How to Build a Battleships Main Guns - Is a Bigger Battery Better?

[@Drachinifel]

Claim your 30-day free trial for MagellanTV here: sponsr.is/magellantv_drachinifel Hear the voices of those who were actually there in 'Remembering Pearl Harbor', 'The Last Voices of WW1' and many others. Also - Pinned post for Q&A :)

[@RichardFraser-y9t]

Its always nice to see the construction techniques of guns through history. What was the largest gun planned for ship use that was planned but not necessarily built or used?

[@RaptorBeast7]

What are some never built ship designs that you think had the most potential to be good designs? I understand this may be difficult to answer since you can only hypothesize so much, but I was curious if this was something you've ever put some deep thought into.

[@ar4040smith]

I believe I asked this already, however, I don't believe it has been answered yet. What was , in your opinion, the first modern naval gun? Also, could we possibly get a Wednesday special about it's development and influence? Thanks Drach

[@bkjeong4302]

Is there any truth to the idea Nimitz criticized the Japanese for not attacking the PH fuel storage facilities, and if true, why did he not realize that naval bunker oil isn’t that flammable or that the fuel was stored in reinforced concrete tanks, making the fuel storage far harder for the Japanese to damage with available munitions than the “missed opportunity” narrative claims?

[@gabrielcoelho2346]

Hi Drach. I don't know if my armchair general stance makes sense but here it goes: I find it confusing that land based and ship based artillery isn't shared. I know that the germans had 9.4 inch railway guns that were taken from their pre dreadnoughts. Would it be feasable to mount 155 mm NATO guns into a ship to make the modern version of a treaty era light cruiser?

[@TheCaptainbeefylog]

Now I know everything I need to build my own naval guns. I'm off to the shed!

[@ndenise3460]

There is a guy on KZbin that fast his own cannon, however yt? Gave him strikes because he was building fyre arms

[@Brommear]

Have you considered hoe a shed would re-enter the atmosphere?

[@dougjb7848]

Is your name Geoff, or Derek?

[@TheCaptainbeefylog]

@@dougjb7848 nope.

[@The_ZeroLine]

@@ndenise3460YT is the worst.

[@Scribbles_proud]

Drach, whenever you ask the question "should I do a video on the finer points of........", I can 100% guarante the answer is always yes, YES, A THOUSAND TIMES YES! Congratulations on you new arrival and great video as always.

[@Compulsive_LARPer]

Lol, I was about to make a very similar post. "Should I do a video on th-" YES PLZ

[@Colonel_Overkill]

Yes. Just yes.

[@petesheppard1709]

Don't bother to ask, Drach. Just do. 🙂 Thank you!

[@thanielsibula6189]

Yes! Please do. 👍

[@Cokecanninja]

He could make an hour long video on a single type of light switch in a fishing boat and I'd watch it

[@BlaBla-pf8mf]

For the second voyage of HMS Beagle, famous for its influence on geologist Charles Darwin ideas, captain FitzRoy equipped the ship with brass guns at his own expense so they wouldn't interfere with magnetic instruments. His purchase of brass guns from Rio de Janeiro in 1832 shows that they were still relatively popular even at that date.

[@gasperpoklukar8372]

Brass, not bronze?

[@davidaustin1276]

Brass is cheaper and less malleable than bronze due to the high zinc content, the malleability is what made bronze so forgiving and the choice for quality artillery.

[@abyssaljam441]

You beat me to the fact!

[@carloshenriquezimmer7543]

​@@gasperpoklukar8372 well, it is not clear. Those two words were used interchangeably for quite some time, even after they became oficially what we know today. Expressions like "red brass" or "white bronze" were common, meaning modern bronze and arsenic bronze, respectivelly Only after 1900 we can say for sure, if they say brass is made of copper and zinc. Bronze in the other hand is still meaning every tipe of bronze, be it alloyed with tin, lead or arsenic. After lead and arsenic became oficially banned from household utensils and building materials (70's, I believe) it became mandatory to describe what was in the bronze, if was not tin. That is why we should never eat or drink from antique bronze utensils; you could be ingesting lead.

[@riograndedosulball248]

One can think about how many thousands of guns, stemming from some centuries of European warfare, eventually wound up in South America. Historically the Iberian powers dumped everything in excess/obsolete there. That's how Portuguese pieces from the XV century were still guarding minor coastal fortifications into the late 1800s. Or how a Spanish piece from 1640 was captured amongst the Paraguayan guns in the siege of Uruguaiana (1865)

[@kai990]

Dear Drach, would you please do a video on the electrical systems of war ships in general and their history?

[@scooterdescooter4018]

::featuring special guest: USS South Dakota.::

[@m.streicher8286]

I love this video concept. It's a highly understudied part of naval history.

[@WhySolSirius]

This would definitely be an interesting watch.

[@crabmansteve6844]

Absolutely this.

[@Firebolt193]

The electrical engineer in me would adore something like this

[@coldwarrior78]

As an engineer, I must compliment you on taking a very complex subject and presenting it simply enough that my wife actually listened. A very thorough and comprehensive look at a critical aspect of naval warfare.

[@PaulLoveless-Cincinnati]

Here here!

