A Naval Gun in the Making

Constructing a 15-inch gun at the works of Vickers. Test fired at Eskmeals in what is now Cumbria. The film supposedly dates from 1915.
I uploaded this film so that my bed-ridden father could watch it on his big TV rather than an iPad. Sadly he’s no longer with us, but I think that he was impressed by the footage.
For more naval history content (and other stuff) follow me on Twitter: / simonharley
Imperial War Museum IWM 580 Reel 2.

[@Bert2368]

The secret of the well known superiority in British battleship gun fabrication was incidentally revealed here: Proper use of bowler hat and waistcoat at certain key moments.

[@deconteesawyer5758]

A well waxed mustache was needed between them.

[@dmacarthur5356]

They say it's hardened in oil but the industry secret is to quench it in Darjeeling tea. Cheerio!

[@Bert2368]

@@dmacarthur5356 Although their wives were told the gun billet quenching liquid was fine Indian tea, certain Scotts and Irish forge hands knew what all those empty bottles they found laying behind the soakers pits had held...

[@MrDaiseymay]

I spotted that

[@coy0te9]

But not by the men actually handling the tools and manipulating the steel. They wore cloth caps. There was probably a point in the job hierarchy where one was expected to upgrade ones hat.

[@davidfearon7646]

Served my time at Vickers Armstrong. Nothing we could'nt build. Proud of my time there.

[@otisarmyalso]

visited Elswick what a grand enterprise pity to see it go

[@MrSlapdash243]

My dad used to run a radial arm drill there a long time ago.

[@markhonea2461]

What does "charging the furnace" mean?

[@MartsGarage]

@@markhonea2461 Not 100% but I think it means loading it with scrap or pig iron to melt. Also adding the things that make up the steel. Don't know what those log looking things were, but some sort of additive.

[@samrodian919]

Anybody have any idea where the guns were test fired? Was it a Shoeburyness on the Essex coast. There has been an ordnance test firing range there since before the Crimean war. It's still in use, run by the MOD.

[@CharlesHuse]

This is actually quite fascinating seeing the heavy foundry and machine work from that era. If this was from 1915, and I have no reason to believe that it is not, this WAS the high tech industry of the day. Seeing the machinery being used makes me think that it was 2nd or 3rd generation of that sort and I have to wonder about the manual processes involved in the creation of what they would consider as the "original models". On a side note, there is a tall building at the Washington Navy Yard that still houses the machinery used to re-sleeve the 16-inch guns of the Iowa-class battleships. They would run cold water thru the rifled bore while heating the outside of the gun tube with an induction coil. When the 2 parts separated, the would remove the old worn out bore and put the new one in then allow the two parts to return to normal temperatures. Supposedly they still have some of the inner sleeves left because the Navy put enough of the 16-inch shells down range to require that many reworks of the guns.

[@leebatt7964]

Seeing the horse being lead past the trolly really put this in perspective. Its amazing how fast technology has progressed for the last 100 years.

[@marumiyuhime]

wow must be seeing something i have not. naval guns have not changed and tech was frozen in the 30s. too bad we are looking at an artillery war in the near future.

[@hawkowl455]

For someone to think to give us all for posterity a look into the past on how these were made I am so grateful. Now I have so many more questions for these men, of course that's impossible. I hope that I can find some more of these videos with perhaps more details.

[@indigohammer5732]

I drove by the Vickers works years ago. Coal and Iron ore in one end, and a Challenger Tank at the other. The place was enormous

[@otisarmyalso]

thank you for reminding us of a once Great Britannia sad to see how the mighty have stumbled. My two tours to Elswick are dearly cherished memories of Newcastle

[@derekstocker6661]

Wonderful historic film, I am always fascinated by these massive iron and steel monoliths being moved around and always think about the safety factor and what it would be like now. I also think how amazing the actual machinery to build the guns was, also a fantastic feat of brilliant engineering. Thanks for this fabulous film.

[@jwv6985]

I'm always amazed at how everyone is dressed. No gloves, no safety shoes, no hearing protection, no eye protection, no hard hats, and everyone is dressed like they are going out to dinner!

