5 in Guns

In this episode we're doing a deep dive into the ship's secondary battery, the 5in guns.
Special thanks to the Smokowicz family for sponsoring this video.
If you would like to sponsor a video, e-mail [e-mail]
To support this channel and museum, go to:www.battleshipnewjersey.org/v...

[@tater_relocater]

I thank his family for his service and the gesture of sponsorship in his memory.

[@deadendfriends1975]

And his sweet last name !

[@johnlowry878]

@@deadendfriends1975 )

[@JohnMason8183]

Came here to say the same thing.

[@scottlin7876]

well said

[@stevenporter6445]

Amen

[@Mrcaffinebean]

I have a distinct memory as a child of being near the USS Wisconsin when she was new to nauticus and asking my mother “do the guns ever fire“ she of course said no and that would be impossible and right as she finished her sentence one of the 5 inch guns fired on the Wisconsin. 😂

[@anonnimoose7987]

The Wisconsin took that personally.

[@barneyrice8502]

Ha Ha Ha

[@RaderizDorret]

@@anonnimoose7987 To be fair, she was known for being a bit volatile in temperament. I'd suggest asking a certain North Korean shore battery, but it ceased to exist after it provoked Whiskey's Wrath.

[@monkeyanimationandgaming]

@@RaderizDorret it was wiped off the face of the earth , absolutely and totally deleted…

[@Tomyironmane]

​@@anonnimoose7987 The Wisconson has a mean streak.

[@Redhand1949]

So, I was the gunnery officer on the Douglas H. Fox (DD-779) in the early 1970s. The ship had three 5"/38 dual gun mounts and one Mk. 37 GFCS director hitched to a Mark 1A computer down in "plot." My division was made up of both gunner's mates (GM's) and fire control technicians (FT's) The system was basically identical to what you describe, except the gun mounts weren't heavily armored, and only had light "splinter shields" as the mount exteriors. I disagree with only one system description that Ryan gave. That deals with the equipment in "plot" that compensated for the roll and pitch of the ship and its impact on the gunfire solutions generated by the Mk. 1A computer. The equipment was called that "stable element" and it had the ability to continuously sense the angles of the roll and pitch of the ship. The stable element DID NOT act as a gunfire cutout when the trigger was pulled so that the ship would only fire when it was on an "even keel." (An analogy is the interrupter gear in WWI and WWII fighter planes that prevented nose-mounted machine guns firing through the propeller arc from shooting the prop blades off.) It was far more ingenious than that. The metal shafts you see through the glass cover of the stable element connected directly into the Mk 1A computer and transmitted mechanical-analog inputs into the computer's firing solution to the gun mount barrels. (This worked when they were in "automatic" mode and train and elevation of the mounts were directly controlled by the computer. I know this is how it worked because the lead FT technician in my Division explained this to me when I first reported aboard. Also, I literally saw it in action when we were conducting gunfire exercises while underway, My "battle station" was in the open hatch of the director and this gave me a perfect view of Mounts 51 and 52 forward of the bridge. As the ship rolled to stbd and port I could see the guns compensating as the barrels moved up and down. So long as the computer was tracking a target and had a firing "solution" the guns would fire and be "on target." It was a remarkably sophisticated system for its time.

[@gordonrichardson2972]

Thanks for the clarification. In heavy seas a ship would never be on an even keel (in both the roll and pitch axes simultaneously).

[@Riceball01]

Sounds a lot like the gyro stbilizers in modern tanks. No matter haw much the the tank's hul pitches up and down/front to back, the gun always remains level pointing at wherever the gunner or TC is aiming it.

[@d.b.cooper7290]

Great information! -Thanks for the explanation.

[@WBtimhawk]

@@Riceball01 In fact it also sounds a lot like the gyro stabilizers on the sherman tank !

[@redbovine]

That makes sense. If you were in evasive maneuvers heeling over due to a turn the guns wouldn’t never level out so the computer had to compensate to keep them firing.

[@martinwalker9386]

The last time I was in a 5”/38 mount was December 27, 1972, location was Haiphong Harbor. I timed the shots for one minute at 24. During that deployment one gun crew fired 700 rounds in just over 3 hours. They emptied one magazine, shut that gun down and emptied the other magazine. Between July 9 and December 27 we fired 13,000 rounds. We replaced the barrels in August and in December, when we came home, they were due to be changed again.

[@huskergator9479]

Holy cow! Wearing out barrels is a big deal when you consider it was 1972. Thank you & yours for your service, brother!

[@cassidy109]

What ship did you serve on?

[@martinwalker9386]

@@cassidy109 I checked on board USS Floyd B. Parks 3/1972, USS Gridley 5/1973, USS Samuel Gompers 4/1975, USS Acadia 9/1981, USS O’Brien 11/1984, USS Gary 7/1990 and USS Antietam 7/1992.

[@mikebronicki8264]

Wow, that is amazing. A very underrated comment.

[@52Ford]

@@martinwalker9386 Thank-you for your service.

[@WhatAboutTheBee]

Thank you Stanley Smokowicz, for your service to our country. As a total side note, Stanley served on the Nevada. Special place in my heart for BB36.

[@TheCementpond]

L

[@Rutherford_Inchworm_III]

With a last name like that, I'll eat my hat if nobody ever called the man "Smokey".

[@WhatAboutTheBee]

@@Rutherford_Inchworm_III It would be a miracle if his shipmates didn't. Young men being what they are, in the spirit of fun and camaraderie!!

[@Rutherford_Inchworm_III]

@@WhatAboutTheBee My college roommate was "Booby" Bubanowitz. He didn't like it, but it was inevitable.

[@blackopscw7913]

@@TheCementpond ?

[@Cha-y412]

My Uncle was a gunners mate in a twin mount 5 inch on a light cruiser in WW2. Yeah they were Kamakazi killers. His ship downed 13. Shortly before his passing we visted the USS New Jersey and went into the port side twin 5 inch mount and 60 years after the war he was able to point out and explain to my Children and me every switch, dial, and lever in that mount as if it was 1944 again. Thank you NJ for the experiance.

[@frankbodenschatz173]

Had to be AWSOME! Wish my grandfather could have taken me into his flush deck destroyer from WW1 & 2 as you did.

[@sheilaolfieway1885]

RIP

[@paytonrampy5857]

"when you don't need to drop 1ton of hate on your enemy" legend

[@martinwalker9386]

My ship, USS Floyd B Parks DD-884, could put over a ton on target in one minute with 2 mounts.

[@anthonysacco5010]

Overkill is underrated

[@dantreadwell7421]

@@anthonysacco5010 There is no Overkill. There is only Open Fire, and I need to reload.

[@johnnunn8688]

@@martinwalker9386, well done, for missing his point.

