I used a slide rule in high school to do precise complicated mathematics. In my senior year the calculators were just beginning to be seen in classes. This was 1973.@@MrThisIsMeToo
As for video requests - I think a video that “follows” a sailor from his rack when the GQ alarms goes off to their battle stations would be interesting.
@@philr6829 Woops, Sorry Chief. I was a lowly PO 3d. Were you ever in Charleston SC when the base was open? I worked as a Corpsman in the hospital in the early 90s.
I was finally able to see an Iowa class battleship last week with a visit to the USS New Jersey. Great exhibit! Brilliant and friendly staff! Keep up the great work.
I'd broaden it a bit. Start in spot or sky 1, show how they lock on the target, then go down to fore or aft plot and see how they do their thing, then the turret officer booth if he has to do anything to get the solution to the machinery
It's crazy how tight all of the turret spaces mixed with high power motors. Watching the guy load look down the barrel, load the shell, and then call to another guy to "ram" the shell into place. You could easily loose a hand, arm, or worse at each one of these steps!
The hoist control looks very much like a streetcar controller, and I suspect it works on the same principle. Briefly, the handle is attached to a vertical shaft very much like a camshaft. The cams open or close electrical contacters that create the circuit to the motors. At the Northern Ohio Railway Museum where I volunteer, one of my first jobs was cleaning the contacts for our Cleveland Railway crane car. I remember seeing the gun pit on North Carolina's #3 turret when I was 19, and it was awesome.
One of the best videos that you see, follow, and understand the loading process. The added lighting and smart camera placements helped tremendously. Thank Ryan, your staff, and volunteers for the hard work!
In trucking I would move 49500 pounds in 130 pound boxes which comes out to about maybe 500 or so boxes onto the deck of the trailer from the deck of the dock its on. Then stacked up above my head 8 feet give or take. Do all that in a few hours to load. Then repeat later today or tomorrow morning unloading at delivery manually onto the dock pallets with increasing distance to carry them towards the end of the process. I weighed 155 or so when I started trucking maintained that weight give or take 5. I ate up to 10,000 calories in food (Usually some sort of steak meal four times a day in summer and 6 in winter) to maintain the energy needs and the heating metabolism for --25 inside the freezing trailer running those meat boxes in shorts and tee shirts. We were fit. There was a tiny amount of fat where it needed to be and thats all. I became obese when I stopped trucking medically some years back from there to about 290 and over the last 4 years worked it off with strict carnivore eating back to 165 now I work to maintain that weight with more calories against the cancer's ability to take weight away towards 120, 100 or even 80 which is life threatening. In the past I ate to work now I eat to live a little longer.
I realize that your 16" rammers probably do not now function, but these are fascinating items of "bicycle chain" technology. They of course can be seen--normally at high speed--in video of the guns being loaded, but are probably not movable or even very visible today. Can you make a video focusing on these intriguing rammer assemblies? I don't know if that new cutaway model of the 16" turret shows these in any greater detail. You are all VERY creative here, so............
Having watched the Iowa turret turning videos this made a lot more sense and I'm glad Ryan mentioned that . Keeping these great ships as museums is a massive task and it's a tribute to all concerned they are still around in such good condition .
I toured the USS Iowa in 2021 at her birth in Long Beach CA. She has been moved one mile west and permanently moored as the Museum of the Pacific. The ship's tour was complete and I was recognized as an Iowan!
I want to see “City at Sea”, covering all the random amenities the ship needs (print shop, library, TV studio etc.) because she was home to 2000+ people for months at a time. If it aired in October it could play up the fact the ship could now count as a “ghost town”.
I served as a gun chief on the 8" howitzers US Army Field Artillery . The similarities from that to the Navy's 16" guns is striking. Thank you for a great presentation!
It's crazy how complex these systems really are. Now imagine doing this under fire, with shells the size of small cars hitting your ship, killing your friends. Thankfully a true battleship on battleship conflict only happened once during the war. Thank you, Ryan, for the amazing walkthrough on what the whole process looks like from A to Z.
I use to work at the naval inactive ships facility in Bremerton Washington back in the 1970s and 80s. We had both the uss missouri and new jersey and going inside these ships was amazing.
No one is complaining about the length of your videos Ryan. Other than maybe they are too short! 😅 Can't get enough! We appreciate your efforts and all involved.
I went to the Battleship New Jersey and Mass. You have no idea the size of the projectile and the power bags. Everything is big and heavy. It was educational to learn about them and you will appreciate what those guys had to deal with. The ship is big and easy to get lost in.
Took a 20 minute video to explain a 30 second process, just shows how efficient AND powerful New Jersey was with her crewman at full speed. great video as always!
Awesome. The Missouri came to Sydney, Australia, for our 75th B'Day in 1986. What a hell of a ship. It made my little Oliver Hazard Perry class Frigate look like a Tonka toy
I like seeing parts of the ship operating like when you showed the shells lifting. Really cool to see how ship hasn't just survived, but parts of her still work. Badazz!
