Why Do MASSIVE US Aircraft Carriers Have TINY Guns?

Aircraft carriers are the world's largest ships in the US Navy. And these are the guns on the ships... Why are they so small? When you look at Russia's aircraft carriers, they have much larger guns on their ships. The modern aircraft carriers of the US Navy are equipped with relatively small cannons in proportion to their size and capabilities. The reason the cannons are so small is not what most people think.
In the bygone eras of naval warfare, aircraft carriers themselves were potent warships, bristling with significant gun batteries. A prime example is the legendary USS Enterprise, which served with distinction in World War II. This carrier boasted eight 5-inch (12.7-centimeter) guns, designed for engaging both enemy ships and aircraft. These powerful weapons played a crucial role in the ship's overall defensive and offensive capabilities.
#aircraftcarrier #usnavy #cannon
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[@navyproductions]

Become a member and proudly bear the title of 'Navy Life Supporter'! kzbin.info/door/8Kz9iel6zpNoJ8oHMLiRnQjoin As a 'Navy Life Supporter', you show your appreciation and respect for all Navy Sailors. By becoming a member, you not only support this channel but also enjoy fun extras like unique badges and emojis, and your comments get the attention they deserve! Click the link below and proudly become a 'Navy Life Supporter'! kzbin.info/door/8Kz9iel6zpNoJ8oHMLiRnQjoin Let's share special experiences and stories in the comments under the videos. This is the chance for former sailors to reminisce and for everyone curious about life at sea. It's more than just sharing stories; let's together discover and share the fascinating and diverse aspects of maritime life. Let's strive to show the world how intriguing and complex the life of a sailor at sea can be, with all its challenges and adventures 💙

[@franz289]

U.S. carriers have a defensive dome made up of it complimentary ships. If carriers with minimal guns are used to defend itself, the defensive dome has failed. They all have Phalanx guns to protect them from guided missiles targeting the ship but even those should be last resort weapon.

[@ardeladimwit]

ahem, Russia does not have an aircraft carrier-- it has a floating roller derby for rollerblade hockey.

[@petebetz5358]

Leaves more room for airplanes and helicopters and missiles and stuff... Those guns may be small but they're accurate...

[@KRK5133]

Back in the early 70's we had nothing but the aircraft and the escorting vessels for defense. USS NIMITZ CVN68

[@Husky_Passion]

uss enterprise served in startreck against klingon, ty

[@steveneckard3649]

A war ship should always mount canons for close in defensive as well as offensive weapons. The idea should be of the newest and most effective design. As in the large canons offering tremendous destructive, deadly effect. particularly to a enemy vessel that has gotten too close for rockets, excetra. A small 5" canon would have little desired damaged and killing power as compared to a larger canon.

[@johndyson4109]

I think the last layer of defense for an aircraft carrier should be its BEST LAYER OF DEFENSE! It should be simplistic and controlled by human/computer-assisted weapons..

[@unclefart5527]

I wouldn't call a destroyer screen tiny guns.

[@ScottGSouth]

The Charles de Gaulle has defensive missiles on its side. I think US carriers should too.

[@ardeladimwit]

don't think size of gun is now so significant-- it's not 1930. Carrier chief function is floating airport, not cruiser, so only significant armor is close protection since carriers usually accompanied by other heavily armed vessels. Big explosives now come in small packages: MANPADs. Probably a blow dart with ricin is more deadly than a bullet if effectively used. Big doesn't mean effective.

[@ninjaundermyskin]

Grower's, not shower's. It works; my wife has never complained 😁😁😁

[@zill0678]

I think guns on aircraft carriers are sufficient and i don't see a real need to change the importance of guns for carriers for decades or even a century even with upcoming disrupters in future battlespaces. however I can see the return and maybe prominence of the battleship with big guns likely due to the marriage of drones and Realtime cyberwarfare in future battlefields.

[@thomassimanson4502]

Further more any infrantry posing a significant threat to any land invasion they have a capability of reducing casualties

[@rp1645]

When you have a cruiser and Destroy and sub always at your side, do not these vessels protect the carrier. With the fighter jets on ready alert or circle the carrier 😊

[@JoeBribem]

Aircraft carrier's vs older battleships, not exactly the same thing. Agreed, bombarding shores prior to land incursions might be valuable but we could do the same thing with B-52's.

[@billammann9807]

It all sounds logical to me. The priority of and on an Aircraft Carrier is the planes. Space for storage of supplies for the aircraft has priority.

[@user-bf5sg6wk5w]

Because they have a hole flet with them with big guns and a lot of fire power with the jets.

[@Ningbu.]

I wonder how this will defend against naval drones.

[@Shipspotting_Vietnam]

I am not sure if 300 rockets hitting the aircraft carrier at a same time, Can it still defense those strikes?

[@user-oo9vi1uw3c]

20000 of You On Here!!!

[@billanderson839]

If they get past the fighter jets, then the enemy has deal with subs and destroyers. That's what we had protecting the Nimitz when I was on it back in 1975.

[@pulutovito0073]

1:58 it's called close-in, not independent.

[@Acer_Maximinus]

“…it’s not what you think…” Turns out it was exactly what I thought.🙄

[@robertdestefano4619]

AND WHAT CAN THE CARRIER'S ALL ELECTRONICS DEFEND AGAINST AN E M P ATTACK AND THEN THEY CAN'T FIRE A SHOT ? 16 INCH GUNS MAKE A BIG BANG

[@paulespinoza974]

Because they have very effective countermeasures called 5th & 6th generation aircraft?

[@onemercilessming1342]

Why? They've got fighter jets armed with missiles to launch.