[@MrDaiseymay]

It was the British way of deluding spies that production was just a picnic.

[@thwwoodcraft1449]

Still very common to see dirt-floor welders in 3rd world countries but also including China closing their eyelids rather than using a welding helmet.

[@thomascolville9438]

H&S a recent innovation. When I started working there was no gloves,safety shoes, hearing protection. Definitely no hard hats. Don’t know about dressed for dinner though, we were too poor for that. Still got all my fingers and toes, wife says I’m deaf as a post though….. I’m told.

[@angrydragonslayer]

@@thomascolville9438 if you can hear her say it, it probably isn't an issue. Unless she's talking about some other kind of deaf of course. A girlfriend of mine called me emotionally deaf when explaining why she cheated....

[@johndean4998]

The workers around the forges seem to be wearing wooden clogs on their feet and leather spats & aprons.

[@grottonisred6541]

Brilliant piece of engineering processes. All engineering student should be made to watch this to at least understand some basics. There were clearly some brilliant minds around in those days...and not a keyboard or phone in sight. I was brought up in Oldham in the 60's directly opposite an iron works, fascinating as a 5-10 year old watching the furnace as I was getting my ball back..!

[@peterspain3827]

The sheer scale of these operations cannot be understated.the machinery ,the skill of the men,the brutal conditions they were working in.One wonders weather they were paid enough to recognise this.Can you imagine testing one of these.Incredible.

[@DavidMartin-ym2te]

In 1916 shipwrights were earning 48 shillings and 6 pence per week. (see "The Battleship Builders"). That's 2 pounds and 42 and one half pence today. Shipwrights were the highest paid workers in a shipyard. Not sure about the ordnance workers.

[@stevemolina8801]

Amazing, I marvel at the way these men just carried on in such extreme conditions. I had to laugh at the man riding the cart down the tracks as its full of powder bags as if it were nothing.

[@deconteesawyer5758]

Say mate, was that eight or ten bags of gunpowder we put in so far? Can't remember. We better put in a couple more just to be safe.

[@lyedavide]

It's incredible to see how much work and labour went into making a large caliber naval gun. I doubt that there are many foundries, if any at all, that can do this in the mordern world. Thanks for a very interesting video!

[@craigpennington1251]

NIce deer rifles. A massive undertaking in making these guns. Great video and big thanks for NOT adding music.

[@ancientbriton8262]

Proof Firing of the Large Calibre Naval Guns 18 inch / 450mm is at Main Battery MOD Eskmeals, Millom Cumbria UK, the powder house was bldg 168, the Buildings at the rear are Bldgs 157 and 158, these were still standing as of 2015

[@lloydknighten5071]

Mr. Harley, I had an uncle, Mr. Henry Cook, who worked at Scullin Steel, here in Saint Louis (USA). He said that Scullin, like Vickers/Armstrong, was extremely hot and difficult. But he, like your dad, was proud of his job. I am glad you uploaded this film. I didn't know all of the complex steps that were used in building a 15 inch/45 naval gun.

[@nickfoster2201]

What an old gem of a film, full of engineering information, most of which we wont see performed anymore.

[@billthebrit9126]

Vickers now build main battle tanks at their plant in Newcastle, I used to live above the testing yard and watched many an armoured vehicle prove its worth.

[@charlesm127]

I thought the Scotswood rd tank factory was long gone

[@billthebrit9126]

@@charlesm127 It was a long time ago.

[@gilgarcia3008]

A very interesting way to manipulate the billet while forging. The forge I worked in used manipulators to rotate large pieces . The chain method is something I was told about but had never seen.

[@bearsbugs]

You can tell the editor was not a machinist. At 7:30 it says "trepanning the hole in the gun tube" and the video shows them rough turning the breech OD. The trepanning operation isn't shown until shortly after after the 8 minute mark.

[@ypaulbrown]

Bless you for doing that for your Father......

[@yorkshirejoinery2869]

Simply, ‘Bloody Hell’! Incredible what went into one of those guns! Rule Britannia!

