8"/55 Rapid Fire Gun & Turret | US Navy instructional film

Рет қаралды 69,569

Күн бұрын

The 8"/55 calibre gun (eight-inch-fifty-five-calibre) was the main armament weapon of US Navy heavy cruisers during World War II.
These were fitted in a variety of mounts with several different types of loading mechanisms during their 28-year career. The final (depicted in this training video) was a self-loading Mark 16 triple mount weighing about 20 tons, first fitted on the USS Des Moines.
Separate projectile and powder casings were loaded separately. The 35kg smokeless powder pack propelled a 152kg projectile at some 760 meters per second over a range of about 27km. The useful barrel life was about 780 rounds per gun.

Пікірлер: 61

@stephenrickstrew7237 Жыл бұрын

Wow … what an excellent restoration Thanks for Bringing this one to us ..!

@TJeffersonForPresident2024 2 ай бұрын

It would have really been interesting if the Navy had these ships in 1942/43 for the Solomons Islands campaign.

@gregedmand9939 27 күн бұрын

Yes it would. Even better if they had Hornets for the Navy and Marines to fly against the Zero's and Betty's... But that's not how progress works.

@brucemcpherson8832 Жыл бұрын

Only the cruisers Des Moines, Salem and Newport News used the Mark 16 self loading guns as shown in the video. All other US 8 inch gun cruisers used earlier model, non self loading guns

@downunderrob Жыл бұрын

Wasn't it the Newport News that had the accident where one of the guns blew up?

@cassidy109 Жыл бұрын

@@downunderrob That is correct. In 1972 while conducting shore bombardment off the coast of Vietnam, one of the 8-inch guns on the Newport News suffered a premature detonation of one of its projectiles while still in the barrel. If memory serves me correct the culprit was a faulty fuse. Probably worth noting that the USS St. Paul also suffered a turret explosion while conducting shore bombardment off the coast of Korea. The St. Paul was a traditional bag propellant gun though, not the semi-fixed auto loading guns like on the Des Moines class.

@rickstone6633 7 ай бұрын

Was a crew member of Newport News. 12 shipmates lost in that explosion.

@willl7780 5 ай бұрын

@@rickstone6633 dam...thats awful man...

@patrickmccrann991 Ай бұрын

The three Des Moines class cruisers that were completed. A number of others were canceled at the end of the war. Only Salem is still around, she is a museum ship in Quincy, MA at the location of the shipyard where she was built.

@forthleft Жыл бұрын

Lovely work. I had no idea.

@Lamprolign 5 ай бұрын

Thank you for posting this film.

@JenniferIngraham Ай бұрын

This is just what I have been looking for. Thank you so much for posting it.

@randydewees7338 22 күн бұрын

Now, it's time for a 20 question pop quiz...

@bobbrown5529 Ай бұрын

I still think there is a place for these ships with there rapid fire guns . Having said that , I love the IOWA class of ship . 8" rapid fire guns , then doubling up to the grand old 16" guns , what a sight they would be . I am glad that there are video's about these ships still around . cheers from Australia ..

@JoeFlation 28 күн бұрын

How cool, my Uncle served as a Pharm Mate on the USS SALEM.

@theblackbear211 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing.

@tonytrotta9322 Ай бұрын

The 8 inch 55 caliber guns of the Des Moines could be loaded at any angle with a 335 lb. projectile a velocity of 2500 feet per second and a range of 17 miles. The Northampton Class heavy cruisers with 8 inch 55 caliber guns had to be lowered to the load angle and elevated after every salvo but, a 260 lb. projectile a velocity of 2800 feet per second and a range of 18 miles. USS Louisville CA 28 fired (37) salvos (333) projectiles Armour Piercing in 15 minutes at the greatest ship to ship naval battle Oct. 1945.

@davefellhoelter1343 Ай бұрын

we never looked at "Ignition" systems. in these larger guns. most dads family was Pacific, Grampa was a Seabee.

@tobyw9573 8 күн бұрын

8-inch guns mentioned could be used to great effect to fire sabot rounds gaining extra range against aircraft and high velocity against targets at closer ranges.

@davidlavigne207 Ай бұрын

Very instructional. Thanks.

@cheez71 Жыл бұрын

Is there by any chance a documentary on the 5"/38?

@ArmouredCarriers Жыл бұрын

If I stumble across one in the various archives ... yes.

@koiyujo1543 Ай бұрын

amazing how simple and how easy it is to understand how these work amazing for something from this time

@bjturon Жыл бұрын

Great video, it's too bad the USN didn't stick with these guns for some of the bigger "cruisers" of the Cold War.

