16 Inch Gun Training Film

it takes 79 men to operate this turret and it's three guns incidentally this is a three gun turret not a triple gun turret that means each gun can elevate independently of the others these 16-inch guns are the main armament on the BB 61 class ships and you'll find three turrets with a total of nine guns the combined rate of fire is over 18 rounds a minute but you can see only a small part of it from out here come on inside and see what this modern 16-inch turret structure is really like as you can see here it's topped off by an armored gun house below that is the rotating structure resting on the roller path below the roller path and so unded by a circular armored cylinder slides three powder trunks sighting elevating and training stations a projectile hoist and cradle for each gun additionally there is the turret officers booth containing the rangefinder and local fire control equipment between the Shelf plate or gun deck and the pan plate are the three gun pits the power equipment for elevating the guns is located on the pan plate just below the pan plate is the electric deck here the main power equipment for training the guns is located the two decks immediately below are the upper and lower projectile handling platforms each platform consists of two concentric sections the outer section is a stationary projectile stowage area the intersection is a projectile handling ring and a second projectile stowage area and is part of the rotating structure however this projectile ring has its own power drive and can be rotated independently of the turret the very bottom deck contains the powder handling room completely surrounded by the magazines unlike case guns the 16-inch is a bag gun this adds considerably to the danger of spilled powder and the resultant increased fire hazard thus all compartments are separated by flameproof bulkheads to prevent any flame or lethal gas from spreading throughout the turret well there in general is what a turret actually looks like from top to bottom you won't need to concern yourself now with training or elevating or even about plotting range-finding or fire control this film will give you a general idea of what happens after all that has been taken care of the powder handling operation begins in the powder handling room at the very bottom here under the supervision of a petty officer three powder door operators and nine powder passers keep the powder bags moving to the powder hoists the scuttle operators take the powder bags from the magazine scuttles and hand them to the powder passers when six bags have been placed in the powder car the doors are closed and the car starts up through the hoist trunk to the gun room unlike powder hoists for case guns please operate more like an elevator with a car that moves the powder up through the trunk by means of a cable however powder won't be of much use without projectiles and there's a crew for each of the two projectile handling levels under the supervision of a petty officer there are three projectile hoist operators one ring operator nine projectile men and a roving electrician first the projectile ring operator brings the bullets close to the hoist by moving the ring as much as necessary you'll remember of course that this projectile ring operates independently of the turret rotating structure since these projectiles weigh over 2,500 pounds apiece it's easy to see why special parbuckling equipment is required to move them around when the projectile man and hoist operator have the projectile in position the hoist is started and the projectile is on its way constant communication between the turret officers compartment and both the projectile and powder handling rooms keeps the rounds coming as they're needed by the gun crews here in the gun house it will be easy to see that we're working with only the crew of a single gun each gun crew consists of a gun captain a cradle operator a rammer operator and finally a primer man as soon as the projectile arrives at the top of the hoist it stops in the cradle in most smaller and newer guns loading can be accomplished at any angle of a Ovation but these big 16-inch guns must be brought to five degrees elevation when the gun is in loading position the gun captain opens the breech then the cradle and spanning tray can be tipped by a hydraulic cylinder to align with the bore of the gun when the spanning tray is in position the rammer operator Rams the projectile into the gun the rammer is retracted and the gun is ready for the powder bags now the powder trunk door is opened and three powder bags are rolled into the tray then the powder car moves down and three more bags are rolled into the tray all six bags are now rammed slowly into the gun that's right six bags each one about 18 inches long and 18 inches in diameter the rammer is retracted now the cradle operator raises the cradle and turns the ready switch to ready the gun automatically goes back to firing position and the firing circuit can be completed the return of the gun to firing position automatically flushes a gun ready signal to the turret officers control panel and the gun is ready for firing when the recoil and counter recoil action are complete the gun returns to the loading position automatically when the gun captain begins to open the breech the gas ejection system automatically blows the bore clean of gas or any burning fragments now the gun is ready for the next round and the cycle starts again of course all you've seen are the actual steps required to load and fire only one gun now when you multiply that by three and you want to keep them firing there's a lot more that goes on not four but thirteen men are handling powder not four but 15 men operating each projectile flat and both flats being used then there are four men on the machinery floor three powder hoist operators 12 men working in the gun compartments six at the site stations and eight men in the turret officers booth a lot of men but as we said in the beginning it's a lot of turret to as a heavy bombardment weapon against Shore installations as much as 20 miles inland the 16-inch gun is a valuable and an accurate weapon even under ideal circumstances you could see only about 14 miles from the deck of a battleship but with these ships 20 miles apart it's possible to land a salvo of 16-inch projectiles accurately on the target although firing of course can be directed from each chart individually gun weighing and firing is usually accomplished from remotely located directors operating through a central fire control system although this particular 16-inch 50 calibre gun is on the iowa-class VB the operations are similar in all 16-inch turrets of course this ordnance is designed for accurate firing of either armor-piercing or high capacity projectiles against surface targets or Shore installations either way slamming into a target at the rate of two a minute from each gun they can do plenty of damage and outstanding case where it's better to give than to receive you

Channel: undefined

Views: 1,338,035

Rating: 4.8589435 out of 5

Keywords: Iowa, class, 16, inch, guns

Id: 0OmOQs0ziSU

Length: 9min 51sec (591 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 23 2008

Reddit Comments

[u/[deleted]]

That was awesome. Thanks for sharing!

[u/Shadow703793]

So each gun can elevate independently. Does Wargaming take this into account when firing? I don't think I ever noticed them elevating independently.

[u/ivann198]

The Missouri, an Iowa-class battleship fighting in the Gulf War.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HzVBVIjM6s

[u/GreatHarlequin]

Jeebus! Those 3 guys who actually load the shell and powder into the actual gun, do they just still stand there when the gun is later fired!?!?!

[u/Nossie]

I'm not sure what I thought, I guess I expected it to be a cartridge fired shot (like a 9mm ..) where the powder was already part of the shell...

I never expected bags of powder nevermind 6 - and that it takes almost 80 crew per turret to keep it moving and firing.

I knew they were big, but I didn't comprehend the workings. I guess the more modern guns are gas propelled shells?

[u/moozaad]

It'd be cool if they coded in the barrel drop on BBs to simulate the reload -> ready cycle.