My one great uncle was on a battleship in WWII. The USS IOWA and others were gone by the time I went into the military
Pics are of USS IOWA also
Pics are of USS IOWA also
Anyone serve on a battleship?
- Thread starter 53' Stude
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My Uncle served on the Iowa during WWII too. A friend served on the Missouri when Japan surrendered. Both had some amazing war stories.
I can see why they re-commissioned them in the 1980's too. They would put fear in anyone
April 19, 1989. 47 shipmates died when old powder bags exploded and blew up a gun turret. I went to the burial in Port Gibson NY of the GMCS who died in that explosion.
Powder bags left over from WWII.
Powder bags left over from WWII.
OVERKILL
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Originally Posted by ctrcbob
April 19, 1989. 47 shipmates died when old powder bags exploded and blew up a gun turret. I went to the burial in Port Gibson NY of the GMCS who died in that explosion.
Powder bags left over from WWII.
Tragic
April 19, 1989. 47 shipmates died when old powder bags exploded and blew up a gun turret. I went to the burial in Port Gibson NY of the GMCS who died in that explosion.
Powder bags left over from WWII.
Tragic
Kestas
Staff member
I spent a year working at Alameda Naval Air Station. That's where the USS Enterprise and Carl Vinson were based. I never stepped foot on the ships. My job was to analyze at broken aircraft parts.
My grandfather worked as a Naval ordnance engineer between WWI and into WWII huge advances were made in the range of ordnance during that time. He showed me slide rule calculators that would calaculate such things as the lift of a gun barrel depending on the amount of charge used (Gun barrels droop)
Other calculators considered the expansion of the barrel bore due to temperature rise from previous shots. In his final years of work they had guns that would fire on a target beyond the horizon.
Other calculators considered the expansion of the barrel bore due to temperature rise from previous shots. In his final years of work they had guns that would fire on a target beyond the horizon.
Originally Posted by ctrcbob
April 19, 1989. 47 shipmates died when old powder bags exploded and blew up a gun turret. I went to the burial in Port Gibson NY of the GMCS who died in that explosion.
Powder bags left over from WWII.
Interesting article about that explosion, blamed on overram.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Iowa_turret_explosion
April 19, 1989. 47 shipmates died when old powder bags exploded and blew up a gun turret. I went to the burial in Port Gibson NY of the GMCS who died in that explosion.
Powder bags left over from WWII.
Interesting article about that explosion, blamed on overram.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Iowa_turret_explosion
In 1976, the Coast Guard cutter I was stationed on had a old 3" 50 gun mount. They had quit making the shells decades earlier. These were pre- WW2 guns.
We had gunnery practice every other patrol either shooting at a floating balloon or bombarding a deserted island way down the Aleutian chain. The solid brass empties were highly sought after.
Part way through my tour of duty on board we held practice at the deserted island. The first shell did not fire due to the breech not closed all the way. The gunners mate in a act we will never know why, used his shoulder to close the breech not knowing that the port elevation guy was pulling the trigger. The gun went off and threw him about 30 feet back near the superstructure. He suffered a concussion, cracked ribs, broken collarbone and possible internal injuries.
The GM was airlifted to Elmendorf and we never saw him again. As for the gun, the Coast Guard put out a directive and they were never fired again.
We had gunnery practice every other patrol either shooting at a floating balloon or bombarding a deserted island way down the Aleutian chain. The solid brass empties were highly sought after.
Part way through my tour of duty on board we held practice at the deserted island. The first shell did not fire due to the breech not closed all the way. The gunners mate in a act we will never know why, used his shoulder to close the breech not knowing that the port elevation guy was pulling the trigger. The gun went off and threw him about 30 feet back near the superstructure. He suffered a concussion, cracked ribs, broken collarbone and possible internal injuries.
The GM was airlifted to Elmendorf and we never saw him again. As for the gun, the Coast Guard put out a directive and they were never fired again.
Just to add, you will usually see these guns on bases as a decorative item. The gun has a seat on each side with the wheel cranks. The starboard side controlled the angle of the gun, the port side controlled the elevation and had the trigger. These guns also had a small rope thst could be attached to pull the trigger as well.
JHZR2
Staff member
Originally Posted by 53' Stude
I can see why they re-commissioned them in the 1980's too. They would put fear in anyone
Range of a 16" just isnt that great for any aspect of modern warfighting... But it is a BIG projectile!!
I can see why they re-commissioned them in the 1980's too. They would put fear in anyone
Range of a 16" just isnt that great for any aspect of modern warfighting... But it is a BIG projectile!!
Originally Posted by JHZR2
Originally Posted by 53' Stude
I can see why they re-commissioned them in the 1980's too. They would put fear in anyone
Range of a 16" just isn't that great for any aspect of modern war fighting... But it is a BIG projectile!!
The Battle ships were made from thick steel and can take hits better than the tin cans . The main gun turrets are 17 inch steel and it is amazing when you go through the hatches.
Originally Posted by 53' Stude
I can see why they re-commissioned them in the 1980's too. They would put fear in anyone
Range of a 16" just isn't that great for any aspect of modern war fighting... But it is a BIG projectile!!
The Battle ships were made from thick steel and can take hits better than the tin cans . The main gun turrets are 17 inch steel and it is amazing when you go through the hatches.
Originally Posted by PimTac
What is truly amazing is that these battleships weighed over 58,000 tons and had the power plant to move them at speeds up to 33 knots.
But they never really justified their cost, there wasn't really an equivalent of the battle of Jutland. Yamato and Iowa never went toe to toe, Yamato was sunk by 11 torpedoes and 6 bombs. Musashi, 19 torpedoes and 17 bomb hits.
What is truly amazing is that these battleships weighed over 58,000 tons and had the power plant to move them at speeds up to 33 knots.
But they never really justified their cost, there wasn't really an equivalent of the battle of Jutland. Yamato and Iowa never went toe to toe, Yamato was sunk by 11 torpedoes and 6 bombs. Musashi, 19 torpedoes and 17 bomb hits.
I tried to get order's to the Iowa back in the 80's. Didn't happen. Was fortunate enough to get order's to a Spruance Class Destroyer (DD-977) and later to an Aegis Cruiser (CG-56) The San Jacinto is still on active duty. Those were some really good years.
I tried to get order's to the Iowa back in the 80's. Didn't happen. Was fortunate enough to get order's to a Spruance Class Destroyer (DD-977) and later to an Aegis Cruiser (CG-56) The San Jacinto is still on active duty. Those were some really good years.
My Dad always said the most Awesome thing he saw in his 3 years in Vietnam was sitting on a mountain side watching the USS New Jersey and the USS Newport News (a heavy cruiser) fire shells over them 10-15 miles inland at NVA troops in the dark. He said the Newport could fire 3 salvos per minute with it's automated loading systems, 3 times faster than the New Jersey. But you REALLY knew when the New Jersey was firing.
Originally Posted by Kestas
I spent a year working at Alameda Naval Air Station. That's where the USS Enterprise and Carl Vinson were based. I never stepped foot on the ships. My job was to analyze at broken aircraft parts.
I came back last month from Pearl Harbor to San Diego on the Carl Vinson for the second time in two years with my son. It was a great trip. I made the same trip in 2014 on DDG83, the USS Howard .
I spent a year working at Alameda Naval Air Station. That's where the USS Enterprise and Carl Vinson were based. I never stepped foot on the ships. My job was to analyze at broken aircraft parts.
I came back last month from Pearl Harbor to San Diego on the Carl Vinson for the second time in two years with my son. It was a great trip. I made the same trip in 2014 on DDG83, the USS Howard .
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