@Einwetok Ай бұрын

I believe some US amhib shups in the 80's had a single 8" for shore bombardment.

@reedsilvesan2197 Ай бұрын

Sweet

@mikebrase5161 Жыл бұрын

Take a drink every time he says stucture..

@DefiantSix Ай бұрын

No thanks. Alcohol poisoning is not my friend.

@kebabsvein1 10 ай бұрын

Hi, do you have access to the same video but for the automatic 6`/47 gun on the Worcester cruisers?

@ArmouredCarriers 10 ай бұрын

I've not yet found one. Though I'll keep an eye out for it.

@SuperDriver379 2 ай бұрын

A single turret of like this inside of gun range would convert any modern warship into a submarine with the longest endurance in human history. Nothing is armored like it was when this was in use.

@Einwetok Ай бұрын

The weight is better spent on missiles. They reach a lot farther, and hit a lot harder for a lot less weight. Guns are still useful for cheaper, prolonged, bombardments. As long as you keep the price per round down (looking at you Zumwalt class.) Any ships big enough to mount one of these at present would be a glass cannon.

@SuperDriver379 Ай бұрын

@@Einwetok the line I was trying to draw, was on how in a very short time warships went from massively armored to minimally armored. Missiles and sensors are the way for sure, it just seems rapid to me how quickly the armor disappeared in favor of good radar.

@Einwetok Ай бұрын

@@SuperDriver379 There's no doubt an armored ship from that period would stand up better to an Exocet, for example. Lot's of smaller navies use similar missiles now. The Soviets , as soon as they could copy or equal our missile tech, pushed designs that were floating missile barrages. Their ant-ship mission was to volley all their ship killers at once to swamp our carrier group's defenses. If the Cold War went hot, any of the missiles in that volley could be nuclear. All the armor in the world won't save you if a blast gets close enough. The ship might still be floating, but it's irradiated, the electronics are cooked, and the crew will be dying or dead. We had nuclear torpedoes, air to air nukes, air to surface, surface to air, take your pick. Our boomers had a different launch authority too, more localized. That's the philosophy that pushed designs from that era.

@ricksadler797 Ай бұрын

Should have saved the Des Moines !!!

@TooLateForIeago Ай бұрын

“Almost completely automatic…” …requires the equivalent of a marine rifle platoon to operate.

@buckchesterfield8886 17 күн бұрын

Salem is such a fine ship. If you ever have some free time in Boston, checking out the only surviving heavy cruiser is a good choice

@user-jm6hh7op3w 16 күн бұрын

Were these the largest caliber fully automated naval gun turrets in existence, or was there something larger?

@williamwest5827 15 күн бұрын

That was the largest for case ammunition.

@raywhitehead730 26 күн бұрын

Commissioned 1949. She saw no significant battles.

@joshuathom1398 4 ай бұрын

Battleships would fire a salvo and watch the splash to know what corrections were needed to the firing solution. These guns fire so fast that they would not have been able to do that. This ship would have been able to fire 120 shells per minute. So what did they do for fire control with these guns if salvo and correct after splash were not an option?

@RT-mm8rq 4 ай бұрын

They did have an early form of radar directed gun control and I'm sure they wouldn't rapid untill they had thier target bracketed. Besides at that time an actual ship to ship gun battles had become less likely and big guns were put to good use in shore bombardment.

@wstavis3135 Ай бұрын

90 rounds per min.

@nigelsmith7366 Ай бұрын

I'd you not listen to the part about the gun directors... Its radar guidance for the guns

@joshuathom1398 Ай бұрын

@@nigelsmith7366 When firing 10 salvos a minute. A salvo every 6 seconds. There will be continuous water splashes and spray. But, because there are so many salvos flying through the air at the same time you won't be able to know which splashes are from which salvo. So you won't be able to know what corrections need to be made for the next salvo.

@Einwetok Ай бұрын

They're not going to fire max rate, and they wouldn't be able to sustain it for long. They'd shoot the liners out of the barrels pretty quickly.

@tomdarco2223 Ай бұрын

Right On Go Army!

@shawndmiles6747 Ай бұрын

Those ships should have been kept for the Marines. 90 rounds per minute landing on the beach and thats just one ship.

@grizwoldphantasia5005 Ай бұрын

The ship and crew is just too expensive for that, and artillery shells pack a lot less explosive than cruise missiles, rockets, and bombs. Marines would be ill-served by these when aircraft and missiles and rockets provide literally a lot more bang for the buck. These are fantastic machines, but obsolete.