I don't know about the later operating practices, but in my time on Iowa(1946-52) it took 79 men to operate each turret. It was hot, noisy and oil and grease was everywhere. Good video. I have not seen the inside of a battleship turret since May 1952.
That's a lot of men trying to get out of a tight space if things go bad. I'm guessing there were a lot of drills, but I imagine survival rates were low when something did go wrong.
@Stimpy&Ren you show an amazing lack of knowledge about battleships. BBs suffered losses but if you would care to tell the class which US battleships sunk after Pearl, I'll wait. . . . BBs pounded the shores, softening up enemy placements, sometimes almost entirely deforesting an island prior to landing by ground troops. Skip forward to the first Desert Storm and there were large groups of Iraqis surrendering to the UAV spotter plane from the Missouri. They quickly learned when they saw that little plane, death and devastation soon followed from Mighty Mo's 16in guns. BBs were never "easy pickings".
The amount of engineering and the act of building it all is mind boggling. Everything you see - even the cabling and electrical circuitry on the walls - was all engineered and built over 70 years ago (or at least most of it). Then men have to operate it all and know what every little thing does and how to fix it. I'm in awe.
Considering it was built without computers it is amazing! Sad part is I think it would take nearly a decade for our modern industrial complex to even start building one of these ships.
jth877 I find it amazing what they built, but one has to understand that most men where mechanically inclined then, engineers and draftsman were highly talented and professional and substandard work was a fireable offense. Today with this new generation , even with computers , these push-button wiz kids and the guys who have to call in a plumber to change a washer, probably couldn’t design and build a ship like this. Reliance on computers doesn’t make people smart. It’s just the opposite. This ship instead is a monument to the last generation of men who could literally build anything, design anything with a drafting board , slide rule, piece of paper and a pencil. Their “computers“ where their brains and their hands.
More like, designed over 90 years ago. Men now can't operate it, ma'am...they are too weak to train, so we've found other ways to keep them busy. Most of the men today can't handle even taking a TOUR of such a fine piece of history.
The turret is not a place for the faint-hearted. Imagine in the heat of battle, the noise, the thick atmosphere, the rolling seaway and the constant fear of a hit on the turret or internal explosion. And knowing your likely escape route is maybe five decks below down through cramped and possibly pitch black ladder wells. Brave lads indeed. The engineering and electrics and the electro-mechanical ranging computers are truly beautiful objects. The ship looks loved - great to see. Thank you for a really interesting video tour.
I can't imagine the horror the crew of the HMS Royal Oak experienced when it was attacked in its own base at Scapa Flow just before the outbreak of WWII. Basically, it was Britain's Pearl Harbor but this was a single attack by ONE U-boat, the U47, captained by a rookie named Gunther Prien. He was awarded the Knight's Cross for this. It still doesn't make sense how he was able to break past the underwater gates without being caught. My best guess is they had no boats patrolling the perimeter of the Orkney Islands. The British were just as devastated by the loss of the Royal Oak as we were by the loss of the USS Arizona.
Agreed. I was inside the number 3 turret of the Alabama a few years ago. Not a place for a claustrophobic. Tight quarters, dark, lots of places to smash a knee or elbow, and the noise must have been horrific. All that coupled with moving machinery that would make quick work of any body part that it came in contact with. A person would have to have nerves of iron to survive and function in there.
Scooter Tramp, I visited that turret as well. It was remarkable that it seemed as big as it was at the same time it was as full, cramped and difficult to move in as you could imagine. It reminded me of being inside a tank, though with everything supersized. All of it gave me a sense that anyone responsible for manning those positions had to be damn sure about what they were doing, and extremely precise in doing it.
Gribbo9999 my poppop was a gunners mate back in these days. Always was a brave guy. He’s passed now, but seeing things like this I know would make him proud! Cheers!
Kikoredog: Milton (1967-1989), 21, was the son of Milton F. DeVaul, Sr. and Shirley Lukins DeVaul. He had a brother, Stephen, and two sisters, Dawn and Brenda. He graduated from Solvay High School. He was killed in the explosion of gun turret #2 on the USS Iowa, during training maneuvers in the Atlantic Ocean off Puerto Rico.
I'm sorry for your friend. My father was the Dental Officer on Iowa when it happened. Just a few months prior to the accident, I was given a tour of the ship which included going in Turret 2. The Marine detachment officer who gave me the tour and a t-shirt got 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree burns trying to pull bodies out of the outside hatch. Dad has only recently opened up to me with the stories from what happened. I received a Purple Heart and fought in Iraq, so we understand each other now. I was 11 when the turret blew.
I've been an engineer for 30 years using all sorts of CAD and 3DCAD. All of that was designed on paper . . . LET THAT SINK INTO YOUR BRAIN! I still can't wrap my head around it. I'd say the drawing files for this ship could fill a warehouse. Absolutely a marvel of American ingenuity and intelligence.
Great video. Brought back tons of memories. Went everywhere but my GQ station. Local Control. My GO station was Local Control, Turret 2. Yes I was a member of Turret 2. I left the ship a few months before the explosion. The guy I trained to replace me died in the explosion. I knew 37 of the 47 who died.
My dad was the firing operator of the forward top middle gun of the USS Iowa in 1944-1945. I had the pleasure of following him on a tour of the ship. He was like Elvis with the other tourists and the tour guides. He was explaining what life was like during the war. Even the museum curator came topside to talk with him.
I forgot to mention my dad was Seaman Jack Thomas Ethington. He passed away in 2017. I made a special trip with him so that he could see his beloved ship again. He talked about it often.
@@tommohler1853 Was about to ask if he was still with us. Sorry he's not, but glad you got to visit the ship with him. We'd love to have a photo of him for our archives if you'd like to share.
I found this so interesting. My dad was a 17 year old kid at Pearl Harbor. His ship was the U.S.S. Pennsylvania. He was on turret 2. Thanks again for the great explantion on how these guns operated. And to those of you that served, thank you for your service.
That was a great tour of the turret and all equipent pertaining to it. I did like the broadside firing at the end very impresive. Thanks for taking to time to do it.
As a Canadian Serviceman attached to the US Navy in the 80's, I heard that the old WW2 analogue computers aiming the guns were so good that they did not replace them with newer digital computers even 50 years later.
Those old analog computers factor in such variables as ship speed, barometric pressure, humidity, temperature, and even the curvature of the Earth when computing the trajectory of the shells to get them to fall on target. And when radar was added to the mix, the fire control was state-of-the-art back in the 1940s; far superior to what the Japanese warships had!
@@Platyfurmany When I was in Field Artillery School at Ft Sill we learned to compute quadrant and elevation with all those things factored in manually using slide rules, pocket calculators, and firing tables. And that was barely ten years ago! The amount of math needed to deliver rounds down range accurately is just astounding.
As a former mortarman i'm extremely impressed with the complexity of the engineering and orchestra of human synchronicity required to make this gun fire.
V interesting. Great narration - eloquent, articulate with procedures, terminology, equipment expertly described. Real eye opener. Thank you for sharing.
Can you imagine the sight of the engineering firm at work designing this ship during wartime? Everything was hand drawn and had to be well thought out and each individuals task had to match everyone else's related drawings of other equipment.
