Man, that brought back memories. Great video! I was stationed in the engine rooms (USS Missouri BB-63; 1985-88) but I've done that crawl through all three gun turrets and a lot more spaces besides. It really has to be experienced to be believed. I remember standing at that primerman's station, wondering what it would be like to see that quarter-million pound breech block coming back at you like a freight train when those guns were fired....
So much for the 'romanticism' of being a member of a 16" gun crew in a WWII battleship. Man, that looked like really hard work....to say nothing for claustrophobic. Sooo much respect.
My Dad was part of the crew on a 5 inch gun during WW2.I was able to tour the Iowa a few years ago and I brought back pictures and a piece of the old deck for my Dad before he passed away.He enjoyed sharing stories of his service durning the war and I loved hearing those stories.
I agree. Well informed and informative. Concise and, perhaps most importantly to me, he knows how to keep his voice down and aware of echo. I do some voice work; that's why it matters to me.
I used to work at Navy Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility, Bremerton and had the opportunity to extensively explore the USS MISSOURI and the USS NEW JERSEY. The pride the crew took in the MISSOURI was very evident in the ship's condition and cleanliness. The NEW JERSEY, on the other hand, the crew basically threw the keys over their shoulder as they walked down the brow for the last time. There was still oil in the deep fat fryer in the crew's galley. There was trash and dirt all through the ship. It did not appear that the JERSEY was a particularly happy vessel. The MISSOURI damn near sparkled and could have gone to war in 24 hours. Still, both were fascinating to crawl through. The job did not pay a lot but it was one of the more fun jobs I have had.
I saw the Missouri when she visited Sydney , Australia in the mid '80s . What a big , beautiful ship . We could not get aboard as they closed access just as we were entering the gates to the naval base ( too many people ) . I would not be able to work in such a closed off space , I would panic.
@@j.s.cj.s.c7213 Yes, Camden is a cesspool. Fortunately the ship is on the riverfront in a nice park, and if you take the little ferry from Philly's Penn's Landing you don't even have to go through any of Camden at all. I did that and really enjoyed the tour of the (now clean) ship.
It's a lot more complex than I ever imagined. So much equipment! A lot of complex things to know and do in hot, cramped, dangerous conditions. Hats off!
I remember doing that crawl several times aboard Iowa to make sure my 2nd Division sailors were all at their stations. Thanks for the great video, Kert, and thanks for posting James.
Thank you for sharing this amazing tour along with superb graphics to accompany it. It is so incredible how cramped it is throughout the barbette and how much is crammed within. I'd hate to think of what it took to have to replace a piece of equipment deep within. Also, I thank all of you dedicated sailors who served our great nation keeping us safe here at home.
The powder used in US Navy warships from before the year 1900 was pure nitrocellulose (termed "single base") -- the original "smokeless powder" -- with a tiny amount of stabilization and acid absorbing chemicals. The French also used this kind of powder ("Poudre "B"). Most other nations used "double-based" propellants using a percentage of nitroglycerine (Dynamite) to increase power and allow smaller amounts of powder -- the British "Cordite" had roughly half of its weight in nitroglycerine (varied over the years) though most other nations used less of this powerful, but somewhat dangerous, explosive in their propellants. The difference can be seen in that the British warship HMS HOOD blew up from one shell hit from BISMARCK that set off an aft powder magazine, while USS BOISE, a late-model US light cruiser, suffered a direct Japanese 8" AP shell hit in one of its forward magazines that set it off and, while the front end of the ship eventually burned up, the powder did not explode. ARIZONA blew up from an AP bomb hit in a magazine at Pearl Harbor primarily due to the fact that none of the ship's damage control or sprinklers systems were fully working due to it being a Sunday at peace (so they thought until rudely awakened!) so that the powder could cook as long as it needed to blow up the magazine and set the rest of the nearby magazines off too. No other large US warship suffered a similar fate, even the unlucky BOISE, during the entire time of WWII after Pearl Harbor. During WWII night battles became common and some lower-temperature (requiring a larger amount of powder) "flashless" double-base propellants (nitrocellulose and nitroguanidine) were developed that had dimmer, reddish-colored blast at the gun muzzle so it had less chance of blinding the deck personnel, including the officers running the ship -- this was the only exception to the use of single-base propellants in most US Navy guns during WWII, to my knowledge.
Mr. Okun, thank you very much for your comments. Many on the Iowa (at least some on staff and volunteers on the Tour Dept.) use your site NAVWEAPS as a resource. I especially like the technical papers/essays, my favorite being "How to design a ship". As Senior Tour Lead, having been on Iowa since day 1 in San Pedro, I get tons of questions that your site has given me the ability to answer. Thanks so much. Have you ever, or are you going to, visit the Iowa? Would love to meet you...
@@DirtyCatBox HMS Hood had been the largest warship in the world for years, but only being a battlecruiser it didn't have the armour to cope with a direct hit to the magazine from a ship as well armed as the Bismarck, was only sent after the Bismarck as because of the Washington naval treaty and the immense costs of ww1 to Britain, few battleships had been made since ww1 so there weren't enough big gunned battleships available that were fast enough to outrun the Bismarck, so HMS prince of Wales and HMS Hood were sent, and the world was shocked to hear the long most feared warship was lost, had a massive impact on British morale, avenging the "mighty Hood" was a big thing in Britain. Not happy their pride of long and illustrious naval power had been so publicly been questioned, the battleships had long been the Royal Navy's pride, and for centuries the Royal Navy had ruled the waves. Shame there's no British battleships left, but they had bigger problems than preservation during and after ww2, paying for 1 and a half world war allied victories had bankrupted them.
Toured a gun turret on the USS New Jersey - even more cramped than appears in this video. Was disappointed that you couldn't tour the engine rooms. When in London toured the HMS Belfast. You could tour almost all the mechanical spaces - the engine and boiler rooms were incredible.
Such an incredible piece of hardware, designed by incredible people who had no modern computers, just slide rules and knowhow. Manned by incredible people who just had to know their jobs so well they couldn't possibly forget no matter how stressful things got. My uncle was a gunner. He worked his way up from ordnance striker to Gunner's Mate to Chief Turret Captain, then Gunner as a Warrant Officer then Ensign and all they way up to Commander, all in naval gunnery. He was never on an Iowa class but he spent most of WWII on other classes of battleships. In total he served on active duty from 1930-1959. I miss him.
I signed my only enlistment extension on the side of the Iowa's #1 turret. A few Years later reenlisted inside the Captain's Wardroom on the Wisconsin. Each time the ships were in Philadelphia's Mothball Fleet! Loved Battleships all my life. I wish I could have had this kind of tour way back then!