[@FlipsGTS]

Finally someone that does it right. No overuse of music, no artificial drama inserted, or rambling like sugarhyped 12 year old. Very pleasent and informative video…

[@b1laxson]

I like big guns I can not lie. You other sailors can't deny. When a ship sails by with itty bitty guns its not a threat. You wanna be rough you pull up in a tough. Cuz they notice when the barrels are thicc!

[@dukenukem8381]

We gonna need a bigger gun

[@Optrixx]

I knight thee Son of Sir Mix-a-Lot O.G. hahahahha good one!

[@RCAvhstape]

My rangefinder don't want none unless you got gun hon!

[@misterangel8486]

Well..this comment made my day 😂👍 thank you.😎🍸

[@stickemuppunkitsthefunlovi4733]

Feed the guns, tuppence a day. Tuppence, tuppence, tuppence a day.

[@LaPabst]

Great job, I am a Machinist and have been for decades... We still use some of these techniques to this day to produce very high pressure hydrologic and air cylinders for the military.

[@davefellhoelter1343]

I tested this stuff and passivated and O2 cleaned, also did CNG hydrogen compression with Cryo, had time in forges, foundries, and presses as a pre and teen, had mechine shop in my auto and wood shop, this is Machanic PORN for me. I love the "smell of a" machine shop, foundry, forg, or refinery? WD 40 is my aftershave smell of chioce.

[@BilgeDweller]

I had a machining background when I was young, but then I spent 41 years as a marine engineer. The fascination with how parts are made is still strong, and I'd_love_to see a step by step instructional on just how the Welin interrupted thread breech assembly is made.

[@LaPabst]

@@BilgeDweller Its not magic, it's actually caveman science. That's why it survives, plastic boxes full of sand (chips and electronics) will never live anywhere near as long as the hammer in your toolbox.

[@glennsimpson7659]

You can see how expensive and specialised the gun making machinery was. So when a lot of it was scrapped after WW1, it was hard to reconstitute it in the run up to WW2, at least in Britain. For example, the 70 foot deep pits needed to assemble the guns and to cool them with oil (rape seed oil if I recall correctly) and the 70 foot long lathes and boring bars had to be recreated before any gun making could occur. Armour manufacture was similarly affected, which is why the belt armour for Duke of York was ordered from Czechoslovakia (and was got out by rail just before the Germans took over in Prague).

[@nathanredder7325]

Why was so much gun making machinery scrapped in the interwar years? Was it because of the treaties and construction holiday?

[@theapexsurvivor9538]

​@@nathanredder7325presumably it was very expensive equipment that was seen as more valuable being sold off or scrapped to recoup the various costs incurred during the war, and with WWI being "*The* War to *End All* Wars" there was a feeling in the parliament that keeping wartime manufacturing facilities was unnecessary and a waste of budget. Either way it was probably a case of the higher-ups who never once left their secure offices deciding something positively stupid that no sane man, woman, or child would consider wise...

[@PixelmechanicYYZ]

Tom Scott (The Older One) from the Battleship Texas has a very detailed video on the process of building Texas' 14 inchers. He deep dives into every single hoop and ring used as well as the assembly order. Very interesting!

[@robertlian2009]

Thanks for mentioning Tom Scott. You beat me to it. 😊 His videos are great!

[@CharlesStearman]

There is an amusing story about one of the M-class submarines having the muzzle of its 12-inch gun blown off during firing trails - the muzzle end remained attached to the rest of the gun by the wire winding, which unravelled as the muzzle part sank to the seabed, leaving the submarine anchored in place by its own gun.

[@waverleyjournalise5757]

"Sir, there's a problem with the anchors" "Why do you use the plural, seaman?" "That's the problem, sir now we've got two of them!"

[@fzyturtle]

This is Poseidon's idea of a combination exchange program and practical joke.

[@brucefelger4015]

the liners of the 16" 50's on the Iowas, actually unwind, getting slightly longer with every shot fired. They start out flush with the muzzle, but gradually they get longer as the rifling is slightly unwound from the inertia of spinning a 2700 pound shell.

[@marvthedog1972]

good way to know when it's time to reline the barrel

[@magnemoe1]

I assume this is common for battleship guns. As I understand none of the main guns was relined after they was reactivated for the Korean war. Granted they was doing shore bombardment so you used reduces charge unless range demanded it and the HE shells was lighter than the AP ones. It was also titanium powder I think added to the gunpowder who drastically reduced barrel wear on large guns.

[@rootbeerpoptart]

I remember watching a video from New Jersey about a giant gun circumciser

[@timkohchi2048]

Wrong they are NOT “wound” so they cannot unwind. They twist and deform plastically.

[@matthewbutt2340]

​@timkohchi2048 thanks for the unnecessary clarification

[@RayBecker]

Shipmate, I really like when you come over to America. I had gone to "A" School in Virginia Beach and there were a couple of chaps from the Royal Navy. Those guys were awesome! The way they carried themselves was impressive. We actually learned from them as well as the school Instructor. So, I will always have a fondness for anything from Britain and the Royal Navy in particular.

