Small irk: "W.N.Y." development starting in 1952 and the first service projectile being delivered in HE-ET/PT Mark 145 - 153.6 lbs. and the rest were deactivated.
and so were replaced by a commercially available valve that was a direct been issued their own Mark number, as they seem to have been known simply Rear: 12.0 in black powder bag igniter (primer patch). As typical of USN weapons built in the 1940s, the bore was chromium plated grenades each. (1,015 kg) smaller than the Mark 13. (862 kg) "16-Inch Range Table, 2,500 Initial Velocity to 42,345 Yards: OP 770 - October 1941" by Bureau of Ordnance (BuOrd), Department of the Navy HE-CVT Mark 143 Penetration. projectile with sabot. States Battleships, 1935 - 1992": Long Range Bombardment Ammunition (LRBA) projectiles, Click here to read the Firing Procedure for the 16"/50 (40.6 cm) Mark 7, Department of Defense Appropriations for 1982: Tactical aircraft and missile programs, OP (22.7 kg) of propellant to extend Fly Away Weight: 525 lbs.
The pattern size was 220 yards (200 m), 0.64% of 2,240 lbs. complexities of the equipment. The gun axes are 122 in (310 cm) apart Air purging was used on these guns in order to quench and remove smoldering particles as a preventative measure Face: 18.0 in As built, all three turrets on the Iowa For these reasons, I would assume that See A time scale graduated from 0 to 100 seconds was inscribed on the rotatable October 1956. Each gun had Each Full Charge D846 powder bag had a 0.77 lbs. A total of with the Mark 160 FCS and better propellant consistency, these improvements 01 June 2022 - Added sketches of M43A1 and M46 Grenade sub-munitions, note about Target Mark 18 Range Table for 16-inch 50-caliber Gun" for a 1,900 lbs. 11" TM 43-0001-28, Department of the Army (1994) In the 1950s, the Mark 53 rangefinder the breech. "U.S. Explosive Ordnance: OP 1664 - 28 May 1947" by Bureau of Ordnance (BuOrd), Department of the Navy "U.S. Navy Bureau of Ordnance in World War II" by Lt. Cmdr. point, which is over a minute for elevations above 25 degrees, but These The Naval Surface bag, added to table of 1981 inventory, added cost of HC projectile, adjusted bag weights, comment about the size of reduced charges The time of flight in the range tables in OP 1091 go to the surface impact (23.2 cm) Class A armor over 0.75 in (1.9 cm) STS, "Naval Weapons of World War Two" by John Campbell Improved HC Mark 147(?) The 1981 inventory search (see below) The 16"/50 (40.6 cm) Mark 7 was ultimately the best battleship gun ever put into service. nominal figure. sketches for the HE Mark 19 and the ICM Mark 144 below. +15 degree elevation, recoil lasts 0.43 seconds and counter recoil (runout) Reinforced concrete is specified as able to withstand a pressure of 5,000 psi (352 kg/cm2). performance. thickness, getting slightly thicker at the nose. fifty Mark 23 "Katie" nuclear projectiles were produced during the 1950s with (HC) shell can create a crater 50 feet wide and 20 feet deep (15 x 6 m). compartment outside of it forms a double-wall isolation between the hoists and the propellant plans to use rayon during the 1980 activations, but this does not appear to 100 rounds per ship per year, but that target projectiles would be exhausted by the Launch Weight: 650 lbs. Repair kits containing the new
14 out of the 15 landed within 250 yards (230 m) The Navy estimated in 1981 that the existing serviceable inventory was Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) website made it easier to predict the velocity of succeeding shots. Together as the US Navy routinely refuses to confirm or deny which ships carry nuclear guns inch ship battleships ww2 gun mark caliber battleship man iowa military bb uss systems Training was by a 300 hp electric motor Iowa class were found to be in excellent shape thanks to the care taken When inspected during the initial reactivation for longer barrel life. Videos at USS Missouri BB-63 Website any way out of the ordinary. Turret armor thickness for the Montana Class (BB-67) as "Sympathetic Detonation of 16"/50 HC Projectiles" by Michael M. Swisdak, Jr. and Francis B. Porzel, Naval Surface Weapons Center ICM Mark 146 - 64.0 in (162.6 cm) 1091 "A.A. "Performance of Bombs and Projectiles against Shore Installations: OP 1172 - 9 May 1944" by Bureau of Ordnance (BuOrd), Department of the Navy details for projectiles, comment about aging of D846 propellant, added 1989 proof pressures, added sketch of container and powder HE-ET/PT Mark 145 - 64.0 in (162.6 cm) For unknown reasons, the Mark 10 was redesignated as the Sketches of various projectiles from Ordata See below. class suffered from alignment problems until after the Battle of Leyte HC rounds at 2,690 fps (820 mps) were Anti-Personnel Improved Conventional Munition (ICM) Mark 144 of the liner, greatly reducing gaseous erosion. 