I was priveleged to be a test target for the Iowa's first firing. Was sailing toward Ft. Lauderdale, watching the Iowa from 6-7 miles when it fired toward me approx 10 deg off my bow. A real sight for me a former fire control tech.!
Seeing this video (a darned good video in my opinion by the way!) reminded me of a story my late father (WWII Royal Navy) used to tell me. When exercising, sometimes the command from the bridge would come down to the powder magazine, to 'Flood the magazine!'. This was to simulate a situation where the ship had been damaged in such a way that fire/heat was threatening to set off the tons of Cordite in their silk bags and destroy the whole ship. I'm not sure how often my father did this, but on at least one occasion, he reported the order back to the Bridge: 'Flooding Magazine, sir! Guggle, guggle, guggle.......... Its only when you see videos like this, that you realise just how little was the chance for survival for crews below decks! Heroes ALL! RIP........
Perceptive. One of the Tour Leads was on the carrier Midway and he tells of a shipwide announcement done by the XO when the ship had just started a return trip home. The XO had an electric drill and keyed the microphone "This is a drill! This is a drill!" whrrrrrr whrrr..... As far as the men who sail below....you are correct. One thing I do on tours is try to hit guests very hard with the reality that only rarely do those men get out. Check out this poem... docs.google.com/document/d/1uZfnIYiJsJh_BBlMPnT9UrMxtcG-R5ZTxj2l5UsVLhU/edit?usp=sharing
@@jamespobog3420 I was a Boiler Tech on an aircraft carrier. Sailing down below was so hard to explain to friends and family. I hope to bring my daughters on a tour of a main machinery space one day.
@@ctbeach Watch this vid I produced. I was also a BT, active duty 71-73. The pic at 2:18 is me somewhere in the South China Sea. czcams.com/video/oUt_G6vboic/video.html
And that is but a small part of an entire Iowa class battleship, designed with SLIDE RULES and built by men and machines from PAPER BLUEPRINTS! Not a silicon chip in sight....
@Beau Beaubien Maybe Ralph meant the difference between old school building on 'ways' versus todays modular techniques. Also, Iowa actually has a lot of riveted construction. Welding was still being tweaked in.
This video was terrific. I never realized how complicated gun turrets were. I hope the people involved received some kind of award for this most excellent video.
Fascinating ! Thanks so much for producing and providing this film ! And God bless the sailors who manned this and all the other U.S. Navy ships. Eternal rest grant to those who gave their lives in defense of this country.
Excellent video and presentation. Narrator really knows his stuff without being boring. The spaces for the gun crews seem to be more crammed then a submarine. All I could really think of though was the poor sailors who lost their lives during the Iowa explosion. Hoping for more videos. Again a great job Bravo Zulu.
Phenomenal demonstration. I never knew how complex the turrets were, nor how far they extended beneath deck! Very fascinating. Thank you for the tour and commentary!
Visited this magnificent ship almost 5 years ago. Can't wait till I get to go again. All you volunteers have done a great job in getting her, from a layman's viewpoint, ship shape. I was very impressed with how clean she was. It seemed to me that she could easily have been fired up and put to sea with little more than getting the sailors to do it.
IMHO, we are nowhere near the national mindset of WWII, where Iowa was built in about 2.5 years. No way that would happen today. I sit here and watch the container terminal across the channel completely shut down for lunch, no eating in shifts, shut 'er down. A dry dock refit would take in excess of a year today...
this was a great video! crazy seeing just how much went into firing these guns, I would love to see it operating with the crew working at their stations. I came from adamthewoo's video on this ship and its tragic hearing about all the sailors that died, cant imagine what it would have been like to be there.
I was there also, I was in 2nd division , we maned the lower portion of the turret. I was one of a few from 2nd not in turret at the time, the explosion killed all my friends.i think of them everyday.
That was very interesting. I've never been on any large ship but have had an interest in them since I was a young lad. I've seen film footage of ship big guns firing but only from an outside view and wondered the internal part of the turret ect. It's incredible the engineering that goes into designing and building one of these ships. I also enjoyed reading the comments from people that have been sailors on big ships or have toured one. I hope someday I can see one inside and out. Thanks for this video.
It is funny, when you were on the electric deck I could smell the hydraulic fluid. I spent many a hour soaking up the hydraulic fluid with a hand sponge and a bucket. On a normal day around 5 gallons of hydraulic fluid would leak in the electric deck...being one of the low men on the totem pole it was one of my primary daily jobs to clean it up.
I've heard about those turret leaks. T3 is supposed to have small lakes of it on the lower levels right now, as well as virtually every surface (at least in my experience in T1) is sticky, like it's coated with honey.
Wow that's incredible... Two things struck me in particular, No. 1 is just how small and confined those spaces are, definitely not for those that are claustrophobic. No. 2 is just how many different manufacturing steps are involved in building these ships and the technological advances necessary... It's incredible.
I had a friend who served on the Battle Ship BB-55 North Carolina. he was a BoM 2nd class. He told me a lot of interesting tales of the war when serving on the "Show Boat", He was one of the first on board when it was sent into action....William "Bill" Rowlett was his name
Everything in that turret was drawn by hand, on drawing tables, on paper. The man hours and skill required to design and construct such a vessel is hard to imagine.
She was also built by hand. Every man and woman who worked on her construction was a tradesman. All those welds were by hand. A problem involved with the construction of the F1 rocket motor from Saturn. Every motor made was hand assembled and welded. As such, none were identicle. The drawings are also too vague for today's engineers. Who don't have the same skills, and as such, don't know how to assemble an F1 I'm the same manner. Only rescently the F1-b design was patented by NASA. After Many engineers of all ages failing there way through experimental builds to get to success. The F1-b is designed around today's tech rather than today's assembly skills. My point is. Those same craftsmen skills were involved on Iowa and her sisters.
That was one of the most interesting videos I’ve seen. I’ve read a lot about WW 2 and especially the pacific theatre. I always wondered what really went into firing these big guns, combat footage only shows the firing of the shells and not the work to get them loaded and ready to fire. Hope to see more of these videos.
Ken .......checked out your message and it must have been exciting to go through the battleship. Have always wanted to check out a battleship but never got the opportunity. Did walk on an aircraft carrier that was set up like a museum in Corpus Christie Texas a number of years ago on a business trip. Being disabled now any opportunity to crawl through a battleship is gone now but I still think their beautiful ships. Sometimes I wonder how they can keep those things afloat (lol). God bless my friend.
Superb narration, thanks. The information has changed the way I view these big guns when fired. I was never aware of the complexity. Those tight quarters would demand a special type of person. Impressive 14 minutes.