[@Nords1982]

Years ago, i worked at a welding shop. An old timer would secretly build mini cannons that would shoot golf balls. The only difference was that he would use oxyacetylene gas to fill the chamber in a small hole for a couple of seconds, strike torch, and flame in hole. Bomb 😂

[@MrGlossyEdits]

Pops had a story about a guy who'd prank people by filling a brown paper bag with acetylene n placing it under their welding table n waiting for a spark to catch the bag. Got a bit frisky with the amount of it one day, n Ole boy sparked it off lifting an 800lb weld table 2-3ft off the ground, cracking the concrete on the way down. Poor guy shit his pants.

[@sattercaster1]

I live in Pocatello Idaho where we have a huge building where WW2 gun barrels were made. Inside are huge cranes, and a gigantic kiln large enough that train cars can enter, and there are train tracks running throughout the interior of the entire complex. It's been empty for decades, and in the late 80s my friends mother was the administrator for the entire park, and he worked there for a summer, so we got to explore the whole site.

[@brianswelding]

Back in the '90s my small team had to go into U.S. Steel (which is essentially its own city) on the lakefront of Gary, IN to inspect buildings in the decommissioned WWII plant. There was a lathe which was itself a huge building like you said, railroad tracks leading into it, gantry crane above, etc. Still sitting in the lathe was a battleship barrel. Tooling was still engaged in the piece and everything. As if somebody said, "Hey, war's over" they hit the E-stop button and everybody went home. The locker room was literally a time capsule with all kinds of personal items left behind by the workers. Definitely one of my coolest memories ever. If I try to explain how big everything was to people they totally think I'm exaggerating. But yeah, I came down to the comments to tell this story and I saw your comment so I don't feel so alone anymore 😅

[@GudrezBilly]

I didn’t know Pocatello had that!!

[@donwall9632]

Thanks for sharing guys, Id love to explore areas like these.

[@mhmt1453]

Any video you make is good for me! It’s interesting… and hear me out, I’m 58. I’m probably at least a couple of decades older than you, and although I’ve been something of a WW2 historian since I was around six years old, I have learned so much through your channel. For instance, until I became a “fan,” I never really understood the practicalities and/or conventions of warship guns. I never considered the tonnage or spatial budget necessary to construct a battleship or battle cruiser, so I often wistfully thought, “I wish the US would’ve made 18 inch guns.” It hadn’t occurred to me that that the weight of these and their barbettes were impractical for a ship that a) had to transit the Panama Canal, and b) needed the requisite speed to keep up with the fast carriers. By now, I think I like the 15 inch guns ships like Valiant had as much as the 16” 50 cal. guns of the Iowas, knowing that while not having the range of Yamato’s guns, either could certainly put holes in her just the same. Only now do I get the balancing budget of propulsion vs. armor. vs. armament. *you might appreciate this: several years ago I bought a cabin cruiser and fully intended to name her “Warspite.” Unfortunately, my girlfriend at the time hated that idea, and so I had to settle for “Rhiannon” (yes, like the Fleetwood Mac song). A decade on and she is gone as well as the boat, but I remain undaunted. If I ever get another boat, not only will she be awarded the name of the great battleship, I intend to fly the white ensign from her mast.

[@abercrombieblovs2042]

If I ever purchase a screw steamer and refurbish her, rest assured that the Kaiser's naval jack will be fluttering proudly from the stern. If we pass each other by, I will make sure to get on the radio and say, "There appears to be nothing wrong with your bloody ship today!"

[@genreynolds6685]

I don’t think you can legally fly the White Ensign on any ship that isn’t a King’s Ship. It is reserved in Admiralty Law for the Royal Navy. By all means name her Warspite, though.

[@mhmt1453]

@@genreynolds6685 I was gonna ask if that was legal. Something told me the Royal Navy had some rule or other about that.

[@Jpdt19]

​@@mhmt1453they do tend to be rather firm about it. You should manage a red ensign however if that was acceptable.

[@torsenlabs21]

As someone with a background in engineering and physics, this has been one of my favorite videos you have released. Thank you for doing more in depth peices like this.

[@hugodesrosiers-plaisance3156]

You've just kept me fascinated for a whole 39 minutes, on a subject I had zero expectations about. Superb material. Cheers.

[@blauskie]

The scale and technical details of battleship guns, as well as numerous other modern devices, stagger the mind.

[@Thom3748]

One of your best videos… I had a number of questions over the years about how these large devices were manufactured, and you gave a complete history of the development of big guns. Very nicely done.

[@stevenslater2669]

My father worked in a Philadelphia defense plant from about 1943-‘45. He machined 16 inch 50 caliber gun barrels at Midvale Steel. I should say my dad’s job involved machining the outer surface of the and rough boring of the inner diameter in preparation for fitting of the rifled sleeve. He said that other than mounting of the rough forging and initial machining for the (Huge!) steady rest, the work was fairly routine and not very taxing. Unless - the engineers had fiddled with the metallurgy again. Then he would get very busy with a lot of help from the engineers trying out different cutting tools, feeds and speeds. My twin brother & I were only a couple years old, and what I remember the most was when he came home from the graveyard shift, he always had a package of Campfire Marshmallows in his shirt pocket. We’d hug & kiss him, then grab the marshmallows, take them back to our room and eat them in bed. We were really bummed out when he left that job toward the end of WWII.