[@Ganiscol]

@@johnnunn8688 he did not only miss the point, he also did not do the math: 1t x 9 = 9t per main battery salvo 😏

[@conscript900]

I just learned how incredibly complicated some of our ww2 kit is even without modern computer technology. WHich i have to say is truely amazing. Im glad i stopped by to give this a listen and watch.

[@jamesharding3459]

A physical computer is actually more complicated than a digital one, since they need hardware to do the same things we use software for now.

[@conscript900]

@@jamesharding3459 Which just makes it twice as awesome

[@deadendfriends1975]

We went to the moon on a slide ruler.

[@davidlockett5563]

@@deadendfriends1975 The Apollo had a digital computer. Curiousmarc on KZbin has a whole series on restoring an Apollo Guidance Computer kzbin.info/www/bejne/aHy2kpt3pLR_mrc

[@deadendfriends1975]

@@davidlockett5563 you know what I meant.

[@jaym6564]

USS Samuel B Roberts disagrees: Star Shells are anti-shipping weapons!

[@tucker1012]

Yamato : I fear no ship , but that THING *it scares me*

[@aceofthesky1247]

"They fired all their Arnor Piercing, then swapped to High Explosive, they rapidly ran out of High Explosive, they then swapped to Anti Air Craft shells. After expending all of her Anti Aircraft Shells, the Roberts, as a last resort she loaded and fired Star Shells, which had the unintended effect of setting off high temperature Phosphorus fires." - Dracfinel (Idr how to spell the dudes name, hes on yt tho)

[@idahorodgersusmc]

@@tucker1012 best comment ever

[@MHTfueler]

@@aceofthesky1247 Which video of his? I'd like to catch it!

[@exharkhun5605]

@@MHTfueler He hints at it in the short "USS Samuel B. Roberts - Guide 208". For the full battle and probably the quote above the 45 minute long : "The Battle of Samar - Odds? What are those?"

[@sreetips]

My rack was right below the 5 inch 54 gun on a US Navy destroyer. Captain loved to shoot that gun when I was in my rack!

[@theDemocraticway]

I was on a Knox class DE. We had a 5" 54. The Garcia class had 5" 38.

[@johnnunn8688]

😂🤣🤗

[@michagrill9432]

That kinda reminds me of that viral video of a canadian in the army being woken up by artillery by his men 🤣

[@whyjnot420]

Thumbs up just for the family sponsoring a video discussing the place an important member of their family had an important role.

[@patrickboos1919]

My Father was gunners mate in the U. S Navy for 26 years . He serviced in WW II during Korea and during Vietnam . He worked on these mounts.

[@BoneTime]

I was a GMG 5"/38 gun mechanic. I trained in Newport RI gun school in July 1972. Served on USS Hawkins DD-873. We had two 5" twin mounts. Good presentation. Mostly correct. The projectileman always picked up pointy end forward. Sliding wedge breach block. The Hammer was reset when the gun fired and the breach block was automatically dropped after firing. There is also a gas compression system that pushes the gun back into firing position.

[@JaredJanhsen]

I remember reading that in testing the radar proximity VT Fuse the Navy had to end their testing early. They had 3 target drones and it took just 4 rounds to destroy all 3. That fuse with a crew that can get these 5's shooting 22rpm would have been quite devastating to incoming aircraft. Definitely agree with Ryan that the 5" 38 was the most effective anti-air gun of WW2.

[@naverilllang]

Actual combat statistics line up. When the VT Fuze was introduced, japanese aircraft found approaching a ship equipped with them basically suicidal. Of course they didn't know _why_ American AA became so potent, but it's actually one of the main reasons why they resorted to kamikaze attacks. If the airplane is going to get shot down anyway, and the pilot has little chance to survive, you might as well throw the whole plane at the ship rather than hope it'll survive the trip home with enough parts still attached to fly again. The Luftwaffe also made the same bitter discovery when flying missions over water, which blunted the effectiveness of the already crippled air force even more.

[@soultraveller5027]

Didn't the British develop the concept of VT fuse or proximity fuse early On in the war ? Tizzard mission or something where the British handed over all there top secret hi-tech stuff and the cavity magnetron which they had managed miniaturise it which produce more powerful radar then anything available some other stuff got handed over jet engine captured German magnetic mine technology and important atomic data on developing the atomic bomb by British scientist in the manhatton project

[@davidjakiela9553]

@@soultraveller5027 the British sent all of their secret weapons and the crown jewels to the us early in the war in case of German invasion. The prox fuse and the magnetron both proved critical for victory for the allies.

[@leonedralev3776]

@@soultraveller5027 yes. It was invented by the Brits and then developed to something that can be made in large numbers with high reliability rate in the US.

[@soultraveller5027]

@@leonedralev3776 yeah interesting how. War developed things faster then in peace time.

[@markkrug4571]

Ryan! I’m having a drink in honor of Stanley Smokowicz now, Sir… May the memory of Smoke’em Smokowicz live with US Naval Gunnery forever!!! God Bless him and all his family!!!

[@joeyoung4121]

God bless men like Stanley, my father, father-in-law, that fought in the Great War WW2. Their bravery they fought over there so the war would not come here.

[@tomwarren8892]

Amen, brother!

[@pgroove163]

🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻......🥃

[@richiecuzzz1]

Rest In Peace sir, I appreciate your service. My grandfather was on the western front. He served in the U.S. Army 76th infantry division, 501st Combat Engineer Battalion. These men were truly the greatest generation.

[@notmenotme614]

This is the best Battleship New Jersey video yet. I loved how it took us through the entire process from start to finish.

[@scottbruner9987]

It's pretty amazing when you think about it....the optical directors, the analog computers, the guns themselves, all were designed without modern computers. All the engineers had were slide rules, and the Mark 1 Mod 0 design system.....also called the human 🧠.

[@machintelligence]

For higher precision, mechanical calculators were available. A computer was a job description of a person, usually female, who knew how to operate one.

[@stevewhite3424]

@@machintelligence my mom during the war in England was a high school math wizard. She was tapped on the shoulder to go work with the Navy artillery group I'm not sure what their name is to develop and calculate the gunners tables and books used to fire all kinds of big guns. I don't remember what they were but I remember her telling me there were about 10 different variables that went into the calculations for artillery rounds. Some of the ones I do remember were humidity, temperature, density altitude, etc. Smart girl who in the late sixties used to tutor me in calculus :-)

[@machintelligence]

@@stevewhite3424 Back in the early days of digital computers the men worked on the hardware (toys for boys) and women did the software programming (women's work) mostly in machine code or assembly language.

[@xjack2312]

@@stevewhite3424 Yeah, we were still using the info from those tables for manual gun firing solutions, if the main fire control system was knocked out. I left the RN in 87 and the gun direction platform (GDP) manual calculator was still in use then. We did a surface shoot on a Type 21 frigate in '86 and managed to put a manual solution together quicker than the stone age Ferranto computer! Might have been a fluke...

[@xjack2312]

Ferranti...

