Appreciating the size of a "Really Big Gun" -- 18" of Raw Muscle

[vintage hunter]

The Wisconsin and Iowa hold the distinction of being the last BB's in commission in the world, being stricken from the NVR fairly recently in March 2006.
The only battleships ever built(AFAIK) that out classed the Iowa's in terms of armor and firepower were the two Japanese super battleships Yamato and Musashi. But not enough to make a real difference had it ever come down to a slugfest between the two classes. The Iowa's had superior fire control systems and even though their 16''/50 caliber Mk.7 main guns and shells were 25% lighter than the Jap 18.1 inchers they still had nearly equal armor penetrating capabilities.
The U.S. Mk.8 AP shell weighed in at 2700lbs and was propelled by a 660lb powder charge to a MV of 2500fps with a range of 24 miles and was capable of penetrating 20-21'' of armor at 20,000 yards, more than enough to defeat the Yamato and Musashi's 16'' belt plates. Yamato class turrets were a tougher nut to crack though having a side armor thickness of 25 1/2''.
The U.S.HC Mk.13 shells weighed 1900lbs and were nothing short of awesome. They were capable of making craters 50' wide by 20' deep. During the Vietnam War they were used on occasion to create helicopter landing zones in the jungle. One Mk.13 shell fired into the jungle would make a LZ 200 yards in diameter and defoliate the trees for a further 300 yards beyond that. It almost makes you feel sorry for the poor bastards unlucky enough to be on the receiving end don't it?

[Tom in N.J.]

The navy has many 16" gun tubes and barrels left from those not used in the building of cancelled battleships in WWII. Back in 2011 there were 15 each 16" gun barrels up for surplus sale. They had to be demiled per navy spec on site. They were Mark 7s....

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[Seaspriter]

16" gun barrels up for surplus sale.

Am I reading the barrel label correctly? It seems to indicate the barrel weighs 237, 175 lbs -- no wonder they were called "heavy guns."

[vintage hunter]

Am I reading the barrel label correctly?

Yep, you sure are. And that's sans the breech. With the breech it weighed about 268,000lbs.

[Seaspriter]

With the breech it weighed about 268,000lbs.

So, for 3 of them per turret, that's over 3/4 million pounds, plus the mounting platforms and magazine feed system, plus heavily armoured turrets -- over 1 million pounds per 3-barreled turret. And she had three 3-barreled turrets. Plus twenty 5inch 38s, and multiple batteries of Anti-Aircraft guns. It's just hard to fathom the fire-power amassed in such a small space. Was there any weaponry as powerful in such a concentrated location? ( A nuclear submarine with nuclear warheads is the only thing that comes to mind.)

[vintage hunter]

Was there any weaponry as powerful in such a concentrated location?

A B-52 armed with a nuke. The Iowa's had nuclear capabilities also from the 50's on in the form of a 1900lb Mk.23 nuclear shell was loaded with a 20 kiloton warhead.

[jmoore]

The navy has many 16" gun tubes and barrels left from those not used in the building of cancelled battleships in WWII. Back in 2011 there were 15 each 16" gun barrels up for surplus sale. They had to be demiled per navy spec on site. They were Mark 7s....

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Not exactly road transportable "as is" were they?

[Patrick Chadwick]

"Not exactly road transportable "as is" were they?"


Don't think I'll try lugging one of those to the range. It would take a lifetime's supply of powder to get off just one shot...

[WarPig1976]

237, 175 lbs

That's three Tractor Trailers PER barrel loaded to their absolute maximum legal road weight. Not cheap to move after you bought it!!!

[Bob Womack]

What a great memorial. We've got the BB-64 Wisconsin here in my area and she's in great shape. Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, VA, still has its 350-ton hammerhead crane that was installed in 1940 specifically to install and remove battleship turret assemblies as a unit. Get a peek at this:



Obviously it towers over the waterfront and has become a symbol of the area. The problem is that the ground beneath the crane isn't as stable as it once was. The Navy has discussed removing it but taking it down would carry with it a tremendous cost so they are trying to figure out next moves.

That's DDG-3, John King, a Charles F. Addams-class guided missile destroyer tied up in front of the crane. She was decommissioned in 1990 so that would give you a time frame for the picture.

For scale, look at the door and stairs on the butt end of the counter weight. The size of this thing is hard to judge until you are right underneath.

Bob