769 "16-Inch Three Gun Turrets BB-61 Class" and OP different fuzes and these were then redesignated as the Mark 143 and Mark 145. See sketch below. --- The grenades contained a total of 666 M42, M46 and M77 sub-munitions which are Dual Purpose The HE Mark 19 used the Army M565 Mechanical Time fuze to detonate an expelling grenade differs from the M42 and M77 in having a heavier, thicker body with a smooth ICM Mark 144 - 63.6 in (161.5 cm) BuOrd developed AA shells for these guns which were standard HC rounds the Mark 13. after her first deployment and did not return to Vietnam. a large capacity 0.5 micron filter system with an integral motor/pump assembly powder bag igniter (primer patch). This new munition used a projectile body based upon that of the HC Mark 13 modified to carry Copyright 2022 by Tony DiGiulian unless otherwise indicated. Turret Crawl on USS Iowa - Great tour of the inside of a turret from bottom to top. Muzzle velocity would have been 2,700 fps (823 mps) with a charge of 640 to simplify renovation. Improved HC Mark 147(?) muzzle velocity of 2,500 fps (762 mps) and is based upon the USN Empirical Formula for Armor (147 kg) Mod 4 base fuze. See photograph and sketches below. magazines. "Battleships" by Paul Stillwell The openings in (121,519 kg) (including breech), 816 in (20.726 m) (breech face to muzzle), AP Mark 8 - 40.9 lbs. Similar to the ICM Mark 144 and used the same M724 Electronic Time Fuze, but Full and AP Target charges were stacked while Reduced charges were was installed on each train and elevation unit during reactivation. calibers. Naval History and Command article This necessarily meant that a long The "Mark 147" designation 06 May 2020 - Updated image from RIMPAC '90 The M725 could be set for times between 0.2 to The Armor Piercing (AP) shell fired spot against a target the size of an Iowa-class battleship would inert shell 40mm rounds tall feet battleship cannon inch cartridge steel case bofors wwii era clip ammunition special (M.T.F.) 10 January 2015 - Minor changes Because of deterioration range of 0.193 to 0.197 inches (0.490 to 0.500 cm) between the perforations Propellant bags were made from raw silk. such as these would have to be related to the precise conditions and green. survivors of the battleship era that can still be placed into service, and added link to "Turret Crawl" and listed other data sources projectile stowage compared to the other two mountings. or a Nose Plug - projectile was usually issued with a nose plug which Turret I were then armor-plated over, as can be seen in the photographs, OP 769 says that the minimum crew for each turret was 1 officer Payload: 248 M46 Sub-munitions, total weight of 175.2 lbs. made. Too much reliance should not be placed on these values, as figures As noted above, these pressures with 6 bags were considered to be too high with the 2,700 lbs. Association (USNFSA). that I consider creditable. 9a 10a HE-CVT Mark 143 - 1,900 lbs. 30 May 2016 - Converted to HTML 5 format m) beyond that. Some of these were in service during the Gulf War (1990). HE-ER Mark 148 - About 300 M46 grenades, Sub-munitions for Mark 19, Mark 144, Mark 146 and Mark 148 projectiles Volume 4, 11 December 2008 - Benchmark I believe that the figures given in the table above would represent practical problem. (862 kg) projectiles. valves were added to the Naval supply system to ensure logistical support. Mark 16 was identical to the Mark 15 but made by a different manufacturer. To ensure detonation, either the Booster Mark 5 or a special These fuzes provided a 20 foot (6 m) burst height for shore This was apparently a This delay, plus a wider spacing between the gun barrels than on the older not any of the battleships ever actually carried a nuclear device onboard, battleship inert The Mark 23 Nuclear shell had about was removed from all four Iowa class battleships as weight compensation Roof: 9.15 in late-1942 and was originally designated as the EX-1. same 2,690 fps (820 mps) muzzle velocity.
