The Oerlikon 20 mm AA gun remained the primary anti-aircraft weapon of the United States Navy until the introduction of the 40 mm Bofors AA gun in 1943. This realization prompted the removal of the anti-aircraft guns previously installed on the Iowas and the removal of four of each of the battleships' ten 5"/38 DP mounts. [16] During the surface action, range and deflection Spots and target altitude (not zero during Gun Fire Support) were manually entered. Using the additional 10,000 long tons (10,200 t) over previous designs, the studies included schemes for 27-knot (50 km/h; 31 mph) "slow" battleships that increased armament and protec… [19] Because of radar, Fire Control systems are able to track and fire at targets at a greater range and with increased accuracy during the day, night, or inclement weather. Hanging from the mount, and rotating with it, was the equipment used to pass ammunition up to the mount. The electric-hydraulic powder case hoist poked the case through a powder scuttle in the gun room's deck just next to the powder man's feet. [37], The Phalanx guns work by using a search radar and a tracking radar to follow targets that approach within 1 to 1.5 nautical miles (2.8 km) of the vessel. [28] In the 1980s re-activation, all the ships with 20 mm and 40 mm batteries had them removed, and four Phalanx CIWS mounts were added to all. Depending on whether the target criteria were met, the Phalanx mount automatically engaged the incoming target if it was judged to be hostile in nature, or the system recommended that the Phalanx operator engage the target. In the 1968 upgrade to the USS New Jersey for service off Vietnam, three Mark 56 Gun Fire Control Systems were installed, two on either side just forward of the aft stack, and one between the aft mast and the aft Mk 38 Director tower. This was demonstrated in November 1942 when the battleship USS Washington engaged the Imperial Japanese Navy battlecruiser Kirishima at a range of 8,500 yards (7,800 m) at night. [23] Mk. They were subsequently phased out in favor of the heavier 40 mm Bofors AA guns. [17] The right key was the Hand Firing Key. When the gun fired, the recoil's rearward motion returned the rammer lever to the up position, and the rammer would drive back to the rear of the rammer tray. In automatic, the drives would follow the bearing and elevation orders of the fire control system. They automatically received Relative Target Bearing (bearing from own ship's bow), and Target Range. 13 HC (High-Capacity—referring to the large bursting charge) shell was available. The guns could be elevated from −5° to +45°, moving at up to 12° per second. The first Iowa-class ship was laid down in June 1940; in their World War II configuration, each of the Iowa-class battleships had a main battery of 16-inch (406 mm) guns that could hit targets nearly 20 statute miles (32 km) away with a variety of artillery shells designed for anti-ship or bombardment work. There were four Mk37 GFCSs on board; one forward above the navigation bridge, two amidships on either side of the forward stack, and one aft between the aft Mk38 Director and Turret three. [9], Turrets 2 and 3 had optical rangefinders and ballistics computers. [36] Designed in the early 1970s by General Dynamics, and currently produced by Raytheon, the Phalanx CIWS mount utilizes a 20 mm M61 Vulcan Gatling gun to destroy enemy missiles and aircraft that manage to escape anti-missile and anti-aircraft missiles fired from friendly ships. Unlike other automatic guns employed during World War II the barrel of the 20 mm Oerlikon gun did not recoil, the breechblock never locked against the breech and actually moved forward when the gun fired. [45], Originally the armament was to be nine 16"/50 (406 mm) Mark 2 Naval Guns intended for the canceled, United States Navy Training Film 9321c: The 16"50 Gun & Turret ("Sea Power for Security"). [16] Also, before the surface action started, the FTs made manual inputs for the average initial velocity of the projectiles fired out of the battery's gun barrels, and air density. The mid and aft end of the battleships were then rebuilt to accommodate the missile magazines. The major components of the Mk 37 GFCS were the Mk 37 Director, and the equipment in the plotting room. All of the compartments within the turrets were separated by flameproof bulkheads to prevent any flame or lethal gas from spreading throughout the turret. However, the scale of the protection was adequate for a front-rank capital ship, and the Iowas compared well with all their contemporaries except the … The result was the turret's bearing and elevation orders (LOF). The three modes of drive operation were