[@adamdubin1276]

"One ton of hate" Good way to describe the compacted volvo fired from the main guns.

[@RealJohnnyDingo]

each shell IS the size of a Volvo, but I get what you mean 😂😂😂 in a perfect world battleships would fire off loads of candy and toys, but in our unfortunate world sometimes high explosives are the answer 😘

[@adamdubin1276]

@@RealJohnnyDingo Compacted was a better word now that I think about it.

[@jimreilly917]

Not hate…that’s a ton of freedom.

[@RealJohnnyDingo]

@@jimreilly917 they hate our freedom, that's for sure 😂😂😂

[@adamdubin1276]

@@jimreilly917 I mean to fire a sixteen inch shell at someone you have to really dislike them...

[@CharChar2121]

I've never seen a person standing next to those guns...I thought they were small, then I remember what a five inch gun on a tank would look like and I say, "Oh, dear. It's the size of a building."

[@randomlyentertaining8287]

Most tanks nowdays are armed with a 120 or 125mm gun, which is five inches. Even those with a 100 or 105mm gun are still 4 inches. The guns are relatively small, what they're encased in tend not to be. Having visited the Jersey, I will say the 5 inch turrets are about the size of a couple compact cars.

[@Riceball01]

They're ven more impressive when firing. Yeas ago, I was lucky enough to visit the MO when she still was in service as part of a friend's and family. As part of the day ,they fired off everything they had, minus the 16 inchres since this was during moritorum on firing the 16 incidents after the tragedy aboard the Iowa. While I was somewhat disappointed that I didn't get to see the 16 inchers fire, the 5 inchers were still impressive in their own right.

[@edwaggoner7403]

I worked for Naval Supply Weapons Systems Support when the four Iowa class BB's were being restored in late 80's. My job was to find sources for spare/repair partsto restore and outfit the ships. It was very difficult as technology had long ago bypassed the machinery on board. I found a stash of condemmed syncros and servos for the MK 1A computers that were marked beyond economical repair. We had them repaired as there was no source for new. It was a very interesting evolution. Also, some time later a US Army engineer contacted me to obtain a turret base ring assembly from a 16 inch gun. He wanted it to build a turn table to hold an Abram's tank. I suggested he only needed a 5 inch gun turret. He said it would not work as the Abrams was the biggest tank the Army had. Put him in contact with a Naval gun engineer who provided a 5 inch 38 caliber base ring turret that easily did the job. Naval 5 inch guns are big.

[@realulli]

@@edwaggoner7403 I'd suspect that engineer secretly wanted to turn his whole block with 16" ring... ;-)

[@edwaggoner7403]

@@realulli One 16" barrel is about gun (barrel) weighed 239 000 lb without the breech x three per mount. The 5" 38 caliber twin mount has two guns weighing just under 4000 lbs each plus breech, loaders and the housing so could easily handle the tank. .

[@brendanukveteran2360]

Respect and heartfelt thanks for shipmates who have passed, All who served are honoured.

[@colinboynton192]

Drach: “However…” Ryan: “Wellllllll…” Can’t wait for you two to collaborate, probably won’t be until next year sadly.

[@jackwhitetron]

Best 5inch gun documentary ever. Thanks

[@petersouthernboy6327]

Thanks Smokowicz Family 😊. What an awesome way to commemorate your service 👏

[@RealJohnnyDingo]

what an awesome name too, perfect for a gunner 😜

[@dont-want-no-wrench]

the scale of the national effort during ww2 always amazes me whenever i see anything like this

[@gmgg424]

I worked on MT 53, MT 56 and the armory 1983-1987. Watching this video brought back some awesome memories. Wish I had recorded gun shoots in the gun mount. It is amazing to watch a crew that works well together pump out rounds. We always wanted to hear from fire control “rapid continuous load”.

[@luciusvorenus9445]

Thanks for your service, Guns. Fair Winds & Following Seas.

[@dantreadwell7421]

Who doesn't want to pump out things that go boom at max rate?

[@bluebarholdings950]

G2 Div 84-87, 87-89 G4 div. Gun Capt for 5"/35 middle mount on stb side, dont remember the number. But painted Rodger Rabbit's face on the view finder in 88 before arriving Australia. Then Armory. GMG2 Valor

[@terryhooker]

Hey I was in Mt. 53 on the New Jersey Dec 1981-Jan 1984. Please get back to me. GMC (SW) Terry Hooker-Ret

[@gmgg424]

@@terryhooker Hey Chief, This is Davis. I worked for you. You were GMG2 then. I was a GMGSA. I got onboard just before we went to shoot the Tomahawk to White Sands Missile Range that took 2 weeks because of weather. If I remember correctly you were the one that trained me for the shot line on that 2 week operation. We refueled an Oliver Hazard Perry Frigate.

[@johnminnott7334]

Thank you Smokowicz Family. 57 years ago I was the 2nd Division officer in the USS Black (DD-666). My division was responsible tor the maintenance of all guns and gun fire control equipment. The Black had 4 5"38 single mounts (2 forward and 2 aft) and 3 twin 3"50 mounts (one amidship on each side and one behind and above mount 53). The 5" guns had a similar ammunition handling system to that you described but was somewhat abbreviated. The 3" guns were fed with one piece cartridges directly hand delivered in the open air from magazines on the main deck. By the time I served both the 5" and 3" mounts traversed and elevated too slowly to shoot down a jet aircraft even with VT ammunition. We mostly did plane guarding and fired H & I fire at Viet Cong supply trails.

[@jrainey44]

I remember a storm that hit us between Thailand and Hongkong that tore the crap out of our forward 5"/38. We spent an entire day dewatering mount 51 upper handling room due to sea water coming through the slide seal where the gun barrel elevates and depresses. We scooped up water with a dust pan and a bucket and then flushed the water down the toilet in the operations head. That was fun. After deployment we went into the yards to get a new mount 51 and fix several other issues on-board. The storm was bad enough that it ripped our pyrotechnic lockers off the deck which were up by the signal bridge level.

[@dantreadwell7421]

That's one hell of a storm.

[@luthiervandros]

I read the title as uss New Jersey lol. Since I’ve gone off half cocked, I’ll add that it was my grandfather’s battleship! When I was still dating the woman who would become my wife, i saw the plaque for this same battleship on my future father-in-law’s wall. He served on it before it was decommissioned.

