Inside A Rotating 16 Inch Gun Turret

Welcome inside Battleship IOWA's Turret 3. We had six cameras running on different decks within the turret when we rotated it on June 30, 2023. You'll see four of those angles in this video. (We're saving the other two for special features.)
Want to see what it looked like on deck?
Part 1: • Turning Turret III Aft...
Part 2: • Turning Turret 3 After...
Turning the turret was the result of months of hard work and research by our team, as well as input from Iowa Class battleship veterans. We make it look easy, but it's most definitely not.
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[@lexington476]

Can you folks do a video on what kind of work had to go into making the turret able to rotate?

[@BattleshipUSSIowaLosAngeles]

In the works. =)

[@CelticKnight2004]

@@BattleshipUSSIowaLosAngeles I'm looking forward to this video too! A few other museums (Notably New Jersey!) have stated that it's not possible to provide power to that motor. You guys have obviously figured it out! I'm super interested in the 'how' lol.

[@tombowers3681]

@@CelticKnight2004 I agree, I"ve seen USS New Jersey's video about why they can't move their turrets, essentially there isn't enough shore power and the ship no longer makes it's own power, so how did IOWA manage it?

[@grafspeem9402]

​​@@tombowers3681probably by having enough shore power 😊

[@tombowers3681]

@@grafspeem9402 LOL you're right shoulda thought of that. Honestly Ryan from the USS NJ made it sound so daunting and so impossible that I just wrote it off. Still what an amazing thing to see.

[@phillipbouchard4197]

Nothing more impressive than a 16" gun turret training from port to starboard. Having been on a Firepower Tour last November on board Battleship Massachusetts I was able to visit many of the same areas you just showed in your video, also in Turret #3. Climbing down into the left gun chamber was a tight experience but nothing as impressive as seeing the rotating levels on Iowa and how effortlessly the turret rotated. She appears to be in great shape for an eighty year old ship. Hat's off to all Iowa crew and volunteers for making this happen !

[@robertweinmann9408]

My family and I did a Cub Scout sleepover about 15 years ago on the Battleship Massachusetts. Fantastic experience. They have (or had) one turret fully restored and we were able to explore it all the way down to the powder deck.

[@mindeloman]

Eat your heart out, Ryan Szimanski ❤

[@2AToday]

Best comment here!!!

[@fire32njetta]

Next week it will be “today at USS NJ we’re going to load and fire a 16” gun”

[@williamdavies8151]

HAHAHA nice one!

[@williamdavies8151]

Send him a link!!!

[@andrewmorton3177]

I’ve just returned home to Scotland after a fantastic family holiday in the LA area & top of my attraction list was to visit Iowa, which we did on the 2nd of July. Absolutely gutted that we missed the turret rotation by 2 days! 😩 However we all loved the tour & you should be very proud of her condition & what you’ve achieved 👏🏻👏🏻 Keep up the great work & many thanks.

[@BattleshipUSSIowaLosAngeles]

Thanks so much! You wouldn't have seen it even if you'd been here on the 30th. Because we weren't sure how it would go (or if it would even work), we kept it very quiet. There was just a small group of people - most of whom had been involved in the effort - on hand to see it in person.

[@mikebrzostowski8183]

Absolutely beautiful! These battleships are so impressive! Thanks to all those that help keep them preserved.!

[@kevinmoorejr.9418]

@Battleship New Jersey, now it's your turn, start up the engines!

[@seafodder6129]

BZ's to all involved. I shudder to think how much work went into making that happen!

[@repairrestoreandrebuild8974]

Pretty amazing, even today, what they built 80 years ago! Thanks for showing us!

[@67Stang]

That was impressive. I have always been interested in battleships. Wanting to be on one was one of the reasons I joined the US Navy back in the late 80s. Of course I was not assigned to one sadly. I did get to see the Wisconsin underway steaming to Desert Storm and coming home. That was very cool. Thanks so much for sharing this and continuing to save these important parts of our history.

[@ErukanuSenpai]

YES! I was waiting for this ! Thank you folks! :D

[@DirkDiggler6903]

Fantastic!

[@VKiera]

I love the sound, such a awesome feat of engineering. I'm looking forward to the video showing the work done to get the turret moving.

[@hond654]

Impressive. Most impressive.

[@BB.61]

Awesome!

[@raoulman1]

Hi, thank you very much for sharing. The Iowa class is beautiful, you should make more videos like this to show the inrernal functions.

[@DavidSmith-cx8dg]

Amazing to see all the levels move , a great way to present what is a significant achievement . It would be interesting to see the work and preparation that went into making the turret move .

