5" Gun Battery

These are what I think of as the almost cool cousins of the 16" guns.  I guess whether or not I'm impressed by them depends on what they're used for.  As a ship-ship weapon, I'm betting that similarly armed/armored ships wouldn't sweat a 5" shell against their hull.  However,  a 5" shell could take out some important equipment on the superstructure (antenae, gun directors, etc.) and would definitely ring the bell of the guys working in spot 1 or spot 2.  That said, any of my doubts about the 5" guns' power were pushed aside during a recent trip to the ship's Memorial Day ceremony where they dry-fired a 5" gun mount 21 times.  

Video of a few shots.  The sound is horrible, and doesn't have the bass necesarry to convey how loud this was.  

The type of 5" mounts on the BB-59 were listed as "dual-purpose" because they could be elevated nearly vertical, allowing them to be used against surface vessels or aircraft.  However, these guns were used primarily as an anti-aircraft weapon during their heyday.  They had a lot better range than the 40mm AA guns (another post), but didn't have nearly the firing rate of the 40mm mounts.    

Solution?  Put 5 mounts on both sides of the ship!   Problem solved.

Inside the mount closest to the foreground in the picture above, you can see how cramped it for these guys too.  Seems to be a running theme on this vessel.  Having spent a little time at sea myself, I'll vouch for the extreme lack of "personal space" aboard ship.

What are you looking at you ask?  You can see the opposite hatch from the one I'm leaning into, as well as the breech for each gun of this twin mount.  Unfortunately, the passage of time and the salt air hasn't been kind to this mount.  When you decide to open one of these to the public, it's expected that it will take a beating.  Fortunately, this is the only one opened to the public but I still enjoy looking around in it.  Can't have it both ways, right?  It's either opened or it's not.

Notice the difference in the condition of this mount?  I took this picture during just prior to the Memorial Day shoot when I was talking with the guys running the mount.  This one is NOT open to the public and is in much better shape.  Lesson?  Tread lightly when enjoying the spaces that are open and knock out people that you see abusing them.

Here's a shot of one of the local sighting operator's positions.  Suck it in, duck and squeeze in there.  Hope you took a leak before general quarters was called!

Same position, opposite side, better shot.

I'm including this one just because I like it.  Boom.