[@m37kuk]

I worked in those same shops in the early 70s the tall building with the oil pit was still there even still filled with oil

[@charleswells7903]

I worked in a steel plant in South Africa 1971/74 and I thought that was dodgy elf and safety but those men took it to a different level. My main trade thru my working years was a toolmaker and I used to cut corners. My only accident was cutting off the end of my middle finger with no permanent damage

[@jamescollins3647]

My deepest condolences. That was a very nice thing to do for him. Good man.

[@ianmoseley9910]

Love how "hit it with a hammer" is always in there somewhere

[@pasha12343]

That’s incredible footage , the scale of the operation mind blowing and also a lot of flat caps 👍

[@grahamh6918]

the flat cap is why we had an empire ;)

[@EleanorPeterson]

Aye, lad. You only graduated to a bowler and clipboard when you reached Management level. 😁

[@hetrodoxly1203]

Flat caps, heath & safety gone mad.

[@brucejohnston6184]

😆

[@zx8401ztv]

It's amazing what they could acheive in those days, skilled people working with raw materials.

[@kennethtalbott2233]

talking to a guy that worked there recently, they worked to i think he said, point seven of a thou.

[@acdii]

What I find even more impressive is the machinery used way back then. How many machines did they have to make to make the machines that make the barrels.

[@gerry5712]

And the almost total absence of any PPE...

[@nealedickson2859]

Just watched this and the 1st thing I thought about what are the pots made from that they pore molten iron into

[@acdii]

@@nealedickson2859 Used to be asbestos lined, but they are lined with some other type of ceramic insulation that can take the heat. The furnaces are lined with bricks that can take higher heat than steel so they can melt the steel without getting melted.

[@marumiyuhime]

all tech has its roots in fire. without fire there would be nothing

[@gregtaylor6146]

When Britain really was GREAT!

[@anthonypetty9288]

My father trained in the naval dockyard in Portsmouth and worked on battleship guns while he was stationed in Alexandria during WW2. Fascinating to see how they were created in the first place. Thank you.

[@thwwoodcraft1449]

The height of technical innovation in manufacturing for the era on display here. These days we chase faster processing speeds. Early 20th century the health of a countrys manufacturing sector was in the precise machining of metal. Before & between the big wars battle rifles were finely crafted works of near-art.

[@andyleighton6969]

Fascinating, my Grand Father was a blacksmith at Vickers in Newcastle during the First War. The conditions they worked in 😱😱

[@vonclap]

I left the Steel in the early 1970s and it wasn't much better

[@RiojaRoj]

As a kid in Stockport in the 50s and 60s I grew up across the railway at Reddish. Craven Machine Tools had a foundry across the tracks, and in winter the night sky was ablaze with an orange glow and sparks flying into the night as they were pouring molten iron. Amazing, no health n safety then, Men were Men, and Sheep were Nervous as they used to say 😅

[@rjmercer042]

Amazing. I grew up near Pittsburgh in the 60s and 70s. My father was a millwright. I worked in the mill during my college summers (Concaster and flat rolling mill). Amazing how much things have changed.

[@InCountry6970]

Thanks, for this great old film. OSHA may not approve of their attire, but it was just a wonderful glimpse of history

[@doggonemess1]

I'm always amazed how close these guys work to the hot metal. The largest piece of metal I've worked was only a few kilos, but being close to it when it came out of the fire was almost painful. I can't imagine hundreds of tons of steel being orange-hot.

[@bill3641]

You haven't had fun till you pour molten metal into a mold .

[@doggonemess1]

@@bill3641 I have! Last year I finally made my own brass from a carefully measured quantity of copper, zinc, and aluminum. It came out perfectly. That was something when the metal finally melted - I was sure it wasn't working, since the pieces still had their original shape. Then I tapped the crucible and everything just went "bloop" and sank into the puddle at the bottom. I've also done aluminum and been present for pig iron casting, and done low temp metals like Rose's, pewter, and lead. It's a great feeling when you turn metal to liquid and cast something and it actually works.

[@thitasirikaendaeng5518]

Good!