My wife and I got to do a below deck tour of BB-63 back in 2004, and then an above deck tour of BB-61 in 2013. These ships are extremely high technology; not just for their day, but even right now. Their ability to put shells on an exact spot, from over 15 miles away, on rough seas, with bad weather, is nothing less than impossibly amazing.
I find the ship and it's tech a strange dichotomy, some very primitive beat-to-fit things (the workbench in Forward Aux. Machinery Room is actually IN the bilges) to the tech of the main gun fire control system that is so astounding that even today it would be the choice for a battleship because of it's robust, bulletproof nature and accuracy. That system was an advantage so big in WWII that it is almost indescribable. Not sure if you know, but the radars for the Mk38 director, both the early Mk8 and the later Mk13 were phased array. In WWII. Amazing...
Thanks for the tour. Age and illness make it impossible for me to ever get inside the turret even if it was open. I'm a USN vet who always wanted to see inside a battleship.
Worked very well, but today there would need to be refinements. Probably the biggest flaw (I've heard) is that the rammer control has no position detentes. Like a trombone, you need to know where to place the lever to get the rammer speed you want. IMHO, that is NOT optimum...
This illustrates what naval strategy had been for about a century - hit them before they hit you! At the Battle of Jutland, it's estimated that fewer than 3% of the shells fired hit their targets, and each shell represented a very considerable cost to the taxpayer. Improvements in range finding and rudimentary analog computers that could solve the trajectory problems quickly made battleship-on-battleship duels a lot deadlier in WW2, as the early sinking of HMS Hood demonstrated.
I have been on the tour and wished I could tour the turret and the engine room. This video was really eye opening and I appreciate it. These ships are National Treasures and I hope they never get scrapped. Thank you
There is a premium ticket now that takes you to Aft Plot, Boiler Room 4, Engine Room 2, Sick Bay, and CEC. Get details on the website, it's called Full Steam Ahead.
Fascinating! Thank you for the excellent presentation by Mr. VanderMeulen. I've produced 2D & 3D animation for my career, and had jobs in production houses that did live action where I got to work on the fringes of set-building & shoots... So I have to salute you for the fine work. Had to remind self that Somebody had to go ahead to record his entrance into those cramped spaces, emerging from another tiny cramped tunnel, companionway, or ladder. No place for claustrophobes, right? I've seen diagrams, but this tour with your explanations and a few finely presented graphics does a GREAT JOB. Holy Cow, it's sobering to think of the centuries of warfare that contributed hard-earned design principles we see in all the systems and devices.
I've been amazed with battleships since I was a little guy. Late 60's my family lived in Leland, NC just spitting distance from BB-55. I've toured her 3 times just this year alone and it never gets old. The only Iowa Class ship I will have a chance to tour will be BB-64, Wisconsin.
Great video. How scary it must have been knowing how difficult it was to get in those areas and move around. If it was sinking you’d play hell getting out!
Everytime I watch videos on ww2 era battle ships it hurts my brain just trying to imagine how they designed these things on pencil paper and slide rule then the human muscle to build it truly amazing.
#763 Thank You for very fine educational video. While the Iowa Class was building, research was in progress to cut the complex system of firing by Gibbs and Cox. New caliber heavy rifles were designed with a simpler operation. A 17.7 inch/50 cal./twin turret was being designed for faster loading. More shells in flight per minute to devastate the target much quicker. The invention of the Anti Ship Missile with absolute targeting ended the heavy rifle project.
My older half-brother served on the USS Missouri during the Korean War. I got to visit it with my parents when it was docked in Norfolk. What a magnificent ship! My half-brother said the ship jumped 8 feet over in the water when they fired a full broadside! I understand that Naval tactics have changed, but I still miss the Mighty Mo and the other amazing battleships.
Great vid thank you. Such a shame so much is gone from these grand old ladies - scrap/theft/safety. Have BB61 in full broadside as my computer wallpaper so see her every day :) . Built for/in bad times yes, but the design and raw power of these ships should be saved forever. Nice to hear USS Juneau (CL52) has been found 76 years on too. R.I.P
Very enjoyable. The guide spoke as if he knew what he was talking about, and not reading from a script. I'd like to see a detailed tour, stem to stern, of a Vietnam era Naval Destroyer, DD or DDG.
Nice video on the turrets, and how they function from deck to deck ! I served on the New Jersey in the early eighties. My GQ station was in the powder flats of turret 3. I hope in time you will be able to let tours go into the lower sections of the ship. People will definitely find it interesting!!
That gun was made at the Watervliet arsenal across the river from me. There are 12, 14 and 16 inch rifled barrels on outdoor display that can be seen from I-787 . When I passed by today I noticed they've added a an M-1 Abrams tank.
All due respect and love to those who severed and/or died a sailor. My dad was Air Force, but I had several uncles who used to work on Navy ship builder crews. I must say that for most of us regular civilian folks though, while these ships are very romantic and attractive from the outside, they are claustrophobic and creepy on the inside. I;d surely lose my mind in there... LOL. With all the wires, cables, tunnels, hatches, dials and chambers, you can see why it took so long to design and build ships of this caliber. I can only imagine how it must of been during actual duty and/or a battle. The thought of knowing that if you took an enemy hit, you could potentially be trapped in there, and either burned alive, suffocated by black chemical smoke, and/or drown going down with the ship. Such horrible ways for men to die, and so it makes you wish weapons of war didn't exist at all, but unfortunately as long as there are men, there will be wars. Again, major respect and love though to those who serve, served, and/or who died protecting our interests and freedoms.
I've seen a battleship in drydock and had a chance to compare the ship with an aircraft carrier also in drydock. The battleship is more impressive. Good to see the ship is such good shape.
Wow...., just wow. Not a place for anyone that has claustrophobia. The closest that anyone can get to that experience outside of the battleships is to cram themselves into a tiny junk filled closet with a small lamp and stand there for hours. The only thing missing is the noise, the heat, and the shockwave every time a gun fired. Thank you for this video tour. I've been on the USS Silversides (SS 236), and that ship is spacious compared to the confines of the gun turrets.
Toured the Massachusetts in '83 or '82 with another Ike shipmate, found an old-timer plankowner cleaning and painting a space to be opened later, talked to him for a good while, highlight of the tour.
Fantastic video. Very professionally done. Just the right amount of info. Every word you said added to the info,... no extraneous bul**hit. The graphics were really helpful as well. I'm retired USAF, but I've always been interested in naval weapons like these. Thanks.
I toured the North Carolina in the early 70's. At that time the #1 turret was accessible from the deck by the two underside hatches allowing exploration of the areas aft of the main shaft. I arrived at wharfside at the opening time and was one of the last visitors off the ship at closing.