automatic, local, and manual. The ballistics calculations in these mechanical analog computers were performed by mechanisms like differential gears, levers, and small rods riding on the surface of three-dimensional cams. "Iowa gets new Marine Guard Chief". The missile flew at a low cruise altitude and at a predetermined distance from the expected target position, its AN/DSQ-28 J-band active radar seeker in the nose was activated to acquire and lock on the target. At 20,000 yards (18 km) the Mk. An Oerlikon 20 mm anti-aircraft gun aboard the battleship USS Iowa. [3] After World War II the Navy switched to smokeless Powder Diphenylamine (SPD), a cooler-burning propellant, which increased the barrel life from 290 to about 350 rounds. [10] The purpose of the director was to track the target's present bearing and range. Each Mk 28 Mod 2 Mount carried two Mark 12, 5in/38cal gun assemblies, electric-hydraulic drives for bearing and elevation, optical sights, automatic fuze setter, automatic sight setter, and an upper handling room. [38] Missouri also received Phalanx fire during a "friendly fire" incident in which the Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided missile frigate USS Jarrett mistook chaff fired by Missouri for a legitimate target and shot at Missouri. [12] Two systems, forward and aft, were each complete and independent, though they could be cross-connected. [2][unreliable source?] [26] The mount had a crew of 13, not including the ammunition movers in the upper handling room and magazines, drawn from the sailors and Marines serving aboard the ship. The turrets were "three-gun," not "triple," because each barrel could be elevated and fired independently. [30] These prisms could be controlled by the fire control system when the mount was in Automatic, or by the mount's sight setter operator when the mount was in Local. [3], Within each turret a red stripe on the wall of the turret, inches from the railing, marked the boundary of the gun's recoil, warning the crew to keep back. [22], The Fire Control Switchboard configured the battery. Then, as he turned to get the next projectile out of the hoist, the projectile man would pull down on the rammer lever. The mount captain was trained in aiming and correcting the fall of shot. To do this, it had optical sights (the rectangular windows on the front), an optical rangefinder (the tubes sticking out each side), and Fire Control Radar antennas. Local control was not the preferred combat method, but it could be used if the fire control systems were damaged. Soon aircraft flew faster, and in c. 1944 to increase speed and accuracy the Mk 4 was replaced by a combination of the Mk 12 (rectangular antenna) and Mk 22 (parabolic antenna) radars. [42], During the 1991 Gulf War, USS Missouri and USS Wisconsin used ABL launchers to fire Tomahawk missiles at Iraqi targets during Operation Desert Storm. [15], The Mk 8 Rangekeeper was an electromechanical analog computer[16] whose function was to continuously calculate the gun's bearing and elevation, Line-Of-Fire (LOF), to hit a future position of the target. [27], During their modernization in the 1980s, each Iowa-class battleship was equipped with four of the US Navy's Phalanx CIWS mounts, two of which sat just behind the bridge and two which were forward and outboard of the after ship's funnel. As the powder case cleared the top of the breechblock, the block would rise to seal the chamber. The anti-aircraft fire control problem was more complicated because it had the additional requirement of tracking the target in elevation and making target predictions in three dimensions. [18] Also, if the sea state was such that the turrets' elevation power drives could not keep up with the ship's motion, the guns could be held at a fixed elevation, and the MK 41 could again automatically fire the guns as described. Funding for the new battleships came in May with the passage of the Naval Act of 1938. Gun Director Mark 41 Mod 0 (stable vertical)". [32], Mark 51 Director with Mark 14 (40 mm) Gun Sight, Arguably the best light anti-aircraft weapon of World War II,[33] the Bofors 40 mm anti-aircraft gun was used on almost every major warship in the US and UK fleet during World War II from about 1943 to 1945. Each Harpoon was placed in one of four Mk 141 launchers located alongside the aft stack; eight per side, in two pods of four. [22], The assistant Gunnery Officers and Fire Control Technicians operated the equipment, talked to the turrets and ship's command by sound-powered telephone, and watched the Rangekeeper's dials and system status indicators for problems. This resulted in a guns system set to English standards (now known