Now imagine being in the navy and being asked to move those things like your life depends on because it just might have . That would be difficult work . I was thinking 🤔 couldn’t they make it smaller so they wouldn’t hurt backs and also so it would be easier to move
Now imagine being in the navy and being asked to move those things like your life depends on because it just might have . That would be difficult work . I was thinking 🤔 couldn’t they make it smaller so they wouldn’t hurt backs and also so it would be easier to move
@neubauerjoseph Smaller shells would be easier to move, but as the square cube law tells us a small reduction in height or diameter would lead to a significant reduction in boom boom juice. Plus lighter shells means less penetration and that's just sad.
Before Great War the fleet was stationed near some big city with limited opportunity for gunnery training, it was too noisy. So focus was made on speed instead accuracy. Now we know how good it worked.
@@uncommon_niagara1581 For a watch standing space it would most likely be the shaft alleys. For a living space...If I Remember Correctly, the deck guys had a berthing compartment all the way down on the fourth deck forward of Turret One. A lot of ladders to climb in an emergency.
Beryllium was also used a lot in magazines and other fire control spaces where spark generation is an issue. I still have some beryllium tools from my decom of the HBW.
Exposure to beryllium dust can be dangerous and can cause a number of health issues, including: Lung irritation (bronchitis, pneumonia), Eye irritation (itching, burning), Skin irritation (ulcers, lumps), and chronic beryllium disease an irreversible lung condition including increased risk of developing cancer
@@ragtowne Non-sparking tools aren't made of pure beryllium, a small amount of it is mixed into copper, which makes it much harder and usable for tools. Tools made from ordinary copper also wouldn't spark, but would be too soft to be useful. No beryllium dust is created from the handling or use of these tools.
@@ragtowne Considering the sheer amount of asbestos that was used in the building of these ships and the era in which they were built i doubt anything like that was even considered or worried about at the time.
@@Kilroy_Was_Here_1897 they used Berylium in the manufacturer of some bicycles and it resulted in people inhaling beryllium dust I was just trying to state that beryllium has to be handled carefully not that it shouldn’t be used
Just to nitpick on the ammunition hoist: It wasn't like a conveyor, it was a ratchet mechanism. The operator raised the shells but raising the hoist. They would go up one step. The shells were then held in place by ratchets that kept them from coming down as the hoist was lowered back down. Then when the hoist was raised again, it would lift the shells another step. The timing of the stationary and moving ratchets could be re-timed to lower the shells back down.
I would love to hear more on the targeting computer that they used. I know it was a mechanical computer that they could input all of the different variables needed for aiming but that's all I know.
It’s a fascinating topic. My understanding is they were analog computers. A firing solution is essentially a differential equation. So you build a circuit that has the same differential equation and you input things like wind velocity and direction by adjusting dials that increase or decrease the voltage of the part of the circuit that is the analog for that input. That’s probably not exactly correct but I think that’s the basic idea. I agree would love to know how they actually worked.
Great video, would love to see another on Spot 3; perhaps a look at what New Jersey’s aft control personnel would have to overcome to escape under circumstances resembling Müllenheim-Rechburg’s during Bismarck’s final engagement.
15:00 The tie-downs really feel like more of a design feature to keep the turret solidly in contact with the rest of the ship hull. I can't imagine many scenarios where the turret could potentially fall out completely that don't involve the ship also being fully capsized and at risk of sinking. Instead, it feels like these tie-downs are more to keep cables and hatchways and systems in consistent contact and alignment in order to reduce wear in rough conditions.
This was great. Question for a possible future video: what was a turret officer's job like? What rank did they typically hold and what other duties outside of the turret might they have had?
It's got to be so much fun working on a battleship museum. If I wasn't 3 and a half hours away from New Jersey, I would definitely volunteer my time to the ship. Of course, I live in between both USS New Jersey and USS Massachusetts, so either one will do. Though, I believe I live closer to Massachusetts.
Heh. Your observation towards the end caught my attention. True, we have to adjust our fire to bring it on-target if it turns out we were a little off. I have some idea of how that works for my brother Marines doing fire missions ashore - the wizards in the FDC take the report from the observer spotting the fall of the shot, calculate the adjustments in windage and elevation, then pass it on to the cannoncockers in the batteries. However, I have no idea how complex it might be to do that when you also have to factor in your own movement, plus the target's movement, when you're shooting in a fleet engagement. (As an aside, many years ago, I toured USS Alabama, and remember being awestruck at how Main Battery Plot made me think of what it would be like to have a tour of God's own Swiss watch - I still don't have a good grasp on how you crank in adjustments for all those additional factors.) I haven't reviewed the whole back catalog of videos, so I apologize of you've done it already. But, could your next video feature a summary of how the Main Battery is aimed and adjusted on target in a fight with another warship? I'll apologize in advance if that's already been covered, and ask only for a link to the video where you covered the topic. But, if you haven't broken it down as simply as you just did for the loading and firing cycle here, could you do that next? Thanks Semper Fi, and Fair Winds, Mike Doyle
Even more interesting is that the original computer equipment used to calculate the trajectory is a) still on the ship b) *analog* c) not superseded by digital until the mid 80's.
