R/C Naval Combat

I think 1 gun forward, and 2 guns aft. We have one setup that way done if Florida, and it actually does quite well.

Steven,
Thanks.. i was thing two guns forward in turret B and and one gun aft or Turret C. that way, if some gets close i can pop one, and then the back one is to keep someone from coming up behind me.!
Nikki

Nikki
Having only one cannon in the stern will not deter folks from chasing your P.E. around the pond trying to bring their own cannons into play.
So although bow cannons are rather fun, what is needed most is enough fire-power in the stern to make folks not feel like it is worth taking
the damage from your stern cannons, in order to get some shots into you.
So I would agree with the others (at least for the time being).
This will be your first ship, and you will have to learn how to make her sing.
You can always move another cannon into the bow down the road when you have the hang of things.
Mikey

Mike,
the reason i say to forward, is it make it easier for me. but i understand..
Nikki

I agree, two guns aft and one forward. The stern guns are your first line of defense. I run two stern guns and a bow gun in my Des Moines class USS Salem. With a cruiser, for the most part, you want to battle like you're a wolf. If you watch discovery channel shows, you'll see that wolves often circle around groups of prey, and when one isnt looking, they dash in, and bite. The same basic principle applies to cruisers. You don't want to get too close or you'll eat a ton of sidemounts and you'll get sunk easy.

So, you try to ALWAYS keep your stern pointed at the enemy so you can run away. If they chase you, your guns are pointed at them and you can shoot them as you make your escape.

With Bow guns, you have the wrong part of your ship facing the enemy in order to attack. It's easy for an enemy ship to get you when you can't run away. Then you're a crispy critter

An example of this is found at our last "conferece" at Treaty this summer. My Salem had a reputation as being a fairly "slippery" little ship that gave a lot more then she got. In one of the last battles of the week though, I got caught with my pants down, and paid the price. I was looping around hunting Bismarcks and headed into the main cove. ALL the Allied battleships and battlecrusiers picked THIS time to go chasing after a single Axis cruiser. I was caught in a smaller area of the pond, with my bow facing the land. One Bismarck cut me off from behind, the other attacked me from the front...there was just nothing I could do, because i had the wrong part of my cruiser pointed at the enemy. I took more damage in those few seconds then I had the rest of the week.

So in short, keep your stern facing the enemy in your cruiser and you'll be fine!

I'll second what was just said. I too have a cruiser, though only a 3 unit ship. I got turned around on my first sortie and paid for it big time. Had a derrflinger teach me the error of my ways. I had the bow facing shore and I wasn't able to get away. Tool a ton of belows and was sunk.

This taught me to stay in the deep end and back to get my shots.

I have also heard that some people have given the PE all stern gun set up. They used the C turret as a stern gun, but with some down angle. Sort of gives a poor mans haymaker. Might allow below to be given.

In my Salt Lake City, I am going to try something different. Conventional wisdom is to arm the guns closest to the water. In Treaty, since we don't count points all that's going to do is make people patch holes. In my SLC, I'm going to put my twin sterns up in turret 3 (only 4 turret US Heavy Cruiser...some light cruisers could do this as well) and give them some down angle. Hopefully, she'll be nasty at about 6 inches of range and punch some ons and belows.

If I make a mistake though, I'm going to get creamed.

Another thing to remember, Nikki is that you have an advantage over the old crusty veteran captains. You have young eyes. Use them. If someone starts to chase you, run away from them so the captain has a harder time seeing his boat. Most (not all) captains don't like to fight too far away from their ship, so they will break off even if they could possibly catch you. They will use their experience against you, so you should use their potentially bad eyes against them. The open sea is your friend, as is range.

Forward guns are going to make you approuch the enemy, then have to turn away. A smart captain will also point his bow at YOU and sidegun you as you pass or cut across your bow (close) and stern gun you. If you are moving toward the enemy side, you have to avoid raming him.

I'd probably put all three guns in the stern if I were you honestly. Two in "D" turret and one in "C" turret. As Marty said, to use the bow gun, your bow has to be pointed at the enemy to fire. That's never the right position to be in. If you were to point that thing at me, I'd throw the rudder over and pull up next to you and sidemount you before you could do anything about it.

The bow gun really does very little damage, but it will make you take more damage. Trust me, I have a bow gun in my Salem. I know the headaches it gives me. I'd avoid one until you have more experience.

Guys,
I still haven't gotten her yet, and here i am talking about were I'm going to put the guns! now, i know i have to have gun barrels installed in all main battery turrets. but only three can work! but , my hand/eye coordination sucks.. and i wasn't rested on the game system, other kids were.. so that might be a big problem for me.. What do you thing?
Nikki

I think you'll be fine. It just takes some getting used to.

I agree nothing like practice to make you better. And try to make it so you don't get hammered will make your day go better and keep you interested in the hobby longer.

Kim

moose421,
I'll never get bored with this hobby! Just a bunch of guysd acting like kids.. I know i few of you said keep all three guns in the back two turrets, right! My hand/eye coordination sucks.. and i wasn't raised on the game systems, other kids were.. so that might be a problem for me.. What do you thing?
Nikki

You will need a lot of target practice.

I have seen where they threw an empty gallon milk carton into the water as a target to shoot at.

Remember: Practice make perfect.

Nikki,

That's all the more reason to put all three guns in the back. You can link them all together so you only have to pull the stick back and fire all three guns. You'll just have to mount them so they all hit in the same area. That way, you only have to remember to pull the stick one direction to ever shoot the guns.

Tom,
You got that right! Mike, for PG i need a 4 or 5 channel radio, right?
Nikki

You could get away with a 4 channel radio easily. You need a channel for rudder (left/right) throttle (forward/reverse) and guns/pump. Those three channels are all you will need provided you hook all three guns up in the back as a triple set up. With this set up, when you pull the stick backwards, all three guns will fire at the same time. When you push the stick forward, the servo will pump a on/off switch to turn the pump on. Going forward again will bump the switch again and shut the pump off.

That's how I would set the ship up for now. It's just the easiest way for a rookie to set up a 3 gun cruiser.

Later on, you could switch to only dual sterns and move that other gun to another position, but then you will need to use the 4th channel (side to side lever) to operate that gun OR the pump. I'd try to remember to apply the KISS principle to your first ship: Keep It Simple, Sailor.