[@garbo8962]

I installed a micro film machine at the old Midvale Philly.plant back in 1973. They closed in 1976. My dad worked for the Frankford Arsenal before WW2. think they made most of the small rounds used in WW2. PHILLY was a large military supplier. phila, naval yard, Camden ship & Hog Island ship, Frankford Arsenal, Midvale steel and the two.large Budd company all toll probably employed close to 75,000:workers during WW2. unfortunately all closed up.

[@thomasfx3190]

I had no idea that naval guns had a liner for the rifling!

[@PaulLoveless-Cincinnati]

Very cool story!

[@kpdubbs7117]

I am just starting this vid but I can already tell it's going to be a blast!

[@danasmith3288]

Drach, Having worked in foundry with ductile and gray iron, I appreciate your talent in making a difficult subject made easy. Very well done.

[@Kevin_Kennelly]

Brilliant. Bravo. My favorite type of video is when you focus on a particular technology and it's evolution. 31:52 "the world's biggest and messiest slinky" And yes....please go into the finer details. Annealing, Quenching.

[@mossowski96]

Nothing helps your mood in the morning like waking up to another rum ration with Drach. Speaking of which, an episode on heat treatment of gun and armour steels would be very much appreciated.

[@weaponizedautism6589]

I would definitly love a video that goes more in depth on battleships armour design and what kind of advantages and disadvantages certain armour designs offered. Would be interesting to see some experimental armour scemes be covered as well if there are any.

[@robertward7382]

I think, think my grandad may have been involved making these. He worked on a very long lathe in a Sheffield steel works connected with making big guns.

[@busking6292]

That was probably the Atlas works which I think was part of the group that contained John Brown's shipyards in Clydebank

[@crichtonbruce4329]

Thank you so much for this one Mr. Drach. I've been hoping for you to do this topic for a long time, particularly including info. on the re-lining of guns. Your skills as a teacher and presenter are second to none.

[@melissamiranti4858]

I would like to hear about the forging process in more detail! I love it when you go into metallurgy stuff, since that's so far outside my experience that it's all new to me. I've listened to you talk for so many hours, and I could listen for so many more.

[@bradgolding6847]

What a great video! As a former tank gunnery instructor, I found this utterly fascinating, many thanks!

[@thedevilinthecircuit1414]

Fascinating stuffas always! When heating steel for an interference 'press fit', the general rule is it contracts .001" for every 1" of thickness when cooling. Which means these huge sleeve fits need to be machined to *extremely* precise tolerances.

[@Token_Civilian]

Yes, on the armor / steel vid. As for this one - great stuff. The illustrations with all the nomenclature for the various bits and pieces were super helpful. Reading those terms without a visual - screw box liner, locking ring, etc, made it hard for me at least to visualize where, exactly, those were. Now I know. Thx.

[@causewaykayak]

He has a vid on making armour

[@JuStsme0nE123]

I've been hoping on more engineering video's ever since the naval boilers video, and I've really enjoyed the armor one too. So yeah, please do a deep dive, those are my favourites on this channel!

[@michaelkinsey4649]

My Grandfather was an engineer and said he was involved in making the guns for Nelson and Rodney; said they used deep wells full of whale oil to cool the vertically-lowered heated steel barrels.

[@Jpdt19]

Fabulous

[@phil6506]

Whale oil be hooked.

[@earlofeastwood777]

ROF Nottingham !!!

[@wwlb4970]

It's actually amazing that we have people who heard something like this from their own ancestors who played a part along famous names

[@Tadesan]

Scooping out whale oil from a whales head by hand has got to be one of the grossest jobs ever.

[@spockofdune8657]

I never leave home without my Drachinifel

[@sharkman2857]

What do you do on days when he doesn't post?

[@BeefSupreme115]

​@@sharkman2857 Cry.

[@animal16365]

Q&A. How did the manufacturers of wire wound guns anchor the ends of the wire??

[@StepSherpa]

I wonder if it's almost like a spring where the first winding is essentially a band

[@thewheelieguy]

Weld the end into place as an anchor

[@Vicus_of_Utrecht]

Sperm.

[@cleveland2286]

For those who haven't worked with cast iron before, to say it "explodes" when it fails would be a bit of an understatement. Cast iron is so extremely brittle that it doesn't bend at all, it fragments into very small pieces and chunks. A gun of that size would be like a bomb going off if it ever failed - and it would do so without warning. An extremely painful and gruesome death is about the only result for anyone near it. It makes sense that even though brass in such large quantities would be exceptionally expensive, they would be willing to use it.

