Greatest ship vs ship shot ever made?

I think this song will get stuck in your head now.....

Does this count? in jest only

In May of nineteen forty-one the war had just begun
The Germans had the biggest ship that had the biggest guns
The Bismarck was the fastest ship that ever sailed the seas
On her deck were guns as big as steers and shells as big as trees

Out of the cold and foggy night came the British ship the Hood
And ev'ry British seaman, he knew and understood
They had to sink the Bismarck, the terror of the sea
Stop those guns as big as steers and those shells as big as trees

We'll find that German battleship that's makin' such a fuss
We gotta sink the Bismarck cause the world depends on us
Hit the decks a-runnin' boys and spin those guns around
When we find the Bismark we gotta cut her down

The Hood found the Bismarck and on that fatal day
The Bismarck started firin' "fifteen miles away"
"We gotta sink the Bismarck" was the battle sound
But when the smoke had cleared away, the mighty Hood went down

For six long days and weary nights they tried to find her trail
Churchill told the people "Put ev'ry ship a-sail
'Cause somewhere on that ocean I know she's gotta be
We gotta sink the Bismarck to the bottom of the sea"

We'll find that German battleship that's makin' such a fuss
We gotta sink the Bismarck cause the world depends on us
Hit the decks a-runnin' boys and spin those guns around
When we find the Bismarck we gotta cut her down

The fog was gone the seventh day and they saw the mornin' sun
Ten hours away from homeland the Bismarck made its run
The admiral of the British fleet said "Turn those bows around
We found that German battleship and we're gonna cut her down"

The British guns were aimed and the shells were comin' fast
The first shell hit the Bismarck, they knew she couldn't last
That mighty German battleship is just a memory
"Sink the Bismarck" was the battle cry that shook the seven seas

We found that German battleship was makin' such a fuss
We had to sink the Bismarck 'cause the world depends on us
We hit the deck a-runnin' and we spun those guns around
Yeah, we found the mighty Bismarck and then we cut her down

We found that German battleship was makin' such a fuss
We had to sink the Bismarck 'cause the world depends on us
We hit the deck a-runnin' and we spun those guns around
We found the mighty Bismarck and then we cut her down.

 Any time frame or what? But I guess nothing "modern" has happened since... the Falklands?

           I don't know. Sailors?

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ddp59 wrote:

warspite against an italian battleship in the Battle of Cape Matapan, something like 27,000 yards.

m60a3 wrote:

Any time frame or what? But I guess nothing "modern" has happened since... the Falklands?            I don't know. Sailors?     60

 ???

CG Bob wrote:

Based on the original subject line, I'd say CGC INGHAM and her "hole in one" depth charge attack on U-626.   Some reports credit INGHAM with using one depth charge to sink the U-626 in December 1942.

C'mon, Coast Guard Bob!  The question was longest distance not just best shot, where was this submarine? At the bottom of the Marianna's Trench? 

 HMS Warspite, Battle of Calabria, July 1940, hit Giulio Cesare from 26,000 yards, +or-. I'm pretty sure that's the record.

Mick wrote:

HMS Warspite, Battle of Calabria, July 1940, hit Giulio Cesare from 26,000 yards, +or-. I'm pretty sure that's the record.

Scharnhorst and Gneisenau hit the British carrier HMS Glorious from at least 26,700 yards away during the Norway campaign one month earlier.

CG Bob wrote:

Based on the original subject line, I'd say CGC INGHAM and her "hole in one" depth charge attack on U-626.   Some reports credit INGHAM with using one depth charge to sink the U-626 in December 1942.

The IJN submarine I-19 fired a single spread of 6 torpedos on September 15, 1942.   These 6 torpedoes sunk the carrier Wasp and the destroyer O'Brien, and damaged the battleship North Carolina.    The hit that sank the O'Brien is still the longest ranged torpedo hit, ever.

Chuck Fan wrote:

Mick wrote:  HMS Warspite, Battle of Calabria, July 1940, hit Giulio Cesare from 26,000 yards, +or-. I'm pretty sure that's the record.     Scharnhorst and Gneisenau hit the British carrier HMS Glorious from at least 26,700 yards away during the Norway campaign one month earlier.

"Scharnhorst hit the British carrier HMS Glorious from at least 26,700 yards."

Wow, is that like 15 miles?

