Naval Gunnery Question

besilarius · April 17, 2012, 06:57:48 PM

Mirth, these newsreels could be just about anything. I saw some that showed germans manning equipment, and how British Pathe got those is a mystery, unless it was after the war.

mirth · April 17, 2012, 07:52:36 PM

Quote from: besilarius on April 17, 2012, 06:57:48 PM
Mirth, these newsreels could be just about anything. I saw some that showed germans manning equipment, and how British Pathe got those is a mystery, unless it was after the war.

What I figured. It's still very cool footage. Thanks again.

besilarius · September 06, 2012, 09:45:58 AM

USS Texas has a near miss off Omaha Beach.

Gusington · September 07, 2012, 07:08:13 AM

A near miss with one of those things is still close enough sometimes ;)

Airborne Rifles · September 13, 2012, 02:34:36 PM

The USS North Carolina is moored in Wilmington, NC. I visited it a couple of times when I was living near there and it is a very cool experience. I've read that the USS Texas is the last surviving dreadnought in the world and it is moored at the San Jacinto battlefield. I'd like to get over there some time.

Gus, have you read Neptune's Inferno by James Hornfisher? It's a history of the naval battles around Guadalcanal and the climax of those battles was a one-on-one duel between the USS Washington and the IJN Kirishima. One of the best written books I've read in a while. Dreadnought and Castles of Steel by Robert Massie are really good as well and have all the information you could want about the evolution of the modern battleship.

Gusington · September 18, 2012, 06:46:44 AM

Neptune'd Inferno...I will check it out. Massie is one of my favorite history authors. I loved Dreadnought. I have Castles of Steel waiting to be read...trying to match it with the perfect PC game.

republic · December 27, 2012, 02:49:58 PM

I'm late to see this. +1 to Neptune's Inferno, great book!

Also Norman Friedman's U.S. Battleships: An Illustrated Design History is a great read for theoretical designs and 'what might have been'.

besilarius · December 27, 2012, 04:09:17 PM

Here is a report on testing done at the Naval Weapons Center in Dahlgren, Va. on a turret made for the IJN Shinano/Yamato class.

http://www.navweaps.com/index_tech/tech-040.htm

Interesting results and conclusions by the Dahlgren staff.

Staggerwing · December 27, 2012, 07:58:19 PM

Interesting. Is the Dahlgren center related in any way to the guy who designed the guns for the USS Monitor? His name was also Dahlgren IIRC.

besilarius · December 27, 2012, 08:05:55 PM

Yes, the center was named for him.
Not sure if it is open to the public on certain days, used to have tours once or twice a year.
They have more junk stored there than you can shake a stick at. After all the rebuilding done on the World War II destroyers (FRAM program), the 40mm Bofors guns were taken off. (Contrary to the summer movie, Battleship). For some reason all the east coast ships sent their mounts to Dahlgren. A friend who works there told me that they're all still there. Waiting in case someone else tries kamikaze tactics.
The Bofors was a good, maybe a great gun, but with it's limited range and reliance on the Mark I, Mod 0 eyeball for engaging the enemy, I doubt it would have much use today.
Now if Iran, or someplace, tried using masses of speed boats, then the Bofors might have a purpose again.