[@johnslaughter5475]

Don't knock Subic Bay. I was there several times during 1968, '69, & '70. This was probably the best liberty port we had. Combined with Cubi Point, Subic was huge. There was a skeet range, golf course, horse riding trails, a huge Exchange complex, clubs for all paygrades. Then, there was Grande Island. This afforded swimming, skin diving, areas for the ships to host ship's parties every day in port, a couple more clubs and a hotel. The hotel was fantastic. 6" thick mattresses with freshly laundered sheets, standard bunks like you'd find at home, AND it was free. You just had to make a reservation and show your overnight pass. Grande had some nice trails where you could see Japanese bunkers and artillery emplacements from WWII, which had ended only 23 years before I got there the first time. This was all while wearing dungarees. Then, there were tours to be taken to see the route of the Bataan Death March. I took one, with my father, up to Corregidor. They were working on Malinta tunnel at the time and we couldn't go in. Manila was also on a tour. Our 5" 54's were loaded putting a projectile in the top of the hoist and the powder canister into the lower part. They then went up to the guns 8 decks above us. How the rest worked, I have no idea. I remember reading how the guys below decks knew how close the planes were. The 5" started firing first. Then, as the planes got closer, they'd hear the 40's open up and then the 20's. That told them the planes were pretty close as the 20's had a range of a little over 2-1/2 miles. A plane doing 120mph would cover that distance in about 75 seconds.

[@alexlohan2988]

“Iowa-Class Battleships are not symmetric… nobody is” Truly wise and humble words, Ryan. Haha thanks for the amazing and informational content! This is my favorite channel on KZbin!

[@bartk07]

"Iowa class battleships are not symmetrical. Nobody is. " - Ryan Szimanski, 2021 :-)

[@idahorodgersusmc]

My girlfriend is 😁

[@randymagnum143]

@@idahorodgersusmc side to side, or front to back?

[@scooter2kool173]

IdahoRodgers USMC need more info sir.

[@jorgecaro5301]

😂

[@spades1080]

I'd like to see that on a t-shirt.

[@jayh1947]

Thank you Stanley Smokowicz, we all owe you for your service.........Jay

[@phillipbouchard4197]

One feature that most of our W.W. 2 fleet had in common was our 5" 38 caliber guns. Could be found on Battleship's, Aircraft carrier's, Cruiser's and Destroyer's.

[@billbrockman779]

Even tenders and some other support ships, along with some invasion small ships for fire support.

[@timberwolf1575]

And pretty much anything that didn't have a 5"/38 had a 5"/25 if it was older dual use or a 5"/54 if it was only for surface engagements. Most of the ammo was the same for all of the US 5" guns. Even today you'll find 5"/54 guns on the Arleigh Burke Destroyers with improved mounts to allow the 5"/54 to be used for AA.

[@dantreadwell7421]

Hey, if the basic gun system works, no need to change it up.

[@jwcinc12]

What a great way for his family to contribute to the Ship's HIstory

[@seafodder6129]

"Great for when you don't want to drop 1 ton of hate on the enemy"... It's not a ton of hate, Ryan... It's 1 ton of frEEEEEEEEEEEEdom! ;)

[@barneyrice8502]

For Sure

[@Qardo]

Freedom through firepower!

[@jamessharp4842]

Seafodder..That's what they told me before Vietnam...Just like Afghanistan today...See how they both worked out...

[@steffenb.jrgensen2014]

The 5"/38 indeed was a superb gun. First by moderation with "only" 38 calibers of length (and a moderate muzzle velocity) - that made the gun "handy" compared to similar guns with more omph - but the 5"/38 had enough. Next it was relatively simple by not trying to use an autoloader - by WWII autoloaders usually ended up in extreme complication and cost but limited reliability. And finally the 5"/38 was supported by probably the best fire control systems of WWII and on top of that VT fuses. If the Axis had had similar AAA systems air power wouldn't have been as dominating by end of WWII.

[@KATBIRD1026]

Dad was a port side pointer on a 5 inch, BB-48 West Virginia, he joined the ship during it's refit in Bremerton, WA, after it was was re-floated in Pearl Harbor....

[@MrJento]

The fire control “computers” are fascinating, but not unique. Younger viewers should remember that prior to the 1960’s every thing was analog, not digital. That Battle ship was designed by engineers using slide rules and log tables. Built by tradesmen who had no laser levels or digital callipers. Navigated by men who used mechanical sextant, a book of sight reduction tables and a fine clock work chronometer. The existence of the Antikythera mechanism suggests that this situation has been so for 2500 years. Such devises then were common. The watch on a sailors wrist. The fire control director on a ship. The Norden bomb sight. The calculator in the ships office used to balance the books, even the German enigma code machine....all fascinating examples of functional and accurate analog computers. Nicely done, Ryan.

[@Idahoguy10157]

When I joined the navy in 1975 there were still some 5”/38 caliber guns in active service. Took a tour around a Gearing class destroyer in 1976. It was a navy reserve destroyer at the sub base in Connecticut.

[@wallyjohns7312]

Which ship was that? I was stationed on the Gearing which was a reserve training ship, homeported at New London. This was 1971-1972. Gearing was scrapped in 1973. I didn't know they replaced it with another Gearing class DD. I was an FT and worked on the MK 1A computer and MK 37 director.

[@Idahoguy10157]

@@wallyjohns7312 …. I can’t remember. I was a submarine FT. Had A and C schools there at the sub base. Someone put together a field trip for us to see an actual gun fire control.

[@pitsnipe5559]

That would be the USS Charles P. Cecil DD835. I was in the Forward Fireroom from 1(973 to 1974.

[@dannyisaacs7552]

As you said, the 5 in. mounts were manual load. We could train and elevate the mount by hand, set the fuze, and fire the guns because we had a bank of batteries in the mount to produce the elect. charge to set off the elect primer. So if the ship loss total electrical power, we could still operate the mounts and shoot at our targets. This was a long video, but you did a great job.

[@KiithnarasAshaa]

Heck yeah! The 5"/38 is my favorite gun of the whole of the great war era, especially when coupled with the VT radar-proximity fuzes. Second Place goes to the 8"/55 Mk16 guns present on the Des Moines, as they also could field VT-fuzed rounds and had a blistering fire rate in comparison to earlier eight-inch guns and larger guns present on battleships.

[@WBtimhawk]

The Des Moines is such a beast. In case some people haven't seen them, there are a couple of great old school USN videos on it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f3TMl6Gca5ifedU&ab_channel=usssalemca139 and kzbin.info/www/bejne/d4mtenhrZc-rmtk&ab_channel=BobFreeman

[@jrainey44]

I was a Gunner's Mate on USS Bradley FF1041. We had two single mount 5"/38 guns on our ship. Bradley was decommissioned in late 1988. I got a finger amputated on the projectile hoist in mount 52 upper handling room during a gun shoot. The hydraulic linkage was out of adjustment on the door which allowed the hoist to cycle before the door was closed. Luckily doctors in San Diego were able to reattach my finger. Other than that I loved to gun.

[@jimmacaulay844]

Brings back memories! USS Stoddard DD-566, 1968 in the Tonkin Gulf. Fired something like 5000 rounds from our single 5"38s. I was at the trainer's station. At "Surface action starboard" (or port) I would engage manual control, slew the mount around till the needle matched the director's needle and slam it back into automatic control. I hope I'm remembering it accurately! Then for the duration of the mission I was just along for the ride while the director controlled point and train. Fun times! Your video taught me many things I never had a need to know back then. Very interesting, thanks!

