[Walt622]

If they put them on my property I will take care of them to include protection from corrosion. I will just have to get some bigger cleaning rods as well as patches. No big deal.

You don't need rods or patches, just grease up your coverall's and crawl thru 'em!

 

[Nobamaplease]

On the 16” guns, if you compare it to the .50 BMG sniper rifle, which is capable of reaching a target of well over 1 mile, 25 miles on the 16” would be a bit short. Of course line of sight for the sniper and curvature/rotation of the earth for the 25 miles, makes one think.

The days of the dreadnaught are long past because to not only danger from the air but under the surface. Anything that floats is just a easy target.

My wife broke her arm falling from one of those 16” while racing to the end of the barrel with her brothers while the Mighty Mo was mothballed in Washington back in the Summer of 69

 

[hawkeye52]

You are absolutely right, the Missouri was an Iowa class battleship. As soon as I read your comment I realized I had a brain cramp declaring them to be Missouri Class. Must have been the pizza the night before messin with me…

I've got the USS North Carolina parked down the road from my house

 

[Loco1911]

Yet another great thread here that's impossible to break off from. Thank you, guys.

 

[cadillacmike]

The Navy called the 16" guns on the battleships rifles...

Rifled Cannons, as opposed to "smoothbores".

We've mostly gone back to smoothbore cannons in main battle tanks now...

 

[cadillacmike]

That is what I thought as well........naval rifles since they were actually rifled barrels.

I've been sick the past few days and have been watching YouTube movies. "The Battle of Archimedes" is a Japanese made flick that is centered around the design/politics/construction/sinking of the battleship Yamato. The opening scenes alone are worth watching.

The Yamato, even though is sits at the bottom of the Pacific, is still to this day a source of pride to the Japanese people, and it has become part of their cultural lore......with it's 18" guns!

-E-

Even though it never sank anything bigger than a DD, DE, or CVE... Remember the "starblazers" cartoon of the 60s? It Japan it was named "space battleship yamato"

 

[DarkLord]

I was at Pearl Harbor today, vacationing, so I was on the USS Missouri and was looking at the large turret guns. I was talking to a volunteer guide that really knew his subject. So those canons were loaded with 660lbs of powder and a 2700 lb. projectile. They would aim at targets 25 miles away! I asked how they could aim at a target 25 miles away and was told with radar and a spotter plane. Talk about a hot load, 660 lbs of powder in 1 round. Off subject but I also asked how long the anchor chain was, 1100 ft. Each link of that chain wieghs 120 lbs, this is serious stuff here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2,700 pounder is the AP round, the HE load is 1,900...you know; wadcutters.

 

[GWarden]

This is a photo of the Missouri firing her guns. This was during the gulf war time frame. My brother was the weapons officer during that time.

 

[Hawkeye fan]

Last time I was in Norfolk (2017) for a school I made sure to get off base and head over to see WISCONSIN, first time I was in Norfolk only the weather deck was open to tours but now you can tour inside the skin of the ship. Sadly, I only had time to do the command-and-control tour, but I've seen enough machinery spaces in my time that I didn't feel bad for not doing the engineering tour.

Few of the pictures that I took.

 

[Nehalemguy]

Even though it never sank anything bigger than a DD, DE, or CVE... Remember the "starblazers" cartoon of the 60s? In Japan it was named "space battleship yamato"

Yes. First episode released October 6, 1974. The movie version was released in Japan in August of 1977 and eclipsed the release of Star Wars for several weeks.

For those of you who are not nerds and have no idea what we are talking about, the animated series was set in the year 2199, Earth and humanity are on the brink of extinction following an interstellar war, and the remaining inhabitants of Earth secretly build a massive spaceship using the hull and super structure of the wrecked Yamato.

I know. Not what you were expecting on the 1911 Forum today.

 

[tex ohfive]

Absolutely!

It still amazes though me just how many hits these ships were able to take and still stay in action. I was watching (again) a documentary on the sinking of the Yamato. Multiple hits from two waves of dive bombers and torpedo planes and she was still in action. It was the third wave of U.S. planes that finally sank her. She was listing so badly at that point that torpedo strikes were hitting almost at her keel and below her armoring. Shortly after those hits, she rolled completely. Then one of her magazines touched off in a massive explosion. The blast wave from the magazine explosion crippled seven attacking aircraft according to the documentary.

-E-

I have been on the South Dakota class battleship Alabama BB-60 on display in Mobile Bay many times over the years and I never fail to be impressed by the displays of firepower and toughness of the ship. I found out the Alabama could be steered and fought from 5 areas around the ship if the main command center were too damaged ( 16 inch armor there ). The ship was armed with a main battery of nine 16" guns in three triple-gun turrets on the centerline, two of which were placed in a superfiring pair forward, with the third aft. The secondary battery consisted of twenty 5-inch caliber dual-purpose guns mounted in twin turrets clustered amidships, five turrets on either side. Additionally, she was was armed with a battery of six quadruple 40 mm (1.6 in) Bofors guns and thirty-five 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon autocannon in single mounts.

