Battleship New Jersey's Quad 40 Bofors Gun

This week we are looking at the ship's last remaining Quadruple 40mm Bofors gun mount. This particular gun was removed from the ship half a century ago but has since returned fully restored.

[@hughroadie2291]

In 1968 and 1969, I was the Gunnery Officer in USS MONTROSE (APA-212). Our “main battery” was one quad 40mm on the bow, and four twin 40mm, two starboard and two port, fore and aft. It is true that the mounts were incapable of tracking modern jet aircraft, but they were vicious against attacking small boats. Rate of fire was greater than 125 rounds per minute, per barrel, and maximum effective range was two nautical miles (4,000 yards). In gunnery exercises against high speed drone target boats, we could bring eight barrels to bear on each side, unleashing over 1,000 rounds per minute of 40mm. Very manpower intensive weapon, but an incredibly deadly gun against a boat.

[@hughroadie2291]

@carlos Rivas Hello Carlos,... You are correct, but few small attacking boats would be armored to any effective degree. But even if they were, the 40mm AP (armor-piercing) round, at 1,000 rounds per minute, would make short work of it.

[@Hiiiiii74]

@@hughroadie2291 It would take a lot of armor indeed to stop a high velocity 40mm projectile! 47mm guns were effective anti-tank guns in WW2 up until tanks like the T-34, upgraded Pz. IVF2 and later variants, and M4 Shermans became common. The 40mm Bofors is even more advanced than those guns. These tanks all have about 3" of effective armor plate, full coverage to that degree is a lot to ask of a small displacement, fast boat. 10,000 ton treaty cruisers in the 30s had a hard time being both fast and having much more than 3" of armor plate over the main belt, let alone a glorified PT boat! Thank you for your service!

[@Mike-01234]

Makes sense in Vietnam small boat attacks would be lot more common then jet aircraft attacking surface to air missile would be useless against small boats.

[@Klemeq]

IIRC even on the USS North Carolina and onwards, all 40mm and 5' guns were radar controlled and the hand cranks were used only as a backup. That's what all the hydraulic lines are used for.

[@deepbludreams]

Correct, all the crew did on these guns was feed them, the gun director controlled them, the hand wheels and sights on the guns are for emergency use only if the gun director is somehow blown off the mast of the ship.

[@tonytrotta9322]

USS Alabama BB 60 in WW2 - During a Japanese air attack on the fleet on 21 February, Alabama's No. 9 5-inch turret accidentally (on radar controlled) fired into the No. 5 mount, killing five and wounding eleven men. That day, Alabama took part in a sweep to the southeast of Saipan to search for Japanese vessels that might be in the area. There is a plaque on the gun mount in Mobile, Alabama as a memorial to the men that lost their lives due to friendly fire.

[@nogoodnameleft]

The coolest thing is USS Texas got a very lucky break in the 1980s when she went into drydock in 1988-90. The Iowa-class battleships were recalled back to active service and due to modernization had to remove all of her 20 or so quad 40mm gun mounts in 1986. The other Iowa-class battleships also were stripped of their quad 40mms. Texas ended up receiving 6-8 of Missouri's 40mm quads so she was able to restore her original full complement of 10 40mm quad guns! The Navy in 1948 removed Texas' original 10 40mm quads and replaced them with only 4 mediocre 1.1 anti-aircraft quad guns that everybody in the Navy in WWII hated. They removed the 1.1 guns in the 1988-90 drydock refit and went back to the beloved 40mm guns. If Missouri and the other Iowa battleships had become museum ships in the 1980s they would have been able to maintain their original WWII guns like the 40mm guns and Texas would never have been able to receive a single 40mm quad gun mount.

[@EnterpriseXI]

Always loved the anti-aircraft guns on these old warships

[@Buck9672]

I remember being the loader for the 40/60 many years ago in the Royal Navy.....amazing weapon

[@mathiasjonsson8222]

As a Swede I endorse this video..

[@brianhiles8164]

Firing the guns periodically is one invaluable method for gun maintenance... and audience participation.

[@invadegreece9281]

Lemme shoot a dang 5 inch gunnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

[@MrOiram46]

Let’s shoot those 16 inchers for every 4th of July

[@BattleshipNewJersey]

Heres a video explaining why we don't fire the 16s. We did fire a 5in yesterday though!

[@thomaspavelko9412]

Appreciate you keeping the old gal looking good!

[@MrScott1171]

A number of the 40mm's were more than likely refurb/modernized and handed over to the USAF for use in the AC-130. Which still uses the 40mm today. I was told that the Navy still prepares the 40mm shells for the Air Force.

[@frankbodenschatz173]

Great job guys and gals!

[@nogoodnameleft]

The coolest thing is USS Texas got a very lucky break in the 1980s when she went into drydock in 1988-90. The Iowa-class battleships were recalled back to active service and due to modernization had to remove all of her 20 or so quad 40mm gun mounts in 1986. The other Iowa-class battleships also were stripped of their quad 40mms. Texas ended up receiving 6-8 of Missouri's 40mm quads so she was able to restore her original full complement of 10 40mm quad guns! The Navy in 1948 removed Texas' original 10 40mm quads and replaced them with only 4 mediocre 1.1 anti-aircraft quad guns that everybody in the Navy in WWII hated. They removed the 1.1 guns in the 1988-90 drydock refit and went back to the beloved 40mm guns. If Missouri and the other Iowa battleships had become museum ships in the 1980s they would have been able to maintain their original WWII guns like the 40mm guns and Texas would never have been able to receive a single 40mm quad gun mount.