Toured the North Carolina about 40 years ago. Sat in one of the 40 mm quad mounts over the stern and actually moved the thing around. Manual operation was pretty easy. We traveled through the aft crews mess areas, officers quarters, inside a 5" turret, the Citadel, a soda fountain and a radio/communications area. When you are in Willmington, NC take the tour; if anything else you can see a soup pot big enough to have a paddle for stiring in the mess.
@@sparkknocker6222 I was also there in the mid-60s as a teen with my parents. It was one of my most favorite memories! Later, when I had kids of my own we visited the USS Alabama and the USS Texas. Great memories! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for making this video.I can't wait to get in there myself. Amazing and I had no idea the complexity of the whole turret. Looking forward to the opportunity to see it in person.
Very informative. I toured the ship back in 2015 and was disappointed that I could not visit the turret. After looking at the ladders in the video, there is no way I'm getting my fat old ass up and down!
In Battleship Cove, Fall River, Massachusetts, is the USS Massachusetts. You can crawl all through the turret systems, self-guided. It's a huge treat for anyone who appreciates the engineering behind these massive 16" guns :-)
I was Navy in the '70's, and the 3 ships I served on (4, counting Iowa now) were all WWII-era ships. The SoDaks are the last of the Washington Naval Treaty-built ships and to me have a completely different 'feel' to them. They 'felt' completely different in a way that I did not recognize. Nevertheless, they are very cool because of the virtual complete access.
Awesome video. I've been on the Wisconsin several times and was always disappointed that I couldn't go below decks. Someone said that they have opened them in recent years so I'll have to go back for another visit. I would be surprised if they allowed people into the turrets though, seeing what you've got to go through to get there. Liability issue, especially with older people. Your video was pretty in depth as to just what went into firing these guns. It's very hard to fathom and correct me if I'm wrong but I believe they could average two rounds a minute per rifle. Can't imagine being on the receiving end of one of those 2,700 lb. shells.
You're correct about the Wisconsin. When she was first brought to Nauticus she was still the property of the US Navy and was still listed on the rolls of inactive reserve ships, so the vessel had to be sealed up and kept ready to go back into the fleet on short notice. In 2006 she was stricken from the rolls of the Naval Vessel Register and in 2009 was donated to Nauticus as a museum ship. The City of Norfolk took possession of the ship in 2010. Once the ship was stricken from the rolls it was no longer necessary to keep her sealed up, so they started opening parts of the ship up to the public.
Man, that brought back memories. Great video! I was stationed in the engine rooms (USS Missouri BB-63; 1985-88) but I've done that crawl through all three gun turrets and a lot more spaces besides. It really has to be experienced to be believed. I remember standing at that primerman's station, wondering what it would be like to see that quarter-million pound breech block coming back at you like a freight train when those guns were fired....
So much for the 'romanticism' of being a member of a 16" gun crew in a WWII battleship. Man, that looked like really hard work....to say nothing for claustrophobic. Sooo much respect.
And get rekt by gay who did terract
my dad was he was the 88 plank owner on Iowa bb61 boarded 1942 nov.
Not everyone is clusterphobic!
@@donraptor6156 I am...and a Signalman on the weatherdeck where I belong LOL.
Unbelievable the amount of design and engineering that goes into this great ships.
My Dad was part of the crew on a 5 inch gun during WW2.I was able to tour the Iowa a few years ago and I brought back pictures and a piece of the old deck for my Dad before he passed away.He enjoyed sharing stories of his service durning the war and I loved hearing those stories.
Nice video. This guy is a good guide. No "you knows, uhs, ahs". He knew what he was talking about.
Mike is pretty good, he's very smart, holds a 3rd Engineer maritime ticket...
I cut those out during editing- kv
Not a millennial.
I agree. Well informed and informative. Concise and, perhaps most importantly to me, he knows how to keep his voice down and aware of echo.
I do some voice work; that's why it matters to me.
I used to work at Navy Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility, Bremerton and had the opportunity to extensively explore the USS MISSOURI and the USS NEW JERSEY. The pride the crew took in the MISSOURI was very evident in the ship's condition and cleanliness. The NEW JERSEY, on the other hand, the crew basically threw the keys over their shoulder as they walked down the brow for the last time. There was still oil in the deep fat fryer in the crew's galley. There was trash and dirt all through the ship. It did not appear that the JERSEY was a particularly happy vessel. The MISSOURI damn near sparkled and could have gone to war in 24 hours. Still, both were fascinating to crawl through. The job did not pay a lot but it was one of the more fun jobs I have had.
Marcie and George Hopper , it’s in Camden NJ not Bayonne that’s why, Camden is a cesspool of a city. Politics made this dump decision.
Both ships could still go to war in relatively short order. Your description of the NEW JERSEY is not consistent with the vast majority of her crew.
I saw the Missouri when she visited Sydney , Australia in the mid '80s . What a big , beautiful ship . We could not get aboard as they closed access just as we were entering the gates to the naval base ( too many people ) .
I would not be able to work in such a closed off space , I would panic.
New Jersey sounds as if it represents that fine state quite accurately....junk, trash, classless.....
@@j.s.cj.s.c7213 Yes, Camden is a cesspool. Fortunately the ship is on the riverfront in a nice park, and if you take the little ferry from Philly's Penn's Landing you don't even have to go through any of Camden at all. I did that and really enjoyed the tour of the (now clean) ship.
It's a lot more complex than I ever imagined. So much equipment! A lot of complex things to know and do in hot, cramped, dangerous conditions. Hats off!
The very noticeable paradox is that externally, she is gigantic, but inside, she can be EXTREMELY cramped.
I remember doing that crawl several times aboard Iowa to make sure my 2nd Division sailors were all at their stations. Thanks for the great video, Kert, and thanks for posting James.
Thank you for sharing this amazing tour along with superb graphics to accompany it. It is so incredible how cramped it is throughout the barbette and how much is crammed within. I'd hate to think of what it took to have to replace a piece of equipment deep within. Also, I thank all of you dedicated sailors who served our great nation keeping us safe here at home.