Mansteins revenge wrote:

Chuck Fan wrote:  Mick wrote:  HMS Warspite, Battle of Calabria, July 1940, hit Giulio Cesare from 26,000 yards, +or-. I'm pretty sure that's the record.     Scharnhorst and Gneisenau hit the British carrier HMS Glorious from at least 26,700 yards away during the Norway campaign one month earlier. We have a winner: "Scharnhorst hit the British carrier HMS Glorious from at least 26,700 yards." Wow, is that like 15 miles?

Interesting, Manny.  I thought there was some question about whether Scharnhorst or Gneisenau hit Glorious?  Wasn't Gneisenau closer (by about 2 - 3000 yards)?  What are you using for references on this?  This is some pretty interesing stuff so I'd like to take a look...

EDIT: Nope - it was Scharnhorst...

Well, they do say that Wikipedia is your friend:

Scharnhorst's salvos hit Glorious at 16:32, before her torpedo-bombers could be launched. ^[11] Scharnhorst's second salvo, at 16:38, struck Glorious at the extreme range of 24,000m (26,300yd), one of the longest range hits ever recorded.

Although, it does say 'one of the longest range hits ever recorded' not THE longest... I wonder what others are out there in the same 'ballpark'...

Uh oh... but wait... perhaps the verdict is not so clearcut:

From the Wiki entry on the HMS Warspite (emphasis mine):

"During the Battle of Calabria she was credited with achieving the longest range gunnery hit from a moving ship to a moving target in history. This was a hit on the Giulio Cesare at a range of approximately 26,000 yards (see also the Scharnhorst, which scored a hit on the Glorious at approximately the same distance, in June 1940)."

On her deck were guns as big as steers and shells as big as trees

I always thought that the steers and trees should be reversed.

Yes she was. Her primary fire control was Mk3 radar and the spotter planes were a back up. This was also something of a fleet action as many of the French ships in Casablanca harbor, cruisers, destroyers, and submarines, sortied to engage US forces, thinking that they were again being attacked by the Royal Navy as had happened in 1940. USS Masachusetts also engaged this fleet as well as the French shore batteries, taking several hits in the process. At the conclusion of the sea battle, the French Navy had lost eight submarines and four destroyers sunk, Jean Bart, light cruiser Primauguet, and two destroyers disabled. USS Massachusetts and the cruiser USS Tuscaloosa were both narrowly missed by torpedoes from submarines during the fight.

stikpusher wrote:

During the duel between USS Masssachusetts and the French Battleship Jean Bart on the morning of Nov 8th 1942, USS Massachusetts engaged at ranges between 24,000 and 29,000 yards. USS Massachusets was escorting the Western Task Force for the Allied invasion of North Africa, while Jean Bart was moored in Casablanca harbor. Massachusetts fired nine broadsides of 16 inch shells at Jean Bart and scored five direct hits during the fight. The first hit was scored at a distance of between 24,000 and 25,000 yards, destroying the empty aft 6 inch shell magazine on Jean Bart. The last two hits ocurred at ranges between 28,000 and 29,000 yards, and also inflicted the most serious damage during the fight. In addition to knocking Jean Bart out of the fight for the day, three merchant ships moored near Jean Bart were sunk by near misses from Massachusetts.

Now now Manny, you're changing the rules. You simply asked for the longest distance, ship to ship. No mentioning of manuevering/at speed was made. It sounds as if you had a pre conceived answer already in mind, rather than an all encompassing question. 

Yes a stationary target is easier to hit, but  from a manuevering firing platform, it is still not an easy feat. Not to mention that the US fleet was being enaged by French Naval and shore based forces. (I know that US Naval air engaged Vichy French air at the same time, but I am not sure if they were attempting to attack US Naval units.)  I will not say this is the longest distance hit recorded, but it certainly ranks up there.

Aside from Glorious' aircraft, including her escorts, there were no major threats to the Scahrnhorst and Gneisenau, in that unique action.

subfixer wrote:

That is just short of the horizon. I think (if I remember correctly) that at about a height of 90 feet above the ship's waterline the visible horizon is twenty miles on a clear day. At 2,000 yards per nautical mile, that would put those two 26,000 yard shots at 13 nautical miles away. Pretty good shootin'! I wonder how high above the waterline their gun directors were.

 As I remember, from the waterline or from deck (not sure of height) due to the earths curvature, the line of sight is more like 15 miles. But my memory isn't the best anymore.

 Have there been no "modern" engagements with missiles?

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