Oh..... 'Hotel Alpha', & 'G-man'.....not the Best looking firing position, but Hey...... what can I say if I'm directing these guns ...... By Radar!!! Mike Zero, Roger Out. Pobog, good seeing a video of y'all in the early days!!!
Base ring mounts with integral hoists had a nominal rate of fire of 15 rounds per minute per barrel; however, with a well-trained crew, 22 rounds per minute per barrel was possible for short periods. (thats faster then it sounds)
I had to have a laugh at that. It was like, "Did I do that?" lol. Looks like you ram the round into the breach the same way I had to on the M1 and M1A1 Abrams.
We all laughed at that too. It's so funny to hear Chief Rich say off camera "I think they already know..." The firing procedure we use is NOT the way the gun operates normally. There, a can is placed in the tray, and a 55 pound projectile placed in front of that, then the gun captain (projectile loader) hits a chrome lever and the "spade" rams it all into the gun and it fires. We do it full manual (obviously no bullet).
Yeah, you can hear the cheers outside, and you guys are like: "Wait, what? Was that us?" That was quality. Thankfully no one was injured. Thanks for the info. So the 5" guns operated in the same principle as the main battery in that the projectile was separate from the charge.
Great question. Yes they were radar controlled and when in that mode actually moved rather quickly. The 5-inch/38 is often called "the gun that won the war in the Pacific." During the war the proximity fuze was invented and was absolutely devastating. A plane was disassembled in flight. The volume of AAA from an Iowa class ship was impenetrable. You could not fly an airplane through it. You tried, you died. End of story. Period. The director for these guns is the Mk 37, it has had several versions of radar over the years. Lots of good info here... www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_5-38_mk12.php
I worked with an old timer who said the opposite! lol He was a fire control electrician. He said the 16” guns gave a nice “heavy reassuring report”, but he said, you didn’t want to be on deck when the 5” guns were firing, they were more of a "hard percussive crack”.🤷🏻♂️
@@mr.e8432 Exactly! My GQ station was in a 5/38 mount initially when I reported aboard New Jersey in the eighties. It was terrible! Later on, I was reassigned to the powder flats in turret 3. I was much happier!!
Probably, they trained for such things. This was interesting because what we thought was a gun malfunction, turned out to be in reality, perfect function. The fault was soft pistol primers.
Yes, on 21 Feb 1944 in combat against an enemy air attack USS Alabama's 5 inch secondary gun mount No. 9 accidentally fired into secondary gun mount No. 5, killing 5 and wounding 11.
That was the first slam fire we ever had. The right gun still does that sometimes, but it's not a safety issue at all, just if you are not expecting it, well, you end up looking like a deer in the headlights like Hal does.
I do not recall the exact event, but this is from about 3-4 years ago. We fire Mt. 56 (port side, farthest aft gun) several times a year for special events. The gun is trained to 270* relative, elevated to about 25*. The load is 2 pounds of black powder in each barrel. The harbor channel is about 900 feet wide at that point, with Evergreen container terminal across the way. Very nice boom with good echo.
Actually, in the U.S. the 5"/38 is often referred to as "the gun that won the war in the Pacific". It arguably was the best medium caliber gun of the war, and a direct descendant of it is the Navy's main gun today.
This is one of the earlier shoots we did. Hal (starting the camera) can be a little twitchy sometimes. None of us were Gunners Mates, other than our teacher, Chief Rich USN (Ret.) Me, Chief Rich, and one other guy are the only ones out of 8 or 10 people who served. Chief was a Gunners Mate, I was a boiler tech, and the other guy was actually Army artillery. We strive for safety and practice a lot before a shoot.
Why comment if you have no clue what you are talking about? Ah, I see.. you wanted all of us to know who the real joke is.. good job, gold star for you.
Don't worry it happens to the best of us, especially after 70 years.
You are naughty .... haha
Oh..... 'Hotel Alpha', & 'G-man'.....not the Best looking firing position, but Hey...... what can I say if I'm directing these guns ...... By Radar!!!
Mike Zero, Roger Out.
Pobog, good seeing a video of y'all in the early days!!!
Base ring mounts with integral hoists had a nominal rate of fire of 15 rounds per minute per barrel; however, with a well-trained crew, 22 rounds per minute per barrel was possible for short periods. (thats faster then it sounds)
Yep. Do the math on 22 per. That is one guy (the gun captain) personally throwing 1210 pounds in 60 seconds. That's a LOT of work...
The Iowa needs to sell "Big Bang Gang" merch, I'd buy
I had to have a laugh at that. It was like, "Did I do that?" lol. Looks like you ram the round into the breach the same way I had to on the M1 and M1A1 Abrams.
We all laughed at that too. It's so funny to hear Chief Rich say off camera "I think they already know..."
The firing procedure we use is NOT the way the gun operates normally. There, a can is placed in the tray, and a 55 pound projectile placed in front of that, then the gun captain (projectile loader) hits a chrome lever and the "spade" rams it all into the gun and it fires. We do it full manual (obviously no bullet).