The powder used in US Navy warships from before the year 1900 was pure nitrocellulose (termed "single base") -- the original "smokeless powder" -- with a tiny amount of stabilization and acid absorbing chemicals. The French also used this kind of powder ("Poudre "B"). Most other nations used "double-based" propellants using a percentage of nitroglycerine (Dynamite) to increase power and allow smaller amounts of powder -- the British "Cordite" had roughly half of its weight in nitroglycerine (varied over the years) though most other nations used less of this powerful, but somewhat dangerous, explosive in their propellants. The difference can be seen in that the British warship HMS HOOD blew up from one shell hit from BISMARCK that set off an aft powder magazine, while USS BOISE, a late-model US light cruiser, suffered a direct Japanese 8" AP shell hit in one of its forward magazines that set it off and, while the front end of the ship eventually burned up, the powder did not explode. ARIZONA blew up from an AP bomb hit in a magazine at Pearl Harbor primarily due to the fact that none of the ship's damage control or sprinklers systems were fully working due to it being a Sunday at peace (so they thought until rudely awakened!) so that the powder could cook as long as it needed to blow up the magazine and set the rest of the nearby magazines off too. No other large US warship suffered a similar fate, even the unlucky BOISE, during the entire time of WWII after Pearl Harbor. During WWII night battles became common and some lower-temperature (requiring a larger amount of powder) "flashless" double-base propellants (nitrocellulose and nitroguanidine) were developed that had dimmer, reddish-colored blast at the gun muzzle so it had less chance of blinding the deck personnel, including the officers running the ship -- this was the only exception to the use of single-base propellants in most US Navy guns during WWII, to my knowledge.
Mr. Okun, thank you very much for your comments. Many on the Iowa (at least some on staff and volunteers on the Tour Dept.) use your site NAVWEAPS as a resource. I especially like the technical papers/essays, my favorite being "How to design a ship". As Senior Tour Lead, having been on Iowa since day 1 in San Pedro, I get tons of questions that your site has given me the ability to answer. Thanks so much.
Have you ever, or are you going to, visit the Iowa? Would love to meet you...
Always wondered about the Hood/Bismarck incident. Thx!
@@DirtyCatBox HMS Hood had been the largest warship in the world for years, but only being a battlecruiser it didn't have the armour to cope with a direct hit to the magazine from a ship as well armed as the Bismarck, was only sent after the Bismarck as because of the Washington naval treaty and the immense costs of ww1 to Britain, few battleships had been made since ww1 so there weren't enough big gunned battleships available that were fast enough to outrun the Bismarck, so HMS prince of Wales and HMS Hood were sent, and the world was shocked to hear the long most feared warship was lost, had a massive impact on British morale, avenging the "mighty Hood" was a big thing in Britain. Not happy their pride of long and illustrious naval power had been so publicly been questioned, the battleships had long been the Royal Navy's pride, and for centuries the Royal Navy had ruled the waves.
Shame there's no British battleships left, but they had bigger problems than preservation during and after ww2, paying for 1 and a half world war allied victories had bankrupted them.
Toured a gun turret on the USS New Jersey - even more cramped than appears in this video. Was disappointed that you couldn't tour the engine rooms. When in London toured the HMS Belfast. You could tour almost all the mechanical spaces - the engine and boiler rooms were incredible.
Good God !...what phenomenal engineering....Super vid. Loved it....Thanks for the tour
Yep, pretty amazing stuff. Many thanks...
Such an incredible piece of hardware, designed by incredible people who had no modern computers, just slide rules and knowhow. Manned by incredible people who just had to know their jobs so well they couldn't possibly forget no matter how stressful things got.
My uncle was a gunner. He worked his way up from ordnance striker to Gunner's Mate to Chief Turret Captain, then Gunner as a Warrant Officer then Ensign and all they way up to Commander, all in naval gunnery. He was never on an Iowa class but he spent most of WWII on other classes of battleships. In total he served on active duty from 1930-1959. I miss him.
E-1 to O-6 including Warrants is quite an accomplishment. He gets a Bravo Zulu from me.
I signed my only enlistment extension on the side of the Iowa's #1 turret. A few Years later reenlisted inside the Captain's Wardroom on the Wisconsin. Each time the ships were in Philadelphia's Mothball Fleet! Loved Battleships all my life. I wish I could have had this kind of tour way back then!
I was priveleged to be a test target for the Iowa's first firing. Was sailing toward Ft. Lauderdale, watching the Iowa from 6-7 miles when it fired toward me approx 10 deg off my bow. A real sight for me a former fire control tech.!
Very interesting. Please tell me more. Could you see the shells? Hear them?
Seeing this video (a darned good video in my opinion by the way!) reminded me of a story my late father (WWII Royal Navy) used to tell me.
When exercising, sometimes the command from the bridge would come down to the powder magazine, to 'Flood the magazine!'. This was to simulate a situation where the ship had been damaged in such a way that fire/heat was threatening to set off the tons of Cordite in their silk bags and destroy the whole ship.
I'm not sure how often my father did this, but on at least one occasion, he reported the order back to the Bridge: 'Flooding Magazine, sir! Guggle, guggle, guggle..........
Its only when you see videos like this, that you realise just how little was the chance for survival for crews below decks!
Heroes ALL! RIP........
Perceptive.
One of the Tour Leads was on the carrier Midway and he tells of a shipwide announcement done by the XO when the ship had just started a return trip home. The XO had an electric drill and keyed the microphone "This is a drill! This is a drill!" whrrrrrr whrrr.....
As far as the men who sail below....you are correct. One thing I do on tours is try to hit guests very hard with the reality that only rarely do those men get out.
Check out this poem...
docs.google.com/document/d/1uZfnIYiJsJh_BBlMPnT9UrMxtcG-R5ZTxj2l5UsVLhU/edit?usp=sharing
@@jamespobog3420 I was a Boiler Tech on an aircraft carrier. Sailing down below was so hard to explain to friends and family. I hope to bring my daughters on a tour of a main machinery space one day.
@@ctbeach
Watch this vid I produced. I was also a BT, active duty 71-73. The pic at 2:18 is me somewhere in the South China Sea.
czcams.com/video/oUt_G6vboic/video.html
No "Cad-Cam" back then! Only slide rules and large drafting tables. Just incredible!
And that is but a small part of an entire Iowa class battleship, designed with SLIDE RULES and built by men and machines from PAPER BLUEPRINTS! Not a silicon chip in sight....
Don't knock slide rules. They got us to the moon too!
@Simaka Wolf To generate an EMP to take out a ship, well the neutrons are a bit more of a worry.
Which is why they are better built now
@Beau Beaubien Maybe Ralph meant the difference between old school building on 'ways' versus todays modular techniques. Also, Iowa actually has a lot of riveted construction. Welding was still being tweaked in.
@Beau Beaubien I could tell you, but then i would have to......
This video was terrific. I never realized how complicated gun turrets were. I hope the people involved received some kind of award for this most excellent video.
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT
Very very soon Battleship Iowa will be rolling out a T1/Gunnery tour. It's gonna be cool...
Fascinating !
Thanks so much for producing and providing this film !
And God bless the sailors who manned this and all the other U.S. Navy ships.
