« 3.0 GUNNERY
Players begin the gunnery phase by establishing targets for each of their vessels and then visually estimating the distance from those vessels to their targets. The name of each target is recorded on the respective vessel's gunnery log, followed by the controlling player's estimate of the target's distance. Once all ranging is complete, players measure each range estimate, marking its termination point with a white marker for misses and a red marker for hits. The maximum allowable range for guns depends on the game scale being used. Consult section 1.1 Game Scales for a list of all maximum range and range bracket distances.

Above: A Japanese battle line led by the IJN Mikasa. Note the inverted golf tees used as splash markers. The models shown are hand made 1/780 scale, hence their obviously large size.

« 3.1 Targets
Vessels may fire upon one or more targets during their turn. Each target must be recorded separately by name on the gunnery log, along with the gun types assigned to that target and one range estimate for that target (each vessel may only make one range estimate per targeted ship per turn).

Line of Sight - Vessels may only fire upon targets which are within their direct line-of-sight. Line-of-sight is drawn from the forward smokestack of a firing vessel to the forward smokestack of a target vessel. The potential target may not be fired upon if line-of-sight is blocked in any way by other vessels, their bases, clouds of smoke or land.

Rates of Fire - Each weapon has an inherent rate-of-fire (ROF) shown in the data line of the ship log's armament section. The rate-of-fire is the number of rounds per turn which each gun in each position may fire. A ½ value for ROF means that the weapon in question may only fire every other turn due to their agonizingly slow loading technology. A 1 value means that each weapon may fire once each turn. A 2 value for ROF means that the weapons in question may fire twice each turn. The extra rounds fired due to a 2 ROF may be fired at different targets, although multiple gun positions may not split their extra fire unevenly. For example: a two-gun 15cm turret may fire two rounds at each of two other ships, or four rounds at one ship, but it may not fire four rounds at four different ships, or three rounds at one and one round at another. In this regard, single mountings are more flexible in their ability to send up a curtain of fire at smaller vessels.

Gun Positions, Beam Patterns and Arcs-of-Fire - The tables below show the major locations for individual guns positions used throughout this period. There are two major locating systems: positions and beam-patterns. Positions give letter-coded locations for specific gun turrets and shielded weapons. Beam-patterns help lay out standard distribution patterns of individually mounted weapons arrayed along the side or beam of the vessel. The letter-coded gun positions shown here relate directly to the sequence of letters shown on the each vessel's ship chart. This will aid those players unable to locate images or diagrams of period vessels. Each of these positions also has an affective arc-of-fire, within which they may engage their assigned targets, and outside of which they may not fire at all. Within the chart below are links to photo-diagrams depicting standard examples for the positions shown.

POSITIONS
A	This foremost position has a 265° firing arc and is usually occupied by the heaviest weapon(s) on board the vessel. Use the 95° arc centered toward the stern to establish where guns at this position may not fire. Standard example: British Majestic class battleships.
B,C	An awkward arrangement, these guns are located abreast of each other, usually on the main deck immediately forward of the superstructure. Guns in these positions may both fire in a 95° arc centered on the bow, and individually have a 135° arc-of-fire anchored off the bow when firing to either side of the ship. This gives each gun a roughly 182° total firing arc. Standard example: forward battery of American Columbia class cruisers.
D,E	These positions are commonly occupied by either wing turrets or sponsons. Guns in these positions have a 135° arc-of-fire anchored off the bow. Standard example: secondary gun turrets on the American Indiana class battleships.
M-O	Usually occupied by wing turrets which were commonly placed in sponsons (overhangs), these positions have a 150° arc-of-fire anchored off the bow. Standard example: Russian Retvisan class battleships.
P-R	These are the most extreme wing turret positions used. Commonly placed in prominent sponsons, guns in these positions have a 150° firing arc centered on the beam. Standard example: French Charles Martel class battleship.
S-U	Like M & O positions, these were usually occupied by wing turrets. These positions have a 150° arc-of-fire anchored off the stern.
V,W	Like D & E positions, these are commonly occupied by wing turrets or sponsons. Guns in these positions have a 135° arc-of-fire anchored off the stern.
X,Y	Like B & C positions, these guns are located abreast of each other, usually on the main deck immediately forward of the superstructure. Guns in these positions may both fire in a 95° arc centered on the stern, and individually have a 135° arc of fire anchored off the stern when firing to either side of the ship.
Z	Like position A, this rear-most position has a 265° firing arc and is also usually occupied by the heaviest weapon(s) on board the vessel. Use the 95° arc centered toward the bow to establish where guns at this position may not fire.
Stem & Stern	(Not shown) Mounted in the extreme forward or aft end of a ship, these weapons have a 95° firing arc centered on the stem (bow) or stern, depending on their location. Standard example: secondary armament for Peresviet class Russian battleships.
Center-line	(Not shown) Mounted on center-line amidships on the main deck of a ship, these weapons have a 95° firing arc centered on the beam, and may fire off of either the port or starboard side. Standard example: main torpedo armament for most classes of destroyers.