Yes! Yes! Yes! More longform content like this guys. Would like to see some of your earliest content reworked now that you folks have become more comfortable with presenting. And don’t worry that videos end up being longer. That’s a Positive. 👍🏼 Though we realize it means more work on the editing side of things. Those of us who will never get a chance to visit an Iowa class battleship deeply appreciate the effort you and Libby put in just to make sure there’s a video each day❣️ I wish the other Iowas could put out this kind of content even ¼ as often as you folks. Thanks Ryan! 🙏🏼
I'd love to see one of the guns depressed to loading position, and its breech, spanner tray, and powder door opened. Perhaps even put a shell or six powder bags in the spanner tray? I suggest doing this with the center barrel of turret 1, as the lack of a rangefinder in turret 1 makes it the most accessible to guests.
@@BattleshipNewJersey That was the situation when I visited. Imho - despite the fact that it indeed looks nicer with the guns elevated - better from a story-telling perspective.
Couldn’t agree more! I’ve been told by a few people(family with experience) that I’m likely ASD, I still am skeptical. But I sure as hell am the exact opposite of ADD. IDGAF what any “expert” would say, I just want to learn ALL the things. All I know is that I want to know things. No matter what some BS clinician would call me, and probably you(screw ‘em, we don’t need some stupid f-ing label), just give us ALL the details. Sorry for the rant, but you are my kind! Some of us just want to know more, and your comment helps me know that I’m not the only nerd here(of course I’m not, but it’s still great to see others like me). I love being a nerd, even if it’s not the norm.
I obviously was never on a WWII battleship when it fired its guns, but I did get to explore and play on the battleship Massachusetts at Battleship Cove in Massachusetts. I am so glad I got that chance.
It would be cool if you could imbed a go pro camera inside of a powder bag (or in some other shapped container) and then make a shot of the trip it takes from on loading to out the main gun barrel. Like the start of the movie “Lord of War” where it tracks the “life” of a 7.62x39 round from factory in Ukraine to impact in Africa.
Great video, was able to reference the places you were from my walk through a couple years ago. I was thinking it would be amazing to make a one man Montage of Ryan doing every job on the New Jersey to perform one action as a whole.
Great vid, thanks! I've been through Battleship Massachusetts main gun turret in Fall River a few times. Same guns, smaller ship. This was interesting to see the complexity (and danger) of the process. Well done!
The majority of the Pacific Island bombarding in WW2 was done by the older battleships and older cruisers for the newer battleships (Like New Jersey) were used to screen the aircraft carriers and did very little bombarding in WW2.
Its really cool that the Navy left the machinery in working/operable condition for these kinds of demonstrations! It's hard to imagine just how many men would be needed to run each part of the operation, not to mention the heat, noise, and everything else.
It is interesting to see how these guns were fired. I was in the Marine Corps in artillery first with 105 howitzers and then 155 howitzers. I was not on the guns, but I plotted the gun's aiming directions. The 105 used casings like a regular bullet for the powder, but the 155 did not, like the guns showed here. We could shoot the 155 around 15 miles with a 100 pound shell. Almost all the time we could not see what we were shooting at, but could hear the explosions several seconds later. I really liked going out in the field to shoot, but never went to war.
One thing seems true between defense shooting courses I've been in and up to battleship gunfire - you can't miss fast enough. Though for an HE shell at a shore target I bet the "hit" zone is bigger than the actual target.
Its just amazing to see the size of the guns and engineering that has been done to make it possible. I would like to learn more about the fire control. Thanks for a great video!
My uncle (RIP) was a master gun chief on the USS Astoria until it went down at Guadalcanal. What always mystified me was how these men didn't all go deaf. I mean we're talking about 660 lbs of gunpowder for each shot. I can't even imaging the decibel level. BTW, my uncle survived the sinking and became one of the most influential men in my life.
When the Iowas were in the reserve fleet, I’m assuming that they had some sort of shore power on them to run the dehumidifiers, bilge pumps, and maybe some basic lighting. How did they run power out too her, and how much power did she use?
Detail walkthrough of how a shore bombardment is calculated would be great. Someone had to plot a grid/lat-long and where the ship will be when they fire so you can figure out an azimuth and range to target. In land artillery, this is what happens in the Fire Direction Center (minus the calculations for a moving gun). Ship-to-ship gunnery is handled by your analog fire computer, using sensors to determine range and direction, but what about land targets beyond visual range?
As I understand shore bombardment vs ship-to-ship gunfire is basically the same, except the target's movement is 0, where ship-to-ship the target would have a changing range & bearing and changing continously.
I know they don't exist on the New Jersey any longer, but I saw 40mm gun directors on the Alabama and the North Carolina and have wondered how they worked.
Great video. As a follow-up Ryan, could you do a video on where the sailors of Iowa’s number 2 turret were when it exploded? Not trying to be morbid, but 47 sailors were killed and I ‘m wondering what safety features failed or just how far down the explosion went inside of the turret. RIP to all of the sailors.
The happiness that is genuinely satisfying is accompanied by the fullest exercise of our faculties and the fullest realization of the world in which we live.