Eternal rest grant to those who gave their lives in defense of this country.
Thanks for this video. My dad was Chief Engineer on the New Jersey during Vietnam.
First time I ever got claustrophobia watching a video...Thanks James for publishing this.. And thank Kert for making it..
Excellent video and presentation. Narrator really knows his stuff without being boring.
The spaces for the gun crews seem to be more crammed then a submarine. All I could really think of though was the poor sailors who lost their lives during the Iowa explosion. Hoping for more videos. Again a great job Bravo Zulu.
Phenomenal demonstration. I never knew how complex the turrets were, nor how far they extended beneath deck! Very fascinating. Thank you for the tour and commentary!
I was fortunate to crawl through all 3 Turrets on both the Iowa and Wisconsin as a civilian contractor. An experience I will never forget.
It is....different...isn't it?
Visited this magnificent ship almost 5 years ago. Can't wait till I get to go again. All you volunteers have done a great job in getting her, from a layman's viewpoint, ship shape. I was very impressed with how clean she was. It seemed to me that she could easily have been fired up and put to sea with little more than getting the sailors to do it.
She'd need more than just a crew, all the sea chests are welded over, some main machinery is partially disassembled, etc.
james pobog I'm sure you're right. But I'll bet it wouldn't take long if we really needed her. Like an alien space invasion. Lol
IMHO, we are nowhere near the national mindset of WWII, where Iowa was built in about 2.5 years. No way that would happen today. I sit here and watch the container terminal across the channel completely shut down for lunch, no eating in shifts, shut 'er down.
A dry dock refit would take in excess of a year today...
james pobog In my opinion We Weren't in that mindset before Dec. 7th to begin with. Things change when you're fighting for your life.
Well, Iowa's keel was laid in 1940, and work was around the clock.
this was a great video! crazy seeing just how much went into firing these guns, I would love to see it operating with the crew working at their stations. I came from adamthewoo's video on this ship and its tragic hearing about all the sailors that died, cant imagine what it would have been like to be there.
I was present. I'll tell you about it sometime if you want.
So was I. OT division March 1989 thru June 1990
I would imagine that death was instantaneous.
I was there also, I was in 2nd division , we maned the lower portion of the turret. I was one of a few from 2nd not in turret at the time, the explosion killed all my friends.i think of them everyday.
@@tonyvoelker6274 --- what was the cause of the explosion?
That was very interesting. I've never been on any large ship but have had an interest in them since I was a young lad. I've seen film footage of ship big guns firing but only from an outside view and wondered the internal part of the turret ect. It's incredible the engineering that goes into designing and building one of these ships. I also enjoyed reading the comments from people that have been sailors on big ships or have toured one. I hope someday I can see one inside and out. Thanks for this video.
It is funny, when you were on the electric deck I could smell the hydraulic fluid. I spent many a hour soaking up the hydraulic fluid with a hand sponge and a bucket. On a normal day around 5 gallons of hydraulic fluid would leak in the electric deck...being one of the low men on the totem pole it was one of my primary daily jobs to clean it up.
I've heard about those turret leaks. T3 is supposed to have small lakes of it on the lower levels right now, as well as virtually every surface (at least in my experience in T1) is sticky, like it's coated with honey.
Wow that's incredible... Two things struck me in particular, No. 1 is just how small and confined those spaces are, definitely not for those that are claustrophobic. No. 2 is just how many different manufacturing steps are involved in building these ships and the technological advances necessary... It's incredible.
I had a friend who served on the Battle Ship BB-55 North Carolina. he was a BoM 2nd class. He told me a lot of interesting tales of the war when serving on the "Show Boat", He was one of the first on board when it was sent into action....William "Bill" Rowlett was his name
Everything in that turret was drawn by hand, on drawing tables, on paper. The man hours and skill required to design and construct such a vessel is hard to imagine.
She was also built by hand. Every man and woman who worked on her construction was a tradesman. All those welds were by hand. A problem involved with the construction of the F1 rocket motor from Saturn. Every motor made was hand assembled and welded. As such, none were identicle. The drawings are also too vague for today's engineers. Who don't have the same skills, and as such, don't know how to assemble an F1 I'm the same manner.
Only rescently the F1-b design was patented by NASA. After Many engineers of all ages failing there way through experimental builds to get to success. The F1-b is designed around today's tech rather than today's assembly skills.
My point is. Those same craftsmen skills were involved on Iowa and her sisters.
That was one of the most interesting videos I’ve seen. I’ve read a lot about WW 2 and especially the pacific theatre. I always wondered what really went into firing these big guns, combat footage only shows the firing of the shells and not the work to get them loaded and ready to fire. Hope to see more of these videos.
Hi, Rich. See my quote above, about Battleship Cove. Well worth the trip.
Ken .......checked out your message and it must have been exciting to go through the battleship. Have always wanted to check out a battleship but never got the opportunity. Did walk on an aircraft carrier that was set up like a museum in Corpus Christie Texas a number of years ago on a business trip. Being disabled now any opportunity to crawl through a battleship is gone now but I still think their beautiful ships. Sometimes I wonder how they can keep those things afloat (lol). God bless my friend.
Rich: Sorry you're having some physical problems. FWIW, there was no crawling. I only had to go up & down some stairways. Regards.
It was good, but I prefer airplanes over weapon systems that were already obsolete when they were built.
One could say the same for very many airplanes...
It took brave young men to put their lives at such risk. I remember and honor your service every November 11th. 🇺🇸
The engineering is very impressive.
Great video. The projectile platforms were not only polished, but oiled to aid the sailors when moving projectiles to the projectile hoist.
I have been in the turret (the top level only) aboard the sister ship the USS New Jersey. Quite an experience. Thanks for the great video.
Superb narration, thanks. The information has changed the way I view these big guns when fired. I was never aware of the complexity. Those tight quarters would demand a special type of person. Impressive 14 minutes.
I love my country and every veteran. USN rocks!
My wife and I got to do a below deck tour of BB-63 back in 2004, and then an above deck tour of BB-61 in 2013.
These ships are extremely high technology; not just for their day, but even right now. Their ability to put shells on an exact spot, from over 15 miles away, on rough seas, with bad weather, is nothing less than impossibly amazing.
I find the ship and it's tech a strange dichotomy, some very primitive beat-to-fit things (the workbench in Forward Aux. Machinery Room is actually IN the bilges) to the tech of the main gun fire control system that is so astounding that even today it would be the choice for a battleship because of it's robust, bulletproof nature and accuracy. That system was an advantage so big in WWII that it is almost indescribable. Not sure if you know, but the radars for the Mk38 director, both the early Mk8 and the later Mk13 were phased array. In WWII. Amazing...
