Too Much Gun
And they say ‘kids’ have no sense of history.
http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-fornv/uk/uksh-d/drednt9.htmAhh I love the old ladies. I had the pleasure of being a plank holder when they recommissioned the Wisconsin BB-64 after they called for a Signalman to help stock the flag bag as they only had Deck Apes, logistics and officers assigned at the time. I stayed until I was sent back to my other command. (after sea trials).
Just walking around her was like a history lesson. She still had a lot of her old FC equipment and wiring. In some of the stripped out compartments there was graffiti on the bulkheads from the mothballing.
Oh, and sitting and ‘playing’ in the 16"/50 caliber turrets is enough to give any gun nut cold chills. (Not to mention being up on the signal bridge when they fire them. (hearing protection, not an option.)
I do love to visit the memorials.. The USS Alabama (BB-60) is a particular favorite since it has the USS Drum (submarine) next to it.
Ahh.. rambling again..
BillI hear ya Doc. When I was 14 the family went north up to Puget Sound and we rode the ferry accross to where the USS Missouri was berthed and took the tour. It was awe insipring to say the least for a kid my age to see that monster up close and personal. Now its out of my reach as we know it went to Pearl a few years ago.But I got to stand on the spot where Macarthur and the Imperial Dignataries stood.Waaay Coool.
For those of you who wonder how damn big these guns got during the war I have a link here to a display of the guns used on the Iowa class USS Battleship class.The 16 inch used is just to the right of the 18 monster they tested and never mounted.Notice the VW at the left to get an idea how damn big these bastards are,Amazing.
http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_18-48_mk1.htmIf anyone thinks the Battleship is obsolete then click this link to see the Iowa in action in a 1984 pic.Notice it has been mounted with missle tubes for antiaircraft protection and I believe the occasional Pershing Cruise missle launch.
http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_16-50_mk7.htmActually Rich, they were armed with Tomahawk boxes as well as Harpoon (the missiles) boxes. The Harpoons for ship to ship, and the Tomahawks for reaching out and touching things out of the 25 mile range of the 16s, and the VW bug’s worth of metal they tossed every shot. :3
Bill
I love the big calibres and the big ships but I cannot read that hideous site. It looks like someone barfed on my screen. Unreadable.
I love the big calibres and the big ships but I cannot read that hideous site. It looks like someone barfed on my screen. Unreadable.
My suggestions? Click, scroll down, copy, and past on a new document if the colors bother you to such a degree.
I myself needed a good bit of MilHisFiction to cheer me up. Thanks Rich.
And to complement that, may I suggest a somewhat similar game regarding the “Big Guns?” It’s not in the same war, unfortunately, and it isn’t free, but the campaign game is an absolute gem once you learned how to play the game, and it’s in the same general area with the same general players.
That would be Storm Eagle Studio’s Jutland, covering one of the most prolonged and bloody naval sieges in history. You can try out the full game for a while before the bloody thing shuts down, and it’s quite worthwhile (my personal suggestion: US Allied entry in 1916 with stronger German HSF. It’s quite a trip to play as the Western Allies, let me tell you).
Posted by Turtler
03/09/2010 at 09:42 AM
OCM, it seems like almost every day is “Give us $10 million in ransom or we sink your ship and kill the crew!” Somali pirate day.
I tell ya, they’re effin up a great icon.
Oh, as an afterthought, you should be up on the signal bridge when one of the Iowa classes does a full broadside, even with reduced bang ‘training’ powder.. You can see the ship move sideways 20 feet and those teak decks flex a little.
*Nostalgic look*
Bill