Thank you for the video. I'm from Germany and I visited the Iowa in 1985, when she anchored in the harbour of Kiel after a maneuver in the baltic sea. I was 17yrs old then and took a guided tour together with my grandfather, who served on the german battleship Gneisenau in WWII. First he was very reluctant to visit a battleship again after his wartime experience, but he was deeply impressed by the size of the Iowa, which is quite larger than Gneisenau was. He gave me a lot of insight which wasn`t included in the tour. He passed away a few years later and this is one of my dearest memories of him. I hope I get to visit LA and the Iowa one day.
Absolutely Amazing ! 1) The engineering that went into the designing of only what we saw is incredible. 2) Thank you for showing us this great battleship. 3) Most important of all ....Thank You to all the people that served ! I am thankful everyday for your service and sacrifice .
Thanks for the video, Good stuff. my dad was navy in WWII and served on one of the Wyomings,(mainly in the north Atlantic) he'll be 93 in a couple of weeks Lord willing. I know he'll love to see this. I did.
My dad was in the Korean war. He said the battleships big guns were the only thing keeping them from being overrun. He said the shells sounded like a train when they flew over and you could feel the ground shake when they hit over a mile away.
Thank you for posting. It's incredible to think 45,000 tons of ship and over two thousand men were there just to provide a platforn for those nine guns - and yet they still had to work in those cramped conditions. They deserve our respect.
You think that’s impressive, take a look at the Japanese battleship Yamato, the largest battleship ever built. 72,800 tons, supporting almost 3,000 crew, to support it’s nine 18.11 inch guns
Behind the scenes where the work is done. This is fantastic. It make you appreciate the unknown hundreds of unsung hero’s who served well. Thank you all. May God have Blessed you all.
Incredible...both inspiring and humbling. The character of men who manned each of those positions is what should make every American proud...I know I am...and grateful too.
My father inlaw ran to pom pom guns on the USS Shea in WW11 ... Love you Ray Thompson an i miss so much this video reminds me of a the story's you told me as a young man your valor will always be in our hearts .. Tommy sodoski your son in law and thank you to all our vets and active military
This would have to be one of the most interesting and informative videos I have ever seen regarding the internal workings of Battle Ships. No place for the claustrophobic that's for sure. Well done.
The pinnacle of 700 years of cannon and gunnery development. The fundamental operation is the same except that later guns had a breech instead of muzzle loading. Imagine muzzle loading a 16” modern naval gun. You’d need a telephone pole to use as a ram rod.
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Can you imagine the noise, the heat, the smoke, and the sheer exhilaration/terror of actually being down there doing a job to keep those guns firing during a real battle?
My dumb ass literally though the turret was just all on the upper deck and everyone was in that... had NO clue all this information and different levels. Insane! Love videos like this!
Pretty sure W.N.Y. stands for Washington Navy Yard where the U.S. Naval Gun Factory was located. I’d think the Watervliet Arsenal would have a stamp with the “Arsenal” somehow denoted.
I really have no words but damn. I give it for the man that had a work in that ship. The engineers that designed that ship back in the day. Just impressive all the way around.
Back in 1984, my friend and I was walking along the pier at Norfolk Naval Base to tour an amphibious ship. As we walked past the Iowa, a sailor was standing guard at the end of the gangplank. The Iowa wasn't listed as one of the ships giving tours that day, but we asked anyways. The sailor said they weren't officially open for tours, but they never turn down anyone that ask! We got a private tour and were shown the shell deck (complete with shells) and the elevators. We were also taken into the #1 turret from the upper hatch. Got to sit in there, just the three of us, while he explained all the machinery. It was a great tour, especially since it was still an active duty ship at that time.
The Navy calls sailors who work with guns "Gunners Mates". When I was in, we also called them "Cannon Cockers". Of course, guys like me who worked with radars were called "Scope Dopes". Electronics guys were "Twidgets" , Pipe fitters were called "Turd Technicians" ,and Signalmen were called "Skivvy Wavers", just to tell you of a few nicknames we had for people and things.
I can't even imagine what it was like for gunner's mates in one of those turret stations while active. I could barely tolerate the firing of 5" guns while as far away as possible (while still being onboard). On another note, I saw the New Jersey in drydock for an extended period. Every time I walked by her, I couldn't believe my eyes. Every time, I was in awe of her size. If you think a battleship is huge, it look several times bigger in drydock.
My uncle was GM for Turret 2 aboard the California in December 1941. He survived, but had been declared KIA; his next of kin (and fiancee) were notified. A few months later, he sent a letter asking why no one was writing to him. He had a copy of his own obituary from the event. I've I would have gladly paid for a tour like this; now I get it for free, and I can go back and watch it again. Battleship Iowa Museum, *thank you so much for shooting and producing this!*
Perfect narration! THANK YOU! This was packed with information on a subject I didn’t know anything about; yet I understood the complexity and functionality, of everything without feeling lost or checked out throughout it’s entirety. Well done sir, well done!
I remember being in Nha Trang Vietnam with the New Jersey off shore firing inland at night. You could see the muzzle flash light up the sky and a few moments later hear this whistling shell overhead going inland. Awsome sights and sounds.
BUT . . . a B-52 strike was three aircraft, each bomber carried 108 500 pound bombs, and the target area was not a dot on a map as with most airstrikes, but a blocked out area two thousand meters wide by 5 000 meters long, from which the US Troops on the ground (me) had to give final approval to insure all friendly troops were nowhere near that target area. I would be called hours before, and asked to clear target number _ _ _ after which the planes would need no other approval before their time on target. The planes would drop half their bomb load, then turn around and about 15 minutes later drop the remaining ordinance. I once stood atop the operations command bunker during the strike at a distance of about 2 miles from target, the night was clear, the bombers could not be seen or heard from the ground, and once the bombs began to explode the concussion from each would cause the skin on my face to ripple from the effect for each explosion. It was then apparent why these strikes demoralized the NVA and VC who witnessed them. When one considered how minimal their defense was in these areas, and how massive the attack it felt like killing flies with a pile driver. The NVA had SAM sites near cities and ports, but this was in areas along the Cambodian border that had no such defense weapons.
I've heard that approximately 80% of all targets in Vietnam were within range of the 16" main guns. I sometimes wonder if pilots and planes might have been spared if the battleships had been used a bit more in the war. (Micheal, I think only the New Jersey was activated during the Vietnam war.)
The USS Iowa Museum now has an optional "Gun Tour" available on weekends that take you through the gun house of a 16" turret & a 5" - 38 cal turret & magazine. Plus, the plotting rooms for both guns. It's well worth the additional fee! This tour was awesome with very knowledgeable guides. Highly recommend!
Thanks so much, Steven. Glad you enjoyed it. We had a ton of fun putting it together and we're happy we can finally get people into some of these spaces. They're incredible.
@@BattleshipUSSIowaLosAngeles Thanks! I sent a Thank You card to show my appreciation to all the museum staff, guides, etc. which you should receive in a few days. My wife & I toured the ship & took the Gun Tour on Sunday, May 8, 2022, & it was awesome! I've been wanting to see the USS Iowa since I was 6 or 7 years old. I had to wait 61 years to see it, but, it was well worth the wait! My regret was I didn't take enough pictures, and didn't write down the names of the guides & other USS Iowa personnel I came in contact with so that I could thank them by name. I'd like to thank all the volunteers that volunteer their time to make these tours possible. I know it takes an enormous amount of work on the ship itself (repairs, etc.) & all the other work needed to turn a decommissioned ship into a museum! I'm so happy that all four Iowa-class battleships were saved from being scrapped, because they're priceless historical treasures. My grateful, heartfelt thanks to all of you!!!
