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I had a chance to spend some time on the USS New Jersey, today docked in Camden NJ as a public museum ship. Today we are looking at the main armament of the ship, the absolutely massive Mk7 16-inch guns. These are the largest guns ever used by the United States Navy, and they are really very complex systems requiring dozens of men each to operate. We are going to start at the very bottom of the ship and explore how the guns are loaded, aimed, and fired, going all the way up to the spotting Director 15 stories high on the very top of the vessel.
Many thanks to the awesome staff of the New Jersey for their hospitality and to World of Warships for making the visit possible! Check out their YouTube channel for excellent coverage of all sorts of cool details of the ship:
https://www.youtube.com/battleshipnewjersey
As long as you’re there, go over to Philly and take a look at the 5″ guns on the Olympia!
1. The main battery fire control system on the North Carolina, South Dakota and Iowa class battleships was the Mark 38.
2, Two slightly modified ships, Illinoi and Kentucky, were partially completed, but suspended at the end of WW2 and never fiished
3.The follow ons to the Iowas were to be the five Montanas with twelve 16/50 inch main guns, the 20 5/38 inch secondaries replaced by 5/54 inchers and a speed reduced from 33 knots to 28, the same as the two North Carolinas and four South Dakotas.
4. The main battery fire control radar
Mark 3
War Status Used by US Battleships, introduced in late 1941
Installed Mounted on Main Battery Directors
Purpose Fire Control
Power 15-20 KW
Wavelength 40 cm
PRF 1,640
Transmitter Dimensions 12 x 3 feet (3.66 x 0.91 m)
Tracking Range 40,000 yards (37,000 m)
Range Accuracy 40 yards (37 m)
Bearing Accuracy 2 mils
Resolution 400 yards (370 m) and 10 degrees
First USA set to use lobing. 16″ (40.6 cm) shell splashes could be ranged at 20,000 yards (18,500 m).
Mark 8 Radar: Introduced during WWII, the S-band Mk 8 provided precise range and bearing data, and was distinctively effective at detecting individual shell splashes, helping gunners walk their fire onto target.
Mark 8
War Status Used by US Battleships, introduced in 1942-43
Installed Mounted on Main Battery Directors
Purpose Fire Control
Power 15-20 KW, later 20-30 KW
Wavelength 10 cm
PRF N/A
Transmitter Dimensions 10.2 x 3.3 feet (3.1 x 1 m)
Tracking Range 40,000 yards (37,000 m) on Battleship sized target
Range Accuracy 15 yards (5 m)
Bearing Accuracy 2 mils
Resolution 400 yards (370 m) and 10 degrees
Scanned via pulse-switching. Mark 8 mod 0 could spot 16-inch (40.6 cm) splashes out to about 20,000 yards (18,300 m) and the improved Mark 8 mod 3 could reliably spot 14-inch (35.5 cm) and 16-inch (40.6 cm) fire out to at least 35,000 yards (32,000 m).
Mark 13 Radar: Operating in the X-band, this radar was later used to track targets and fall of shot for 16-inch guns.
War Status Used by US Battleships and Cruisers
Installed Mounted on Main Battery Directors
Purpose Fire Control
Power 50 KW
Wavelength 3 cm
PRF 1,800
Transmitter Dimensions 8 x 2 feet (2.44 x 0.61 m)
Tracking Range 40,000 yards (37,000 m) on Battleship sized target
Range Accuracy 15 yards (5 m)
Bearing Accuracy 2 mils
Resolution 400 yards (370 m) and 10 degrees
This radar could discern individual shell splashes from 16-inch (40.6 cm) projectiles out to over 42,000 yards (38,400 m).
Mark 160 Computer: During the 1980s reactivations, these battleships were modernized with the digital Mark 160 system, alongside DR-810 radars that measured muzzle velocity.
5.Unlike turrets 1 and 3, turret 2 had a second story that was adapted in the late 1950’s to store, assemble and test the Mark 23 ‘Katie’ nuclear round that is believed to have a 15 kiloton yield – the same as Hiroshima and Nagasaki devices. Historians disagree as to whether the vessels ever carried these rounds and the USN has adhered to its policy of neither confirming nor denying whether a particular ship carried nuclear weapons
6. More than you ever wanted to know about the mark 7
https://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_16-50_mk7.php
Great post. It is somewhat boring and yet fascinating stuff to those interested. The idea you can chuck a ton of metal out of a tube at supersonic speeds on a ship in a high speed turn and be accurate on hitting another ship ten miles away (that is also moving) is mind boggling
“(…)PRF(..)”
What is this?
PRF – pulse repetition frequency [transmitted radar pulses per second]
Not what I was expecting Ian to post today. Nor am I complaining, that has to be one of the coolest videos Forgotten Weapons has ever done; bar none. Thanks for satisfying an intellectual itch I didn’t know I had.
Something else that isn’t it, shocking really. Explains a lot about today, in away – Very advanced really, even then. Yet essentially nothing for a thousand plus years in practice if not principle – Jan Hus etc, Fench revolution, Rutherford, Porn hub what a world.
Wow… Just wow. I mean, like wow. Now everything is missiles; I assume/d this was to do with, not having to make giant guns “I mean thats some barrel.” But, out of interest Congreaves rockets on the movie Zulu dawn – Missiles “No need for a huge breech.” I am assuming gunpowder wasn’t up to it really, Stalins organs is when rocket artillery sort of went mainstream… Thus, one imagines; its the powder right? By then, someone had invented better powder/rockets. Something changed because those huge impressive guns/computers etc stopped being made.
Was it just that, Nazi Germany; rocket science if you will… Even for Grad rockets. Prior, to something being invented; it meant giant breech and the sort of fantastical thing shown in the video.
“(…)Congreaves rockets(…)”
Unless intentional show of disdain w.r.t. Sir William Congreve: Congreve rockets.
“(…)someone had invented better(…)rockets. Something changed because those huge impressive guns(…)stopped being made.”
This is related to guidance systems developments, which allowed to score hits at greater distance whilst firing from relatively small vessels for example P-15 https://www.missiledefenseadvocacy.org/missile-threat-and-proliferation/todays-missile-threat/russia/p-15-termit-ss-n-2-styx/ had range 40-80km and could be deployed from 183-R class missile boats and The missile has a relatively short range, but allows smaller missile boats the firepower to take on larger ships.
Crikey…
According to my search engine
“Crikey is an independent Australian source for news, investigations, analysis and opinion(…)”
Therefore please explain clearly how it is related to presented weapons system.
I mean that ship must be the pinncle of everything gun related fair play U.S.A 250 yrs. Salute. Mind boggles.
Folk here say it’s not Rocket science, if your being a bit “Thick” finally get it,this giant gun vs a rocket – Fucking bus sized breech… Nazis eh, clever fair play he he.
“… and can hit a tennis court twenty miles away.” If you’re interested in these vessels, C. S. Forester’s lovely short novel “The Ship” will give you a beautifully written description of this process.
So much ingenuity to destroy our fellow man.
Which ‘fellow man’ uses his abilities in exactly the same way. With over 8 billion of man’s kinds on the planet it grows harder and harder for me to keep playing the humanitarian’s one-string fiddle.