[@Colt45hatchback]

My only experience comes from what may be cast iron or cast steel, unsure as the term seems to be a bit interchangeable at a laymans level, but i have experienced the aftermath of an engine block dissasembling itself when at high rpm the bearing on the big end of the conrod decided to slip over the other half of it and then lock the conrod in place, causing the rod to break and smash through the side and bottom... Engine bay had dents and a few schrapnel holes, as did the oil sump. Amusingly, this one old toyota engine refused to straight up die from this, and still semi happily ran on the remaining 3 cylinders and minimal if any oil, well enough that i could drive it off the trailer, about 100mtrs to my shed and then into the shed for a replacement engine haha

[@kevinrayner5812]

@@Colt45hatchback My metallury is very rusty, excuse the pun, but isn't steel up to about 0.8% carbon. Cast Iron is 3 or 4% carbon. Melts at a lower temperature and flows very easily. Very strong in compression but useless in tension. OK in engine blocks but some crankshafts were also cast iron.

[@Colt45hatchback]

@@kevinrayner5812 you're right im fairly sure, thats why im fairly sure the block is cast steel as its mostly under tension (holding both the head to the block, and when combustion occurs, the lower half of the block to the top half when the rotating assembly wants to move downward and the cylinder head wants to move upward

[@andresmartinezramos7513]

@@kevinrayner5812 The carbon content by weight of steel ranges between 0.02% and 2.14%. Past that point it is considered casting iron. Beneath, pure iron. At approximately 0.8% you find the eutectoid point of carbon-steel alloys, the resulting steel being almost completely composed of pearlite. Under 0.8 you will find crystals of of both pearlite and ferrite, over that there will be both pearlite and cementite. Over 2.14 you have cast irons, characterized by the presence of ledeburite.

[@kevinrayner5812]

What is steel above .8% used for. If .8% is tool steel are their tool steels greater than .8%

[@brerobsym]

Drach, you could give a dissertation on the chemical process of drying paint, and I would watch it! Love your descriptions and detail, keep it up. ❤

[@markustorma4210]

I would really love to see a video on how the overall loading process of big guns evolved after breechloading started to happen. Few details were available in this video already but only for the last 5mins. Want more! Metallurgy videos also will never fail to catch my attention

[@randylewis1310]

Drach - this was a fantastic episode! As someone who has spent their entire career in the forging industry, it was fascinating to see all the old photography and equipment and some metallurgical explanation of methods used to make these barrels in the 19th Century. Very enjoyable and thank you!

[@gleisbauer25]

The battle for Dybbøl Banke in 1864 (although except for Rolf Krake‘s tries to change the outcome exclusively a land battle) showed the differences between classic muzzle loading guns and rifled breeches loading guns. Suddenly the range of the muzzle loaders wasn’t enough and the rifled guns fired over a body of water, previously thought to be to wide to shot over it.

[@GrahamHill-oz1bu]

happy to listen while i snooze to Drachnifel as i trust your narrative and sometimes it is a priceless tutorial about my special interest with full attention. Subscribed and those gun barrels: never knew some composite ones were supported by miles of wire: there's the picture evidence. Many thanks Sir!

[@ditzydoo4378]

Watervliet Arsenal (July 14, 1813 - Present) is the place where "The Big Gun Shop," for manufacturing missions. This gun shop once produced 16-inch guns and many other weapons for the United States Army Coast Artillery Corps. were forged in a huge vertical forge. They still make the nations cannon barrels for such as the US Army's M-109/M777 howitzers.

[@genreynolds6685]

Excellent video, Drach. Spoked bicycle wheels are built using the same principle as in 17:45. The spokes are brought to high tension which produces compressive stress in the rim, which “shrinks” ever so slightly. As the wheel rolls under the weight of the rider, the spoke at the instantaneous bottom unloads from the compression but must always remain in enough residual tension to prevent it, and the wheel, from buckling in flexion. All spoked wheels are compressive structures but wire spoked wheels exploit the high strength of steel in tension to bear compressive loads. Pneumatic tires, first used on bicycles, are similar to gun barrels also.

[@Thetiersofmadness]

The last time I was this early, HMS Captain was still afloat

[@alexmoskowitz811]

The last time I was this early, guns were being cast in bronze

[@sirmalus5153]

The last time I was this early, guns still fired stone balls.

[@6idangle]

Last time I was this early rome had a large navy

[@neilwilson5785]

34:01 I was going to go to bed but now I need to get the slide rule out and determine the relative properties of traditional vs wire wound guns. Thanks for the homework Drach!

[@billwit7878]

Tensile stress causes barrels to crack. Adding residual compressive stress will cancel those tensile stress. The reason for press fitting sleeves over the barrel was to add compressive stress at the barrel bore.

[@GarretTheGussy]

Yes I watched the video too

[@DM-h2h77f8gh]

I read an article several years ago going into great detail on how U.S. Navy guns were made, which mentioned an alternative to creating the inward pressure called "auto-frettage". From Wikipedia: "...a bored monoblock tube is filled with hydraulic fluid at pressures higher than the finished gun will experience during firing. Upon release of hydraulic pressure, the internal diameter of the monoblock tube will have been increased by approximately 6%. The outer portion of the finished monoblock rebounds to approximately its original diameter and exerts compressive forces on the inner portion similar to the separate cylinders of a built-up gun." It also mentioned that sometimes grit was added between the tubes of a built-up gun to give them more of a grip on each other when they were being shrunk together. The shrinking process for assembling built-up gun was particularly interesting: a hole was dug in the ground deep enough for the gun, the tubes were lowered into it standing up, first the inside one, then the next one (still hot) over it. Then a hollow ring suspended on wires with spray jets on the inside and oil hoses attached to it was used to spray oil over the outside tube from bottom to top, so that the breach ends of the tubes would shrink together first and so on up the gun to the muzzle ends. For a 16 inch 50 caliber battleship gun the hole would have to have been about 70 feet deep - the height of a 7 story building! I believe I read the article on the NavWeaps site, but unfortunately I wasn't able to find it again to post a link to it here.