[@richardmoore609]

It may not have the destructive power of the 16in but I still wouldn't want 127mm of high explosive pointing anywhere near my direction.

[@barneyrice8502]

Ha Ha Ha, Right ON

[@dantreadwell7421]

Considering the main gun on most MBTs is 120mm, and most field artillery tends to max at 155mm, there is a reason naval fire support is friggin SCARY. And for a good bit of reach, well, sometimes all you got is that 1 ton of hate and indiscriminate justice.

[@djohnson542]

Thanks for the video! My dad was a mount captain on a 5”/38 gun on a destroyer at Okinawa. I’ve always wanted to see what the inside of one of those mounts looked like.

[@Rockyandhislolmoose]

I was on USS Robert A Owen's (DD-827) from 1980 to 1981. I was a GMG2 and really loved working on and firing our one 5" 38. What a blast it was. Shortly after I was discharged the ship was sold to the Turkish navy where it lived on.

[@jerrydonquixote5927]

28:48 thank you for reminding me of all these memories. We saved our brass like fire nozzles, or anything and we gave them to the Chinese ladies in Hong Kong, along with I think $2,000.00, and they painted our ship. they were old too! and they painted it with bamboo poles and rag on the end and they did a hell of a job! The only thing they could say was "you boatanmate", I would say yes ma'am, and she would point where she wanted the 5 gal bucket, and I would move it. That was a really cool memory!

[@MusicBent]

I love that the powder canisters just fall down into whatever room is below them, like an office, then need to be cleaned up later 😂

[@oceanhome2023]

Many of these empty shell casings became outdoor ashtrays !

[@ut000bs]

@@oceanhome2023 I have one. It's one for the desk. Edit: it is made from a shell fired by the USS McCaffery DD-860.

[@kingofcastlechaos]

This is incredible technology. I would love to see more information about the engineers and technicians who developed it. I really enjoyed the snippet of the men testing the AA guns in the factory and would like to see more. Keep up the good work.

[@everettnichols9062]

Thank You For this Video and Thanks to The Smokowicz Family for Sponsoring!!! It sure brings back the memories doe me!!! Everett T. Nichols FTG2 USN 1963-1967 US Dixie AD-14

[@jake4194]

All this analog technology is amazing, so complex and advanced for its day!

[@mcsmith7606]

My father's first assignment after leaving the US Naval Academy was with the Nevada as its was refloated at Pearl Harbor. He eventually made it to England with Nevada. He said that they had numerous gunnery practice drills and spent all day training on on towed targets. The English were suppose to train with them but delayed leaving port. After the Nevada retired for the day and headed to port a British ship sortie out. It trained on the towed target, fired a salvo sinking the target an His first dd returned to port in the Nevada's wake. The British didn't think much of the American Navy. He left the Nevada to become a double plank owner on the USS Wisconsin. He said that he was first Officer of the Deck but I believe this was before the ship was commissioned. I believe his battle station was the forward port 5" gun director.

[@drizler]

My neighbor was on a tanker in 1945 T age 16 then destroyers in Korea. He said the Brits were known for phenomenal gunnery even then. His DD had been banging away at a factory of some sort for a while with limited success. So,e Limeys sailed up in a similar destroyer and asked if they minded if they had a crack at it. My. Neighbor was a chief radio was a radioman so he heard it all himself. The Limeys just wailed on it for a few minutes then sailed off thanking them for the target practice. They totally destroyed that factory. They were just that good with their gunnery back then.

[@Superuser009]

I could be remembering it wrong, but I think most of the time you weren't supposed to sink the target. You'd enter an offset into the FC system, bang away and observe the results. If you sail out and sink the target in one go, how much training did your crew just get? Or the crews of any other ships scheduled for range time that day?

[@darvinclement3250]

Retrofitting the ships to use missiles must have been a huge undertaking. That's a lot of metal that needs to be removed! Shooting those guns was sure labor intensive.

[@dannyisaacs7552]

5 in. mounts were made to be lifted off the ships and replaced in one piece. Not the handleing room just the mount.

[@SquarePeg1]

I was in the Navy Reserve. Before I went on active duty, and after basic training, I did several two-week training cruises on a destroyer, the USS English (DD-696), and on one I was assigned to a 5"/38 mount. We did fire 50 rounds during a training, and I was the lucky guy with the asbestos gloves, that covered past my elbows. In this mount, the brass went down through a hole in the deck, vs. a door out the rear of the mount. There was a curved backing plate that the spent shell hit, then I had to swat it out the hole in the deck. Being in the gun mount when it is fired is pretty intense. Most of the sailors in the mount were reservists, and we trained beforehand, and I was impressed with the fire rate we achieved, with 6 or 8 of us being first timers in the gun house.

[@edpolk1262]

Always thought it was so cool about the rapid fire, and the shells ejecting out the back of the turret.

[@R.J._Lewis]

I'd be interested to know how the gun barrels on this and the 16 inch guns were cleaned and maintained. The bore brushes must have been huge! And the amount of grease to get them properly oiled must have been bucket loads!

[@robp7652]

He has shown some tools for them. But yes yes yes . Procedure for 16 inch as well as 5 inch rifle cleaning

[@scottbruner9987]

They have shown in other videos. It's a brass slightly-sub-caliber plug. Has a fitting on the end for a cable to attach to, and vents through it's length to pass air. The cleaning part is several patches of short stiff wire, that spiral along the long axis of the plug. It's drawn through the barrel one way, and then put back in, and pulled back. I don't know how many passes they make. Or if they have some sort of industrial version of Hoppes #9. Hope this helps you.

[@alexam694]

Does anybody know the name of the video?

[@scottbruner9987]

@@alexam694 I checked my history from yesterday. The title you're looking for is: "Tools of the 16" guns"

[@dalesql2969]

There is a reason that barrel cleaning solvents come in gallon jugs, and cleaning rags are issued by the bale. For the 5 inch guns there was a long wooden pole that was used for swabbing the barrel.

[@RickLowrance]

Two great subjects in a row. I love learning about the guns.

[@everettnichols9062]

I'm the 'Subic Bay Grandfather' you're talking about here! In fact, Great Grandfather of 3 and Grandfather of 5!!! I made Subic 3 times during the Vietnam war aboard the USS Dixie, AD-14. We did a lot of re-gunning of Destroyers there during the shore bombardment phase of the war. We were out on Yankee Station on one Deployment, trying to tend destroyers at sea!!! (Admiral's Idea that did not work!!!) My GQ Station was 'Pointer' in the only Gun Fire-Control Director On Board Dixie at that time. Everett Nichols USN FTG2 1963-1967 USS Dixie R-5 Division

[@moebanshee]

My husband Theodore Kubik was the marine bugler under captain Melson during the Korean war He served on the battleship New Jersey and he loved it.