[@BattleshipUSSIowaLosAngeles]

Working on the work and prep video.

[@jerryw7359]

Awesome, I can't wait until a tour is available to see this in person.

[@patrickspeer2990]

Pretty cool, I was on the New Jersey from 1988-1991. I never got to se the interior of a turret with power being turned. I was in 5th Deck Division, then became a Gunners Mate in G4 Division, so I was always in the 5inch gun mounts

[@Gunstar1986]

Super cool to watch. Amazing to see the turret working. Going to be even more amazing when the Museum staff start shooting the 16" guns too in a couple weeks. 😉😉😉 Come on you know you want too.

[@BattleshipUSSIowaLosAngeles]

@@Gunstar1986 😂😁

[@deathhawk81]

BATTLESHIP IOWA COMING BACK TO LIFE!!!!

[@pasad335]

WOW, WOW, WOW!!! That's incredible!

[@steveskouson9620]

I'm just wondering if Ryan (BB62) is upset, because his turrets are welded shut. I'm very glad these Iowa class Battleships are still around. steve

[@MayaPosch]

Actually, as Ryan recently discovered, the turrets on NJ are in fact not permanently disabled, but just have a few brackets welded in place. That means that with some tender love from a cutting torch and sufficient shore power, BB62 should be able to have rotating turrets too. All despite those spoilsports at the Navy :)

[@jonathanbaird8109]

In that video, Ryan made the bold assertion that it was IMPOSSIBLE for any battleship, now or in the past, to train their turrets under shore power. Even if those pieces of metal weren't welded onto the turret pins, they never would have attempted this because he didn't believe it could be done.

[@samgray49]

​@@jonathanbaird8109 I'm guessing they have a transformer near by to do this.

[@eherrmann01]

That sounds really cool. Great job folks!

[@Atfarley442]

the equipment was made to last, i am not surprised that the equipment is still fully functional. Decommissioned but still stored in a manner to protect the equipment.

[@DrunkenSmurf]

BZ! Excellent job getting her rotating again, and on preservation/restoration. I'm pretty sure the jerking is due to power fluctuations, as I recall gun ops put a lot of load on ship's power.

[@Someguy6571]

Those turrets weight like about as much as a WW2 destroyer yes? I can only imagine the sheer amount of electricity that is needed to rotate them.

[@amandahugankiss4110]

Heavy machinery is on it's own level. Love this stuff. :)

[@Mountain-Man-3000]

This is amazing!

[@swordfish1414]

Awsome job it’s really great job you are doing

[@markwhittington5020]

Great video. Mind boggling to think what it took to build this colossal precision piece of machinery. Thank you for showing us how great we once were. Speaking as an engineer. I do not think this nation has the ability to build something like this anymore. Sad that we have to turn on ancient machines to see how great we once were.

[@BattleshipUSSIowaLosAngeles]

Thanks, but ancient??? We're not exactly the Sphynx over here! 😂

[@MarioHernandez-dp3lz]

We are still great. Unfortunately our hands are tied due to OSHA regulations and safety. Explorers and pioneers tend to throw caution out the wind. No disrespect to OSHA. They keep things safe because people now a days trip over their own feet...

[@theTopsailChannel]

Amazing to think about the mass of rotating objects

[@richhoule3462]

Awesome!!! Great job!!

[@haljames624]

Thank you.

[@pedenharley6266]

Magnificent work, y’all. Thank you.

[@nmccw3245]

Oh yeah! Remarkable work crew! 👍🏻😎

[@larryward1082]

It's amazing gigantic size of the gears the weight of all of it it's just it's almost mind-boggling

[@HarryFlashmanVC]

A huge thankyou to the channel. Over here in Britain there are many of us whose grandfathers, great grandfathers and great great grandfathers served on the Battleships and Battlecruisers. Your channel, New Jersey and Texas, gives us an idea of what life was like for them on these leviathans. Its tragic we have no surviving museum Battleships especially that they couldn't save Warspite.

[@kuehnel16]

THAT WAS SO COOL 😎

[@Hillhouse1956]

Wonderful to see thank you,

[@eb17816]

Well done.

[@lennyerwine1507]

This is incredible! Getting all this operational again was no small feat. There are so many interdependent things involved and it was probably very expensive. You can't just go to harbor freight and get all the tools you would need or get the parts yourself from granger. We literally had a full time machine shop with at least 20 guys (I knew a few of them) that did heavy duty (and I'm talking HEAVY duty) metal fabrication for stuff like this. I would love to go see this. I visited the USS new Jersey once, and it was pretty much gutted out, compared to this.