Excellent film! Thank you so much for this window into the technology of that time, and into the jobs of the sailors who operated the guns. Awesome!
Thanks for the tour. Age and illness make it impossible for me to ever get inside the turret even if it was open. I'm a USN vet who always wanted to see inside a battleship.
Have a look at this vidI invited Adam (the cameraman) and my stepson for a visit. This is the result.
czcams.com/video/dW83U4bkC_k/video.html
Designed and engineered before computers! Absolutely amazing! Great clip!
Incredible! How all of that equipment was designed and made to work together is amazing! Engineering is way over my head.
Man, that is unbelievably complex. It’s amazing it worked so well. Heck, it’s amazing it worked at all!
Worked very well, but today there would need to be refinements. Probably the biggest flaw (I've heard) is that the rammer control has no position detentes. Like a trombone, you need to know where to place the lever to get the rammer speed you want. IMHO, that is NOT optimum...
This illustrates what naval strategy had been for about a century - hit them before they hit you! At the Battle of Jutland, it's estimated that fewer than 3% of the shells fired hit their targets, and each shell represented a very considerable cost to the taxpayer. Improvements in range finding and rudimentary analog computers that could solve the trajectory problems quickly made battleship-on-battleship duels a lot deadlier in WW2, as the early sinking of HMS Hood demonstrated.
Not sure I'd call the Ford Rangekeeper "rudimentary".
I have been on the tour and wished I could tour the turret and the engine room. This video was really eye opening and I appreciate it. These ships are National Treasures and I hope they never get scrapped. Thank you
There is a premium ticket now that takes you to Aft Plot, Boiler Room 4, Engine Room 2, Sick Bay, and CEC. Get details on the website, it's called Full Steam Ahead.
Really enjoyed the video loved the details of how much it takes to fire the guns
Fascinating! Thank you for the excellent presentation by Mr. VanderMeulen. I've produced 2D & 3D animation for my career, and had jobs in production houses that did live action where I got to work on the fringes of set-building & shoots... So I have to salute you for the fine work. Had to remind self that Somebody had to go ahead to record his entrance into those cramped spaces, emerging from another tiny cramped tunnel, companionway, or ladder. No place for claustrophobes, right? I've seen diagrams, but this tour with your explanations and a few finely presented graphics does a GREAT JOB. Holy Cow, it's sobering to think of the centuries of warfare that contributed hard-earned design principles we see in all the systems and devices.
Very impressive tour. The technology is really interesting. Thanks!
Although old, you had to have a mind of a million things to do, in comparison to push buttons of today. Like tying your shoe or using a Velcro strap.
I've been amazed with battleships since I was a little guy. Late 60's my family lived in Leland, NC just spitting distance from BB-55. I've toured her 3 times just this year alone and it never gets old. The only Iowa Class ship I will have a chance to tour will be BB-64, Wisconsin.
Very informative. I can only imagine the hell it must have been for those sailors tasked to work on the various levels.
i havent come across a more exciting video tour of anything, better than this!
Please check this one out also...
Thanks for keeping the bunk lights on.
Great video. How scary it must have been knowing how difficult it was to get in those areas and move around. If it was sinking you’d play hell getting out!
You would not get out most likely.
Very interesting! Always been so impressive topside; had no idea of the complex details below deck. Very worthwhile video. Thank you.
Thank you! Incredibly complex and thought out. I never knew it had so many levels and redundancies.
Everytime I watch videos on ww2 era battle ships it hurts my brain just trying to imagine how they designed these things on pencil paper and slide rule then the human muscle to build it truly amazing.
Here's a good paper on the subject...
navweaps.com/index_tech/tech-035.php
@@jamespobog3420 ver good article thanks very much for that
@@04u2cY You're welcome. Glad you enjoyed it. There's many good papers on that site.
Awesome tour , the size and strength of this stuff is mind blowing! Thanks.
#763 Thank You for very fine educational video. While the Iowa Class was building, research was in progress to cut the complex system of firing by Gibbs and Cox. New caliber heavy rifles were designed with a simpler operation. A 17.7 inch/50 cal./twin turret was being designed for faster loading. More shells in flight per minute to devastate the target much quicker. The invention of the Anti Ship Missile with absolute targeting ended the heavy rifle project.
Thanks for the view. My dad served on the Iowa in WWII
his name is currin, was he a plank owner ?
My older half-brother served on the USS Missouri during the Korean War. I got to visit it with my parents when it was docked in Norfolk. What a magnificent ship! My half-brother said the ship jumped 8 feet over in the water when they fired a full broadside! I understand that Naval tactics have changed, but I still miss the Mighty Mo and the other amazing battleships.
Sideways motion of battleships is a very common question. Please refer to this study.
www.navweaps.com/index_tech/tech-022.php
Great vid thank you. Such a shame so much is gone from these grand old ladies - scrap/theft/safety. Have BB61 in full broadside as my computer wallpaper so see her every day :) . Built for/in bad times yes, but the design and raw power of these ships should be saved forever. Nice to hear USS Juneau (CL52) has been found 76 years on too. R.I.P
My father was on the Iowa at the very end of WWII.
It still amazes me how these ships were built and how they operated and how the man with the lifeblood of them
Very enjoyable. The guide spoke as if he knew what he was talking about, and not reading from a script. I'd like to see a detailed tour, stem to stern, of a Vietnam era Naval Destroyer, DD or DDG.
It's all so beautifully made, and thought out. The plot computers, those knobs...deserves a piece on their own.
Do a search for "Exploring Off Limit Areas WWII Battleship USS Iowa". 30 minutes, I think you'll enjoy it...
I did! What a machine - or rather what a collection of machines, in one. Very impressive. czcams.com/video/dW83U4bkC_k/video.html
Very interesting and enjoyable; thank you! I was a Cold War era sailor that never went to sea (CTT.)
This is freaking amazing! Such a great production. Thank you.
So glad you enjoyed it!
Great video, very informative; it really gives you a perspective as to how hard it was to work in those turrets!
Nice video on the turrets, and how they function from deck to deck ! I served on the New Jersey in the early eighties. My GQ station was in the powder flats of turret 3. I hope in time you will be able to let tours go into the lower sections of the ship. People will definitely find it interesting!!
The turrets will take time, but we now run very limited availability tours to 3rd deck.
james pobog, In early summer, I am going to Camden NJ to visit the New Jersey. First time to see her in 32 years......I can't wait!!
me too MM2 Uss Tripoli LPH 10 Uss Stein FF 1065 and Uss Dixon AS 37, did 12 years
Very cool, it will be exciting for you..