[@billwit7878]

Also, cast cannons had a method to increase residual compressive stress at the bore surface, they did this by circulating water in the bore so that solidified first. This progressive solidification outward helped reduce tensile stress at the bore.

[@andersjjensen]

That you've managed to get 34 upvotes by quoting the content almost verbatim is bewildering...

[@wierdalien1]

​@@andersjjensenpeople are inpatient

[@kenworks6068]

Your focus on the practical engineering and operation logistics is appreciated

[@oleran4569]

I've been hoping for this one. Yes! A deeper dive would be appreciated.

[@The_ZeroLine]

Thank you. I had zero idea how these guns were actually built and assembled prior to this video.

[@magellantv]

Well, this was an incredibly enlightening video. Thank you!

[@charlesburns1572]

I'd absolutely like a video on hardening, cooling, quenching, etc. This was a great video though. I don't think I'd ever before seen an image of a wire wound gun barrel that had failed. Thanks for all the thorough work and research that goes into these videos.

[@shinjiikari1021]

Well, this is extremely useful for my life's goal to re build the hms hood.

[@davidg3944]

"Yes, please!" on more discussion of the metallurgy and manufacturing of naval weapons. Even being modestly knowledgeable on the subject due to my decades as a mechanical designer, it's always interesting to hear experts viewpoints.

[@d133710n]

Build better gums with Drac Brand Toothpaste

[@johnserrano9689]

I'm sorry, that wasn't toothpaste sir, as Drach only offers a line of "severe hemorrhoid ceam" and "Donkey Dong Anal Lube"

[@haytorrock3312]

Build better Gnus with Drac brand Ungulate breeding program.

[@greenseaships]

As a rule, I never trust British toothpaste...

[@invadegreece9281]

@@johnserrano9689a

[@Pamudder]

I would love to see more information about the process of machining guns to required tolerances and the huge machine tools required.

[@PAULHWARREN]

I nominate this as Drach's most interesting video yet -- AWESOME!

[@robdgaming]

Thank you so much for this detailed yet digestible explanation of both methods of making 19th-20 century large naval guns.

[@mikebrase5161]

The size and sheer numbers of Naval Guns pumped out during the American Civil War is pretty amazing. As far as non Naval guns a machinist friend of mine built in his shop a 12lb Whitworth. That thing is super cool and super accurate.

[@davidharner5865]

'America' is two continents, not one country. Do you mean U .S.? U.S. has never had a Civil War. Do you mean the war between U.S. and C.S.A.?

[@Shinzon23]

​ @davidharner5865 thou art overthinking this, and if there was nay a "American Civil War", explain why that name comes up for thine conflict....

[@mikebrase5161]

@@Shinzon23 he's either a Troll or being willfully stupid

[@davidharner5865]

You are aware that many people believe incorrectly that they live in a Capitalist Democracy named America, correct? I Am NOT overthinking, words have meanings.​@Shinzon23

[@davidharner5865]

​@@Shinzon23postscript: you would make a better impression if you were to text in grammatical English!

[@dovahgamer9689]

Never thought that all the stuff i had to learn as a technical designer would help me in understanding gun construction.

[@minklmank]

Much as I'd love for Drach to suffer through the agony that is solid state metallurgy (as a Chemist I have strong feelings in this regard and I still hold one of my professors advice: "Stay away from the witchcraft that is metallurgy - there are no rules, no sense and no joy to be found") But I'd really love to see a video talking about the History of autoloading naval guns, cause if imagine that some pretty weird ideas floated around there

[@jp-um2fr]

I worked for the British MOD as a Design Draughtsman from an n 'Oik' to Chief Design Draughtsman. I was fortunate enough to be put under a chap who had worked at Woolwich Arsenal at London for many years, both before the war and after. It was through him, I ended up 'God'. He lent me his over 2" collection of how they built naval guns. You missed 'auto fretaging'. I'm sorry if I spelt that wrong, but Google doesn't even know what it is. You also missed the testing. An armoured concrete and steel 'mushroom' with a central pit extending into the ground fired up to 16" guns vertically. I often wonder what an A380 pilot might say. They don't like it 'upum'. It was an honour to know Bob D, a Scott.

[@Jpdt19]

Thanks so much. Are you able to expand please on 'the mushroom?' What did this involve? 24:54

[@KuTee]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autofrettage

[@lexington476]

31:54 we totally need a picture of said slinky 🙂.

[@MarkoDash]

that *is* a picture of said slinky

[@TheMrFrukt]

I personally enjoy the deep dives (pun not inteded) into the technology of battleships. So another video on the nuances of steel processing for sailing purposes would be very appreciated! Thanks!