Alongside the Alabama, is the SS Drum (SS228) submarine that saw extensive action in WW2 in the Pacific. The Drum was commissioned November 1, 1941. She was conducting her 14th war patrol when the Japanese surrendered. She earned 12 battle stars in that time. She is the oldest American submarine on display in the world. The thing that always struck me the most when touring the interior, besides the lack of room was the fact that I could still smell the body odor and the mustiness of the crew. Obviously, subs had to have hot swapping of bunks for the crew in such a crowded space.

As an aside, the first time I toured the Alabama, there was a sign posted on the deck in front of a taped off area that announced that the Alabama was being used as a prop for certain scenes in a Hollywood movie starring Steven Segal and Tommy Lee Jones. The working title of the film was Dreadnaught. I have a picture of that sign around somewhere. Of course the movie was released as Under Siege. The scenes that were filmed on the Alabama were the night action scenes when Segal's character climbs up the hull of the battleship and engages in a firefight on the deck during which a chopper crashes on the deck.

 

[Nehalemguy]

As an aside, the first time I toured the Alabama, there was a sign posted on the deck in front of a taped off area that announced that the Alabama was being used as a prop for certain scenes in a Hollywood movie starring Steven Segal and Tommy Lee Jones. The working title of the film was Dreadnaught. I have a picture of that sign around somewhere. Of course the movie was released as Under Siege. The scenes that were filmed on the Alabama were the night action scenes when Segal's character climbs up the hull of the battleship and engages in a firefight on the deck during which a chopper crashes on the deck.

Where did they film Erika Eleniak popping out of the birthday cake?

-E-

 

[USMM guy]

I've got the USS North Carolina parked down the road from my house

Only a landlubber would say that. I think that she more likely is tied up or berthed down the street from your house.

 

[USMM guy]

Yes. First episode released October 6, 1974. The movie version was released in Japan in August of 1977 and eclipsed the release of Star Wars for several weeks.

For those of you who are not nerds and have no idea what we are talking about, the animated series was set in the year 2199, Earth and humanity are on the brink of extinction following an interstellar war, and the remaining inhabitants of Earth secretly build a massive spaceship using the hull and super structure of the wrecked Yamato.

I know. Not what you were expecting on the 1911 Forum today.

View attachment 666547

I was at the library the other day And they had just finished moving all of the post apocalyptic horror fiction into the current events section.

 

[USMM guy]

I got pics two.

 

[USMM guy]

2,700 pounder is the AP round, the HE load is 1,900...you know; wadcutters.

I remember one of the battles where luck was on our side. I am thinking that it might have been Leyte but it might not have. The jap cruisers were apparently expecting our battleships to show up and not our carriers. So they were already preloaded with AP rounds. When some of our flattops showed up, they fired at these carriers with these AP rounds and the rounds went right through both sides of these thin skinned vessels before exploding. Bet it scared the crap out of those guys below decks though. 😣

 

[Noob reloader]

Interestingly enough I was just reading something the other day. The Navy department recently "remembered" that they had nine spare barrels for the Iowa class battleships set aside somewhere. Of course their initial course of action was to dispose of them. Fortunately cooler heads have prevailed, at least for now.
Two of them have apparently found new homes where they will presumably be on display to the public for the foreseeable future. Hopefully the other ones will as well.

If I thought that it would be taken seriously, I would write to the Navy department to offer a safe place to store them indefinitely on my place. I doubt if anyone would steal them.

When I was on the project to put the New Jersey back in commission in 1981 at Long Beach Naval Shipyard, they discovered 6 replacement barrels in storage at the Subic Bay shipyard in perfect condition. Many great memories of that project!

 

[Noob reloader]

@USMM guy, the two unfinished Iowas (the USS Illinois and the USS Kentucky) were broken up on the ways and parts were used for other ships. Mainly the propulsion components. You have to figure before construction was stopped, there may well have been 18 spare 16" barrels in storage somewhere.

Grumpy

The propulsion plants for the last 2 unbuilt Iowa class were used in the first 2 AOE-1 class floating Walmarts, called "Super 6's".

 

[PEF]

Stood by the surrender plaque on the Missouri when she was in Bremerton. I looked around, thought of all those sailors that were once looking down on that very spot, and it was as if I was among the presence of ghosts.

 

[jujuNevada]

Where did they film Erika Eleniak popping out of the birthday cake?

-E-

that movie with steven seagal... b movie... but Erika is something to look at...