quite thick. She was actually reasonably well armoured in many respects (apart from her deck), a fact that is frequently overlooked and overshadowed by her spectacular and tragic loss. It is true her deck armour was quite weak, but the only real threat to her in this scenario is the Bismarck, or a very well placed bomb. The 11'" ships are not a very big threat to her, since she can outrange them. If she decides to close the range to avoid Bismarck's plunging fire (assumming that B isn't too busy dealing with Rodders and Nelsy), then she will be vulnerable to 11" fire until she gets close enough to avoid it. That could be dangerous for her. However, after that the 11" ships are in deep trouble. Her 8 15" guns in 4 twin turrets are very reliable and accurate. Her TDS is reasonable. She has a high speed around 29 knots (credited with 30, but slower due to extra stuff added during the wars) thus being able to dictate range against the pocket BBs and maintian distance from S & G. If you want to debate this with those who know, head over to the Battleship vs Battleship board at
www.warships1.com. Her design is reckoned to be not as bad as people keep saying. However 15" shells will prove dangerous and could GT her until she reaches her immune zone where theoretically they should be defeated by her armour.
Renown and Repulse are the weak links in the British line-up, pretty much vulnerable to everything. Don't forget that Renown was modernised. Their 6 15" guns in 3 twin turrets are also very accurate and reliable. They have a weak TDS. They are both fast, Renown being capable or nearly 30 knots, and Repulse being capable of around 28 (due to overweight), and can dictate range to the pocket BBs. In heavy seas, Renown faced off against both Scharnhorst and Genisenau in OTL and knocked out Gneisenau's gunnery director disabling her main armament as well as scoring other hits that caused a lot of damage before the German ships broke off following orders not to engage major British units. Even with speed reduced to 25 knots, Scharnhorst could not operate 'Anton' turret due to the wash over her bows caused by the heavy seas. Renown had problems with the sea and had to reduce speed as well, but she was able to keep firing from all her turrets. Renown suffered some main shell hits, but they caused little damage. The 'avoid fighting' order for the Germans would most likely be rescinded for Sealion, so they should put up a stiffer fight. However, hits by 11" guns could get the Renowns into serious trouble. The less said about 15" shell hits from Bismarck, the better. But Bismarck will be too busy elsewhere methinks....
Rodney and Nelson's 16" guns were not fantastic, but they could give a ship a very bad day. A single 16" hit from Rodney appears to have knocked out both of Bismarck's forward turrets in Bismarck's final battle. They have a good armour scheme, protected against 16" shellfire, and a fairly good TDS. They are quite slow, only being capable of 23 knots, so could be left behind if the faster German ships decide to try and draw the other British ships away...something which the British may not be tempted to do since they want to stand their ground and prevent the invasion after all. Bismarck's 15" shells should not be a very large worry, but will cause significant trouble if they hit in the right places.
The Warspite was a modernised and capable ship. Don't forget that the British 15" gun used in these ships is regarded as perhaps the most accurate and reliable heavy gun in any navy. Her armour is more than adequate protection against 11" shells...only Bismarck's shells pose a real threat. Her TDS is reasonable. She has a slow speed of 23-24 knots. Bismarck and Warspite can hurt each other. Warspite can hurt the 11" ships without suffering too much in return. As an aside, Warspite is probably one of the luckiest ships ever built, given all the scrapes she got into and survived! But luck is a very fickle lady...
Bismarck is a modern and capable ship, but she carries the only really heavy guns the Germans have. You can bet the British will lob their heaviest shells at her from the start. She is fast, capable of around 30.5 knots, probably faster than anything on the British side given that Hood and the Renowns are not as fast as they were in the past due to extras being added on. Her amour layout was not very good in many respects, leaving vital systems above the main armoured deck exposed, although she had excellent optics for fire control. However the accuracy of these tended to fall off over time since operating them was very physically demanding on the crew involved because of the nature of their design. She has a fairly good TDS but given her size, it could be better. Her stern, as is common with other large german warships of this period suffered from a design flaw that made it structurally weak...a lucky hit here could cause serious problems. Her 8 15" guns in 4 twin turrets have a good rate of fire, but her turrets are comparatively lightly armoured for a ship her size, and could be penetrated by the British shells. Her control tower is also vulnerable, facilities supposed to be proof against 15" shells were knocked out by an 8" shell. She can hurt all the British ships present, but once she is gone, she is gone, and judging by her historical record, she is not too difficult to put out of action once hit, although she is difficult to sink. Being difficult to sink is not an advantage if one's guns are already out of action as historical. Her crew would be green in this scenario, so she would not be operating at peak efficiency. However, if handled well, she could be a real threat, and is the ace in the German deck (please forgive the pun). She can hurt (to varying degrees) all the British ships.