[@Fred70115]

The lack of safety gear for the workers is pretty striking. Those steel cuttings from the rifle station are very sharp and he moves them with his bare hand.

[@hetrodoxly1203]

You noticed the guy without his flat cap as well, i bet health & safety gave him a warning.

[@manxman8008]

Thing is, those guys knew their job, and had jobs for life (few changes), and also knew if things went wrong that they wouldn't go home. They wouldn't let the apprentice take charge!

[@ThePsiclone]

Trepanning that bore must have taken bloody ages without tungsten-carbide tooling...it'd take a goodly while even with it. (Bowler) Hats off to these men.

[@GavCritchley]

If you watch some of the current YT films that come from Pakistan about engineering, you'll see that they are pretty much at this point in terms of heavy engineering. Not a criticism at all. They use a lot of reclaimed steel from ship salvage to manufacture everything from Civil Engineering equipment to washing machines. Its worth a look.

[@ZoomMonty]

Thank you for uploading this footage amazing footage!!

[@Dave-id6sj]

Bowler hats, flat caps, waistcoats and suit jackets, a few in overalls. Going about their business as if this was a simple job like making a cup of coffee. Sound and captions for the non technical people would be a bonus but alas not to be on this one, very interesting and cheers for uploading it. My father was 21 years in the Royal Navy before passing in 2008, my sympathies to you on your dads passing.

[@imrank340]

Thanks for uploading unique footage.

[@theflyingfool]

I like the picture of Captain America on the side of the ingot being removed from the mold at 5.11 That was an interesting film. I wonder where that particular gun ended it's days...

[@wildancrazy159]

They sweated on the breach ring! I'm speechless ( obviously not incapable of typing) I mean I get it, but with those pressures the breach is under at firing, not even talking about volley firing. Very interesting film, thank you so much for the upload, wonderful...

[@garethdavies2538]

Gareth Just in passing: Around this time Britain built a battle cruiser armed with two Eighteen inch guns!! It never saw service in that form due two two basic reasons. When the guns were fired the recoil caused many rivets in the ship's hull to fracture. Also, it finally dawned on the Admiralty that a ship armed with a two-gun broadside was not going to hit many target ships. I believe the hull was converted into one of the first aircraft carriers. Regarding the "wire wrapping." This was high-tensile steel wire and it helped to contain the internal pressure in the barrel when the charge was fired. The stress generated acted along the longitudinal axis of the wire , its strongest orientation. I would have liked to know how long the manufacturing process took--start-to-finish and, as a {retired} metallurgist, the composition of the steel that was cast. Great video--many thanks.

[@MatthewW713]

Incredible video!

[@Trebuchet48]

Like! I'm a mechanical engineer, with an interest in artillery. As you might guess from my handle. But I"m also very interested in the history of technology, so this film from a hundred or so years ago ticks both boxes. Thank you so much for uploading it. I also couldn't help noticing the hats. Working men wore flat caps. Foremen were in the bowlers. And in those days, you did not presume to wear a hat above your station. So now I'm wondering who the gent in the Panama at the test firing was. Once again, thanks, even if I'm 19 months late.

[@xxxggthyf]

A Panama? Do you mean the guy standing at the top of the stairs? Looks more like a homburg to me but I think I know who he is... He's a chap.

[@jdshqs]

have you read a book by Simon Winchester, an amazing piece on the history of precision called "Exactly" as a fellow mechanical engineer, it was right up my alley

[@Trebuchet48]

@@xxxggthyf Months later.... Oh, I see the Homberg as well. But a Panama hat is made of straw and light colored. He's seen, I think, as they are loading powder bags into a cart then runs up the stairs.

[@andyrbush]

I think he would be the spy; I see them dressed like that in movies.

[@Bert2368]

@@Trebuchet48 That's the Prince of Wales, dressed in mufti, observing incognito.

[@crashrr2993]

When my mum lived on the coast in Deal, we could often see the orange glow of a (Belgium, I think) steelworks across the Channel.

[@Minecraft-pj4hm]

Thank you for no silly music.