@@stevendaugherty7590 Oh wow. So glad you got to fulfill that dream and genuinely appreciate the sentiments. Lots of love around here for maintaining and sharing this great ship. Makes us extremely happy to hear words like these. We'll pass them on to the tour department and they'll get back to your guides.
Thanks for this outstanding video tour. I served on and old WWII Tin Can in the sixties as an RM so never got involved in the firing of the 5" guns and really enjoyed your tour. I've taken my grandson to the USS Alabama in Mobile a couple of times and he wears me out going up and down the ladders. I can't fly up and down them any longer like I could 54 years ago going to battle stations. lol
The word obsolete is sometimes an insult to these exceptionally complex and amazing machines. Never get tired of the previous generations tier 1 technology
Fascinating, well done, thank you ! ! ! Very hard to even imagine the noises and sense of urgency during the firing, and receiving of fire, in a stand up battle ! !
I visited Iowa in Portsmouth,England, many years ago and She was the most outstanding piece of engineering I have ever seen. So glad She's still around for people to marvel at.
The raw power of just 1 of these ships is unimaginable, really. I saw a full broadside by The Missouri while the fleet was out on maneuvers. You don't hear the boom as much as feel the concussion of the blast, go right through you. Then there's the absolute destruction caused by the round. Hell on Earth just doesn't do justice to it.
Awesome tour! Very informative and knowledgeable tour guide. I would love to come see the USS Iowa. I live in Boston and have been to the USS Salem museum and we also have the USS Massachusetts Battleship open to tours here. It is extremely valuable to be able to walk around these ships and provide younger generations with an understanding of how powerful these were and the role they played in global war/politics.
The United States should have kept two in service for nostalgia and as part of a good will to tour the world, one on the east coast and one on the west coast. These ships really are magnificent pieces of engineering and should be preserved.
But the problem was and the reason they were decommissioned was they were very costly to maintain and crew at least 1,500 sailors were needed to man them
Dad served on The New Jersey in Vietnam , 1tour in a 5 in turret 2nd gunners mate. When I turned 51 we drove up from San Diego and toured the Iowa while he was visiting. Very worth while trip. Just wished we could’ve got inside turrets. His turret had been replaced with a Tomahawk launcher. Still, a great ship
When I joined the Navy in 1979 they were just beginning to bring back the Battleships, I was an Opticalman back then and I got the opportunity to help in rebuilding the USS New Jerseys big optical targeting rangefinders that are in the turrets, it was a very tight, cramped space and at the time never really fully realized how much history I was dealing with.
Great video, I served as a GMG in Turret 2 on the USS New Jersey BB62 in the 80s in all the enlisted men's possessions over the years, including Gun Captain.
Thank you for sharing this, it's absolutely amazing. I can see why they say it would be soooo expensive to recomission these vessels. The high quality, specialised parts hidden deep inside the ship and locked in place with so much weight above it 2000 tonnes!
Awesome video. I don't even understand why someone would give this video a thumbs down. I remember the Iowa parked in the the mothball when I was learning to fly. We would use it as a center point to fly circles around with a cross wind.
On April 18th I was on the USS Coral Sea and took a few great shots of that magnificent ship firing her 16 inch guns. The next day the accident happened. We offered help but they had no casualties. Only fatalities. The mood was somber on the Ole three screw maru. I'm going to visit that ship and donate the pictures if it's the last thing I ever do.
I was onboard the USS Monongahela AO-178. I was with the first group of 20 women onboard. Some of the Mono guys were sent to the Iowa to make room for us women. We had just finished refueling the Iowa on that tragic day. I have a picture of a couple of Mono shipmates sitting topside with the Iowa in the background after the Iowa broke away from us. The picture was taken a few minutes before the explosion. Any loss of life while serving is sad, but having a history like we've had with the Iowa makes it even more touching to us. RIP shipmates, you all are not forgotten.
The USS Coral Sea CVA-43 had 5" guns when I served in 1970-71. Even the 5" guns shook the entire ship. I just couldn't even imagine being there with 16" guns ablaze. Very nice video.
My uncle, Francis Tafe, was a rangefinder on one of the turrets of the Iowa all during WWII. Like many vet's he never spoke about his experiences. God bless them all.
Well spoken narrative. Thank You! I had the good fortune to visit the USS Alabama in Mobile Bay a few years ago. They had cut a door thru the 16" cylinder that supports the turret by going all the way to the keel. Veterans were on board as volunteers to add color and narrative of their experiences on the ship.
We have the gunhouse on Turret I open for tours now. Working on ways to get the public into the rest of the turret, hopefully without too much altering of original structure.
I believe that the tour guide misspoke about the stamping on the gun. The US Naval Gun Factory responsible for the production of the majority of gun barrels was located within the Washington Navy Yard. The arsenal at Watervliet New York was an Army artillery depot which did produce 16''/50 CAL guns though I do not believe it would have been stamped under the US NAVAL GUN FACTORY. The USS Massachusetts has guns from both locations in turret 2. The left and right guns are from the US Naval Gun Factory WNY and are stamped as they are in the video. The center gun is from Watervliet and is stamped "USA ORDNANCE FACTORY WATERVLIET ARSENAL". Would you be able to provide some clarity for me?
The expertise to design, build and put into successful action back in the mid to late 30's is simply mind blowing to me. I remember touring the USS North Carolina and we couldn't tour the turrets but did tour the operating room. All I could remember was how antiquated an impression it made on me. Thank you to all of the greatest generation. I fear that patriotic sentiment is long gone and not to be seen again. Very depressing thought of where things are today in the world.
Lucky if you died quickly. Reportedly after Pearl Harbor surviving crewmen lived on for a week or more, trapped in sunken ships. Have to wonder, when a capital ship would ' turn turtle ' and sink, how many trapped crew would survive, briefly, in trapped air spaces ?
Three shipmates were trapped onboard USS West Virginia when she turned over at Pearl Harbor. Trapped in a storeroom, they marked off the days on a calendar they found there: sixteen days after the attack, the last day was marked. Sixteen days. They were 18, 20 and 21 years old.
@@xzqzq It can be quick or it can be longer, it just depends on how many are using the available oxygen in a small place, what noxious fumes could be present, how their own bodies coped, and if they gave up or not -- we only hope it was quick if they were not rescued. Our hearts go out to all those who were lost on ships in Pearl on 12-7-41, may they all rest in peace. I visited the Arizona Memorial a couple of time, it is VERY sobering to know that there are lost souls beneath you. WE honor, respect and thank ALL warriors from every war. Like Gen. Sherman said, "War is Hell" and we certainly agree. So many families lost loved ones during all our wars, it is very sad, but they WILL BE REMEMBERED, for all time!
Thank you very much for this. I visited U.S.S. Alabama and wanted badly to see inside a turret. This is amazing technology and a testiment to the U.S. Navy and all the men who served.
Amazing video - Thanks About two years ago my Girlfriend took me to the New Jersey. I think it was the aft turret that was open to the public. You could go up through the hatch he showed and into the rear portion of the turret. I was amazed at how cramped the compartment was. You had to climb over something to get a little further in where you could see the breeches of the guns. Thanks for posting that video
There is must see tour of the USS Alabama in Mobile Bay. My wife, kids and I spent the entire day exploring most all of the ship. We saw the engine rooms, gun turrets, galley, berthing, hospital, gaussing room, firing control, bridge, crows nests; It was just too much to take in everything. The scale of these things is just unbelievable.
my father served on the uss Amsterdam cruiser out side of Tokyo,waiting for word to invade.He never said if he ever got shot at but his sister future husband was on a battle ship parallel to his.would have loved to see that ship in person but in 1980s the navy mothballed it then I believe sunk it off vergin
I work with Jim Rose when the Missouri & New Jersey were in Long Beach. He was the shipyard civilian Optical Shop supervisor and I was an enlisted Navy Opticalman. We overhauled the turret rangefinders and periscopes. Would love to get back and see how they are some day.