[@mrdecider]

Great video, it answered a bunch of questions. Out of Great Lakes A school, in 1969 I was assigned to the New Jersey. As an FTG-3 I was the lowest rank FTG. Assigned to 5" mount 52. The ship was sent to mothballs in Bremerton shortly afterwards, I spent a lot of time chipping paint on the 011 deck. Recall getting paint by going to Stores on (below decks) level 6, had to have a chit for cardboard box and brush, then to paint locker in bow where they'd pass up paint, Then back to 011 - time for lunch!!

[@ghost307]

Wow!! The production values are growing by leaps and bounds. This is good enough quality to be on the History Channel...or should be on instead of ghost shows, pawn shops and the other drivel.

[@thejerseyj5479]

Almost impossible to describe the sense of awe one has when this 5 inch system is shown and explained. Simply amazing and your efforts at taking us through it all was superlative. Perhaps the best video yet.

[@carrickrichards2457]

My father was a manufacturing engineer in London throughout WW2 at Solex. He worked on Engines and Gun Mounts and 'special design projects'. He was an AA Battery officer (non rotating rocket) at night 1940-1. At the time it was estimated you needed 20,000 AA rounds per aircraft kill. After the blitz he helped design and install 3.7" AA radar guided batteries across Kent. When using fixed launch rails the V1 flight paths were easy to aniticipate and these batteries claimed ~100% of those V1 flights. Later V1 vehicle mounted launch rails used other flight paths. In late 1940 the Tizard mission shared many design innovations, including the Variable Time (VT) aka 'proximity' fuse. The VT fuse was rushed into service (by 1942). America manufactured ~20 million VT fuzes, many if not most, for the 5/38 DP gun. The proximity fuze was so important that it was a heavilty guarded secret and its use was prohibited over land until late 1944, to avoid capture and re-engineering. It's effect against the Kamikazee was huge. It deserves to be better remembered.

[@placeholdername6310]

Touring the Battleship and firing the 5” gun would make for an awesome (and clean) bachelor party. You guys should email the suggestion to local wedding planners so they can pass it along to their clients.

[@tamaslapsanszki8744]

Thanks for the suggestion, I'm interested in this. All that's left is to find a woman, propose to her, then get my friends to organize the party on BB-62. I seem to be stuck at step 1, finding true love :)))))

[@SkinnerBeeMan]

@@tamaslapsanszki8744 there's a Filipina mail order bride for everyone. Lol

[@placeholdername6310]

@@tamaslapsanszki8744 I can’t think of a better place to find a good wife than at a warship museum. The pickup lines practically write themselves.

[@Valorius]

@@SkinnerBeeMan Just double check to make sure it's a girl.

[@SkinnerBeeMan]

@@Valorius if you drunk or desperate or woke enough will it matter. Haha. Woke. Jk.

[@kylesmith1601]

Ryan the best anti aircraft weapon of WW2 was the aircraft carrier itself. Launching naval airstrikes on Japanese airbases destroyed hundreds of aircraft and hampered Japanese air operations. Sometimes offense is the best defense. And of course CAP.

[@robertthomas5906]

Good question. The BBs destroyed a lot of aircraft with their guns. Both 5" and 16" guns. So I wonder which one destroyed more aircraft, an aircraft carrier or a BB bombarding land positions including airports. In Japan, they had a LOT of airports within the reach of a BB. Maybe all of them. Obviously for ground support an aircraft carrier is close to useless compared to a BB. It was so much more effective in Vietnam that they wouldn't even come to the peace table as long as the New Jersey was off their coast. They didn't care about aircraft carriers. A BB simply outclasses a carrier. Far more dangerous to have around than a carrier. After all aircraft, you can have AAA and other anti-aircraft measures. There is no shooting down a 16" shell.

[@bobrunge7594]

I was a First Class Fire Control Technician 1967-73. Got out after 6 years, 48 years ago today. I went to over a 1 year school on the MK37 Gun Fire Control System he is talking about. Was lucky enough to have 13 months left when I needed 12 to sew on E6. Made it in 4 years and 11 months. The radar was good out to 100,000 yards...50 miles. A radar mile is 2000 yards. The director was a hot house in Cuba during training with the sun beating down on its steel. When I finally made it out of the director, I was assigned to "Plot", where the computer was, which was air conditioned. We used to call it the "coffee grinder". All mechanical/electrical components. Made by Ford Motor Company. Rack type component solvers etc, which gave you and immediate solution to the ballistic problem....surfce or air target. We had a Radar Signal Processing Equipment (RSPE) in the director. Advent of transistors. Have many stories to tell of my time shooting those 5" 38's. I have a million of them. I now wear hearing aids because of them.

[@Robert-ff9wf]

My thanks goes out to Stanley and his family!!! What a unique skill he had!! STANLEY!!! Thank you for your service!!

[@PNut8421]

21:24 Ah, the product of mine and Jack's hard work painting all those ammo cans. I know that is after we finished painting them because the open cans are at the top left of the powder rack.

[@MrJento]

The “small naval rifles” the 5,4 and 3 inch guns are larger than most army arterially. For example the first major engagement of US Army personnel at Kaserine pass. The Germans destroyed most US armour and field guns and would have wiped out the trapped infantry had no a field observer with a radio called in accurate 5 inch naval gun fire which destroyed enough panzers to cause Rommel to pull back. Main battery fire from the older battleships involved in operation torch would have destroyed both German and allied troops in that pass. Destroyers with their “little” guns had a “big” effect that day.

[@randomlyentertaining8287]

Actually, 3 inch (76mm) guns are about as small as land based artillery goes and they're uncommon nowadays. In US military terms, the smallest caliber land based field gun is a 105mm howitizer, which is about 4 inches. Then comes the 155mm howitzer, which is the most common caliber of field artillery in the US military with 518 M777 guns and 998 M109 Paladins in current service with another 500 Paladins in storage. In fact, none of the Big Five (US, China, France, Britain, Russia) use any field gun under 100mm. The 155mm (6 inches) tends to be the most common.

[@MrJento]

@@randomlyentertaining8287 Exactly the point. In WW2 land based guns were on a par with the smaller naval ordinance. In 1942 the 155 and even 105’s while in service were uncommon. The 75 and 37mm cannon as found on the Mark 2 tank were the norm. As was the 50 and 75mm pack howitzer. On smaller naval ships like the flush deck destroyers the 3 and 4 inch guns were common. Things changed so quickly. The 5in-38 became common at sea and the 105 howitzer ashore. Yes they had 155 guns but proportionally few until after WW2. So my point was to show the dichotomy of “small” naval guns filling the role of “large” army ordinance in breaking a concerted tank attack on our foot soldiers. And done so at a time when coordinated “close support” and shore to ship radio communication had not been developed to the extent it would be by 1944-45, much less as it is today.

[@Lawman212]

Do you have any histories that describe the naval gun strike? I guess the strike didn't come from a ship because the ocean is 140 miles from the pass. Were naval guns used on land somehow?

