Loading the BIG GUNS!!!
Before we get started, lets get acquainted with WHO goes WHERE inside a
16" gun turret
The Powder Handling Room
Powder handling room (overhead view):
Note the
double circle denoting the division between the stationary (or outer) powder handling flat
and the rotating, inner powder handling platform.
The Projectile Flat
Projectile flat (overhead view): This view illustrates
how the shells are moved to the hoists by the parbuckling gear. To allow the
projectiles to slide more easily, the rotating rings which make up the deck are coated in
a light machine oil. The gunner's mates are supposed to put down a thin film;
they are often too generous with it. The rings are usually slippery with oil.
The Gun House
Gunhouse arrangement (overhead view) Twenty seven men
work in this space. Of that number, only nine directly handle the projectiles and
charges.
CLICK HERE to go to the next
page in our series on how to load the big guns
CLICK HERE to return to the 16"
gun loading menu.
All of the information in these pages is from the two sources below:
Reference #1
*Muir, Malcolm, THE IOWA CLASS BATTLESHIPS, 1987, Sterling Publishing, New
York. ISBN 0-7137-17327
Reference#2
*Sumrall, Robert, F., IOWA CLASS BATTLESHIPS, 1988, Naval Institute Press,
Annapolis. ISBN 0-87021-298-2
|