This video shows that you had to have jewels as tough as the brass on that cradle to work under these conditions. Just two ways in and out. War or "peace" time, these were....and are.... all very tough and brave men and women. I'm planning to visit the Iowa during the Remembrance Day weekend. It is one of many fine tributes to those who served and continue to do so.
Great Video, my Uncle was a "Turret Master/Gunner" on the USS New Jersey during WW2, he almost lost his Hearing and told my Father (his younger Brother) Horror Stories about the Noise, Heat And Death in those Turrets. My Father said my Uncle told him about a Sailor grabbing an Ejected Casing and literally "Frying himself to it", teenagers, becoming Men "overnight!"
The entire leviathan designed by hundreds of people standing or sitting at desks with slide rules, compasses and pencils on graph paper-No APPLE or MICROSOFT , back then...
@@5000mahmud Advances in aircraft, guided missiles, submarine warfare, among many other fields have rendered this doctrine obsolete. Other futuristic concepts like the rail gun are on the very verge of becoming reality, and will force ships like this even farther down the power scale.
As far as I can tell, none of the Iowa class ever served much purpose other than for coastal bombardments, they were obsolete to begin with. The only exception I can find is during attack on Truk, when admiral Spruance decided to actually halt airplane attacks on stricken Japanese destroyers so he could have the pleasure of getting the last licks in with Iowa and New Jersey before they disappeared under the waves. New Jersey almost got torpedoed for the trouble. That's pretty much the only case I know of where Iowa class battleships sunk any other ships, though Wisconsin did come close to sinking a ship, by ramming a friendly. Japanese and German contemporary battleships didn't really perform any better, giant coffins with big targets on their back the whole lot of them. Too few to make a difference, too precious to risk and juicy targets for bombs and torpedoes.
@@aleksandersuur9475 wow, how about the Battle of Casablanca? Or the Second Battle of Guadalcanal or the last official fight between battleships, the Battle of Suriago Strait?
@@Cleaveland72 which of the Iowa class battleships did Casablanca or Guadalcanal involve, weren't all battleships in these engagements from older classes? Iowa and New Jersey were present at Leyte Gulf, but they didn't end up doing much did they? All the battleship action came from older classes if I remember correctly.
I have done this exact thing on the Mighty Mo'. I literally climbed from the turret all the way to the end of the barrel. I could have climbed out and jumped down to the deck, but the turrets were in combat position (90 deg. off the keel) and its a loooooong way down to the water. LIke broken bones from hitting the water type of far.
boy ain't that the truth, I was thinking good lord I'd hate to be in there. especially under fire. Jesus, I just can't imagine how terrible that is. I toured the USS Texas and couldn't get over how cramped and claustrophobic it was. No thank you . My father in law who was in Korea advised me to join the army which I did we were outside in the fresh air. 1st cav. 8th eng. battalion. blowing the hell outa stuff, good times ; ).But I salute all sailors that served aboard ships at sea because i wouldnt want to do it,so someone else had to. thanks guys.
That was awesome! I had absolutely no idea how complex the mechanisms and processes were. Thank you for posting and sharing this. I hope one day to visit.
Thanks for uploading this video! I've watched the movie, *"SINK the BISMARCK!"* The actual *WORK* it took to bring JUST ONE, of those *"Naval Rifles"* into action, was staggeringly impressive!
The USS Massachusetts (SoDak class) is on display in Fall River MA. Her #3 turret is open to view. Fascinating stuff there; I've been there a few times as a kid.
I got to sleep over on that ship as a young boy scout. It was awesome! Go up on deck and move the machine guns and then hope over the submarine they had on display as well. This was over 30 years ago, so not sure if it's all still there.
My Dad served as a Marine at Hawthorne Naval Ammo Depot. His reunions were so cool! Great guys, interesting history and mind boggling hardware, they met every three years.
I don't know about the later operating practices, but in my time on Iowa(1946-52) it took 79 men to operate each turret. It was hot, noisy and oil and grease was everywhere. Good video. I have not seen the inside of a battleship turret since May 1952.
That's a lot of men trying to get out of a tight space if things go bad. I'm guessing there were a lot of drills, but I imagine survival rates were low when something did go wrong.
Thank you for your service.
@@zugy if things went bad, it was quick enough that most, if not all of the crew was lost.
Thanks Andrew
@Stimpy&Ren you show an amazing lack of knowledge about battleships. BBs suffered losses but if you would care to tell the class which US battleships sunk after Pearl, I'll wait. . . .
BBs pounded the shores, softening up enemy placements, sometimes almost entirely deforesting an island prior to landing by ground troops.
Skip forward to the first Desert Storm and there were large groups of Iraqis surrendering to the UAV spotter plane from the Missouri. They quickly learned when they saw that little plane, death and devastation soon followed from Mighty Mo's 16in guns. BBs were never "easy pickings".
Amazing I say. Never imagined how detailed it would be inside the turrets. Just imagine the engineering to build this ship.
You should go to the USS Alabama in Mobile, Al. You can enter the turret on that battleship.
Imagine the maintenance that went into keeping that ship operational.
@@justevil100 can confirm, the Alabama is amazing. even got to move the guns of the 5 inch turrets
Imagine building it without computers, all hand drawings!
Thanks for saving the free world to the and men that died to save the free world
The amount of engineering and the act of building it all is mind boggling. Everything you see - even the cabling and electrical circuitry on the walls - was all engineered and built over 70 years ago (or at least most of it). Then men have to operate it all and know what every little thing does and how to fix it.
I'm in awe.
Considering it was built without computers it is amazing! Sad part is I think it would take nearly a decade for our modern industrial complex to even start building one of these ships.
Looking at the Yamato class their loading system I find is much more impressive than what the Iowa class is.
these ships really are marvels of engineering.
jth877
I find it amazing what they built, but one has to understand that most men where mechanically inclined then, engineers and draftsman were highly talented and professional and substandard work was a fireable offense. Today with this new generation , even with computers , these push-button wiz kids and the guys who have to call in a plumber to change a washer, probably couldn’t design and build a ship like this. Reliance on computers doesn’t make people smart. It’s just the opposite. This ship instead is a monument to the last generation of men who could literally build anything, design anything with a drafting board , slide rule, piece of paper and a pencil.
Their “computers“ where their brains and their hands.
More like, designed over 90 years ago. Men now can't operate it, ma'am...they are too weak to train, so we've found other ways to keep them busy. Most of the men today can't handle even taking a TOUR of such a fine piece of history.
The turret is not a place for the faint-hearted. Imagine in the heat of battle, the noise, the thick atmosphere, the rolling seaway and the constant fear of a hit on the turret or internal explosion. And knowing your likely escape route is maybe five decks below down through cramped and possibly pitch black ladder wells. Brave lads indeed.
The engineering and electrics and the electro-mechanical ranging computers are truly beautiful objects. The ship looks loved - great to see. Thank you for a really interesting video tour.