[@MrJento]

@@Lawman212 ok. This can get long. There are tactical studies of this. Use Google. I got my background at the war college 50 years ago. From memory: The Pass is about 150 miles from the coast. The major battle occurred on the north coastal side. The army suffered 1000 casualties and lost all major equipment. A retreat due north....I’m sorry...advance to the rear....was performed. There followed a series of running engagements on a line due north to a small coastal city called Bone. The idea was to evacuate the survivors off the beaches to the east of Bone a’ la Dunkirk. They never made it. They were overtaken to the west of Be’ja, about five miles from the sea. This is where naval gunfire from the destroyers sent to recover the troops were able to stop the 5th army tank attack. These destroyers were of the “flush deck” or four stack type typical of WW1 service. They were obsolete at that time and had been selected for operation torch because they could operate in shallow water and naval losses were expected to be high. They were considered expendable. The ships typically carried the 4 inch 50 and 5 inch 25 guns. The 4 inch gun was capable of greater range and had an explosive capacity somewhere between that of the 105 and 155 army howitzer. Very effective on the German mark IV at that time. Especially with shore spotters calling corrections. This stopped the German advance and a British tank regiment came in from the east to save the day. The survivors of II Corps rejoined US elements to the west and so the beach evacuation never came to be. This was an embarrassing situation for the army. Reports were conflicting and purposely vague. The British, German and American recollections seldom agreed. In total II Corps lost 3300 killed or wounded and about 4000 captured, plus all their armour and heavy guns. As I recall a Corps then was about 16,000 men. Do the math. There is considerable confusion about naval rifles vs army artillery. The difference is far beyond the inch-to- metric bore conversion. Naval guns were often encased as coastal artillery. But never mounted for use as mobile artillery. Field artillery tend to fire a large projectile relative to the propellent charge. As howitzers they fire in high trajectory to drop shell into an enemy position. Much like a mortar might. For example the 105mm which was the most common “heavy artillery” round used in WW2. A regiment had three batteries of 105, but only one battery of 155. The most common 75mm pack howitzer out numbered the heavies ten to one. So. Look at the encased 105. The projectile appears quite long and is in a rather stubby looking case not quite as long as the projectile. Naval rifles are designed for direct fire, though the larger ones actually fire on a trajectory at range. The smaller naval guns had an AA role. As such the tube tends to be longer and velocity much higher as you would expect of an AA piece. If you examine a 4 inch naval shell you see an encased projectile slightly larger in diameter than the 105 round with a projectile slightly shorter, but a case at least twice the length of the projectile. So. Roughly speaking the naval rifle round is longer and throws about the same projectile with 2-21/2 times the charge out of a barrel substantially longer than an artillery piece. The naval rifle is attached to and supported by a ship. Army artillery must be towed. The 105 by a two and a half ton truck. The 155 by a treaded tractor. Ammo must be moved from truck to gun, and loaded by hand at the breach on artillery. Not hoisted up the barbet and mechanically loaded as with most naval rifles. Thus the navy typically has much larger guns. Except for coastal batteries which mount obsolete naval guns for potting at ships offshore. I hope that helps. Study. History is made up from the broad brush strokes. But there is detail that ads depth to every story.

[@Lawman212]

@@MrJento Thanks a lot for that explanation. I hadn't considered that the battle was a continuous affair over many miles.

[@harrykilman5634]

Great video, brought back old memories. Ryan needs to reverse his arms when pulling the projectile if he ever wants to get to 4 second rounds.

[@markkeyser]

Dad was the Gunnery Officer on the USS Eberle (DD430). He talked about the guns but I had no real idea of their complexity. Also, I didn't know that the turrets covering the 5" guns on the destroyer were simply in place to keep the weather out. Thanks for the explanation of the system!

[@MakeMeThinkAgain]

There's a wonderful USN video showing how those computers actually work.

[@sailcat662]

Honestly, your channel gets me through the day. I wasn't a pollywog myself but I did a few tours in the 'gan with some amazing US sailor technicians. Thank you kindly for your videos.

[@steventrostle1825]

I served in the repair ship Ajax AR7 out of Sasebo Japan, I was a FTG but as part of the gun gang helped re-barrel 5" 38 cal and 5" 54 cal guns in the late 1960's. I don't remember how many we replaced but it was about 10. We did several in Subic Bay and 1 for an Austrailian Destroyer a 5"54 cal and several in Sasebo.

[@jtw77388]

I manned a 5 X 38 on a WWII vintage destroyer during the Vietnam War. Started in the ammo handling room and worked my way up to Trainer. We lobbed a lot of shells ashore and never knew what we were shooting at. We were about a half mile offshore so we could effectively hit something seven miles inland. On automatic, the Trainer had a pretty cushy job except for having the barrel about a foot from your head. Want to know how to recreate the noise inside a 5" mount? Climb inside a large industrial trash receptacle and have someone hit it with a sledgehammer.

[@michaelathens953]

Oh man no way could you let me in that plotting room; I'd have to play with every switch on that wall.

[@tgthorson51]

I never knew of the complexity of these fire control systems. Amazing! It would be interesting to know of the different systems on foreign battleships like Bismark, Hood and Yamato.

[@kevinhill3074]

I served on the USS Ramsey FFG-2 in the mid-80s. We had a single 5"38. What a great gun system.

[@joehayward2631]

I was part of USS MISSOURI Marine Det during end of the 80s. Our 5 inch gun was mount 51 with EAGLE GLOBE & ANCHOR between gun barrels. We were beside surrender deck. For a time I was 1 of 3 marine 5 in fuse setter. Our XO was artillery LT. he ran our guns. Watches, rings anything that might cause a spark was not allowed in gun or magazine. I love watching your videos. Brings back great memories.

[@jimnunn9232]

"Your Grandfathers Navy" I resemble that!

[@seadog686]

We had three twin 5 inch 38's on one of the ships I served on, the U.S.S. Laffey (DD-724), and yes, I ma a grandfather!

[@cbbees1468]

@@seadog686 The ship that wouldn't sink! I hope to visit her one day, Hell from the Heavens was a superb read.

[@erikgranqvist3680]

Kind of interesting that the 5"38 looks so tiny on a Battleship when the gun on a modern tank in Nato generally looks like they have a really big gun. The Leopard 2 and the Abrams has 4" and a bit (120mm). Surroundings make a lot.

[@johnbradley4644]

There is a huge difference in these guns. The weight of the round in a tank gun is about the weight of the projectile in a 5 inch 38.

[@ChainsawFPV]

My grandfather was a Marine, and went thru the Philippine Islands during World War 2. I have a hand carved small toy outrigger boat, carved by the locals, they traded for cigarettes when the ships came thru. One of the few things he was able to get back with him.

