Ping S'mee- OT Army stuff:
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From: Vito on 2 Aug 2010 08:00 Twibil wrote: >> Went back down to Long Beach today and took a couple of pics that >> should warm the cockles of an old cannon-cocker's heart. ..... Tnx. If you ever come east visit the warfare station at Dahlgren, Va. They have a 16" rifle from the N.J. (IIRC) that they used to test range tables by firing it down the Potomac. Bullets are quite impressive.
From: Datesfat Chicks on 2 Aug 2010 10:00 "Vito" <vito(a)cfl.rr.com> wrote in message news:4c56b360$0$4964$9a6e19ea(a)unlimited.newshosting.com... > Twibil wrote: >>> Went back down to Long Beach today and took a couple of pics that >>> should warm the cockles of an old cannon-cocker's heart. ..... > > Tnx. If you ever come east visit the warfare station at Dahlgren, Va. > They > have a 16" rifle from the N.J. (IIRC) that they used to test range tables > by > firing it down the Potomac. Bullets are quite impressive. My recollection is that 16-inch projectiles were in the 1500 - 2500 lb. range. When you can heave a subcompact car 20 - 30 miles ... yep, that seems impressive. Of course it ain't a car. It goes boom at the end and spits out all sorts of fragmentation. But the weight is about the same ... DF
From: S'mee on 2 Aug 2010 10:15 On Aug 2, 6:00 am, "Vito" <v...(a)cfl.rr.com> wrote: > Twibil wrote: > >> Went back down to Long Beach today and took a couple of pics that > >> should warm the cockles of an old cannon-cocker's heart. ..... > > Tnx. If you ever come east visit the warfare station at Dahlgren, Va. They > have a 16" rifle from the N.J. (IIRC) that they used to test range tables by > firing it down the Potomac. Bullets are quite impressive. It's called a projectile or round when firing artillery. But yeah, that would have been fun to watch. At both ends.
From: sean_q on 2 Aug 2010 13:33 > If the _Yamato_ had showed up... I just looked up the cruising range of the _Yamato_ in my most reliable source (the _Junior Woodchucks Field Guide_). Over 7000 nautical miles (13,000 km). However without a military background I'm not sure if that's one way or return. (What an embarrassing thing to get wrong in a combat situation -- stranded out of gas in enemy waters, thumbing through the operator's manual to see what went wrong.) Anyway it's 3400 nm from Yokohama to Honolulu, and another 2000 to California. So the chances of seeing the Imperial Japanese Fleet suddenly appearing from around Seal Rocks on Santa Catalina were remote... but what a terrifying sight if they had. SQ with its nine 18" guns it could have > stood 25 miles offshore (out of range of this piece?) and done > some serious harm. > > In fact I can't imagine a scenario in which this shore-mounted > piece would have been useful. We still have the remains of > similar installations guarding Vancouver harbor and the entrance > to the Fraser River. They were never used, except one case > of friendly fire in which the gun crew tried to put a round > across the bows of a ship that didn't stop and identify itself... > the shell skipped across the water and punched two neat round holes > through the ship's hull, one on each side. > > SQ
From: Twibil on 2 Aug 2010 14:05
On Aug 2, 7:13 am, "S'mee" <stevenkei...(a)hotmail.com> wrote: > > > Would you be surprised I've a nodding aquaintance with the costal > artillary? Not at all. I assumed that you'd know far more about them than I. But what *did* surprise me was the emotional impact of wandering through those old ammo bunkers and powder magazines with circa 25' of steel-reinforced concrete above my head. There are some powerful echos of the past in that place that reminded me of my visit to the Viet Nam Memorial Wall and some Civil War battle sites. It brings forth in one the same feelings of solemn purpose and pride, mixed with regret that it had to be so. > Is there any record of them firing them for training? Yes. In fact, they've got some pics in the museum of them being fired, along with some text explaining the pics. Apparently they warned everybody within at least 20 miles before holding the firing drills, as the sound would easily carry for that distance and they didn't want the populations of Long Beach and L.A. staging a mass exodus to the east while under the impression that a Japanese invasion was taking place. |