[@jim2lane]

Yes, the Iowa and Missouri were allocated monies by Congress to maintain them in deployment ready condition for an additional ten years after retirement in the 90's, and it certainly shows when you tour them. In regards to the New Jersey, that ship has several times the wear and tear on it than the other three.

[@Nariko96]

it is soo Cool that the Turret Works again!

[@Gendos_Iz_Tallina]

Кораблю почти 90 лет, а узлы и агрегаты всё ещё работают!

[@Donavin0]

Thanks for putting the video up on my birthday the is Donavin Johnston on my mom's account cause everything is on this account but my thoughts are that things have to be kept some what operational so the mechanical mechanisms on the ship last for generations to come cause if you let things sit too long they will degrade over time and cause more problems that you don't want to have that is why my thoughts are that things should be kept semi operational so they do last for life keep up the good videos also my grandparents are no longer around they in a safe place now which is heaven but I still have my mom and me and a new father soon so when I am with my new father and family with my mother I will come by and spend a visit to see what has gone on From what I was last there when my grandpa and grandma were alive can't wait to see the progress of how far away from the ship was restored too.

[@SgtFluffytheoriginal]

Next you need to go into the void on the upper projectile deck and show all the rollers that move it

[@BattleshipUSSIowaLosAngeles]

Shh. Don't spoil the surprise. (We did!)

[@SgtFluffytheoriginal]

@@BattleshipUSSIowaLosAngeles I left my name in there

[@BattleshipUSSIowaLosAngeles]

@@SgtFluffytheoriginal We saw Jon, Frog, and what looked like Car in there. Didn't go much past the hatch - didn't have time. PM us your real name. When we get a chance, we'll see if we can find it and send you a photo. 😃

[@J-1410]

Sounds like at the beginning there was air in the system that worked itself out towards the end.

[@eddiekulp1241]

Battleship alive , great work

[@johnlee8523]

I cant wait to see the follow up video!!!

[@jhorn928]

Cool seeing it move! Would love to know more about the hard work it took to make this happen!

[@BattleshipUSSIowaLosAngeles]

We're working on it.

[@_CAT-lg4sr]

I couldn't even imagine what it must have been like being anywhere within that area when that gun goes off. I'd be terrified!

[@ApolloTheDerg]

Boilers and sea chests next please 😂 Now wouldn’t it be cool to have her on her own power able to take on the seas again. I’ll keep dreaming but great work so far!

[@lukedavies8467]

Can’t wait to go visit the USS Iowa

[@PaulusN-p3m]

It's amazing they were able to design and build these gigantic machines without computer aided design, only using slide rules and drawing each detail by hand!!!

[@michaelimbesi2314]

I think it smoothed out towards the end because by then it had rolled enough to really distribute the grease across all of the rollers.

[@fko1]

This is so cool.

[@gasengineguy]

Awesome

[@gdownz1044]

So Inspirational ✊ Fantastic Job 👍 Are you also working on the gun elevators or is that not possible? You guys must be very Happy & PROUD 💯

[@BattleshipUSSIowaLosAngeles]

We can raise and lower the guns manually and it's not all that hard. We're good with that for now. Lots of things (painting, for just one example) have take priority over getting the powered system running. =)

[@ColKorn1965]

Love❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@mikep5027]

You guys are ready to go while the New Jersey is still welded up.. just kidding.. love both channels..

[@jaysson1151]

I’ve always wondered if there was any dangerous spots within the turret that could potentially crush someone if they weren’t paying attention while the turret was rotating. It looks like it’s pretty safe. Carrier decks on the other hand… you GOTTA keep your head on a swivel!

[@BattleshipUSSIowaLosAngeles]

Keep in mind, though, that everything is empty right now. When they were doing this with the turrets fully loaded, projectiles would've been lining the bulkheads in the shell decks. Gets pretty tight in there and if you're poking your head out of the machinery areas, you could end up having a very bad day.

[@jaysson1151]

@@BattleshipUSSIowaLosAngeles wouldn’t doubt it!!

[@Albe3331]

I served on the USS Forrestal in 71 as a FN Damage Control. The sounds of the stem powered arresting gear is all I had to tolerate as they ran thur my berthing compartment. A friend and neighbor served on the USS New Jersey in Vietnam. After 20 years as a navy gunner he couldn’t hear well at all.

[@billmelater6470]

I never thought of the noise when thinking what it would be like in those spaces when it was moving.