[@normalrationalguy1980]

Could always just turn volume down or upload your own videos, picky

[@davidhair8295]

Amazing! Did not understand all I was seeing, but glad to have seen it.

[@barryolaith]

Good to see the factory workers wearing their safety flat caps.

[@briancooper562]

Having worked in steel works and heavy engineering hard hats just stop cuts and bruises when you walk into things, keeps your hair out of your eyes, stops dust falling on you. Anything large falling, swinging, will kill you full stop.

[@David-th2ug]

Must be the closest to Hell you could experience in a life. Loved the nonchalance of the men working surrounded by the heat and sparks and liquid metal.

[@kevinkral4568]

12:42 "Winding Wire On A Gun." In *The War of the Worlds* (1897) H. G. Wells makes a single reference to *". . . wire-guns . . . "* being brought up to engage the Martians and I've always wondered what, precisely, he meant. It seems reasonable to suppose that readers of the day would be prompted to think of guns of this type - that is, if the process was in use just before the turn of the last century. Regards, Kev ps. From the Project Gutenberg pdf: *TWOTW* Chapter XIV "In London" (Paragraph 21: ) ". . . long *wire-guns* of ninety-five tons from Woolwich." pps. In Chapter IX "The Fighting Begins" there's a mention of *". . . a hundred-ton gun . . ."* doubtless a reference to the Armstrong gun at Malta, but that's something for another *(vbbsmyt)* video. -K.

[@jamesbugbee9026]

100-ton guns equipped some ironclads in the late 1870s to the 1880s; there were complaints of the barrels drooping, & i suspect the wire component was of no help in this.

[@peteredwards338]

That must be the foreman wearing the bowler hat.

[@abrahamdozer6273]

The bowler hat was the safety helmet of the 19th century.

[@65gtotrips]

🔰 That’s so amazing that they had the wherewithal and the fortitude to manufacture those guns like that over 100 years ago👍

[@stokiestewpotter7956]

Loved the video.

[@satansengineer]

Quite fantastic

[@fredhayes6162]

amazing Thank you for sharing

[@yogi9631]

great video 👍👍👍

[@tonystarch4487]

Watching this kind of amazing engineering and scale of production video from a century ago, I realise I KNOW NOTHING.

[@theenginemanfromthepast.]

Absolutely incredible engineering for the time. If only we were that cleaver today!!

[@annpeerkat2020]

nodsnods... more meat = more cleavers

[@francoispienaar3840]

Just outstanding technical abilities for the time. See bouler hat, must be the supervisor engineer, with suite?

[@diquadhumungersaur492]

british superiority in armaments manufacturing and engineering can be explained by two rarely mentioned criteria... one, the total unashamed use of so many spectacular mustaches and two,the men never being able to work less than an 18 hour day even had they fir some insane reason wanted to.

[@billsmart2532]

I've been looking for good well paying job, but I don't have any skills. This looks like the best place to apply.

[@prelovedguitarsni1436]

Fascinating.

[@SomervilleBob]

The actual firing looked to be proof loads by the amount of powder being used.

[@briancooper562]

I was thinking that as they used four bags of charge. I read the rail guns originally 14 ins, later 16 ins used two normally but could use three for a bigger bang. However a big gun may be worn out at round about 100 firings. Then needs refurb or replacement.

[@markmcconnell2296]

No earth shattering KABOOM (in the words of Marvin) LOL interesting video 👍

[@johnmorrow7080]

My brother used to buy American cars from a guy called Bob Isles down in Darlington , he owned the old Darlington forge building , I went down a few time with him just for a day out and to stop him buying rubbish like 40ft long school bus and dogged out Chrysler police cars , back to the point , one time he was telling us about mobile radar station he was scrapping for gold in the computers and other bit's n bobs , he took us the huge building and tell us about the building use as a forge for making naval guns , took us over to a big depression n the floor and said this where the guns were cast , very interesting place no all gone sadly . BTW an ancestor of mine was a Anchorsmith living in Gateshead .

[@jonjames7328]

Amazing. Very similar to how rifle barrels are made but much much bigger. It was with this technology that Britain conquered, I feel nothing but pride.