Yeah, you can hear the cheers outside, and you guys are like: "Wait, what? Was that us?" That was quality. Thankfully no one was injured. Thanks for the info. So the 5" guns operated in the same principle as the main battery in that the projectile was separate from the charge.
Yes, though remember, the 16's are what's called "bag guns" and the 5-inch are "semi-fixed".
could the dual purpose 5'' guns be trained and fired by radar? And how accurate against aircraft of the day were they?
Great question. Yes they were radar controlled and when in that mode actually moved rather quickly. The 5-inch/38 is often called "the gun that won the war in the Pacific." During the war the proximity fuze was invented and was absolutely devastating. A plane was disassembled in flight. The volume of AAA from an Iowa class ship was impenetrable. You could not fly an airplane through it. You tried, you died. End of story. Period.
The director for these guns is the Mk 37, it has had several versions of radar over the years.
Lots of good info here...
www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_5-38_mk12.php
"We should probably tell them that was us" "I think they know who it was"
That was Chief who said that. Funny as hell...
Don't forget to go in the 1 MC and sound General quarters with a bugle make sure you make it No Drill
Whoops..lol
At least nobody got hurt.
There goes downtown LA.
Almost. That way is Catalina.
I liked the story on the five inch. they never get credit
My uncle said he didnt like the 16 inch guns, so they put him in the 5 inch. Said the 16 inch shook the whole ship. Ww2
ya blew the cotton out of my dads ears ,he maned the 40 mm in ww2
I worked with an old timer who said the opposite! lol He was a fire control electrician. He said the 16” guns gave a nice “heavy reassuring report”, but he said, you didn’t want to be on deck when the 5” guns were firing, they were more of a "hard percussive crack”.🤷🏻♂️
@@mr.e8432
Exactly! My GQ station was in a 5/38 mount initially when I reported aboard New Jersey in the eighties. It was terrible! Later on, I was reassigned to the powder flats in turret 3. I was much happier!!
@@mr.e8432 Yep. the 16's boom, the 5's bite like a pit bull. Icepicks in the ears.
around 3,000 crew to man this battleship
Yes, in WW2. Korea was around 1500-1700, the 80's 1300-1500
Not much to see, but as soon as the breech engaged the round went boom.
Turns out to be primer that are too soft...
I always wonder that will the breach cut your finger when you loading the round.
Finger? The breechblock will take your arm if it can. You simply DO NOT put any body part at all inside the chamber, not ever a quarter inch.
@@jamespobog3420 Thank you for your reply Sir, stay safe!
I see that a easy gun to shoot when close to a ship
Don't forget, the way you see us operating the guns is NOT the way it is done for real.
Did such "oopsies" happen in real situations, with real rounds?
Probably, they trained for such things. This was interesting because what we thought was a gun malfunction, turned out to be in reality, perfect function. The fault was soft pistol primers.
Yes, on 21 Feb 1944 in combat against an enemy air attack USS Alabama's 5 inch secondary gun mount No. 9 accidentally fired into secondary gun mount No. 5, killing 5 and wounding 11.
Accident... waiting to happen....
Not really, Lots of training and practice...
No rammer spade???
The mounts are not powered now.
Whoopsie dazy...
That was the first slam fire we ever had. The right gun still does that sometimes, but it's not a safety issue at all, just if you are not expecting it, well, you end up looking like a deer in the headlights like Hal does.
What was the context of this were they supposed to fire were they in a harbor facing the shore. What the hell is going on.
I do not recall the exact event, but this is from about 3-4 years ago. We fire Mt. 56 (port side, farthest aft gun) several times a year for special events. The gun is trained to 270* relative, elevated to about 25*. The load is 2 pounds of black powder in each barrel. The harbor channel is about 900 feet wide at that point, with Evergreen container terminal across the way. Very nice boom with good echo.
How OLD are these guys? We're in trouble if this is our navy......LOL
All volunteers on the ship.
was this for a demonstration??
Not sure I'd use the word 'demonstration', more like 'event'. We shoot on special occasions/holidays.
dammit Abu hajar!
5 inch 5 inch no one likes 5 inch 16 inch or 18 inch is a real mans gun 😂
Actually, in the U.S. the 5"/38 is often referred to as "the gun that won the war in the Pacific". It arguably was the best medium caliber gun of the war, and a direct descendant of it is the Navy's main gun today.
These guys are a joke, God help us all!
Doug Yates A joke? Really? Do tell...
Because they do not look like they know what is going on or what they are doing. Not hatin', just sayin'.
This is one of the earlier shoots we did. Hal (starting the camera) can be a little twitchy sometimes.
None of us were Gunners Mates, other than our teacher, Chief Rich USN (Ret.) Me, Chief Rich, and one other guy are the only ones out of 8 or 10 people who served. Chief was a Gunners Mate, I was a boiler tech, and the other guy was actually Army artillery.
We strive for safety and practice a lot before a shoot.
Hey buddy , they’re a joke ? Did you wear the uniform ? They did.
Why comment if you have no clue what you are talking about? Ah, I see.. you wanted all of us to know who the real joke is.. good job, gold star for you.