Pics of the "big guns" firing...
- Thread starter Remmy
- Start date
Well, lets not go overboard, as it were.
Erm, possibly. They are pretty much the pinnacle of battleship design, but they have some pretty decent competition from HMS Vanguard. The brits knew how to design ships that were ships first and foremost, and weapons platforms second. The turret/gun systems aboard her were not exactly state of the art (they were taken from Furious and Glorious when they were converted to carriers...or was it Courageous?), but they were still quite good, and Vanguard was a far better seakeeper than any Iowa ever was. Prettier, too.
http://www.warships1.com/BRbb16_Vanguard_prtfr.jpg
Mike
Stationed on the coast in Vietnam, the USS New Jersey shot its 16" guns over us against enemy targets inland. Thunder from the sea sometiems followed by a relatively puny report from inland. Unforgettable, especially realizing that those projectiles weighed about 2,500 pounds. We were always warned beforehand, probably so we could worry about short rounds....
LoneStranger
New member
MOA?
I remember discussions that if your Fire Control is up to snuff and you are using fairly new tubes they could get within 100 yds easy and some could get down to 25 yds. or less.
I would not have any idea how to figure the MOA on that but I would think that fairly precise shooting.
I remember discussions that if your Fire Control is up to snuff and you are using fairly new tubes they could get within 100 yds easy and some could get down to 25 yds. or less.
I would not have any idea how to figure the MOA on that but I would think that fairly precise shooting.
Yes, Tamara
I think British warships of the WWI/WWII era are more aesthetically pleasing than the vessels of almost any other navy. Some notable exceptions are the Nelson and the Rodney, which look like pure hell, and the first few carrier conversions done by the Royal Navy- ugliness incarnate.
The Japanese give the brits a good run for the money in aesthetics, though I dislike the pagoda masts of their modernized BBs. The Italians do as well...don't scoff, Italy produced some very very nice big-gun warships for WWII...they just didn't train or discipline their crews or captains very well. The Zara class cruisers? Beautiful!
Mike
I think British warships of the WWI/WWII era are more aesthetically pleasing than the vessels of almost any other navy. Some notable exceptions are the Nelson and the Rodney, which look like pure hell, and the first few carrier conversions done by the Royal Navy- ugliness incarnate.
The Japanese give the brits a good run for the money in aesthetics, though I dislike the pagoda masts of their modernized BBs. The Italians do as well...don't scoff, Italy produced some very very nice big-gun warships for WWII...they just didn't train or discipline their crews or captains very well.
The Zara class cruisers? Beautiful!Mike
MarineTech
New member
As a Marine, I can say that I have always thought the 16" Battleship guns were impressive as all get out. These things wipe out whole grid squares. I got the opportunity to see these shells landing once and I've been an advocate ever since. I can think of anything else that I would rather have firing in support if I ever had to land on a hostile beach.
I was really sorry to see them go.
I was really sorry to see them go.
They are not gone completely.
The USS Wisconsin is in USN's mobilization reserve, which means that she has been mothballed. This was not widely publicized (I didn't even know it until I visited Norfolk), and it would take a repeat of WWII for the navy to actually unmothball, refurbish, retrain crewmen and staff her again. But she is still there, waiting.
It did, however, make for an abbreviated museum visit- since she is mothballed, you can only walk around topside.
Mike
The USS Wisconsin is in USN's mobilization reserve, which means that she has been mothballed. This was not widely publicized (I didn't even know it until I visited Norfolk), and it would take a repeat of WWII for the navy to actually unmothball, refurbish, retrain crewmen and staff her again. But she is still there, waiting.
It did, however, make for an abbreviated museum visit- since she is mothballed, you can only walk around topside.
Mike
Oh, I AGREE.
I think that if the Iowas are too tired to stay in service (and they aren't), or cost to much to run in manpower (which they probably do, they are crew-intensive), well, then we need to build new ones. With armor, with massive guns.
C'mon, USN. Show the marines some love.
Mike
I think that if the Iowas are too tired to stay in service (and they aren't), or cost to much to run in manpower (which they probably do, they are crew-intensive), well, then we need to build new ones. With armor, with massive guns.
C'mon, USN. Show the marines some love.
Mike
brianidaho
New member
Gotta wonder what a couple of terrorists with explosives in a row-boat could do to a Iowa-class BB. Is it 12 or 18 inches of armor plate above the waterline on one of those things? Might scorch a little paint, can't imagine much more. Same thought with an Exocet-these aren't some thin-skinned boats with an aluminum superstructure. Would be really interesting to see them fitted with (multiple) nuclear reactors and one heck of a bunch of vertical launch tubes.
Bri
(gotta learn to check spelling-lack of a spell checker on here makes me look like an idiot sometimes).
Bri
(gotta learn to check spelling-lack of a spell checker on here makes me look like an idiot sometimes).
Dave Haven
New member
262,245,912.849 Foot-Lbs.
Depends on where the boat was alongside when it went up. If it was forward of the #1 turret or aft of the #3 turret (more or less) there would be no armor protection. The citadel armor scheme (all or nothing) is in effect on these ships. It could indeed punch a rather large hole in the side of the ship, requiring a few months in drydock to fix.
Of course the vessel could probably return to said drydock under her own power, after completeing all aspects of her mission, and probably only at slightly reduced speed. I believe USS Pennsylvania took a torpedo hit in her bow fairly late in the war, and they just decided to not send her to port for repairs right away...no need.
OTOH, Bismarck was doomed from a single properly placed torpedo hit, after shrugging off several similar strikes that hit her armored belt.
Either way, I'm willing to bet she'd fare much better than Cole.
Mike
Jeff Cooper wrote an article on the 16" guns back in the late '80's for Guns & Ammo. The lucky sonuvagun got to fire 'em! He sez the accuracy comes out to sub MOA at 18 miles.
A friend of mine contends that the armor was so light on the Iowas that they should just be considered heavy cruisers, compared to Yamato class stuff.
He sez the accuracy comes out to sub MOA at 18 miles. A friend of mine contends that the armor was so light on the Iowas that they should just be considered heavy cruisers, compared to Yamato class stuff.
OK you guys, here's some info on 16 inch guns that might interest you.
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Hall/4634/16ingun.html
(This is on a private website and sometimes if enough people go there the bandwith get exceeded. If you get a message telling you the bandwidth is used up try later.)
Enjoy
Check out the 16 inch hit on a Yamato turret glacis. They found a turret from the third Yamato in a Japanese navy yard and bought it back to the US for tests. Fired a 16" gun removed from the South Dakota (Damaged by bomb hit during the guadalcanal campaign) against the turret just to see if it would penetrate. Check out the results
Iowas were heavy criusers, my arse
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Hall/4634/16ingun.html
(This is on a private website and sometimes if enough people go there the bandwith get exceeded. If you get a message telling you the bandwidth is used up try later.)
Enjoy
Check out the 16 inch hit on a Yamato turret glacis. They found a turret from the third Yamato in a Japanese navy yard and bought it back to the US for tests. Fired a 16" gun removed from the South Dakota (Damaged by bomb hit during the guadalcanal campaign) against the turret just to see if it would penetrate. Check out the results
Iowas were heavy criusers, my arse