I can't imagine the horror the crew of the HMS Royal Oak experienced when it was attacked in its own base at Scapa Flow just before the outbreak of WWII. Basically, it was Britain's Pearl Harbor but this was a single attack by ONE U-boat, the U47, captained by a rookie named Gunther Prien. He was awarded the Knight's Cross for this. It still doesn't make sense how he was able to break past the underwater gates without being caught. My best guess is they had no boats patrolling the perimeter of the Orkney Islands. The British were just as devastated by the loss of the Royal Oak as we were by the loss of the USS Arizona.
Agreed. I was inside the number 3 turret of the Alabama a few years ago. Not a place for a claustrophobic. Tight quarters, dark, lots of places to smash a knee or elbow, and the noise must have been horrific. All that coupled with moving machinery that would make quick work of any body part that it came in contact with. A person would have to have nerves of iron to survive and function in there.
Scooter Tramp, I visited that turret as well. It was remarkable that it seemed as big as it was at the same time it was as full, cramped and difficult to move in as you could imagine. It reminded me of being inside a tank, though with everything supersized. All of it gave me a sense that anyone responsible for manning those positions had to be damn sure about what they were doing, and extremely precise in doing it.
@@oh8wingman They had a nerve tougher than Iron, perhaps heat treated alloy steel to endure all that.
Gribbo9999 my poppop was a gunners mate back in these days. Always was a brave guy. He’s passed now, but seeing things like this I know would make him proud! Cheers!
I lost a high school friend on the Iowa. Time flies but some of us do not forget. RIP Milton DeVaul.
ur telling me ur 95+ years old?
Kikoredog: Milton (1967-1989), 21, was the son of Milton F. DeVaul, Sr. and Shirley Lukins DeVaul. He had a brother, Stephen, and two sisters, Dawn and Brenda. He graduated from Solvay High School. He was killed in the explosion of gun turret #2 on the USS Iowa, during training maneuvers in the Atlantic Ocean off Puerto Rico.
If a god exists, it didn’t bless Milton. It let him die.
I'm sorry for your friend. My father was the Dental Officer on Iowa when it happened. Just a few months prior to the accident, I was given a tour of the ship which included going in Turret 2. The Marine detachment officer who gave me the tour and a t-shirt got 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree burns trying to pull bodies out of the outside hatch. Dad has only recently opened up to me with the stories from what happened. I received a Purple Heart and fought in Iraq, so we understand each other now. I was 11 when the turret blew.
@@kikoredog There are a few good men left to tell the story!
I've been an engineer for 30 years using all sorts of CAD and 3DCAD. All of that was designed on paper . . . LET THAT SINK INTO YOUR BRAIN! I still can't wrap my head around it. I'd say the drawing files for this ship could fill a warehouse. Absolutely a marvel of American ingenuity and intelligence.
Agree 100%! Completely amazing.
Great video. Brought back tons of memories. Went everywhere but my GQ station. Local Control. My GO station was Local Control, Turret 2. Yes I was a member of Turret 2. I left the ship a few months before the explosion. The guy I trained to replace me died in the explosion. I knew 37 of the 47 who died.
That is quite a burden....bless you...
God rest their souls Amen.
Sorry for your loss :( Thank you for serving.
Thanks for your service. Tough boat to crew.
Mark Zarraonandia I don’t think we met but we were shipmates 😎 I was on board for 1988 and 89
My dad was the firing operator of the forward top middle gun of the USS Iowa in 1944-1945. I had the pleasure of following him on a tour of the ship. He was like Elvis with the other tourists and the tour guides. He was explaining what life was like during the war. Even the museum curator came topside to talk with him.
I forgot to mention my dad was Seaman Jack Thomas Ethington. He passed away in 2017. I made a special trip with him so that he could see his beloved ship again. He talked about it often.
@@tommohler1853 Was about to ask if he was still with us. Sorry he's not, but glad you got to visit the ship with him. We'd love to have a photo of him for our archives if you'd like to share.
I found this so interesting. My dad was a 17 year old kid at Pearl Harbor. His ship was the U.S.S. Pennsylvania. He was on turret 2. Thanks again for the great explantion on how these guns operated. And to those of you that served, thank you for your service.
That was a great tour of the turret and all equipent pertaining to it. I did like the broadside firing at the end very impresive. Thanks for taking to time to do it.
Had the privilege to serve as turret captain aboard USS New Jersey BB-62 in the mid-80's. This turret crawl brought back a lot of memories. Thanks.
As a Canadian Serviceman attached to the US Navy in the 80's, I heard that the old WW2 analogue computers aiming the guns were so good that they did not replace them with newer digital computers even 50 years later.
Those old analog computers factor in such variables as ship speed, barometric pressure, humidity, temperature, and even the curvature of the Earth when computing the trajectory of the shells to get them to fall on target. And when radar was added to the mix, the fire control was state-of-the-art back in the 1940s; far superior to what the Japanese warships had!
@@Platyfurmany When I was in Field Artillery School at Ft Sill we learned to compute quadrant and elevation with all those things factored in manually using slide rules, pocket calculators, and firing tables. And that was barely ten years ago! The amount of math needed to deliver rounds down range accurately is just astounding.
Wow.
@@erwin669 A computer the size of your finger nail does it all in a fraction of a second, today. Truly, humans are amazing. We taught rocks to think.
@@haydentravis3348 except for those tiny computers aren’t hardened for EMP. The AFATADS is about the size of a brief case
As a former mortarman i'm extremely impressed with the complexity of the engineering and orchestra of human synchronicity required to make this gun fire.
V interesting. Great narration - eloquent, articulate with procedures, terminology, equipment expertly described. Real eye opener. Thank you for sharing.
Can you imagine the sight of the engineering firm at work designing this ship during wartime? Everything was hand drawn and had to be well thought out and each individuals task had to match everyone else's related drawings of other equipment.
Only on the first one I think the men and women that built them had a challenge all that wire that’s in that ship and bolts welding .
Very informative. Thanks for tour.
Thank you for the video. I'm from Germany and I visited the Iowa in 1985, when she anchored in the harbour of Kiel after a maneuver in the baltic sea. I was 17yrs old then and took a guided tour together with my grandfather, who served on the german battleship Gneisenau in WWII.
First he was very reluctant to visit a battleship again after his wartime experience, but he was deeply impressed by the size of the Iowa, which is quite larger than Gneisenau was. He gave me a lot of insight which wasn`t included in the tour.
He passed away a few years later and this is one of my dearest memories of him. I hope I get to visit LA and the Iowa one day.
I don't hear much about Scharn or Gneisenau anymore!
Respect to your grandfather for serving aboard a great fighting ship!
Hope you do get here and WHEN you do, be sure to let us know you're coming. We'll take great care of you!
Absolutely Amazing ! 1) The engineering that went into the designing of only what we saw is incredible. 2) Thank you for showing us this great battleship. 3) Most important of all ....Thank You to all the people that served ! I am thankful everyday for your service and sacrifice .
Thanks for the video, Good stuff. my dad was navy in WWII and served on one of the Wyomings,(mainly in the north Atlantic) he'll be 93 in a couple of weeks Lord willing. I know he'll love to see this. I did.
My dad was in the Korean war. He said the battleships big guns were the only thing keeping them from being overrun. He said the shells sounded like a train when they flew over and you could feel the ground shake when they hit over a mile away.
Thank you for posting. It's incredible to think 45,000 tons of ship and over two thousand men were there just to provide a platforn for those nine guns - and yet they still had to work in those cramped conditions. They deserve our respect.