[@nealbosher9293]

Very interesting, a time when Britannia ruled the waves and the world was built by men in flat caps lead by men in bowler hats. There was a large ordnance works in Coventry that made big guns too... I suppose the Royal Navy needed lits of them around this time. Would be good to see how the modern equivalent is made now (smaller guns i know) lots of automation i imagine and the only waistcoats hi-viz ones.

[@lando8913]

2 years late I suppose, but sorry for your loss all the same. Very cool footage.

[@Andrey222ful]

They didn't show the process of inside bore machining. Just interested how they bore it out at such a long length and hold the tolerances.

[@bingosunnoon9341]

Drawn over mandrel.

[@kellyBorgman]

I believe trepaning was used.

[@Afro408]

I love all the Georgian moustaches! 😁👍👏👏

[@TheNobbynoonar]

These workers modern day equivalents are delivery drivers and retail workers. Progress?

[@steveshoemaker6347]

Amazing.....Thanks so much...... Shoe🇺🇸

[@tomrichter244]

Thanks for sharing. I do wish that it would have included an informative narrative for us interested, non pros.

[@drbichat5229]

Their only safety equipment is a mustache

[@johnngo9690]

Okay as a machinist, i jumped on this video when it popped up on my feed. I've always wondered how they machined the triple breach mechanism so close together. But this video didn't show that particular process

[@lupus16309]

I love the Sledge-O-Matic at 16:30…..

[@grahambamford9073]

Those 15 inch naval guns are unbelievable, serious firepower firing shells weighing over a ton up to 20 miles eprox. Over the horizon in some cases.

[@francoistombe]

Warspite hit an Italian battleship at 13 miles with one of those.

[@zx8401ztv]

Thankyou simon, amazing people making massive technology. They make todays manufacturing look silly.

[@HydroSnips]

Could never be that nonchalant by all that molten metal. All in a day’s work, I guess :D

[@shingerz]

British engineering at its very best brilliant to see god these blokes earnt there money well done 👏

[@peterfinn1160]

Imagine the youth of today working in that factory...

[@garywemmer9342]

Hahahahahaha!

[@ralphedelbach]

I wonder how much additional strength was added by wire-wrapping the barrel? I assume that would depend on the strength of the wire and number of layers. What percentage of barrels were wire-wrapped and was there any particular advantage to doing that as opposed to making the barrel thicker or using a different blend of metals when pour the barrel ingot? I'm sure metallurgy improved eventually to the point where wire-wrapping would no longer be required. Thanks for posting this. Fascinating.

[@offshoretomorrow3346]

If I recall correctly - the wired barrels fell out of favour because they were less rigid and 'drooped' more when mounted.

[@kellyBorgman]

​@offshoretomorrow3346 , yes and the wire was piano wire. High tensile strength.

[@ralphedelbach]

50% increase in strength or some other number? When did they stop doing that?

[@aland7236]

This has been really helpful for me because I have always wanted to know how they got the hole down the middle. I've never heard of a trepanning drill and have always figured that a 50 foot long twist drill or boring bar was unrealistic and the thought of one breaking in the job would result in heads rolling. Is there any information on whether the manufacture process used cryogenics or something of that sort in addition to heat when fitting the outer layers of the barrel?

[@ZacLowing]

The noise must be deafening.

[@dmacarthur5356]

On this week's Forged in Fire....re create a 14" main naval gun using old truck leaf springs. You have 3 hours ....

[@rambo1152]

I wonder if Fritz Lang saw this film before he made "Metropolis"?

[@richardkell4888]

I'd liked to have seen more of the turning and lathework, seemingly endless footage at the forge. However utterly gobsmacked at such effort and ability. Is this Elswick or Barrow?

[@stevieb9699]

I suspect Barrow where they still have a capacity to manufacture the modern equivalent Howitzers if and when orders come in. Part of BAe Systems now.

[@pgf289]

@@stevieb9699 I think they've sold off the Artillery plant now sadly

[@andrewhoward7200]

That is a beautiful thing. Now mount it on the Dover cliffs, that should deter those ruddy dinghy's lads!

