And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
Wednesday, July 26, 2023
16-inch gun projectiles aboard Battleship New Jersey 1953.
Look up "USS Massachusetts 16 inch shell fragment". They dug out the tips of two shells from the French BB Jean Bart whose leaders made the poor decision to fire on US forces as they landed in North Africa. You can touch them on display at the ship. Sobering.
New Jersey's main battery consisted of nine 16"/50 caliber Mark 7 guns in three three-gun turrets, which could fire 2,700-pound (1,225 kg) armor-piercing shells some 23 miles (42.6 km). Her secondary battery consisted of twenty 5"/38 caliber guns mounted in twin-gun dual purpose (DP) turrets, which could hit targets up to 9 miles (16.7 km) away
I was in Vietnam along the DMZ when the USS New Jersey came on station in 1968. The Jersey lobbed a lot of 16" shells into the dirt in our TAOR. She was amazing!!!
Those are AP shells, denoted by the black bodies. High explosive shells (called HC "High Capacity" shells by the Navy, had green bodies.) The AP shells weighed 2700 pounds apiece, and at 45° elevation, could attain 42,345 yards (24 land miles, 20.9 nautical miles) range, and at the arc, would attain an altitude of over 36,000'. This was on purpose, so that the shells would plunge downward on impact through the lighter deck armor of other combatants, rather than trying flatter trajectories, which would hit the thicker side plating.
NavWeps has a great website on the 16"/50 cal guns, and the museum crew of New Jersey have a great YouTube video telling you everything you want to know about the guns of the Big Four.
Now we build ships like the USS Zumwalt that the ammo for the main gun is too expensive ($800,000 per round) to buy even a single round of ammo for it. Disarmament through poor procurement. Its too bad because the GPS guided rounds had a range of 60 miles which put these old-fashioned rounds to shame.
They could sit 20 miles offshore and lob those in.
ReplyDeleteWow!
ReplyDeleteI wonder how thick the metal is on those shells.
ReplyDeleteLook up "USS Massachusetts 16 inch shell fragment". They dug out the tips of two shells from the French BB Jean Bart whose leaders made the poor decision to fire on US forces as they landed in North Africa. You can touch them on display at the ship. Sobering.
DeleteNow you need to give us a photo of the powder charges the Navy used to lob those shells those 20 plus miles, CW.
ReplyDeletesix powder charges for each projectile
DeleteI did the tour few years back. last part of the tour is the gun turret. not much room. My father was radio man USS English tin can 1948.
ReplyDeleteEverything you wanted to know about BB62:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/@BattleshipNewJersey
New Jersey's main battery consisted of nine 16"/50 caliber Mark 7 guns in three three-gun turrets, which could fire 2,700-pound (1,225 kg) armor-piercing shells some 23 miles (42.6 km). Her secondary battery consisted of twenty 5"/38 caliber guns mounted in twin-gun dual purpose (DP) turrets, which could hit targets up to 9 miles (16.7 km) away
ReplyDeleteI was in Vietnam along the DMZ when the USS New Jersey came on station in 1968. The Jersey lobbed a lot of 16" shells into the dirt in our TAOR. She was amazing!!!
ReplyDeleteThose are AP shells, denoted by the black bodies. High explosive shells (called HC "High Capacity" shells by the Navy, had green bodies.) The AP shells weighed 2700 pounds apiece, and at 45° elevation, could attain 42,345 yards (24 land miles, 20.9 nautical miles) range, and at the arc, would attain an altitude of over 36,000'.
ReplyDeleteThis was on purpose, so that the shells would plunge downward on impact through the lighter deck armor of other combatants, rather than trying flatter trajectories, which would hit the thicker side plating.
NavWeps has a great website on the 16"/50 cal guns, and the museum crew of New Jersey have a great YouTube video telling you everything you want to know about the guns of the Big Four.
http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_16-50_mk7.php
https://youtu.be/lGEXyrX8b6g
Now we build ships like the USS Zumwalt that the ammo for the main gun is too expensive ($800,000 per round) to buy even a single round of ammo for it. Disarmament through poor procurement. Its too bad because the GPS guided rounds had a range of 60 miles which put these old-fashioned rounds to shame.
ReplyDelete