[@johnpitman4447]

I was a Fire Control Tech on 2 different systems. The single gun 5"/38 was my 1st gun on board FFG-6. Then I went to DD-983 and shot the 5"/54. I'll always have fond memories of these bad boys.

[@bobkay2827]

I'd love to see video of these guns in action in Desert Storm. In the first one, the battleships pretty much single handedly leveled every building at the Kuwait airport and neutralized it for any Iraqi use..

[@neonknight69]

Hi Bob! On the Missouri, we didn't get to use our 5 inchers very much (if memory serves, it was 11 shells) and they weren't aimed at the airport (they were used on a tower that had snipers in it, who were holding up the 1st Marines - I was later able to confirm our kill by speaking with a Hospital Corpsman attached to that Division). I do not recollect ever firing on an airport. I do remember firing on gun emplacements and bunkers as well as other targets of opportunity. We could have fired on the airport, but according to the maps it was likely out of the 16 inchers range. @Ryan Another interesting tidbit about the M1A - if my memory serves me right, if you put all of the gears and shafts end to end, it would circle the globe.

[@randallbeasley646]

The Big Whisky fired on the airport

[@justaguynamedmax8207]

I have a 5ft long model of the USS Missouri that I made with a 3d printer. It's pretty cool

[@matchesburn]

How long did that take to print? ...Actually, how did you even print it? Did you have to print it in sections and glue/put them together? Not many 3D printers can handle 5 feet in length. Would be interesting to see it.

[@BattleshipNewJersey]

We've got a 4ft Sq ft 3d print of the first NJ ships bell. We had to print it in 2 pieces just to fit through the doors but they could have done it in 1 big piece

[@justaguynamedmax8207]

@@matchesburn I printed it in sections on an ender 3. It is something like 30 peices, not including radars and AA mounts. I soldered it together with filament. I printed it in PLA and gue doesn't bond on PLA very good so I figured attempting to glue would not hold well enough. It took about a month to print everything. Only took about 5 hours to assemble it and paint, but I haven't finished all the detail paint such as the numbers and namesake

[@justaguynamedmax8207]

@@BattleshipNewJersey must have been done on and industrial printer. I have always been in love with the Iowa class battleships. I'm also from Missouri though so that may have had some influence

[@F-Man]

Would love to see your model!

[@rossbunnell7992]

Great job explaining the 5 inch, 38 caliber gun and the Mark 37 Gun Director! My dad was a fire controlman on the USS Cummings, DD-365, which operated using this system. This is the best illustration I've ever seen of the whole gun system. When people think of WWII technology, they tend to think of the Norden bombsight or the P-51 mustang. However, the Mark 37 Gun Director and the fire control systems for these 5 inch guns were truly a technological marvel.

[@dalesql2969]

We had a Mark1A computer for our 5"38 on our ship that decommisioned in 1990. Single mount, but all the same manual operation. One time we had a bad powder and had a HE shell stuck partway down the barrel during a training fire mission. (Shooting at Bloodsworth Island in the chesapeake bay) Hot gun procedure and so on. I happened to be up on the flying bridge when it happened. Suddenly they stopped firing, and the doors on the mount popped open, guys were bailing out, reaching to take projectiles and powders from the guys inside and dumping them over the side mighty fast. About this same time, the guys in the handling room and magazine were striking down all the powder canisters from the handling room into the magazine below. then over the 1MC came the announcement to evacuate the forward third of the ship and set Z in the forward third of the ship. (close all the watertight fittings) Ohhh shit. It was an exciting day.

[@bartk07]

How did they manage to get the barrel working again? When the projectile stucks halfway, is there still an overpressure in blocked part of the barrel? How can you equalize that?

[@dalesql2969]

@@bartk07 Couple of possible ways. If it was a combat situation, the gun captain can use a clearing charge right away. This is basically a half sized powder charge that they keep in the mount that they would load just the clearing charge and fire it to bloop it out. There is a whole protocol around using that as it is dangerous. Noncombat situation we evacuate the area and have a certain number of minutes to get fire hoses setup to spray the hot barrel with water and cool it down. How many minutes depends on how hot the barrel is. (this is one of the chores that is done down in fire control. Based on outside air temperature and how many rounds have been fired you can use a chart and not too complicated bit of math to figure it out. ) As our guys didn't get the hoses going in time, evacuate the area and wait for the barrel to cool down. There is another chart for that that takes somewhat more complex math to figure out that time. Then try pushing the projectile back to the breech and loading tray with the big wooden pole and a special jig that doesn't hit the nose fuse. If that fails, clearing charge time.

[@msaa1125]

I remember taking a tour on this! Very exciting!

[@bamagrad99]

Absolutely astounding that the fire control tech was developed in the 1930s

[@padrigderoiste3220]

Nice to see. My dad and uncle served as gunners mate’s for 5” guns during wwii on the BB US Colorado.

[@marksides9757]

I so seriously want to meet this gent. He puts so much energy and passion into the videos. I'm guessing he's an awesome person to be around.

[@pepperman2385]

To the family of Mr. Smokowitcz: my deepest condolences. To Stanley: sailor, rest your oar.

[@JohnRodriguesPhotographer]

The reason the fire system was never replaced with a digital system oh, they found that data entry was limiting factor and a digital system would not be any faster or more accurate.

[@Whiskey11Gaming]

Not to mention having to cut out the hull to remove the computers in one piece, rewire everything bring in computers. For what is best described as next to no improvement, there is no real reason to change anything!

[@brunoraoni]

@@Whiskey11Gaming There is also the issue that digital systems can be knocked out or completely destroyed by EMP's, soo having a completely mechanical computer even as a backup would allow precise or even accurate long range shots even after a EMP Blast or complete electric power failure.

[@novicefinger]

@@Whiskey11Gaming Myself and some shipmates removed one of those analog computers from a ship in San Diego in about 1982. A couple of old chiefs came by and gave it a good whack with a sledge hammer and took some gears and shafts for memories. That computer was all shafts and gears.

[@Tuberuser187]

@@brunoraoni EMPs don't work like they do in movies, most military equipment is also shielded and finally an electromechanical computer is just as vulnerable as digital semiconductor based computers when they are not shielded.

[@DinoNucci]

That switch room is bonkers!

[@wst8340]

Be a good set for a movie

[@sbrenner2561]

5 inch 38 caliber. Badass stuff.

[@crazyeyez1502]

"One ton of hate" love it!! 🇺🇲

[@stevemolina8801]

RIP Stan I too was a Gunner on 5" Guns but a newer versions.

[@williamlloyd3769]

USS Hollister (DD-788) would go into Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station and load up on date lots of Korean and Vietnam era rounds. We would go expend them against targets on San Clemente island impact area in order to validate that rounds were still functional. Too much fun to come screaming in toward the beach, open up with the forward mount, turn parallel and fire both turrets and then turn away and fire rear turret.

[@kenneth7197]

Amazing! The genius of man to design a Giant machine with thousands of parts working together.