← Analog Specialists

Fire Control Mk I

Target Data
Own Ship

Computer Output

Lead Angle:--
Gun Elevation:--
Fuze Time:--
Deflection:--
Time of Flight:--
Hit Probability:--

Mark I Fire Control (1930s)

The Mark I was a mechanical analog computer used aboard US Navy warships. Using cams, gears, and differential analyzers, it continuously solved the ballistic fire control problem—computing where to aim guns so shells would arrive where a moving target would be. It accounted for own ship motion, target motion, wind, air density, and shell ballistics, all mechanically.