as the Standard System) with interchangeable ammunition, which simplified the logistics situation for World War II. Armament called for the same as on the Essexes so 4x2,4x1 5"/38 DP-AA guns, 6x4 40mm Bofors AA guns and large amount of 20mm Oerlikon AA guns. To this bearing and range offset, it added corrections for gravity, wind, Magnus Effect of the spinning projectile, earth's curvature, and coriolis effect. The upper handling room was just below the visible part of the mount. Rounds from this attack struck the ship in the bulkhead above the famed "surrender deck" and bounced off the armor, one round penetrated the forward funnel and passed completely through it, and another round penetrated a bulkhead and embedded in an interior passageway of the ship. The version used a solid-fueled rocket booster in an A/B44G-2 or -3 booster section, which was discarded after burn-out. [37], Phalanx CIWS mounts were used by Missouri and Wisconsin during the 1991 Gulf War; Wisconsin alone fired 5,200 20 mm Phalanx CIWS rounds. [43], The TLAM could be equipped with an inertial and terrain contour matching (TERCOM) radar guidance package to find and destroy its target. The turret extended either four decks (Turrets 1 and 3) or five decks (Turret 2) down. [30] At the load command, the powder man would slip a primer protector off the end of the powder case, extract the case from the scuttle, and lift it into the gun's rammer tray. Each Harpoon was placed in one of four Mk 141 launchers located alongside the aft stack; eight per side, in two pods of four. The Mk. The Iowa-class battleships are the most heavily armed gunships the United States Navy has ever put to sea, due to the continual development of their onboard weaponry. When this key was held closed, the Mk 41 was enabled to automatically fire the guns whenever the ship's deck was parallel the horizontal plane. The large caliber guns were designed to fire two different 16-inch shells: an armor-piercing round for anti-ship and anti-structure work and a high explosive round designed for use against unarmored targets and shore bombardment. In the center of the room there was a vertical tube that also turned with the mount. This array included up to 20 quad 40 mm mounts and 49 single 20 mm mounts. [20] This capability gave the United States Navy a major advantage in World War II, as the Japanese did not develop radar or automated fire control to the level of the US Navy and were at a significant disadvantage. [17] Its function was to establish and maintain a stable earth vertical with its associated horizontal plane. To clean the rifles, a bore brush was lifted by two sailors and inserted into the gun barrel, where it was pulled through the rifle with the same equipment used to load the shells. About 43 feet (13 m) protruded from the gun house. Each Armored Box Launcher carried four missiles, and each of the battleships was outfitted with eight canisters, enabling the Iowa-class to carry and fire a total of 32 Tomahawk missiles. Terminal guidance in the target area was provided by the optical Digital Scene Matching Area Correlation (DSMAC) system, which compared a stored image of target with the actual target image. During their modernization in the 1980s, each Iowa-class battleship was equipped with four of the US Navy's Phalanx CIWS mounts, two of which sat just behind the bridge and two which were forward and outboard of the after ship's funnel. It had a cruising speed of 0.5 Mach and an attack speed of 0.75 Mach. Its function was to automatically aim the guns so that a fired projectile would collide with the target. "[2][unreliable source?] During counter-recoil, the breechblock was automatically lowered and the spent powder case was ejected from the chamber. [3][4][unreliable source?] (pictured)[26] Finally, the circular SPG 25 antenna was mounted on top as seen in the USS Wisconsin photo at the top of this article. [45] For stabilization and control, the AGM-84A had four fixed cruciform wings (3x BSU-42/B, 1x BSU-43/B) and four movable BSU-44/B tail fins. Around the perimeter of the upper handling room were the ready service ammunition racks welded to the bulkheads. In the 1930s, the Mk 37 Director did not have a radar antenna. (see picture)[17] The left key was the Salvo Signal Key, and it sounded the Salvo Buzzer in each of the turrets to warn the gun crews that the guns were about to fire. The guns were 66 feet (20 m) long (50 times their 16-inch (410 mm) bore, or 50 calibers, from breechface to muzzle). In this mode, the missile was launched in the general direction of the target, and its radar activated from the beginning to scan for the target in a +/- 45° sector in