An interesting side effect of the various naval (and navel) posts I’ve been writing for the past few months was causing me to realize just how long ranged and accurate naval guns had gotten by World War II. I also don’t think that most sources (Wikipedia in particular) do this concept any favor by listing most ranges in meters and/or yards, rather than kilometers and miles. Because even though I know in my head that a thousand meters is the same as a kilometer, and that one thousand, seven hundred and sixty yards is the same as a mile, in my head, a mile and a kilometer just seem farther.
So, naval warfare. I think that most of us have this image of surface ship battles that comes from age of sail movies like Pirates of the Caribbean or Master and Commander, where ships closed to bad breath range before unloading broadsides into each other. While it’s true that there were still close range engagements in WWII (particularly by insanely gutsy American destroyers) the few major naval surface engagements started at extremely long ranges. No wonder then, that some of the surface battles describe combatants ducking in and out of storms. When you’re fighting at 15-20 mile ranges, there’s definitely opportunity to weather to play a part.
For a couple of quick examples, the Krupp 38cm SK C/34 guns that armed Bismark and Tirpitz had a range of 22.7 miles. The 16”/50 (406mm) Mark 7 guns of the Iowa-class battleships had a maximum range of 29 miles, and 23.64 miles accurate firing a 2,700lb super-heavy shell. The 46cm Type 94 naval guns of Japan’s Yamato-class could reach out to 26 miles, though with the inferiority of Japanese range-finding equipment, their effective range was less than other countries.
These ranges are really close (if not beyond) over the horizon distances on the open ocean. There’s a reason why before radar, ships had those high lookout positions, and it all comes down to math. Every foot higher your lookout is buys you a few additional feet or a quarter mile of visibility, and maybe the chance to see the enemy before they see you.
It’s also why spotting aircraft were a thing on battleships and cruisers in the 20s and 30s. Now there’s an aspect of interwar (and early WWII) naval air power that doesn’t get nearly the attention it deserves. These were crews launching off short catapults in awkward single-engine seaplanes or floatplanes to try and spot enemy ships over the horizon, then potentially direct gunfire onto the target, while simultaneously dodging AA fire, and praying that no carrier-based fighters decided to have them for lunch. Then, after all that, they’d have to finish their day by landing near their home ship, and waiting to be craned back aboard in open ocean, and plan to do it all again the next day!
To close the circle a bit, even though naval guns are no longer the primary weapon of modern ships, the ranges are still significant, and the ability to put relatively inexpensive projectiles on target (at least as compared to a missile) remains a relevant capability. Just for an example, the US Navy’s current Arleigh Burke destroyers still carry a 5” (127mm) gun that can reach out and touch someone 23 miles away.