[@nightowlme]

Cant remember the idiot who said that about our fighter jets during the Vietnam war, or just before. We lost a lot of pilots because they only had missiles and no MG's or cannon's. Our own arrogance and stupidity loses us more people than our enemies cause it seems. Not saying this situation is different or the same nor am I calling you an idiot. lol Just pointing out something. :)

[@onemercilessming1342]

@nightowlme Be careful who you're calling an idiot. It makes you look more stupid than you think they are. You can't fight a jungle war using WWII experience in deserts and moderate climates. Furthermore, our politicians, our POTUS (Commanders in Chief of our military) are not highly trained in military strategy, nor are they really inclined to follow the advice of their underlings, the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Which is why, when those Viet Nam officers became flag officers planning for "Shock and Awe," they let the POTUS know in no uncertain terms they weren't going to engage in a war without a clear plan to a successful conclusion. Remember, Eisenhower had been allied commander in chief. Kennedy had been a mere Navy Lieutenant. Johnson had 2 years in the Pacific before Roosevelt recalled active duty legislators back to Washington in 1942. You can look up the others for yourself. Nixon had been assigned to a Naval station in Iowa until mid-July, 1943, when he begged for sea duty and was assigned to the Pacific Theater. With the exception of Eisenhower, their service is not at the highest levels of planning strategy for ultimate victory.

[@ronjones9447]

@@nightowlme the F4 I believe was built without a gun, I believe they did some kinda pod mount later on

[@nightowlme]

@@ronjones9447 Yes we eventually learned a lesson off that. Somethings we still do we should not. Like nation building. That doesn't work most of the time.

[@garyb7132]

I worked on the F4D, yes we used gun pods the E model brought the internal gun

[@stevenzawacki]

I wonder what the crew of USS Gambier Bay would have to say of your rationalization, er I mean presentation.

[@jrmotorsports5532]

They are always escorted and have plenty of aircraft to do the job.

[@Egalitare]

Prolly drones also, especially in the Persian Gulf operations 🤔

[@paulD1984]

How do you know what I think???

[@thomassimanson4502]

Of course any significant air force will proceed to attack on off shore target it's there worst threat

[@davkrod]

"world's largest ships in the U.S. Navy". HUH?

[@sethirwin1610]

The obvious is they don’t know how to shoot, look how many rounds they have to fire to hit a small boat. 😂😂😂

[@williamstockstill7730]

I'm sorry but the nuke carrier Enterprise never served in WW2. She was created in 1959 well after WW2.

[@rustywilliamson7140]

her predecessor namesake was indeed a vaunted warship of World War II. At the onset of World War II some carriers actually sported eight inch guns which were virtually useless for the reasons listed in the video.

[@justinegorski2703]

CVN - 65 and CV -6 are both decommissioned, CVN -80 is under construction. All are named Enterprise.

[@nightowlme]

I thought they had a few big guns on them!?!? Or am I thinking of WWII Carriers?

[@ronjones9447]

Mainly the WW2 carriers, I know at least the super carrier built the USS Forrestal in 1955 still had numerous 5 inch guns. Probably during a shipyard period she has them removed. The carrier still has in addition to the 70 or so in the airwing they have missiles for self defense as wells a few close in weapon system. Plus chaff and electronic jamming. Plus the escorts have long range as well as short range defensive systems

[@ronjones9447]

The USS Lexington and the USS Saratoga were both built with 8 inch guns, same size as a cruiser 😅

[@brolinofvandar]

@@ronjones9447 I was a radar ET on the Forrestal for her 82 Med/IO cruise and into Philly for SLEP. No guns when I was aboard, though it appears she was built with 8 5"/54 gun mounts, same as the single gun mount on the Knox class frigate I was on later. We had BPDMS (Basic Point Defense Missile System), or Sea Sparrow. As I understand, after SLEP the BPDMS systems were replaced with CIWS. Defensive systems. The carriers offensive power is the air wing. There's a reason you don't see carriers steaming solo. And, when they are actually operating and not setup for a photo op, they aren't clustered together as you see in a lot of pictures. From the carrier point of view, the escort ships (frigates, destroyers, etc, or "small boys" as they're called), are out at the horizon, all around the carrier. With one ship tailing behind the carrier in "lifeguard" position. Then, you'd usually have an AWACS stationed out at the edges of the radar coverage provided by the escort ships. So, you've got radar coverage for 100s of miles surrounding an operating carrier. I find it interesting that these videos seem to imply that carriers are using missiles for defense, yet all the missile launchers you see are on destroyers and cruisers, etc. Unless something has changed, it's the escort ships that have the missile launchers, not the carrier. That's why they're there. There was saying that went around when I was on the carrier. The mission of a carrier in time of war is to get all the planes in the air. Once. Anything more, is gravy.

[@brolinofvandar]

@@ronjones9447 The Sara was a Forrestal class ship. It was 8 5"/54 guns, not 8" guns. The same gun mount we had on the USS Vreeland FF-1068.

[@ronjones9447]

@@brolinofvandar talking about the WW2 carriers

[@pjp7259]

You mean Russias ship?? That doesn’t even move?

[@omarbaba9892]

Oh wait it can with the tugboat😂

[@user-xe8zj6rc3o]

russian aircraft carrier still afloat?

[@viktornagtangol]

heheh

[@james_the_darklord]

You can carry more ammo for a regular gun compared to missiles which you can run out of it. Russian carriers are configured to fight alone that's why it has a lot of fire power while US carriers need escort ships to defend itself due to weak defensive armaments

[@lawrup]

First

[@navyproductions]

💙

[@dangal9366]

Same reason big pickup truck owners have tiny guns?

[@jeffs4817]

Tiny radar operated guns that fired a 1000 rounds a minute or more. Let's see a get through a barrage of that Mr. Hi IQ

[@ap6878]

They can fit more fire power, so no fit it

[@ap6878]

Makes no sence