[@pork_cake]

I know it's outside your wheelhouse Drach, but it would be incredible if you could make some content on the history of machine tools, you are uniquely qualified for it!

[@mpetersen6]

All machine tools start with the lathe. Not the metal working lathes we know today but more akin to a woodturners lathe. Clickspring has a video on just what the first precision lathe may have been like. I would love to see a video on just how the multiple step and possibly multiple lead interrupted threads of the naval rifles like the 16"50 on the Iowa's for example where cut.

[@AugmentedGravity]

I'm all here for a metallurgy video!

[@richardw2566]

"Should I do a video on the finer points of: (fill in the blank)" Please do and the sooner the better. Congrats on the new arrival. Bravo Zulu!

[@f-xdemers2825]

That is the type of subject that grabs my attention and sustains my interest. Very informative. Thank you.

[@admiralcraddock464]

At 23.30 you mention excess gun barrels would often be ordered for possible future use, these being kept in stock ashore. Back in the very early eighties, before it closed, I did some wok in the Woolwich Arsenal MOD site. I was told they still had several very large naval gun barrels stored away in one the numerous wharehouses. Thse would never have been used as the type of ship they would have been fitted to had long since gone. I should imagine that no one in authourity was bothered to organise the neccessary paperwork and allocate the funds to dispose of them, so they just lay there gathering dust until the site was eventually cleared a few years later.

[@Jpdt19]

Hopefully these ended up in the museums in Portsmouth. Thanks for the story.

[@brianomdahl3682]

A fine day to you, Drach! Just a simple master carpenter here and may I state lasciviously this was the most fricking mother fracking coolest cork lapping resulting in a spent old carpenter due to this presentation I’ve been privileged to experience in many many days. For me today, fantastic stuff. Thank you thank you. 🥳

[@tomhath8413]

It's worth visiting a museum ship to appreciate how big those gun barrels are.

[@sarah_757]

Yes I'd love to know more about all this stuff! Metallurgy is so neat! What kind of preventative maintenance cycles did these guns have? Some PMs frequently, some only every so many years or firings. I know from experience how the navy loathes sailors relaxing while their systems aren't in use. What other duties did these sailors have when not in battle?

[@stefanlaskowski6660]

Fascinating stuff, but I'm also eager to see the video on propeller development.

[@nathanstanley7002]

Would love to know all about annealing, quenching, and all the finer details. Love your videos

[@michaelholt8590]

Bigger guns are always better. It's how I win every argument with my boss at work. My arms are bigger, so I win. Doesn't matter that she is 57 years old.😂😂😂

[@leroiarouf1142]

😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@snigie1]

Equal rights and lefts!

[@MrGoesBoom]

Checks out

[@gorbalsboy]

No ,it doesn't ​@@MrGoesBoom

[@DrVictorVasconcelos]

​@@snigie1For most people, the left is smaller than the right.

[@raimohansen9407]

What an excellent channel! Thank you immensely for this top notch presentation! Yes I would LOVE to see additional deeper dive content on metallurgy/annealing/heat treatment etc!

[@ypaulbrown]

It would be wonderful to have a discussion on steels and hardness treating....thank you, Paul in Florida

[@randomentity6553]

YES on the deeper video, but I have a request - Welin breech manufacturing. While I am familiar with the manufacturing techniques, and the specialty lathes, I'd LOVE a Drachinfel video with your narration and unique insights. and if you could find footage of it being done, I'd be very thankful.

[@RobertCraft-re5sf]

Wow. I never knew about the wire-wound guns. Very cool!

[@ChristopherEisele]

Excellent, well-detailed explanation of the overall process. I have seen many era-specific films of the manufacturing process, but they tend to focus on the pressing and hammering portions of the process. I have seen operational footage which demonstrates the different breach lock aproaches, and it is easy to see the difficulties of using sliding locks with large guns in them. I was aware of the sleaving process, but I thank you for providing insight into the winding process, of which, I was not aware.

[@johnfisher9692]

Thanks Drach I have been waiting for a video about how Battleships guns were made. This was so informative. I can only imagine that building ever bigger guns is far more complicated than just repeating what you are doing and just making it bigger, the stressed would have to be finely calculated or as you say, bad things happen. Does baby Drach need a plushie naval gun to go with her plushie shell?

[@pacomb]

What a great video!! Congratulations. So well described. I am looking forward for a second video with more interesting details of the process

[@uranium_beaver]

When energy situation in Kyiv was absolutely disastrous I spent all online time trying to keep up with job. The only way to watch entertaining content was caching it and watching it offline in a dark cold room under several blankets. Roughly 2/3 of my phone memory was filled with your content. So, please stop asking questions like “should I dive deep in minuscule aspects of designing building and operating of warships?” **YEAS** that’s why we all are here. Thank you for your excellent work.

[@uranium_beaver]

@ZaHandle Well it started again but at least it’s summer now and most people are more or less prepared. Like my ISP’s switch now has DcAc and a battery.

[@irishwind1971]

@21:39 GTMO's 'Ole Droopy' was caused by USS Monongahela burning to the water line. Not from internal heat/forces.