front of the flight path. The responsibility of the men stationed in the upper handling room was to shuttle 30 to 40 projectiles and 30 to 40 powder cases per minute from the ready service racks to the hoists while avoiding the equipment rotating with the mount. The final type of ammunition developed for the Iowa class were "Katie" shells. [citation needed], In preparation for the reactivations in the 1960s and 1980s, the battery was updated to the latest gun and fire control system modifications. When this key was held closed, the Mk 41 was enabled to automatically fire the guns whenever the ship's deck was parallel the horizontal plane. [45] When no target was acquired after radar activation, the Harpoon would self-destruct. [17], The Mk 41 Stable Vertical (also called Gun Director) was a vertical seeking gyroscope. In surface mode, it replaced the director's elevation signal. This weapon lacked a counter-recoil brake, as the force of the counter-recoil was checked by the explosion of the next round of ammunition. The present position of the target was called the Line-Of-Sight (LOS),[15] and it was continuously sent down to the Mk 8 Rangekeeper in the plotting room by Synchro transmitters. The Iowa class was a class of six fast battleships ordered by the United States Navy in 1939 and 1940. They corrected the bearing order for each turret so that all rounds fired in a salvo converged on the same point. [41], Owing to the original 1938 design of the battleships, the Tomahawk missiles could not be fitted to the Iowa class unless the battleships were physically rebuilt in such a way as to accommodate the missile mounts that would be needed to store and launch the Tomahawks. [43], The firing weight of the Tomahawk was 2,650 lb (1,200 kg) plus a 550 lb (250 kg) booster. To distinguish between the rounds fired from different battleships the Iowa class used dye bags which allowed artillery observers to determine which rounds had been fired by which ship. Between December 1941 and September 1944, 32% of all Japanese aircraft downed were credited to this weapon, with the high point being 48.3% for the second half of 1942. Meanwhile, the projectile man would pull a projectile out of the hoist, and place it in the rammer tray in front of the powder case. These fins directed the missile to the target through inputs from the AN/SWG-1 Harpoon Fire Control System. For comparison, the Space Shuttle, when fully loaded, weighs about 240,000 pounds, so each battleship gun is roughly the weight of a space shuttle. The Mk 13 FC Radar supplied present target range, and it showed the fall of shot around the target so the Gunnery Officer could correct the system's aim with range and deflection spots put into the Rangekeeper. [7][unreliable source?] [33], When the Iowa-class battleships were launched in 1943 and 1944 they carried twenty quad Bofors 40 mm gun mounts, which they used for defense against enemy aircraft. [17] It then could calculate an offset angle and change of range between the target's present position (LOS) and future position at the end of the projectile's time of flight. At one point the NATO Sea Sparrow was to be installed on the reactivated battleships; however, it was determined that the system could not withstand the over-pressure effects when the main battery was fired. [8][unreliable source? [28] In the 1980s re-activation, all the ships with 20 mm and 40 mm batteries had them removed, and four Phalanx CIWS mounts were added to all. If in a surface action the GFCSs were damaged, the Turret Officer could turn the Auto-Local rotary switch to Local and continue the action using the turret's fire control equipment.[11]. [42] The conventional Tomahawk missile could carry a 1,000 lb (450 kg) explosive warhead or submunitions which used the missile body to reach their destination. The secondary battery of 5-inch (127 mm) guns could hit targets nearly 9 statute miles (14 km) away with solid projectiles or proximity fuzed shells, and was effective in an anti-aircraft role as well. Once a target was located and the seeker locked the xGM-84A missile climbed rapidly to about 1800 m before diving on the target in what was known as a "pop-up maneuver". [24], The final type of ammunition developed for the Iowa class were "Katie" shells. The other two were missiles for use against both land and sea targets. 13 HC (High-Capacity – referring to the large bursting charge) shell was available. The secondary battery plotting rooms were down below the waterline and inside the armor belt. The cruising speed was 0.87 Mach and the maximum range was 64 nmi (119 km) in Range and Bearing Launch mode and 85 nmi (157 km) in Bearing Only Launch mode. The major difference between the two computers was their ballistics calculations. In the 1968 upgrade to USS New Jersey for service off Vietnam, three Mark 56 Gun Fire Control Systems were installed, two on either side just forward of the aft stack, and one between the aft mast and the aft Mk 38 Director tower. 