[@LRiper]

I’m sure one day you will make the whole ship moving.

[@michaelnaretto3409]

Massive torque for sure

[@ASH-cb5gy]

😊Amazing👏👏👏Seems that the old Lady was built for Eternety👍 Very Good Job!!

[@jerrywalls2123]

I would love to see it in person

[@lucieleimbach]

Went through the USS North Carolina. It was amazing. Oh and Charlie the gator lives there. He’s their mascot. 🐊⚓️

[@BCoFD510]

Oh god here we go

[@bryanslater8740]

I hope that they keep the ones we have and have them ready if needed before they are gone for good this is my opinion only .

[@watchmestress4182]

And somehow all that steel is floating

[@bighairyfoot1217]

..Hail To Tha Yeah! and Wow!..

[@U.F.0.]

Amazing! Thanks for sharing

[@AmericanThunder]

These ships are in very good condition still.

[@JohnFarrell-jo2sw]

I think the curator of the New Jersey,Ryan just says you can’t move the turrets and says there’s not enough shore power because of the work involved in energizing the equipment needed to operate it without powering up other equipment and because the navy probably doesn’t want the turrets to move which is why they welded the pins in place

[@MrYfrank14]

I thought the movie battleship was Hollywood fantasy . Getting the Mighty Mo's boilers up to full steam and into combat in just a few hours. Now I'm starting to thing you guys could do it with the Iowa. You could probably even pull away from the dock at flank speed!

[@BattleshipUSSIowaLosAngeles]

🤣 Appreciate the vote of confidence.

[@MrYfrank14]

@rob1248996 - You have no idea what you are talking about. They did it in the movie . They got the boilers on a museum ship up to full steam in just a few hours, found shells for the guns lying around on the dock, cut the anchor chains, and left the dock at flank speed and saved the world. Here is video proof of the Mighty Mo leaving the dock at flank speed. They even had the band AC/DC on board. m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/jnndk4yPob2IqMk&pp=ygUKQmF0dGxlc2hpcA%3D%3D

[@MrYfrank14]

@rob1248996 - No, the crew of retirees and Navy destroyer crew and a Japanese Naval Officer on the Mighty Mo saved the world. And a disabled member of the armed forces with two artificial legs wrestled a giant lizard person on the ground. AC/DC only provided the music while they were getting the museum ship ready for war . Also, as you see in the video, they correctly called the mighty Mo a boat, not a ship. Everybody gets that wrong .

[@BattleshipUSSIowaLosAngeles]

@@MrYfrank14 Totally tracking the sarcasm. 👍

[@BattleshipUSSIowaLosAngeles]

@rob1248996 Yeah, but... kzbin.info/www/bejne/bpLPf6uCn6h1gMU

[@ozymandias1758]

Would love it if the turret could be rotated a few times a year on special occasions for guests and special events❤

[@BattleshipUSSIowaLosAngeles]

Not sure we'll do it too often (80 year-old equipment can't be fixed if something breaks or wears out), but we'll turn it again at some point.

[@SonOfAB_tch2ndClass]

Need a mix tape of all of the Iowa class sounds

[@deandynamite1672]

It would be great to keep at least one of these awesome battleships on active duty service.

[@American_Jeeper]

That is just beyond cool. I know even if it could it will probably never be rotated, due to sacrosanct reasons, but is Turret 2 still able to rotate?

[@BattleshipUSSIowaLosAngeles]

We don't know for sure, and as you noted, out of respect for the 47 and their families and shipmates, we won't even consider rotating it.

[@earlmcclure9814]

Great video and what a piece of history these Iowa's provide for us....God Bless all who served on the these marvelous ships...

[@patriotic80]

These ships can still fight. This should be done on a regular basis on on all 4 Iowas and the gears lubricated . The veterans need to write a training manual for the navy and for museum including maintenance and operating procedures for boilers as well.

[@yanni2112]

I was an MM but GM always interested me.

[@htroberts]

so many questions: does the turret rotate at a single speed? or was it much faster than this in combat? how does the fire computer know the relative bearing of the turret? are you going to show a video of the power & maintenance work you did to prepare for this? how about showing the operator? does the middle ring of the shell deck rotate independently? (I don’t see a separating line in the overhead on this video…)

[@BattleshipUSSIowaLosAngeles]

Great questions! Keep 'em coming! We'll get you answers as soon as we can. Will knock one off now, though: the outer ring remains stationary, the middle ring turns with the turret, and the one closest to center can rotate with the turret (as it does here) or independently. You can see that here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y6Hdn2qvh9Bor8k

[@dr62220]

That the way way they move in non combat. When fire control is active, those turrets move with speed. They are searching right, left, right left, fast. Lock on , fire. Been their. ect BB-62 1967

[@divarachelenvy]

fascinatng.