Scharnhorst and Gneisenau each have a rapid rate of fire from their 9 11" guns in 3 triple turrets. The also have excellent optics, but with similar restrictions as those used by Bismarck. These could prove deadly to Repulse and Renown, although Renown did show that she could shrug off damage when she encountered the Twins. The 11" should pose little threat to Hood is she stays out of range...plunging hits could hurt her. They will not be able to penetrate vital areas on the other three British BBs. They are fast, capable of around 30 knots (credited with 32, but they were very overweight, were poor seaboats, meaning turret 'Anton' was unable to fire in heavy seas, and the overweight was serious enough that a good portion of the belt was underwater...not where it should be). They have a very bad TDS, so if destroyers land torps, they are in trouble (evidence being what HMS Acasta achieved with her torp hit on Scharnhorst, and other mine/torpedo hits as historical). Also the terrrible 'boiler hump' design flaw means that penetration of shells into the vital areas is much more likely. This is what happened when Scharnhorst was hit by a 14" shell from Duke of York. Also, German ships seem to have a weakness in their turret design, since Scharnhorst also lost the use of her forward turrets fairly easily in the final battle with Duke of York, although 'Bruno' turret managed to get back in action for a while before it went silent again. Bismarck and Scharnhorst suffered from this. One wonders what the problem was. Anyway, 15" and 16" shells will be very dangerous for the Twins.
The 2 pocket BBs are armed with 6 11" guns in 2 triple turrets each. They have a high rate of fire and excellent optics. The are vulnerable to any major British shell that hits them. 8" shells are capable of penetrating their armour. Their TDS is reasonable for their size. They are not really much more than armoured cruisers with larger guns. Their speed is 26 knots (credited with 28, but maybe slower due to additions), meaning that they will be at a disadvantage versus faster ships who can dictate the range. However, they could make life very nasty for the Renowns, and could be a threat to Hood. If they get hit by 15" or 16" shells they are in very serious trouble. They do have an advantage in being smaller targets.
The two pre-dreadnoughts, Schlesien and Schleswig-Holstein are armed with 4 11" guns in 2 twin turrets each. These old guns will only be a threat to Renown and Repulse, and be limited against Hood. Their TDS is not great. Their armour will be vulnerable to all the British shells, and the other big disadvantage is that they are both very slow ships with a maximum speed of 18.5 knots. Due to this they will be at a big disadvantage and a liability tactically speaking. 15" & 16" shells will kill them pretty soon. They are small targets so that is a plus.
British:
18 x 16" guns (AP broadside weight 36,864lbs) 28 x15" guns (AP broadside weight 54,264lbs)
Germans:
8 x 15" guns (AP broadside weight 14,112lbs) 38 x 11" guns* (AP broadside weight 25,250lbs)
*Twins shells 727lbs, Pocket BBs shells 661lbs, Pre-dreads shells 529lbs)
The Germans are at a big disadvantage in terms of heavy guns and weight of shells being lobbed into the air, although the Germans have a chance to make more hits with greater numbers of lesser shells in the air. The German pre-dreads might be left out of the battle altogether since they are too slow to keep up. The pocket BBs and the Renown class will probably end up fighting each other. The Hood and Warspite will likely take on the Twins, and Bismarck will be double teamed by Nelson and Rodney who are hardly likely to steam in the opposite direction and will seek to close the range. Bismarck will be in trouble since 'N' squared law will apply to her. The British are defending their island, they will not retreat. The Germans have to hold off the British long enough to protect the inavsion fleet, so they are unlikely to retreat until the fleet is safe.
The Germans' best ship has a green crew. She will be under fire from 2 16" BBs...mediocre shells or not, those BBs are probably going to give her a very bad day...putting her out of action I guess. 'N' squared law should mean that both Rodders and Nelsy survive with Bismarck out of it, and then the rest of the German fleet is in real trouble. The worst result would probably be one of them sunk or out of action, but going by 'N' squared, and barring lucky hits or GTs, this looks like not being likely...but you never know.
The Pocket BBs vs the Renowns... probably both
panzerschiffen are sunk or out of action, one of the 'R's possibly sunk or out of action, the other damaged.
Hood & Warspite vs the Twins, both twins badly damaged and retreating, or 1 sunk and other damaged. Warspite damaged, though not badly, Hood could be moderately to heavily damaged, or even sunk if she's unlucky enough to receive a GT depending on how she's handled.
Rodders and Nelsy (if both have survived, otherwise just one) join the fray and mop up anything left, or conversly speaking, if Bismarck is still there, and the other German ships are accounted for, then the remaining British ships will concentrate on whatever is left.
Light forces, crew training, experience and weather also a factor. Light forces could cancel each other out, but there could be stray shell hits knocking out directors, radar, AAA etc. Secondaries and tertiaries on the major warships will be engaging the light forces...that is what they are there for. Torps in the water could could swing some of the ship battles if they hit. German air strikes will probably have limited effect...their bombs don't really threaten the large ships much, especially since they will be manoevering a lot, and German air attacks against ships were not always very effective. However, they could score a lucky hit on the British BCs. The channel is not good territory for U-boats to operate in with strong currents, shoals and shallow waters. Anti-submarine vessels would have a big advantage, and the subs are not likely to play a big part in the surface battle. Hitting fast moving and wildy manoevring ships that are making unpredictable course changes to avoid shellfire and possibly air attack is not easy at all. The British will fight tooth and nail to prevent invasion, so they will be cautious to use their ships to their best advantages, but at the end of the day they will NOT be retreating.
Verdict: Probably a considerable German defeat, depends how ships are handled and occurance of lucky hits and GTs for the Germans.
Sargon