[@justicegear85]

That's pretty awesome!

[@anzac407]

I love the bofors

[@davidsike734]

There are a half dozen on the Battleship Texas which you can operate.

[@dirtyaznstyle4156]

Are they all original to the ship?

[@davidsike734]

@@dirtyaznstyle4156 I have no reason to believe otherwise.

[@Legitcar117]

@@dirtyaznstyle4156 the originals from Texas were removed when she went into reserve in the late 40s. However, when Missouri was refit in the 80s the bofors from her went to the battleship Texas

[@dirtyaznstyle4156]

@@Legitcar117 cool, I’ve only seen quad bofors mounts that were no longer on deck. That’s awesome they’re actually from another battleship, the last one commissioned in fact. I always thought it would have been fitting to have restored the Missouri back to its WWII state before making it a museum in Pearl.

[@1LEgGOdt]

I saw the video when these guns were fully restored to firing condition. Honestly, what would have been nice to see are young US Sailors being trained on this system to show them how far the US Navy has come as well as to give them a sense of better understanding what their responsibilities are to the ships that they may be station on upon completion of their training.

[@patricklundstrom8376]

The only reason to go to New Jersey.

[@MenGamer127]

Exactly

[@avenger6944]

Bofors guns = Swedish quality engineering.

[@darylcheshire1618]

I understand they are still used on RAN patrol boats for scaring illegal fishing boats. Probably more effective than a machine gun. My recollection is quite a few years ago so not sure about 2021. I know they are primarily an antiaircraft gun so I don’t know if they use different shells for ships and the like.

[@brianbranson2306]

fully restored? do the electrics work ??

[@Orca19904]

I have a deactivated 40mm practice round from one of these guns; it's about the same length as my hand and forearm from my fingertip to my elbow.

[@KPen3750]

It would be cool to have 1 4-round blank clip in all 4 barrels and just let rip

[@cuffzter]

I know right. Firing off one shot at a time as they do in the clip does not at all make service to the rate of fire it was capable of. But I can also understand the high cost it would mean.

[@djmoo1984]

@@cuffzter At the reduced charges that they are loading the shells and firing the gun at, it doesn't even recoil. Without recoiling it would not eject or load the next round, without them manually operating it how the yare in the video.

[@devinspielman3748]

I know blanks give a nice puff of smoke from the muzzle could one of these mount be made in to a propane pop gun and fire a taggin 40mm air soft round for a nice air burst of smoke to make It look like flak?

[@robertjohnson8938]

Cool

[@danielrocks3143]

Im just wondering do they also maintain the main gun? like live fire at least once a month or year?

[@BattleshipNewJersey]

Not the main guns. The 40mm saluting gun, bofors, and 5in guns do fire though!

[@johnbeauvais3159]

They explain in a video but 660 pounds (300 kilos) of powder were used in a main rifle shot and to make something that wouldn’t blow out windows would just be a pathetically small charge

[@Hiiiiii74]

@@johnbeauvais3159 Yes, it's about maintaining the dignity of the ship. Being too close to the 16" guns on the downrange side of the muzzle when they fire can injure or even kill a person with the overpressure. For a gun with that much power, I agree with Ryan that it's undignified to poof little pop caps out of it. It's unfortunate, but I don't expect to see a real charge put through any of these guns ever again, on any museum :(

[@kimfucku8074]

Nice! Hope you didn't had to comment all 400+ comments! 😄😄😄😄😄😄👍👍👍👍👍

[@scottieeasley4907]

I really thought for some stupid reason that they moved like automatic fast electronic. But you know

[@Shinzon23]

Why is the elevation so damn slow with the manual control?

[@BattleshipNewJersey]

We put a gear on it so the kids wouldn't break it. Its supposed to go faster.

[@Shinzon23]

@@BattleshipNewJersey ah, and so that the kiddies don't break their fingers and stuff if one is spinning the wheel and another is climbing all over the gun?

[@davidspencer8373]

Hay

[@finscreenname]

Did you all attach it to the deck or is it just sitting there?

[@BattleshipNewJersey]

It is just sitting on the deck.

[@finscreenname]

@@BattleshipNewJersey Thanks for the answer. Do you all plan on mounting it on a permanent mount?

[@BattleshipNewJersey]

It doesn't really need to be bolted to the deck, we arent in rolling seas anymore.

[@finscreenname]

@@BattleshipNewJersey I figured that but was thinking there was a mount or what was left of one where it would have sat just in case the Jersey did happen to leave the harbor one day. Thanks again.

[@BattleshipNewJersey]

The gun was removed in 1967 and all mounting points have been blanked over and teaked.

[@TineFangaming]

If without fire director and electrical boost it's difficult to rotate the gun

[@danquigg8311]

Difficult to rotate? Not at all. Either the North Carolina or the Alabama has - well, had when I visited - at least 1 40mm quad that was easily accessible from the deck. A firm push on the barrel was all that was need to rotate the entire mount.

[@mestreroberto1234]

O SELO PSICOSE RIO GB 1969 CT PARÁ DELTA 27 ESQUADRA BRASIL

[@D5quared91]

Still used on AC130 gunships!

[@skeletonjam]

not anymore

[@rasszistaarja2895]

Bananeeee

[@lonemaus562]

Quad 40mm shooting at you Jesus Christ that must suck