Loved the remake of this video! It's amazing the difference the lighting made! Loved seeing some of the original video in there as well as archival footage! How about redoing the back parts of the turret where the turret captain as his crew worked! And I'd Love to the the Fosters beer can art in the video. I got such a kick out of that when I toured the battleship a little over a year ago
You breifly mentioned Jutland, my Grandfather was a Stoker, first class on Board HMS Iron Duke during the battle of Jutland. If it were possible to hear more thoughts on Jutland and perhaps a Stoker. This may not be suitable as much older ships but just a thought
I dont remember if i have mentioned this before, but ... one day in early 1970, I was able to watch "New Jersey" conduct a fire mission. She was south of Da Nang, but still a few miles north of the Marine's amphibious base where I was. New Jersey was firing broadsides with the 16" guns, to targes well inland. (I assume the target was in the area of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, about 25 miles inland.) The shooting stopped a short way before the northern end of our base. I did take photos, but my camera and film suffered terminal battle damage soon after. So the only proof is in my memory...
Love seeing all the archival footage with all the moving pieces still operating. It must have been very noisy passing powder with all those bells ringing constantly.
My great grandfather invented shatter-proof casing technology for the 16" guns ahead of WW2. He never patented it - out of patriotism, he gave it to the U.S. War Dept. The technology is still in use today.
T2 Gunner POIC powder flats 1988-89 Here, note: powder was moved only in clockwise direction on the powder flats to minimize bumping into eachother and all communication short of sound powered phones was done by hand signal as you couldnt hear anything due to the electric motor noise and vibration. in addition the Dunk Tanks were at my time painted gray and i had sketched them into Beer cans and were almost painted as such untill my Chief found us out.
The engineering behind these guns and all their mechanisms is just mind boggling.
More mind boggling when you think they were designed with slide rules.
I used a slide rule in high school to do precise complicated mathematics. In my senior year the calculators were just beginning to be seen in classes. This was 1973.@@MrThisIsMeToo
@@MrThisIsMeToo
so was the SR-71
I know right, it is essentially a system of systems
@@davidbaker5185 you should look into 1945 nazi technology.
As for video requests - I think a video that “follows” a sailor from his rack when the GQ alarms goes off to their battle stations would be interesting.
Just join the Navy. It's not all that exciting
@@onemorething100sorry, I should have signed that remark MASTER CHIEF PETTY OFFICER, ret.
@@philr6829 Woops, Sorry Chief. I was a lowly PO 3d. Were you ever in Charleston SC when the base was open? I worked as a Corpsman in the hospital in the early 90s.
@@onemorething100no worries Doc, no wasn’t near there. Also - I was in the older and more productive sea service- Coast Guard.
@@philr6829 You did your time. Thank you.
I was finally able to see an Iowa class battleship last week with a visit to the USS New Jersey. Great exhibit! Brilliant and friendly staff! Keep up the great work.
I'm going to be checking out USS Iowa soon hopefully. Hoping my mom is as interested in it as I am
i want to visit new jeresy but im 3 hours away
recently i went to the uss wisconsin and months ago i went to the uss new jersey
@@könig3531 I'm 12 hours away.
@@könig3531Thats a great roadtrip!
id love to see you "dial in" a fire solution on the gunnery computers
like... explain what each knob does
Great suggestion!
Another "yes please" vote!
I'd broaden it a bit. Start in spot or sky 1, show how they lock on the target, then go down to fore or aft plot and see how they do their thing, then the turret officer booth if he has to do anything to get the solution to the machinery
I do believe that is in an older video about the guns
I love the idea of slowly being taught in detail for free on TH-cam how to use an Iowa class battleship for dummies.
It's crazy how tight all of the turret spaces mixed with high power motors.
Watching the guy load look down the barrel, load the shell, and then call to another guy to "ram" the shell into place. You could easily loose a hand, arm, or worse at each one of these steps!
The other, original, meaning of Not Safe for Work. The guy with a rope made me wince. (Not Ryan, the one in the film)
@MosBikeShop The operation is called "parbuckling". Same evolution raised the Costa Concordia.
The hoist control looks very much like a streetcar controller, and I suspect it works on the same principle. Briefly, the handle is attached to a vertical shaft very much like a camshaft. The cams open or close electrical contacters that create the circuit to the motors. At the Northern Ohio Railway Museum where I volunteer, one of my first jobs was cleaning the contacts for our Cleveland Railway crane car. I remember seeing the gun pit on North Carolina's #3 turret when I was 19, and it was awesome.
Or become a human cannonball
One of the best videos that you see, follow, and understand the loading process. The added lighting and smart camera placements helped tremendously. Thank Ryan, your staff, and volunteers for the hard work!
the guys working with those powder bags and shells must have been jacked up after months of doing that kind of lifting....
Definitely. Many reps of 110lbs. 6 lifts just to fire a single round.
Saves money on gym membership though 🤣
@@colinstewart1432I'm going to guess at the cost of YOUR HEARING LOSS IS NOT SERVICE-RELATED.
In trucking I would move 49500 pounds in 130 pound boxes which comes out to about maybe 500 or so boxes onto the deck of the trailer from the deck of the dock its on. Then stacked up above my head 8 feet give or take. Do all that in a few hours to load. Then repeat later today or tomorrow morning unloading at delivery manually onto the dock pallets with increasing distance to carry them towards the end of the process.