BEAM PATTERNS
Light caliber weapons not assigned specific positions are usually arrayed in a variety of sponsons, casemates or shields along both sides of a vessel. The following Beam Patterns establish easily remembered categories for the most common types of side armaments. All patterns apply equally to port and starboard sides of a vessel. For example, a ship with six-inch secondary guns deployed in pattern 2 would be able to fire four of those secondaries straight forward; two from the port side and two from the starboard side.
Beam Pattern 2	Two guns (probably in sponsons) have a 135° arc-of-fire anchored off of the bow. Two guns have a 135° arc-of-fire anchored off of the stern. The balance of guns on that side will have 135° arcs-of-fire centered on the beam.
Beam Pattern 1	One gun has a 135° arc-of-fire anchored off of the bow. One gun has a 135° arc-of-fire anchored off of the stern. The balance of guns on that side will have 135° arcs-of-fire centered on the beam.
Beam Pattern 0	All guns on that side have a 135° arc-of-fire centered on the beam. Note that torpedoes mounted on a beam pattern will only have a 60° arc of fire.

« 3.2 Ranging
In order for players to fire salvos at an enemy unit, the range between the firing unit and its target must be accurately guessed. In most cases, this involves ship-to-ship firing, although in some cases land mounted cannon will be firing at ships and visa-versa. In either case, the successful guessing of the range to the enemy is required in order to have a chance to score hits. In order to assign targets and guess ranges, players use the Battlefleet Gunnery Log to record the name or names of each of their vessel's target(s) and the estimated range to each of these targets. A vessel may engage as many targets as they have firing positions, but they may only guess one range per target. No pre-measuring of ranges is allowed.

Ranging Shots - Players may at any time conduct ranging shots in order to estimate the distance to enemy vessels. A ranging shot is a single maximum range round fired from a vessel toward any declared enemy vessel. It is measured normally, and a splash marker is placed at its end point. Ranging shots can never result in damage to an enemy ship, and their range is not recorded on the gunnery log. A vessel may not fire normal salvos on the same turn as ranging shots.

« 3.3 Measuring
Once all target assignments and range estimates are completed, players measure the ranges for each assigned target to establish whether the firing vessels estimated the correct ranges to their respective targets. Ranges are measured along a line running from the forward funnel on the firing vessel to the forward funnel on the target vessel. A hit zone is achieved if the estimated range from the firing vessel's forward funnel intersects with any part of the target vessel's base (while still maintaining alignment with the target's forward funnel). If a hit zone is achieved, mark the target vessel or its base with a red hit marker. If the estimated range does not land on any part of the target base, the rounds for that turn are considered too far away to have a chance of hitting, and a white "splash" marker is placed at the incorrectly guessed range point.

Danger Zone - The danger zone is a real life effect due to the combination of shallow shell trajectory and ship height. In Battlefleet, if the leading edge of a target vessel or its base lies within the close range bracket, then a distance equivalent to one-third of a range bracket beyond that point also counts as the target area (instead of only the width of the base or model). This dramatically increases the depth of the target zone and the possibilities of hitting at close range.

« 3.5 TORPEDO FIRE
After all movement and gunnery has been completed, players may conduct torpedo fire. All torpedo launches must be declared at the beginning of the phase, and once declared, may not be canceled. Torpedoes fired are crossed off of the firing vessel's ship log, and if necessary, a launch marker may be placed next to the vessel's base on the launching side. For smaller games with a limited number of launches, launch markers may not be needed. Due to their relatively shallow draft, vessels of size 2 or smaller may not be targeted by torpedo fire.

« 3.6 Launch Arcs
The arc of fire for torpedo positions mounted on a vessel's center-line is 95 degrees. The arc-of-fire for torpedoes mounted within the side or end of a vessel is 60 degrees. In order to establish a 60 degree arc for side/end mounted positions, use the 150 degree arc-of-fire card to establish the blind zone for the respective positions. See the Arcs-of-Fire page for examples.

« 3.7 Calculating Hits
Measure in a straight line from the forward funnel of the firing vessel to the forward funnel of the declared target vessel. The first vessel touched by this line must roll on the Torpedo Hits chart. If a hit is scored, place a torpedo-hit marker along the side of the vessel struck. The torpedo is considered "destroyed" and may not be applied against any further vessels. If no hit is scored, continue measuring along the same line to establish whether there are any further vessels which intersect the line, rolling for each in turn. The maximum range for a torpedo is one-half of a range bracket, measured from the launching vessel's forward funnel. If a launched torpedo reaches its maximum range without detonating against a vessel, it is considered destroyed and is eliminated from play.

Torpedo Hit Modifiers:

50% Speed Differential - A vessel firing a torpedo will suffer a -1 modifier to the torpedo hit die roll if its speed is half or less than the speed of the targeted vessel.