16 inch guns

[Lil' Irish Temper]

Now that's some power. Pretty impressive huh?

 

[Fly N Dive]

WOW!!! wouldn't want to be on the recieving end of that!

 

[ClevelandDiver]

Now that's some power. Pretty impressive huh?

Very impressive, I have always wondered if a lot of dead fish float up after a blast like that...... Also, would it kill of any approaching frogmen trying to plant an explosive device?

 

[Lil' Irish Temper]

You'd have to ask the Navy guys & gals about that one. I've never been near one of those bad boys. Good question though.

All Army here

 

[herman]

Looks like a WWII Iowa class battleship. Yep, it actually is the USS Iowa BB-61. If you get down our way, we have the USS North Carolina BB-55 on display in Wilmington. A great thing to tour after a morning of diving.

Photo details:

"Photo #: DN-ST-85-05379 (Color)

USS Iowa (BB-61)

Fires a full broadside of nine 16"/50 and six 5"/38 guns during a target exercise near Vieques Island, Puerto Rico, 1 July 1984.
Photographed by PHAN J. Alan Elliott.
Note concussion effects on the water surface, and 16-inch gun barrels in varying degrees of recoil.

Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the the Department of Defense Still Media Collection.




http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/usnshtp/bb/bb.htm

 

[cyklon_300]

using 16-inch naval rifles are capable of firing projectiles weighing 2000+ lbs up to ~22 miles.

Other trivia:

70% of the earth's population is within range of these weapons.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Projectiles for the 16" guns on North Carolina, South Dakota and Iowa class battleships were the Mk 8 1900 lb High Capacity with a 154 lb explosive charge and the Mk 13 2700 lb Armour Piercing shell.

Six silk bags of powder weighing 110 lbs each were used for each shot in the Mk 7 guns used on the Iowa Class. Six silk bags weighing 100 lbs each were used on the slightly shorter Mk 6 guns used on the North Carolina and South Dakota Class battlehips. Each silk powder bag had a pad containing 290 grams of black powder sewn to the base as an initiator and the shot was fired by a 3/8" x 3" long brass Mk 15 Lock Combination Primer inserted into a Mk 14 firing lock assembly.

With the Mk 7 16" 50 caliber gun used in the Iowa class ships, the muzzle velocity was 2700 fps for the HE round and 2500 fps for the AP round. Maximum range for both rounds was just short of 23 miles at 45 degrees of elevation.

With the earlier Mk 6 16" 45 caliber gun used in the North Carolina and South Dakota class ships, the muzzle velocity was 2525 fps for the HE round and 2300 fps for the AP round. Maximum range for both rounds was just over 21 miles at 45 degrees of elevation. Time of flight for the AP round was 89 seconds at a range of 20 miles.

Due to the large amount of powder used and the high temperatures and pressures involved, extensive throat and barrel erosion occurred and a new barrel liner was needed after a finite number of rounds. The most erosion occured with the heavier AP rounds and a new liner was specified after only 395 full charge shots of the AP projectiles.

Reduced charges weighing a total of 295 lbs could also be used for shorter range shooting. This could be done with the HC round in relatively short range shore bombardment situations where velocity was not as important and/or where a higher angle of fall was desired. The use of a reduced charge was desireable as it extended the life of the barrel liners which was an important consideration in shore bombardments where a large number of rounds could potentially be fired.

Accuracy of both the Mk 6 and Mk 7 guns was very impressive with a shot dispersion of 1 minute of angle. To put that in perspective, these 16" guns could place rounds into a 35 ft diameter circle at a range of 12 miles making it a very precise and very effective weapon for close support of troops.

 

[Wildcard]

You a navy gunner or EOD or did you look that up? Watching a full broad side from a ship like that is a sight to behold, so Im told. Never seen it except in videos. Dug up a butt load of 16s off of Kahoolawe. Never ceased to impress me that this 2200 pound hunk of steel and bang was just the " bullet".

 

[DA Aquamaster]

You a navy gunner or EOD or did you look that up? Watching a full broad side from a ship like that is a sight to behold, so Im told. Never seen it except in videos. Dug up a butt load of 16s off of Kahoolawe. Never ceased to impress me that this 2200 pound hunk of steel and bang was just the " bullet".

Being a SD resident I am a fan of the South Dakota class battleships and have done a fair amount of historical research on the class, it's abilities, and how it differed from the earlier North Carolinas and the later Iowas. Plus about 15 years ago I lived in Sioux Falls SD where the BB57 memorial is located and with reunions held there very other year, I was able to interview former gunners, crew, etc.

The South Dakota's were designed along the lines of the North Carolinas but with armour that would withstand the impact of 16" shells and do it all under the same Washington Treaty limits. It required they be about 50 ft shorter than their more lightly armoured predecessors to stay under the displacement limits which in turn required a lot more power in a smaller engineering space to make the same 27.5 kt speed as the North Carolinas. The power plant section of the ship was a very impressive engineering feat for the time.

The downside is that they were a bit more cramped overall. But they were also smaller targets with denser AA defenses, had a smaller crew and the more condensed superstructure allowed for better communication and coordination between the fire control and the con.

 

[jonnythan]

these 16" guns could place rounds into a 35 ft diameter circle at a range of 12 miles

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