I weighed 155 or so when I started trucking maintained that weight give or take 5. I ate up to 10,000 calories in food (Usually some sort of steak meal four times a day in summer and 6 in winter) to maintain the energy needs and the heating metabolism for --25 inside the freezing trailer running those meat boxes in shorts and tee shirts. We were fit. There was a tiny amount of fat where it needed to be and thats all.
I became obese when I stopped trucking medically some years back from there to about 290 and over the last 4 years worked it off with strict carnivore eating back to 165 now I work to maintain that weight with more calories against the cancer's ability to take weight away towards 120, 100 or even 80 which is life threatening. In the past I ate to work now I eat to live a little longer.
there was 1 young man that weighed about 90 lbs that I did not allow to carry powder bags in the Powder flats. I made him my sound powered phone guy.
So whomever was in the annular spaces when Iowa turret 2 exploded survived?
I realize that your 16" rammers probably do not now function, but these are fascinating items of "bicycle chain" technology. They of course can be seen--normally at high speed--in video of the guns being loaded, but are probably not movable or even very visible today. Can you make a video focusing on these intriguing rammer assemblies? I don't know if that new cutaway model of the 16" turret shows these in any greater detail. You are all VERY creative here, so............
It is possible to tour the USS Alabama in Mobile Alabama. A tourist can take a tour of the entire ship including the bottom deck of the turret.
Having watched the Iowa turret turning videos this made a lot more sense and I'm glad Ryan mentioned that . Keeping these great ships as museums is a massive task and it's a tribute to all concerned they are still around in such good condition .
This was an interesting redo, thank you for preserving the ship and bringing it to people like me that probably won’t be able to see it in person.
I toured the USS Iowa in 2021 at her birth in Long Beach CA. She has been moved one mile west and permanently moored as the Museum of the Pacific. The ship's tour was complete and I was recognized as an Iowan!
Her new BERTH is quite spectacular. Wonderful display.
I want to see “City at Sea”, covering all the random amenities the ship needs (print shop, library, TV studio etc.) because she was home to 2000+ people for months at a time. If it aired in October it could play up the fact the ship could now count as a “ghost town”.
I served as a gun chief on the 8" howitzers US Army Field Artillery . The similarities from that to the Navy's 16" guns is striking. Thank you for a great presentation!
NO KIDDING! WOWEE!
"I wish we still had 1600 crew onboard..." haha Nearly did a whisky spit-take on that one.
Ive said it several time, but the guys that designed and built those turrets etc were just amazing.
It's crazy how complex these systems really are. Now imagine doing this under fire, with shells the size of small cars hitting your ship, killing your friends. Thankfully a true battleship on battleship conflict only happened once during the war. Thank you, Ryan, for the amazing walkthrough on what the whole process looks like from A to Z.
I use to work at the naval inactive ships facility in Bremerton Washington back in the 1970s and 80s. We had both the uss missouri and new jersey and going inside these ships was amazing.
You have such an extensive back catalogue that when I suggested a topic to cover, you were able to point me to a video on tthe exact topic
No one is complaining about the length of your videos Ryan. Other than maybe they are too short! 😅 Can't get enough! We appreciate your efforts and all involved.
These ships are engineering marvels. As always, wonderful video about these important pieces of our history.
I went to the Battleship New Jersey and Mass. You have no idea the size of the projectile and the power bags. Everything is big and heavy. It was educational to learn about them and you will appreciate what those guys had to deal with. The ship is big and easy to get lost in.
Took a 20 minute video to explain a 30 second process, just shows how efficient AND powerful New Jersey was with her crewman at full speed. great video as always!
congrats on 250K guys! well deserved.
Excellent video as usual! Super informative! I’m amazed that the lift still works! Need to get back for another tour!! Thank you Ryan!!
I noticed the new lights immediately. Great!
Awesome. The Missouri came to Sydney, Australia, for our 75th B'Day in 1986. What a hell of a ship. It made my little Oliver Hazard Perry class Frigate look like a Tonka toy
@BattleshipNewJersey Sweet video Ryan, you do great work. Your work is a great testament to the Blue shirts who were there. Thank you for all you do.
I like seeing parts of the ship operating like when you showed the shells lifting. Really cool to see how ship hasn't just survived, but parts of her still work. Badazz!
It never fails to impress! The size of those shells is awe inspiring!
The size of the powder charge is the crazy part
Now imagine being in the navy and being asked to move those things like your life depends on because it just might have . That would be difficult work . I was thinking 🤔 couldn’t they make it smaller so they wouldn’t hurt backs and also so it would be easier to move
Now imagine being in the navy and being asked to move those things like your life depends on because it just might have . That would be difficult work . I was thinking 🤔 couldn’t they make it smaller so they wouldn’t hurt backs and also so it would be easier to move
@@massmike11 The muscles on the curator are even more amazing. Did you see how easily the was moving those 110 pound powder bags? 💪💪🤣
@neubauerjoseph Smaller shells would be easier to move, but as the square cube law tells us a small reduction in height or diameter would lead to a significant reduction in boom boom juice.
Plus lighter shells means less penetration and that's just sad.