[@jamesbaker7112]

Not an ear plug or safety goggle anywhere on the property.

[@mrz80]

Did anyone ever film a similar documentary of building any of the various 14" or 16" guns at the Washington Navy Yard's gun factory?

[@simonbird1973]

I didn’t see any auto fret age being carried out during the manufacturing process?

[@tmerkley6406]

anyone know if there was a particular type of oil used in the quenching "hardening" process of the barrel?

[@bloggalot4718]

It may have been whale oil, and it stank to high heaven.

[@eddiepattisonhogg9917]

Armstrongs was selling guns to both sides in the American Civil War, he was the worlds leading gun manufacturer, but whisper it because the Geordies are not supposed to be leaders in anything. He built an entire Navy for the Japanese that destroyed the Russian Navy in 1904. So concerned were the British Government at Armstrongs dealings with foreign nations that he was forced to sell his patents to the Government in exchange for a knighthood, this is the way Tyneside has always been treated by central goverment, they took everything away from us and and after the ww2 we became an industrial desert.The big gun making went to Woolich Asenal in London.

[@HorsemanOz]

Impressive indeed. My condolences re. your Dad. Was he an engineering bloke? My thoughts on this wonderfully historic footage... great film. Sad that the result of all that talent, all those materials, the labour and physical effort is probably now on the ocean floor. All that work chucked into the ocean. I hope the aliens dont see this film. They'll know we're mad.

[@DavidOfWhitehills]

There was 186 of these guns made. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/BL_15-inch_Mk_I_naval_gun 22 went to the ocean floor, in Hood, Repulse and Barham, along with 3000 men. 2 are preserved in a museum. The remainder were scrapped and recycled and are probably all around us, as steel is endlessly recycled.

[@DavidOfWhitehills]

I forgot Royal Oak. That's another eight guns and a thousand crew.

[@PreservationEnthusiast]

@@DavidOfWhitehills There were probably plenty of scrapped steam loco pieces in those guns.

[@DavidOfWhitehills]

@@PreservationEnthusiast No doubt. Likely a few molecules from the first iron swords as well.

[@agunemnon]

Mine too, I'm casting this to my dad's telly so he can enjoy engineering history while we sit together. Thank you for upload.

[@nickscarboni7008]

We don’t need no stinking OSHA !

[@garethdavies2538]

OSHA ? A small town in Wisconsin !

[@abrahamdozer6273]

A lot of these processes must have been proprietary and possibly classified as secret at the time. I'm surprised that it was filmed. i doubt that it was distributed.

[@abrahamdozer6273]

@crash burn I didn't know about wrapping the guns in wire. I thought that it was a brilliant engineering solution. Nobody builds guns this large anymore but if they did, they'd x-ray them thoroughly looking for flaws. Notice the elongation of the barrel during forging. Obviously, a lot of it occurs but they didn't show you how they formed it so cleanly.

[@abrahamdozer6273]

@crash burn They were making straight, strong and true Titanic-size drive shafts as well which would have required even higher tolerances than these monsters needed. The forging couldn't have been perfect and hardness must have varied all over the place if the operators weren't at the top of their skills. I'll bet they weren't paid much, knowing the British class system.

[@abrahamdozer6273]

@crash burn I'm sure that they took pride their work and would never sabotage it ( especially during wartime) but the class discrepancies in Edwardian and WWI Britain were glaring. We would view these men as Middle Class ... skilled technical people. 1915 Britain would not have.

[@genkidama7385]

@@abrahamdozer6273 exactly, it did cost less in these days to build gigantic things, they had the mines working 24/7, tons of cheap materials, now what, we got engineers, workers to pay a fortune, and materials are much more expensive, most steel is recycled, every single element involved in the process must cost a hundred times more today. and its getting worse and worse.

[@abrahamdozer6273]

@@genkidama7385 Paying people well for productive work like that generates wealth as their earnings circulate through the economy. When the workers who built a product can afford to buy it, there are amazing synergies that take place. Henry Ford knew that but he was a revolutionary.