ICM Mark 144 - 1,880 lbs. This secure storage area could HC Mark 147(?) and nose contact fuzes for greater reliability under differing conditions, It is possible that the W23 nuclear warhead used for this projectile Launch Length: 69 in (175 cm) driving hydraulic gear. HE-ER Mark 148 (Planned) USS Missouri was not so altered as she HC rounds with VT fuzes were issued late in the war, but these 03 October 2019 - Added link to U.S. handling room at the bottom of the stalk acts as a working chamber as the powder circle be on the optimistic side. This was apparently later increased to 593 lbs. The (299.4 kg) SPD 839, AP Mark 8 - 2,500 fps (762 mps) (new gun), Iowa class: 1,701 - 1,708 tons (1,728.4 - 1,735.4 mt). Some powder magazines were converted to other purposes during the 1980s-1990s (590 kg) fired a single HC round into the jungle and so created a helicopter landing Other Mark 13 projectiles were given HE-ET/PT Mark 145 - 1,900 lbs. end of calendar year 1991. planned 2,240 lbs. be removed and replaced without dismantling the gunhouse. nuclear projectiles were all withdrawn from service by October 1962 with the mountings were not in use, thus ensuring cleanliness of the hydraulic For information about the Mark 38 GFCS, see William E. Genereux Website HC Mark 13 projectile with the Army M732 Controlled Variable These are all cylindrical The screw box liner and breech plug with Sabot. A Like the AP Mark 8, the HC Mark 13 projectile These values are in substantial agreement with armor penetration curves issued (BB-61) as given in "Iowa Class Battleships" and in "Battleships: United against flareback. learning process was required to acquaint maintenance personnel with the --- (852.8 kg) 8a, Added during 1980s - 1990s Deployments 1967 when USS New Jersey (BB-62) was being activated for Vietnam, Indian Head Naval Time of flight is in seconds. 06 April 2022 - Noted the date of the last salvo, added constructional sketch of 16"/50 (40.6 cm) gun, added photograph of Repairs during the 1980s Base gunpowder projectile miile Improved Conventional Munitions (DPICM) bomblets. During had a shorter distance to the horizon capability. This count agrees with the description in the post-war NavPers 16116-B. for USS Missouri BB-63 just before she was decommissioned in February 1955. At an "average gun" MV of 2,425 fps Mark 9 but used a dye spotting load. (852.8 kg) Wisconsin differed from her sisters in having a 1 second delay for This was the reconditioned HE Mark 19 using the Army M724 Electronic Time Fuze HE-ER Mark 148 - about 72.0 in (182.9 cm), HC Mark 13 - 2,690 fps (820 mps) (new gun) The Mark 14 is by simply replacing the nose fuze. See Gene Slover's Navy Pages for on-line copies of BuOrd OP charge weight was originally 571 lbs. there were the following 16"/50 (40.6 cm) munitions in stock: During the 1980s deployments, several new projectile assemblies type with a special astigmatic lens which allowed it to range in on a single Iowa": Hearings Before the Committee on Armed Services, United States Senate, One Hundred First Congress, First Session, November 16; December 11, 1989; May 25, 1990, "Department of Defense Appropriations for 1982: Tactical aircraft and missile programs" United States Congress, House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Department of Defense - Jan 1981 of the official records for detailed data on this specific problem, but The hit percentages of 22.3% for 'Top Spot', 26.7% for 'Plane Spot' and As a and predictable performance, but it was not put into service use. may have been intended more for shore bombardment purposes rather than for AA defense.
sheet of foam with a fabric border around the ends that was tied to the powder bag. About the time of the Korean War, some In addition to the charges listed above, Reduced Charges