At Jutland, the blast doors on the British battleships were open and powder left everywhere. The opposite of what you showed.
Yeah, they left the doors open to speed up loading.
Before Great War the fleet was stationed near some big city with limited opportunity for gunnery training, it was too noisy. So focus was made on speed instead accuracy. Now we know how good it worked.
It was a hole lot easier to load the 5”38 guns! I loaded the shells and sent them up to the guns which only weighed 55 lbs.
You and your volunteers and crew have done a fantastic job saving our countries Naval history in that most famous ship like very few others!
What would be the most complicated route that a sailor would normally have to take to abandon ship from a normally inhabited space?
@@uncommon_niagara1581 For a watch standing space it would most likely be the shaft alleys. For a living space...If I Remember Correctly, the deck guys had a berthing compartment all the way down on the fourth deck forward of Turret One. A lot of ladders to climb in an emergency.
Beryllium was also used a lot in magazines and other fire control spaces where spark generation is an issue. I still have some beryllium tools from my decom of the HBW.
Exposure to beryllium dust can be dangerous and can cause a number of health issues, including: Lung irritation (bronchitis, pneumonia), Eye irritation (itching, burning), Skin irritation (ulcers, lumps), and chronic beryllium disease an irreversible lung condition including increased risk of developing cancer
@@ragtowne Non-sparking tools aren't made of pure beryllium, a small amount of it is mixed into copper, which makes it much harder and usable for tools. Tools made from ordinary copper also wouldn't spark, but would be too soft to be useful. No beryllium dust is created from the handling or use of these tools.
@@ragtowne Considering the sheer amount of asbestos that was used in the building of these ships and the era in which they were built i doubt anything like that was even considered or worried about at the time.
@@Kilroy_Was_Here_1897 they used Berylium in the manufacturer of some bicycles and it resulted in people inhaling beryllium dust I was just trying to state that beryllium has to be handled carefully not that it shouldn’t be used
@@paulhunter1735 indeed it was war and in war all things are fair
Just to nitpick on the ammunition hoist: It wasn't like a conveyor, it was a ratchet mechanism. The operator raised the shells but raising the hoist. They would go up one step. The shells were then held in place by ratchets that kept them from coming down as the hoist was lowered back down. Then when the hoist was raised again, it would lift the shells another step.
The timing of the stationary and moving ratchets could be re-timed to lower the shells back down.
Just to nitpick the nitpicking, the projectile hoist is a reciprocating rack and tube pawl mechanism.
Thanks!
How about a video on the chain rammer contraption? Specifically the chain portion and how it functions.
I would love to hear more on the targeting computer that they used.
I know it was a mechanical computer that they could input all of the different variables needed for aiming but that's all I know.
It’s a fascinating topic. My understanding is they were analog computers. A firing solution is essentially a differential equation. So you build a circuit that has the same differential equation and you input things like wind velocity and direction by adjusting dials that increase or decrease the voltage of the part of the circuit that is the analog for that input. That’s probably not exactly correct but I think that’s the basic idea. I agree would love to know how they actually worked.
Great video, would love to see another on Spot 3; perhaps a look at what New Jersey’s aft control personnel would have to overcome to escape under circumstances resembling Müllenheim-Rechburg’s during Bismarck’s final engagement.
15:00 The tie-downs really feel like more of a design feature to keep the turret solidly in contact with the rest of the ship hull. I can't imagine many scenarios where the turret could potentially fall out completely that don't involve the ship also being fully capsized and at risk of sinking. Instead, it feels like these tie-downs are more to keep cables and hatchways and systems in consistent contact and alignment in order to reduce wear in rough conditions.
Wow, epic updated video of the powder path, loved the 1st one but this is crystal clear, so much to look at!
Im starting to lose faith that "Under Siege" was actually a documentary.... 😆
It wasn't?
This was great. Question for a possible future video: what was a turret officer's job like? What rank did they typically hold and what other duties outside of the turret might they have had?
It's got to be so much fun working on a battleship museum. If I wasn't 3 and a half hours away from New Jersey, I would definitely volunteer my time to the ship. Of course, I live in between both USS New Jersey and USS Massachusetts, so either one will do. Though, I believe I live closer to Massachusetts.
Heh. Your observation towards the end caught my attention. True, we have to adjust our fire to bring it on-target if it turns out we were a little off. I have some idea of how that works for my brother Marines doing fire missions ashore - the wizards in the FDC take the report from the observer spotting the fall of the shot, calculate the adjustments in windage and elevation, then pass it on to the cannoncockers in the batteries. However, I have no idea how complex it might be to do that when you also have to factor in your own movement, plus the target's movement, when you're shooting in a fleet engagement. (As an aside, many years ago, I toured USS Alabama, and remember being awestruck at how Main Battery Plot made me think of what it would be like to have a tour of God's own Swiss watch - I still don't have a good grasp on how you crank in adjustments for all those additional factors.)
I haven't reviewed the whole back catalog of videos, so I apologize of you've done it already. But, could your next video feature a summary of how the Main Battery is aimed and adjusted on target in a fight with another warship?