[@STiGuy]

Now to get all 3 to do this, not just Turret 3 solely. Can u imagine the shock & awe factor for special events/ceremonies if all 3 turrets could turn broadside & elevate to 45 degrees for example.

[@htroberts]

well, #2 probably won’t…

[@STiGuy]

@@htroberts unfortunately you are correct. While Turret 2 was repaired to an extent after the incident to the point that I’m pretty sure the turret will rotate, it’s been permanently sealed forever. In order to rotate it, I believe they’d have to get inside the turret to do some basic maintenance (hydraulic fluid, grease bearings, etc) which again cannot be done as the turret is sealed. And should stay sealed honestly. No one has been in it since 1989. There is zero photos of what #2 looks like inside since the incident. And it should stay that way. Would be nice if it could rotate though. Even if it itself remained sealed

[@SomeRandomHuman717]

@@STiGuy Just search this channel, there are videos from within Turret 2.

[@BattleshipUSSIowaLosAngeles]

@@STiGuy kzbin.info/www/bejne/eoHbhnuQd8qCZ7s

[@fnkoffroad9300]

@BattleshipUSSIowaLosAngeles Were any changes to the shore power setup or coordination with the power company needed when the turret was moved? Would be awesome to see a video on all the work that went in to making this possible.

[@BattleshipUSSIowaLosAngeles]

We're working on it.

[@sierraone9181]

No music wonderful 👍 did you operate it from electric deck controls?

[@IamJunius]

It takes a boat laod of electricity to operate a turret, How did you manage it on just shore power?

[@Damen178]

I yearn to ride the forbidden merry-go-round.

[@backho12]

Wondering how the gear backlash is compensated?

[@Adamu98]

New Jersey is to have to one up this somehow. The question is how.

[@terrybrann730]

That is really cool, however where are you getting the power from to operate the Hydraulic Pump to turn this massive turret.

[@BattleshipUSSIowaLosAngeles]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/d6W5i2OrlL2gpck

[@jonbaker3728]

OK, if it takes 8 shore lines to power that single motor, how much power is that in total? Which also then makes me ask, how much electrical power could a battleship produce?

[@Seresh-j8m]

I have a question about that phone in the projectile hoist. Is it connected to other parts of the ship or just that specific turret? I would assume just the turret because of the cabling you'd have to manage on a rotating turret, it might be easy for something to get pulled or cut as the turret turns.

[@BattleshipUSSIowaLosAngeles]

They were absolutely amazing about cable runs and about having phone systems connected both within the turrets and with abilities to contact other areas. Everything's protected because they knew the kind of stress the equipment would be under.

[@Sutho81]

What are those bollards on the upper and lower projectile decks? Are they meant for some sort of manual rotation with loss of power by use of ropes and muscle power?

[@wheels-n-tires1846]

Those were used with rope and muscle power to move the projectiles to the hoists

[@markdi2]

Is this the actual speed that it would have rotated at when it was powered by the ship

[@jimfleming3975]

Well, now that you can rotate the turret, what can't you elevate & lower the main guns electrically?

[@BattleshipUSSIowaLosAngeles]

Don't really need to. Would take a lot of effort to restore that system and we can do it fairly easily manually. The time, effort, and money are better spent in other areas.

[@cb2000a]

Built in the days when things were built to last.

[@Hey_MikeZeroEcho22P]

Y E S !!!!!! The INSIDES of 'T3'!!!! Take from me.....person who has worked, though briefly, on the "GUN TOUR".... Come By the IOWA and see some M O R E stuff related to the 5" gun to the 16" gun!! NOTE: We ONLY take Guest into the 'Gun House' of T1 ONLY.

[@BattleshipUSSIowaLosAngeles]

We're doing them on weekdays now, too - just book in advance! pacificbattleship.com/experiences/

[@Hey_MikeZeroEcho22P]

@@BattleshipUSSIowaLosAngeles THANKS.....Edited!!!

[@BattleshipUSSIowaLosAngeles]

@@Hey_MikeZeroEcho22P You rock! 😎

[@hahaha9076]

Sticks and stones to this. 30 years ago. What comes after trillions?

[@pauldormont4470]

What are the bearings like for these turrets and how many sets are there?

[@BattleshipUSSIowaLosAngeles]

Just one set. They're huge. Stay tuned. Video coming.