You think that’s impressive, take a look at the Japanese battleship Yamato, the largest battleship ever built. 72,800 tons, supporting almost 3,000 crew, to support it’s nine 18.11 inch guns
Behind the scenes where the work is done. This is fantastic. It make you appreciate the unknown hundreds of unsung hero’s who served well. Thank you all. May God have Blessed you all.
Incredible...both inspiring and humbling. The character of men who manned each of those positions is what should make every American proud...I know I am...and grateful too.
My father inlaw ran to pom pom guns on the USS Shea in WW11 ... Love you Ray Thompson an i miss so much this video reminds me of a the story's you told me as a young man your valor will always be in our hearts .. Tommy sodoski your son in law and thank you to all our vets and active military
This would have to be one of the most interesting and informative videos I have ever seen regarding the internal workings of Battle Ships. No place for the claustrophobic that's for sure.
Well done.
This was amazing. Best tour/explanation of a huge gun turret I've seen. And I've seen a bunch
I had no idea how those guns worked. Thanks for the excellent video and big thanks to all who served.
The pinnacle of 700 years of cannon and gunnery development. The fundamental operation is the same except that later guns had a breech instead of muzzle loading.
Imagine muzzle loading a 16” modern naval gun. You’d need a telephone pole to use as a ram rod.
Can you imagine the noise, the heat, the smoke, and the sheer exhilaration/terror of actually being down there doing a job to keep those guns firing during a real battle?
Excellent! Had not a clue the guns were so complicated nor so massive! We definitely owe you guys a beer!
My dumb ass literally though the turret was just all on the upper deck and everyone was in that... had NO clue all this information and different levels. Insane! Love videos like this!
To be fair, up until the 1930s it wasn't unknown for even Destroyers to have exactly that setup for their guns and possibly some cruisers as well.
Pretty sure W.N.Y. stands for Washington Navy Yard where the U.S. Naval Gun Factory was located. I’d think the Watervliet Arsenal would have a stamp with the “Arsenal” somehow denoted.
I really have no words but damn. I give it for the man that had a work in that ship. The engineers that designed that ship back in the day. Just impressive all the way around.
Thanx so much. No I understand, how that works. Incredible
Back in 1984, my friend and I was walking along the pier at Norfolk Naval Base to tour an amphibious ship. As we walked past the Iowa, a sailor was standing guard at the end of the gangplank. The Iowa wasn't listed as one of the ships giving tours that day, but we asked anyways. The sailor said they weren't officially open for tours, but they never turn down anyone that ask! We got a private tour and were shown the shell deck (complete with shells) and the elevators. We were also taken into the #1 turret from the upper hatch. Got to sit in there, just the three of us, while he explained all the machinery. It was a great tour, especially since it was still an active duty ship at that time.
The Navy calls sailors who work with guns "Gunners Mates". When I was in, we also called them "Cannon Cockers". Of course, guys like me who worked with radars were called "Scope Dopes". Electronics guys were "Twidgets" , Pipe fitters were called "Turd Technicians" ,and Signalmen were called "Skivvy Wavers", just to tell you of a few nicknames we had for people and things.
@@lewiswereb8994 Cannon Cockers seem to have the coolest name I guess.
Excellent tour Sir, Thank you.
I can't even imagine what it was like for gunner's mates in one of those turret stations while active. I could barely tolerate the firing of 5" guns while as far away as possible (while still being onboard).
On another note, I saw the New Jersey in drydock for an extended period. Every time I walked by her, I couldn't believe my eyes. Every time, I was in awe of her size. If you think a battleship is huge, it look several times bigger in drydock.
when your GQ station is in deep mag and you didn't need hearing anyways
I spent 3 years with 155mm field artillery which was loud enough and we were always outdoors. It had to be worse in an enclosed room.
thank you,this is such a great tour
I must say, the yanks built absolute stunning battleships, I'd love to visit the IOWA.
Thanks for the information!
This tour guy really is clued up knowledge that is quite rare today well done to that man.:-)
He's our COO and chief engineer, and he's done lots and lots of homework on top of a long career in the maritime industry.
My uncle was GM for Turret 2 aboard the California in December 1941. He survived, but had been declared KIA; his next of kin (and fiancee) were notified. A few months later, he sent a letter asking why no one was writing to him. He had a copy of his own obituary from the event. I've I would have gladly paid for a tour like this; now I get it for free, and I can go back and watch it again.
Battleship Iowa Museum, *thank you so much for shooting and producing this!*
Perfect narration! THANK YOU!
This was packed with information on a subject I didn’t know anything about; yet I understood the complexity and functionality, of everything without feeling lost or checked out throughout it’s entirety.
Well done sir, well done!
Amazing how it all comes together. You cannot help but feel for the men working in battle conditions
I remember being in Nha Trang Vietnam with the New Jersey off shore firing inland at night. You could see the muzzle flash light up the sky and a few moments later hear this whistling shell overhead going inland. Awsome sights and sounds.
welcome home and thanks for your service...
Robert N pop pop
Sooo your saying your in a war and your pissing yourself over the sounds of a battleship???
BUT . . . a B-52 strike was three aircraft, each bomber carried 108 500 pound bombs, and the target area was not a dot on a map as with most airstrikes, but a blocked out area two thousand meters wide by 5 000 meters long, from which the US Troops on the ground (me) had to give final approval to insure all friendly troops were nowhere near that target area. I would be called hours before, and asked to clear target number _ _ _ after which the planes would need no other approval before their time on target. The planes would drop half their bomb load, then turn around and about 15 minutes later drop the remaining ordinance. I once stood atop the operations command bunker during the strike at a distance of about 2 miles from target, the night was clear, the bombers could not be seen or heard from the ground, and once the bombs began to explode the concussion from each would cause the skin on my face to ripple from the effect for each explosion. It was then apparent why these strikes demoralized the NVA and VC who witnessed them. When one considered how minimal their defense was in these areas, and how massive the attack it felt like killing flies with a pile driver. The NVA had SAM sites near cities and ports, but this was in areas along the Cambodian border that had no such defense weapons.
I've heard that approximately 80% of all targets in Vietnam were within range of the 16" main guns. I sometimes wonder if pilots and planes might have been spared if the battleships had been used a bit more in the war. (Micheal, I think only the New Jersey was activated during the Vietnam war.)
The USS Iowa Museum now has an optional "Gun Tour" available on weekends that take you through the gun house of a 16" turret & a 5" - 38 cal turret & magazine. Plus, the plotting rooms for both guns. It's well worth the additional fee! This tour was awesome with very knowledgeable guides. Highly recommend!
Thanks so much, Steven. Glad you enjoyed it. We had a ton of fun putting it together and we're happy we can finally get people into some of these spaces. They're incredible.
@@BattleshipUSSIowaLosAngeles
Thanks! I sent a Thank You card to show my appreciation to all the museum staff, guides, etc. which you should receive in a few days. My wife & I toured the ship & took the Gun Tour on Sunday, May 8, 2022, & it was awesome! I've been wanting to see the USS Iowa since I was 6 or 7 years old. I had to wait 61 years to see it, but, it was well worth the wait! My regret was I didn't take enough pictures, and didn't write down the names of the guides & other USS Iowa personnel I came in contact with so that I could thank them by name. I'd like to thank all the volunteers that volunteer their time to make these tours possible. I know it takes an enormous amount of work on the ship itself (repairs, etc.) & all the other work needed to turn a decommissioned ship into a museum! I'm so happy that all four Iowa-class battleships were saved from being scrapped, because they're priceless historical treasures.