I'll apologize in advance if that's already been covered, and ask only for a link to the video where you covered the topic. But, if you haven't broken it down as simply as you just did for the loading and firing cycle here, could you do that next? Thanks
Semper Fi, and Fair Winds,
Mike Doyle
Even more interesting is that the original computer equipment used to calculate the trajectory is a) still on the ship b) *analog* c) not superseded by digital until the mid 80's.
Yes! Yes! Yes! More longform content like this guys. Would like to see some of your earliest content reworked now that you folks have become more comfortable with presenting. And don’t worry that videos end up being longer. That’s a Positive. 👍🏼 Though we realize it means more work on the editing side of things.
Those of us who will never get a chance to visit an Iowa class battleship deeply appreciate the effort you and Libby put in just to make sure there’s a video each day❣️ I wish the other Iowas could put out this kind of content even ¼ as often as you folks. Thanks Ryan! 🙏🏼
It's a good thing OSHA does NOT have jurisdiction on a Navy ship! Great video.
Just read the in depth report of the Iowa gun turret disaster where 47 sailors died. Seeing this adds more help in understanding what happened.
It takes a lot of Ps: [P]rojectile, [P]ropellant, [P]rimer, [P]ush breech closed, [P]ush Safe/Fire switch to fire, [P]ull trigger
No wonder they only let people with PPs work there 😂
Phire!
Its amazing how you guys keep all those mechanisms working
Cool stuff!! I really enjoyed this demonstration of how the turret loading system works
I just visited the USAUSNUSMC North Carolina in Wilmington!!
I'd love to see one of the guns depressed to loading position, and its breech, spanner tray, and powder door opened. Perhaps even put a shell or six powder bags in the spanner tray? I suggest doing this with the center barrel of turret 1, as the lack of a rangefinder in turret 1 makes it the most accessible to guests.
We had it that way with turret 3 for decades, but decided it looked better elevated
@@BattleshipNewJersey That was the situation when I visited. Imho - despite the fact that it indeed looks nicer with the guns elevated - better from a story-telling perspective.
The USS Massachussets BB-59 has one of the guns in turret 3 at the loading position with the ramp down, and rammer extended with powder bags going in
USS North. Carolina has her guns in loading position in turret 3
"Trying to keep the video brief"? We don't want brief. We want ALL the details!
Couldn’t agree more!
I’ve been told by a few people(family with experience) that I’m likely ASD, I still am skeptical. But I sure as hell am the exact opposite of ADD. IDGAF what any “expert” would say, I just want to learn ALL the things. All I know is that I want to know things. No matter what some BS clinician would call me, and probably you(screw ‘em, we don’t need some stupid f-ing label), just give us ALL the details.
Sorry for the rant, but you are my kind! Some of us just want to know more, and your comment helps me know that I’m not the only nerd here(of course I’m not, but it’s still great to see others like me). I love being a nerd, even if it’s not the norm.
I built a model of the USS New Jersey when I was a kid. I am glad that she found a safe harbor.
I obviously was never on a WWII battleship when it fired its guns, but I did get to explore and play on the battleship Massachusetts at Battleship Cove in Massachusetts. I am so glad I got that chance.
Fascinating ! Excellent segment, not too long at all ! Thank You !!
Ryan I so enjoy watching your videos every night
It would be cool if you could imbed a go pro camera inside of a powder bag (or in some other shapped container) and then make a shot of the trip it takes from on loading to out the main gun barrel. Like the start of the movie “Lord of War” where it tracks the “life” of a 7.62x39 round from factory in Ukraine to impact in Africa.
Great video, was able to reference the places you were from my walk through a couple years ago. I was thinking it would be amazing to make a one man Montage of Ryan doing every job on the New Jersey to perform one action as a whole.
Getting better and better at this Ryan, keep up the good work! I love this stuff!
When I'm desperately waiting for my guns to reload in WOWS, I'll be more patient from now on, knowing how many steps there are to load and fire them.
Great vid, thanks! I've been through Battleship Massachusetts main gun turret in Fall River a few times. Same guns, smaller ship. This was interesting to see the complexity (and danger) of the process. Well done!
The majority of the Pacific Island bombarding in WW2 was done by the older battleships and older cruisers for the newer battleships (Like New Jersey) were used to screen the aircraft carriers
and did very little bombarding in WW2.
There's an incredible amount of engineering when everything has to work at a precise time first it to work properly and efficiently.
Its really cool that the Navy left the machinery in working/operable condition for these kinds of demonstrations! It's hard to imagine just how many men would be needed to run each part of the operation, not to mention the heat, noise, and everything else.
I can definitely say that it's a complicated and sophisticated system
We have the battle ship USS Texas down here on Galveston Island now so I love to learn about battle ships. Thank you.
It is interesting to see how these guns were fired. I was in the Marine Corps in artillery first with 105 howitzers and then 155 howitzers. I was not on the guns, but I plotted the gun's aiming directions. The 105 used casings like a regular bullet for the powder, but the 155 did not, like the guns showed here. We could shoot the 155 around 15 miles with a 100 pound shell. Almost all the time we could not see what we were shooting at, but could hear the explosions several seconds later. I really liked going out in the field to shoot, but never went to war.
Excellent video. Thanks for taking the time.
