Naval Gaming Introduction

Line of Bearing

A line of bearing formation is a line of ships in which the ships are formed with the same relative bearing from the lead ship. The line of bearing, although not called that, was the most common sailing formation for ships in the age of sail. This formation is good for scouting, screening, and specialty operations such as minesweeping. It allows a large area to be covered while providing individual ships with the ability to maneuver if necessary. This formation is of less utility to battle lines for long term steaming, as the only safe maneuver for the formation is a simultaneous turn. This means that the battle line must be certain of the general direction of an enemy force, since the formation cannot quickly reorient itself. The line of bearing is, however, commonly used by battle forces to shift a column laterally once the battle line is formed. The line of bearing is not a particularly good night or low visibility steaming formation. Minor errors in course could easily cause a ship to loose contact with the leading part of its formation. Unlike other line formations, the line of bearing is not able to execute a wheel (formation change of front). The only maneuver possible with this formation is the simultaneous turn. Technically all line formations are variants of the line of bearing. Columns are lines of bearing where the relative bearing from the lead ship is always 180°. Lines abreast are lines of bearing where the relative bearing from the guide is either 090° or 270°. In proper usage, however, the "line of bearing" does not include the column, the line abreast, and their direct variants (the column open order and diamond). In the figure D = Distance.

Simultaneous Turn
	Also Known As. Turn Together. Purpose. The simultaneous turn is used by a line of bearing to change the direction in which the formation is moving, or to shift into either a line abreast or a column. Description. When the turn is executed, all ships turn at the same moment to the new course. Limitations. There are no limitations on the change of course for a simultaneous turn. The ships may turn up to 180°. When turning into a column, the flagship must normally be in the lead, at least through the end of World War I.