That gun was made at the Watervliet arsenal across the river from me. There are 12, 14 and 16 inch rifled barrels on outdoor display that can be seen from I-787 . When I passed by today I noticed they've added a
an M-1 Abrams tank.
All due respect and love to those who severed and/or died a sailor. My dad was Air Force, but I had several uncles who used to work on Navy ship builder crews. I must say that for most of us regular civilian folks though, while these ships are very romantic and attractive from the outside, they are claustrophobic and creepy on the inside. I;d surely lose my mind in there... LOL. With all the wires, cables, tunnels, hatches, dials and chambers, you can see why it took so long to design and build ships of this caliber. I can only imagine how it must of been during actual duty and/or a battle. The thought of knowing that if you took an enemy hit, you could potentially be trapped in there, and either burned alive, suffocated by black chemical smoke, and/or drown going down with the ship. Such horrible ways for men to die, and so it makes you wish weapons of war didn't exist at all, but unfortunately as long as there are men, there will be wars. Again, major respect and love though to those who serve, served, and/or who died protecting our interests and freedoms.
I've seen a battleship in drydock and had a chance to compare the ship with an aircraft carrier also in drydock. The battleship is more impressive. Good to see the ship is such good shape.
Wow...., just wow. Not a place for anyone that has claustrophobia. The closest that anyone can get to that experience outside of the battleships is to cram themselves into a tiny junk filled closet with a small lamp and stand there for hours. The only thing missing is the noise, the heat, and the shockwave every time a gun fired. Thank you for this video tour. I've been on the USS Silversides (SS 236), and that ship is spacious compared to the confines of the gun turrets.
Turret 3 is open to the public on BB59, USS Massachusetts. I used to work with an old timer who was a fire control technician. Love these ships.
Toured the Massachusetts in '83 or '82 with another Ike shipmate, found an old-timer plankowner cleaning and painting a space to be opened later, talked to him for a good while, highlight of the tour.
A great tour! I understand why the general public can't do this tour.
LOL...
Thank you for posting! My grandfather was a gunners-mate on board the Iowa. I’d love to tour below decks one day day!!
Love to have you!
best graphics n animations award of all time;.... ship vids :)
What a great and fascinating video tour of that gun turret. Wow... so impressive. Thanks.
I spent three days on the Iowa when it was in the Baltic in 1985, it's the only time I have been impressed by the Yank Navy !!
Fantastic video. Very professionally done. Just the right amount of info. Every word you said added to the info,... no extraneous bul**hit. The graphics were really helpful as well. I'm retired USAF, but I've always been interested in naval weapons like these. Thanks.
Spent a couple years on that ship during the reactivation! I attached many small brass plates in hidden places with my name on that ship!
Always wanted to tour the USS North Carolina. She's on my list. Good to know about the access. Thanks
I toured the North Carolina in the early 70's. At that time the #1 turret was accessible from the deck by the two underside hatches allowing exploration of the areas aft of the main shaft. I arrived at wharfside at the opening time and was one of the last visitors off the ship at closing.
North Carolina is bad azz looking...
Toured the North Carolina about 40 years ago. Sat in one of the 40 mm quad mounts over the stern and actually moved the thing around. Manual operation was pretty easy. We traveled through the aft crews mess areas, officers quarters, inside a 5" turret, the Citadel, a soda fountain and a radio/communications area. When you are in Willmington, NC take the tour; if anything else you can see a soup pot big enough to have a paddle for stiring in the mess.
@@sparkknocker6222 I was also there in the mid-60s as a teen with my parents. It was one of my most favorite memories! Later, when I had kids of my own we visited the USS Alabama and the USS Texas. Great memories! Thanks for sharing.
If the tour gets a little too dry for you, you can get some quick relief here: 13:37 Enjoy!
Thanks for making this video.I can't wait to get in there myself. Amazing and I had no idea the complexity of the whole turret. Looking forward to the opportunity to see it in person.
Hope to see you soon!
Very very interesting! I certainly did not know all that, thank you very much for doing this video!
Thank you so much for taking me out of tour
Outstanding! Great production, thanks...
Thanks. Kurt does good work. Glad you enjoyed it.
Unbelievably complicated. But it was how the bad guys were defeated. Very informative.
Fascinating glimpse of history.
10:30 "Rammer Man" that is a cool job title. Way better than the title of the guy on a fishing boat who is in charge of the bait....
Wow, very impressive showing of the internals! You obviously know your stuff!
Thank you so much.
Very informative. I toured the ship back in 2015 and was disappointed that I could not visit the turret. After looking at the ladders in the video, there is no way I'm getting my fat old ass up and down!
Liability galore
In Battleship Cove, Fall River, Massachusetts, is the USS Massachusetts. You can crawl all through the turret systems, self-guided. It's a huge treat for anyone who appreciates the engineering behind these massive 16" guns :-)
Yep. Been there. That's a great experience. The rest of the ship (South Dakota class) is quite different than Iowa class.
Been there and it's great. Alone climbing through the powder rooms and shell decks. Access to the turret from the deck hatch.
Oh, my father served on the New Jersey. 43-45. Radar officer.
I was Navy in the '70's, and the 3 ships I served on (4, counting Iowa now) were all WWII-era ships. The SoDaks are the last of the Washington Naval Treaty-built ships and to me have a completely different 'feel' to them. They 'felt' completely different in a way that I did not recognize. Nevertheless, they are very cool because of the virtual complete access.
Awesome video. I've been on the Wisconsin several times and was always disappointed that I couldn't go below decks. Someone said that they have opened them in recent years so I'll have to go back for another visit. I would be surprised if they allowed people into the turrets though, seeing what you've got to go through to get there. Liability issue, especially with older people. Your video was pretty in depth as to just what went into firing these guns. It's very hard to fathom and correct me if I'm wrong but I believe they could average two rounds a minute per rifle. Can't imagine being on the receiving end of one of those 2,700 lb. shells.
You're correct about the Wisconsin. When she was first brought to Nauticus she was still the property of the US Navy and was still listed on the rolls of inactive reserve ships, so the vessel had to be sealed up and kept ready to go back into the fleet on short notice. In 2006 she was stricken from the rolls of the Naval Vessel Register and in 2009 was donated to Nauticus as a museum ship. The City of Norfolk took possession of the ship in 2010. Once the ship was stricken from the rolls it was no longer necessary to keep her sealed up, so they started opening parts of the ship up to the public.
Thanks for the info, sounds like a vacation to Virginia Beach is in the future. It's sad to know she'll never sail or fire her gun's again.
Thank you. I had no idea that operating those guns was so complex!
So glad you enjoyed...
OUtstanding! VERY well done! Thank you
Fantastic video... Thank you very much for this...