My new favorite Mr. Rogers spin off! ..I hope Texas gets these kind of upgrades also! Love the lighting
One thing seems true between defense shooting courses I've been in and up to battleship gunfire - you can't miss fast enough. Though for an HE shell at a shore target I bet the "hit" zone is bigger than the actual target.
Fabulous. Stunning engineering, stunning team work. Quite remarkable.
Excellent video Ryan!
Thank you Ryan this was a interesting episode.
Its just amazing to see the size of the guns and engineering that has been done to make it possible. I would like to learn more about the fire control. Thanks for a great video!
My uncle (RIP) was a master gun chief on the USS Astoria until it went down at Guadalcanal. What always mystified me was how these men didn't all go deaf. I mean we're talking about 660 lbs of gunpowder for each shot. I can't even imaging the decibel level. BTW, my uncle survived the sinking and became one of the most influential men in my life.
Literally just showed my dad the old video about this topic only to see a brand new one just got released. The lighting is so much better now!
Fascinating! Thank you. Having reading about Jutland I habe severe respect for gunners and battleships.
I remember an episode about the catacombs way back when. Would love to see a new video about that!
When the Iowas were in the reserve fleet, I’m assuming that they had some sort of shore power on them to run the dehumidifiers, bilge pumps, and maybe some basic lighting. How did they run power out too her, and how much power did she use?
First time on your channel - enjoyable seeing history relived. Love the engineering.
This is a semi automatic pistol on a massive scale, with really big bullets.😮
Detail walkthrough of how a shore bombardment is calculated would be great. Someone had to plot a grid/lat-long and where the ship will be when they fire so you can figure out an azimuth and range to target. In land artillery, this is what happens in the Fire Direction Center (minus the calculations for a moving gun). Ship-to-ship gunnery is handled by your analog fire computer, using sensors to determine range and direction, but what about land targets beyond visual range?
As I understand shore bombardment vs ship-to-ship gunfire is basically the same, except the target's movement is 0, where ship-to-ship the target would have a changing range & bearing and changing continously.
I know they don't exist on the New Jersey any longer, but I saw 40mm gun directors on the Alabama and the North Carolina and have wondered how they worked.
I wasn't prepared for the "Battleship New Jersey is funded by" spiel changing
Didn't know you'd got the capstans and shell hoists working.
Great video. As a follow-up Ryan, could you do a video on where the sailors of Iowa’s number 2 turret were when it exploded? Not trying to be morbid, but 47 sailors were killed and I ‘m wondering what safety features failed or just how far down the explosion went inside of the turret. RIP to all of the sailors.
I am also curious as to how far down the explosion went. RIP to all of the sailors.
Thanks for this. I toured the Wisconsin in Norfolk, but we couldn’t see any of these areas. Thanks again.
The happiness that is genuinely satisfying is accompanied by the fullest exercise of our faculties and the fullest realization of the world in which we live.
Loved the remake of this video! It's amazing the difference the lighting made! Loved seeing some of the original video in there as well as archival footage! How about redoing the back parts of the turret where the turret captain as his crew worked! And I'd Love to the the Fosters beer can art in the video. I got such a kick out of that when I toured the battleship a little over a year ago
Excellent presentation, thank you!!!
Thank you! Mind-boggling to know how fast and chaotic(?) activities down here were during battles.
It's always a good idea to seek shelter from the evil gaze of the sun.
You breifly mentioned Jutland, my Grandfather was a Stoker, first class on Board HMS Iron Duke during the battle of Jutland. If it were possible to hear more thoughts on Jutland and perhaps a Stoker. This may not be suitable as much older ships but just a thought
I dont remember if i have mentioned this before, but ...
one day in early 1970, I was able to watch "New Jersey" conduct a fire mission. She was south of Da Nang, but still a few miles north of the Marine's amphibious base where I was.
New Jersey was firing broadsides with the 16" guns, to targes well inland. (I assume the target was in the area of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, about 25 miles inland.) The shooting stopped a short way before the northern end of our base. I did take photos, but my camera and film suffered terminal battle damage soon after. So the only proof is in my memory...
Love seeing all the archival footage with all the moving pieces still operating. It must have been very noisy passing powder with all those bells ringing constantly.
someone has been slacking on polishing the brass in the powder room... LOL Been awhile since I had to polish Turrets 3's brass... 1991...
15:05 the turret fell out of my ship. Love it
Awesome video! I've been on the Missouri and Wisconsin, hope to see the New Jersey in the near future.
My great grandfather invented shatter-proof casing technology for the 16" guns ahead of WW2. He never patented it - out of patriotism, he gave it to the U.S. War Dept. The technology is still in use today.
16 inch cartridge, now that would be a mighty heavy round 😂
@christopherleubner6633 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16-inch/50-caliber_Mark_7_gun
T2 Gunner POIC powder flats 1988-89 Here, note: powder was moved only in clockwise direction on the powder flats to minimize bumping into eachother and all communication short of sound powered phones was done by hand signal as you couldnt hear anything due to the electric motor noise and vibration. in addition the Dunk Tanks were at my time painted gray and i had sketched them into Beer cans and were almost painted as such untill my Chief found us out.