My grateful, heartfelt thanks to all of you!!!
@@stevendaugherty7590 Oh wow. So glad you got to fulfill that dream and genuinely appreciate the sentiments. Lots of love around here for maintaining and sharing this great ship. Makes us extremely happy to hear words like these. We'll pass them on to the tour department and they'll get back to your guides.
Thanks for this outstanding video tour. I served on and old WWII Tin Can in the sixties as an RM so never got involved in the firing of the 5" guns and really enjoyed your tour. I've taken my grandson to the USS Alabama in Mobile a couple of times and he wears me out going up and down the ladders. I can't fly up and down them any longer like I could 54 years ago going to battle stations. lol
The word obsolete is sometimes an insult to these exceptionally complex and amazing machines. Never get tired of the previous generations tier 1 technology
Fascinating, well done, thank you ! ! ! Very hard to even imagine the noises and sense of urgency during the firing, and receiving of fire, in a stand up battle ! !
I visited Iowa in Portsmouth,England, many years ago and She was the most outstanding piece of engineering I have ever seen.
So glad She's still around for people to marvel at.
Absolutely amazing. Amazing how humans developed, built and were able to use such complex technology, and built so many of them.
War brings out the very best in terms of innovation , production, and invention.
ville hirvonen Maybe you should go first then
ville hirvonen Actually nazis were more oriented towards killing the human race
ville hirvonen Also, you were the one who said that the human race deserves to be extinct. It’s worth noting. Cheers!
@@xzqzq ummm what? There were LOTS of shit designs and huge failures.. and still are today.
The raw power of just 1 of these ships is unimaginable, really. I saw a full broadside by The Missouri while the fleet was out on maneuvers. You don't hear the boom as much as feel the concussion of the blast, go right through you. Then there's the absolute destruction caused by the round. Hell on Earth just doesn't do justice to it.
Awesome tour! Very informative and knowledgeable tour guide. I would love to come see the USS Iowa. I live in Boston and have been to the USS Salem museum and we also have the USS Massachusetts Battleship open to tours here. It is extremely valuable to be able to walk around these ships and provide younger generations with an understanding of how powerful these were and the role they played in global war/politics.
The United States should have kept two in service for nostalgia and as part of a good will to tour the world, one on the east coast and one on the west coast. These ships really are magnificent pieces of engineering and should be preserved.
But the problem was and the reason they were decommissioned was they were very costly to maintain and crew at least 1,500 sailors were needed to man them
We're doing everything we can to preserve this one!
Dad served on The New Jersey in Vietnam , 1tour in a 5 in turret 2nd gunners mate.
When I turned 51 we drove up from San Diego and toured the Iowa while he was visiting. Very worth while trip. Just wished we could’ve got inside turrets. His turret had been replaced with a Tomahawk launcher. Still, a great ship
Thanks for the tour, I could spend hours looking through everything.
When I joined the Navy in 1979 they were just beginning to bring back the Battleships, I was an Opticalman back then and I got the opportunity to help in rebuilding the USS New Jerseys big optical targeting rangefinders that are in the turrets, it was a very tight, cramped space and at the time never really fully realized how much history I was dealing with.
Incredible. Imagine all the detailed engineering and design to get all that to work. Remarkable
They need to keep a couple of these ships around. Complete game changer.
M
Dom........mmmmmmmmmmmmmkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkki for
I remember seeing the New Jersey fire a full broadside off Sydney heads Australia, Thats something you never forget!
And no one will see again. You lucky dogg
Great video, I served as a GMG in Turret 2 on the USS New Jersey BB62 in the 80s in all the enlisted men's possessions over the years, including Gun Captain.
Thank you for sharing this, it's absolutely amazing. I can see why they say it would be soooo expensive to recomission these vessels. The high quality, specialised parts hidden deep inside the ship and locked in place with so much weight above it 2000 tonnes!
Awesome video. I don't even understand why someone would give this video a thumbs down. I remember the Iowa parked in the the mothball when I was learning to fly. We would use it as a center point to fly circles around with a cross wind.
On April 18th I was on the USS Coral Sea and took a few great shots of that magnificent ship firing her 16 inch guns. The next
day the accident happened. We offered help but they had no casualties. Only fatalities. The mood was somber on the Ole three screw maru. I'm going to visit that ship and donate the pictures if it's the last thing I ever do.
I was onboard the USS Monongahela AO-178. I was with the first group of 20 women onboard. Some of the Mono guys were sent to the Iowa to make room for us women. We had just finished refueling the Iowa on that tragic day. I have a picture of a couple of Mono shipmates sitting topside with the Iowa in the background after the Iowa broke away from us. The picture was taken a few minutes before the explosion. Any loss of life while serving is sad, but having a history like we've had with the Iowa makes it even more touching to us. RIP shipmates, you all are not forgotten.
The USS Coral Sea CVA-43 had 5" guns when I served in 1970-71. Even the 5" guns shook the entire ship. I just couldn't even imagine being there with 16" guns ablaze. Very nice video.
I was trained as a 13E in field artillery in the nice open air. Hats off to you, naval gun crews.
That gun-laying computer is a masterpiece inside.
it is a god damned monument to human ingenuity for what can be done with mechanical computers.
My uncle, Francis Tafe, was a rangefinder on one of the turrets of the Iowa all during WWII. Like many vet's he never spoke about his experiences. God bless them all.
God Bless the sailors and Marines who sailed these ships.
Marines did not sail them, sailors did.
Well spoken narrative. Thank You! I had the good fortune to visit the USS Alabama in Mobile Bay a few years ago. They had cut a door thru the 16" cylinder that supports the turret by going all the way to the keel. Veterans were on board as volunteers to add color and narrative of their experiences on the ship.
We have the gunhouse on Turret I open for tours now. Working on ways to get the public into the rest of the turret, hopefully without too much altering of original structure.
I would have absolutely clocked my head so many times following that guy around in there.
I believe that the tour guide misspoke about the stamping on the gun. The US Naval Gun Factory responsible for the production of the majority of gun barrels was located within the Washington Navy Yard. The arsenal at Watervliet New York was an Army artillery depot which did produce 16''/50 CAL guns though I do not believe it would have been stamped under the US NAVAL GUN FACTORY. The USS Massachusetts has guns from both locations in turret 2. The left and right guns are from the US Naval Gun Factory WNY and are stamped as they are in the video. The center gun is from Watervliet and is stamped "USA ORDNANCE FACTORY WATERVLIET ARSENAL". Would you be able to provide some clarity for me?
I cannot even begin to imagine what the noise inside those rooms was like during a firing,
Brought back memories. Did two years on the New Jersey as Turret 1 center gun shell hoist operator. I made that crawl a lot of times.
when he is coming down the ladder, you get an idea what it must have felt like.. under fire.. from that low. Balls... big freaking balls.
The expertise to design, build and put into successful action back in the mid to late 30's is simply mind blowing to me. I remember touring the USS North Carolina and we couldn't tour the turrets but did tour the operating room. All I could remember was how antiquated an impression it made on me. Thank you to all of the greatest generation. I fear that patriotic sentiment is long gone and not to be seen again. Very depressing thought of where things are today in the world.
And now I know why almost all crew on battleships would be lost when one sank. There is no way to get out fast
Lucky if you died quickly. Reportedly after Pearl Harbor surviving crewmen lived on for a week or more, trapped in sunken ships. Have to wonder, when a capital ship would ' turn turtle ' and sink, how many trapped crew would survive, briefly, in trapped air spaces ?