[@pedenharley6266]

Drach, thank you for this video! A great explanation. I’d love to see more about the evolution of mountings.

[@Saffi____]

There is a factory near my home in Pocatello, Idaho that used to make battleship guns. It was recently bought and renovated for another business.

[@Idahoguy10157]

I know the Pocatello naval gun factory relined naval battleship rifles. Then tested them. Did they forge them in Pocatello?

[@Dreadnought16]

I truly enjoyed your video, the narration was very detailed allowing me to understand some of the manufacturing process and the accompanying photos were a perfect match to visually comprehend the scale of these monsters...thank you very much!!

[@razor6888]

As always ..., excellent Drachinifel. 🙂

[@lestergillis8171]

Illustrations were excellent. Narrative was easy to understand.⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐.

[@RakkasanRakkasan]

There is a documentary about the Annapolis navy yard and the gun factory. The gun's on the Iowa class were the biggest they could make. To go bigger they would have to build a whole new gun works it is impressive to see .

[@Harrier42861]

To be specific, they were the longest - a experimental 18"/47 was made.

[@RakkasanRakkasan]

@@Harrier42861 oh my question please I have heard mind you that they talked about equipping the Montana class with everything from 18 to 20 inch guns. What more to you know about that 18 inch gun ?

[@keithagnew5934]

Yes please do the video on heat treating. Quenching, annealing. Thankyou. Regards Keith.

[@Emu0181]

I remember from reading about the Manhattan Project that prior to it's use as a fissile material, uranium was mostly used in glass making (uranium glass) and in gun barrels. I always assumed that it was an alloying metal, but what properties it would add? Hardness? Or was my assumption wrong and it was used in some other capacity altogether?

[@willarth9186]

Nothing is better with my morning coffee than finding a NEW Drach vid on my computer!

[@nickthompson9697]

I would enjoy a video on metallurgy.

[@alexdunphy3716]

He made one for armor metallurgy

[@richardschaffer5588]

That’s like asking for a video on geography or chemistry.

[@cookiecraze1310]

​@@richardschaffer5588he already did a video on the metallurgy of armour though.

[@davidharner5865]

Absolutely! My most desired video!

[@henrikoldcorn]

I’ve wanted this video since I started watching your channel, and this is exactly what I wanted, although of course as you ask at the end - more detail = yes please!

[@ashleyobrien4937]

So we all know how a slinky works, you take the top end of the coil and plonk it down on a lower elevation and the rest leaps out and follows suit. So, imagine a giant battleship out just off the Mariana trench, a giant wire wound gun explodes and immediately dumps the still connected barrel overboard, the sailors look at each other wild eyed ....."get to the fucking life boats !!!!" lol....

[@SynchroScore]

As an old-fashioned manual machinist, it is really neat to see that giant ingot from Bethlehem Steel. Now, that was the process for making just about any item out of steel at the time: Melt your pig iron, burn off the carbon in the Bessemer Converter (an egg-shaped vessel with an open top and air blown into the bottom), add the precise amount of carbon and alloying elements, and pour it into a big mold. The ingot would solidify, the mold stripped, the ingot set in a soaking pit to reheat it to an even forging temperature, and then go to either forging or hot-rolling. The 'knob' at the top of the ingot would be torched or sheared off, as that was generally where the impurities and gas would accumulate. Even today, the ingot process is still used for large items that will be forged, as forging will generally give superior results to casting; the forging aligns the grains of the metal in ways that strengthen it.

[@panzer_ace_107stankdivisio8]

“Bigger is always better” That’s why I use a 120mm CIWS battery to defend my aircraft carriers from incoming hypersonic threats. Edit: I spelled CIWS wrong :(

[@Hirosjimma]

Ahh yes a Close Weapon In System :p

[@alexdunphy3716]

​@@Hirosjimmawell to be fair, if the weapon is in your system then it's probably pretty close by

[@finscreenname]

During the Vietnam War, the battleship USS New Jersey experimented with a special propellant mix known as the “Swedish Additive.” This compound included titanium dioxide and wax and was designed to enhance the performance of the 16-inch guns. It was later adopted for all four Iowa-class battleships when they were reactivated in the 1980s and basically made the guns have an infinite life (no wear) due to the mix coating the gun barrel as each time it was used. Basically, the round didn't come in contact with the barrel (just the coating) so there was no wear to the liner.

[@robertlian2009]

No that’s not really true. While the Swedish Additive did greatly extend the life of the barrel it did not give the gun barrels an infinite life. When the center gun of turret 2 on USS NEW JERSEY was replaced in 1984 the barrel wear had about 60% life remaining. It also had gas wash pockets in the liner which made it unsafe to fire as the liner could have cracked causing a round to get stuck in the barrel. I forget the exact numbers but the elastic life of the barrel was about 5000 rounds and originally the liner life was about 250 rounds in WW2. The Swedish Additive extended the liner life to about 4000+ rounds. Hope that clears things up. Bob Lian Turret 2 Officer USS New Jersey 1981-1984

[@davidharner5865]

Thank you very much!

[@Jpdt19]

​@@robertlian2009thanks v much for chiming in sir!!