8 could penetrate 20 inches (500 mm) of steel armor plate. 8 APC (Armor-Piercing, Capped) shell weighed 2,700 lb (1225 kg) and was designed to penetrate the hardened steel armor carried by foreign battleships. Schorr, Ben M. Soutar, Paul (1984). At one point the NATO Sea Sparrow was to be installed on the reactivated battleships; however, it was determined that the system could not withstand the over-pressure effects when the main battery was fired.[40]. [19] The engagement left Kirishima in flames, and she was ultimately scuttled by her crew. "[2] The guns were never fired horizontally forward (in the 1980s refit, a satellite up-link antenna was mounted at the bow). The Parallax Correctors were needed because the turrets were located hundreds of feet from the director. In 1943 the revolutionary Mark 14 Gun Sight was introduced which made these guns even more effective; however, the 20 mm guns were found to be ineffective against the Japanese Kamikaze attacks used during the latter half of World War II. In surface mode, it replaced the director's elevation signal. This included the lower ends of the projectile and powder case hoists. [11] As modernized in the 1980s, each turret carried a DR-810 radar that measured the muzzle velocity of each gun, which made it easier to predict the velocity of succeeding shots. The function of the Mk 6 Stable Element (pictured) in this fire control system was the same as the function of the Mk 41 Stable Vertical in the main battery system above. 8 could penetrate 20 inches (500 mm) of steel armor plate. [45] When no target was acquired after radar activation, the Harpoon would self-destruct. [2] About 43 feet (13 m) protruded from the gun house. [23], The secondary battery was a dual-purpose weapon system, meaning that it was designed to defend the ship from either surface or aerial threats. The replacement for the Bofors guns was the US Navy's Phalanx Close-in weapon system (CIWS).[27]. Due to their distinctive shape, they have been nicknamed "R2D2s", in reference to the droid R2-D2 from the Star Wars universe. The electric-hydraulic powder case hoist poked the case through a powder scuttle in the gun room's deck just next to the powder man's feet. [21], The Fire Control Switchboard configured the battery. Close by, either in a corner of the handling room or in an adjoining compartment was the upper end of an ammunition hoist from the magazine. Meanwhile, the projectile man would pull a projectile out of the hoist, and place it in the rammer tray in front of the powder case. They corrected the bearing order for each turret so that all rounds fired in a salvo converged on the same point. [14] This could be done electronically with the radar (the preferred method), or optically by the men inside using the sights and Rangefinder. There were four Mk37 GFCSs on board; one forward above the navigation bridge, two amidships on either side of the forward stack, and one aft between the aft Mk38 Director and Turret three. It was not possible to change a computer's ballistics at sea until the advent of fast digital computers. [42] The conventional Tomahawk missile could carry a 1,000 lb (450 kg) explosive warhead or submunitions which used the missile body to reach their destination. BB-4 Iowa Class. As the powder case cleared the top of the breechblock, the block would rise to seal the chamber. The gun was ready to fire. [34] As each battleship arrived for modernization during the early and mid-1980s the Bofors mounts that remained aboard were removed due in large part to the ineffectiveness of such manually aimed weapons against modern day jet fighters and enemy missiles. [20] The engagement left Kirishima in flames, and she was ultimately scuttled by her crew. When reactivated and modernized in the 1980s each battleship retained the original battery of nine 16-inch (406 mm) guns, but the secondary battery on each battleship was reduced from ten twin-gun mounts and twenty guns to six twin-gun mounts with 12 guns to allow for the installation of two platforms for the Tomahawk missiles. [35], Developed as the final line of defense (terminal defense or point defense) against anti-ship missiles, the Phalanx Close in Weapon System (CIWS, pronounced "sea-whiz") is the anti-aircraft/anti-missile gun currently in use in the US Navy. 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