Three shipmates were trapped onboard USS West Virginia when she turned over at Pearl Harbor. Trapped in a storeroom, they marked off the days on a calendar they found there: sixteen days after the attack, the last day was marked. Sixteen days. They were 18, 20 and 21 years old.
during a big storm going to japan a cruiser ran out of fuel and sank all men lost 1944
dark labyrinths of death
@@xzqzq It can be quick or it can be longer, it just depends on how many are using the available oxygen in a small place, what noxious fumes could be present, how their own bodies coped, and if they gave up or not -- we only hope it was quick if they were not rescued. Our hearts go out to all those who were lost on ships in Pearl on 12-7-41, may they all rest in peace. I visited the Arizona Memorial a couple of time, it is VERY sobering to know that there are lost souls beneath you. WE honor, respect and thank ALL warriors from every war. Like Gen. Sherman said, "War is Hell" and we certainly agree. So many families lost loved ones during all our wars, it is very sad, but they WILL BE REMEMBERED, for all time!
Thank you very much for this. I visited U.S.S. Alabama and wanted badly to see inside a turret. This is amazing technology and a testiment to the U.S. Navy and all the men who served.
Amazing video - Thanks
About two years ago my Girlfriend took me to the New Jersey. I think it was the aft turret that was open to the public. You could go up through the hatch he showed and into the rear portion of the turret. I was amazed at how cramped the compartment was. You had to climb over something to get a little further in where you could see the breeches of the guns.
Thanks for posting that video
That locking design on the powder cans is just incredible.
There is must see tour of the USS Alabama in Mobile Bay. My wife, kids and I spent the entire day exploring most all of the ship. We saw the engine rooms, gun turrets, galley, berthing, hospital, gaussing room, firing control, bridge, crows nests; It was just too much to take in everything. The scale of these things is just unbelievable.
I never thought it was so involved just to fire one shell. Absolutely amazing
Playing "Thunderstruck" on another window as I watch this video.
I served as Gun captain center gun Turret 2 on the New Jersey 1968-69. Great video!!
Very interesting. thanks for the tour ! Glad this popped up on my recommended.
my father served on the uss Amsterdam cruiser out side of Tokyo,waiting for word to invade.He never said if he ever got shot at but his sister future husband was on a battle ship parallel to his.would have loved to see that ship in person but in 1980s the navy mothballed it then I believe sunk it off vergin
I work with Jim Rose when the Missouri & New Jersey were in Long Beach. He was the shipyard civilian Optical Shop supervisor and I was an enlisted Navy Opticalman. We overhauled the turret rangefinders and periscopes. Would love to get back and see how they are some day.
Worked shop 36, Fire Control. Those were fond days.
Every time I see a video like this, I’m always shocked by how tight the spaces are on such a huge ship.
This video shows that you had to have jewels as tough as the brass on that cradle to work under these conditions. Just two ways in and out. War or "peace" time, these were....and are.... all very tough and brave men and women. I'm planning to visit the Iowa during the Remembrance Day weekend. It is one of many fine tributes to those who served and continue to do so.
Great Video, my Uncle was a "Turret Master/Gunner" on the USS New Jersey during WW2, he almost lost his Hearing and told my Father (his younger Brother) Horror Stories about the Noise, Heat And Death in those Turrets.
My Father said my Uncle told him about a Sailor grabbing an Ejected Casing and literally "Frying himself to it", teenagers, becoming Men "overnight!"
The entire leviathan designed by hundreds of people standing or sitting at desks with slide rules, compasses and pencils on graph paper-No APPLE or MICROSOFT , back then...
That's why it's worthless for modern warfare, unless you need some big guns to shell under equipped enemies (desert storm).
@@5000mahmud Advances in aircraft, guided missiles, submarine warfare, among many other fields have rendered this doctrine obsolete.
Other futuristic concepts like the rail gun are on the very verge of becoming reality, and will force ships like this even farther down the power scale.
As far as I can tell, none of the Iowa class ever served much purpose other than for coastal bombardments, they were obsolete to begin with. The only exception I can find is during attack on Truk, when admiral Spruance decided to actually halt airplane attacks on stricken Japanese destroyers so he could have the pleasure of getting the last licks in with Iowa and New Jersey before they disappeared under the waves. New Jersey almost got torpedoed for the trouble. That's pretty much the only case I know of where Iowa class battleships sunk any other ships, though Wisconsin did come close to sinking a ship, by ramming a friendly.
Japanese and German contemporary battleships didn't really perform any better, giant coffins with big targets on their back the whole lot of them. Too few to make a difference, too precious to risk and juicy targets for bombs and torpedoes.
@@aleksandersuur9475 wow, how about the Battle of Casablanca? Or the Second Battle of Guadalcanal or the last official fight between battleships, the Battle of Suriago Strait?
@@Cleaveland72 which of the Iowa class battleships did Casablanca or Guadalcanal involve, weren't all battleships in these engagements from older classes? Iowa and New Jersey were present at Leyte Gulf, but they didn't end up doing much did they? All the battleship action came from older classes if I remember correctly.
Thank you for the movie. It also helps people who live very far away to experience part of the tour, even if it's not like the real thing.
I have done this exact thing on the Mighty Mo'. I literally climbed from the turret all the way to the end of the barrel. I could have climbed out and jumped down to the deck, but the turrets were in combat position (90 deg. off the keel) and its a loooooong way down to the water. LIke broken bones from hitting the water type of far.
What a beautifully designed and engineered machine.
This not a place for the claustrophobic. Great video, thank you
boy ain't that the truth, I was thinking good lord I'd hate to be in there. especially under fire. Jesus, I just can't imagine how terrible that is. I toured the USS Texas and couldn't get over how cramped and claustrophobic it was. No thank you . My father in law who was in Korea advised me to join the army which I did we were outside in the fresh air. 1st cav. 8th eng. battalion. blowing the hell outa stuff, good times ; ).But I salute all sailors that served aboard ships at sea because i wouldnt want to do it,so someone else had to. thanks guys.
Nor is the ball turret on a B-17! I went from a video of that to this film. The engineering on the big guns is awe inspiring!
That was awesome! I had absolutely no idea how complex the mechanisms and processes were. Thank you for posting and sharing this. I hope one day to visit.
Thanks for uploading this video! I've watched the movie, *"SINK the BISMARCK!"* The actual *WORK* it took to bring JUST ONE, of those *"Naval Rifles"* into action, was staggeringly impressive!
A very nice tour, thank you very much!
The USS Massachusetts (SoDak class) is on display in Fall River MA. Her #3 turret is open to view. Fascinating stuff there; I've been there a few times as a kid.
I was able to climb around the upper part of this turrret and work the range finder. Very exciting.
Absolutely have been going there since I was a kid and have brought my kids several times you see something new every time you go
I got to sleep over on that ship as a young boy scout. It was awesome! Go up on deck and move the machine guns and then hope over the submarine they had on display as well. This was over 30 years ago, so not sure if it's all still there.
Same here. My mother wondered where I disappeared to when I found the hatch into the turret from the deck. That was probably 50 years ago.
My Dad served as a Marine at Hawthorne Naval Ammo Depot. His reunions were so cool! Great guys, interesting history and mind boggling hardware, they met every three years.
The animation of the guy going down the ladder was hysterical!
Incredible, I had always imagined a spacious operating theatre inside those turrets. Thank you!