This Is Pictures.

[Pantless Spency]

wow those are some awesome pics will.

[Edev]

Such a beautiful ship.

[JamesE30]

[ATTACH]56274[/ATTACH]

[Kershaw]

2400lb 50cal projectile?

are we are launching 50cal spears at people that are a few hundred feet long?

[BlackbirdM3]

2400lb 50cal projectile?

are we are launching 50cal spears at people that are a few hundred feet long?

Nope, those 16 inch guns fire this...







Here are the 5" shells



Even a one of those will make a mess out of what ever it hits.

Will

[BlackbirdM3]

What's that about?

When the Iowa reaches Long Beach, it will be tied up just like all the others, likely never to see the open ocean again. The era wasn't over till the Navy signed the papers effectively handing the ship over to the Pacific Battleship Group a few weeks ago. The Iowa was the last battleship in the Navy's inventory. All the rest have either been scrapped or are museums.

Will

[KamakaziX]

When the Iowa reaches Long Beach, it will be tied up just like all the others, likely never to see the open ocean again. The era wasn't over till the Navy signed the papers effectively handing the ship over to the Pacific Battleship Group a few weeks ago. The Iowa was the last battleship in the Navy's inventory. All the rest have either been scrapped or are museums.

Will

Wow, that's kinda sad really. What are they being replaced with?

[TurboJake]

Wow, that's kinda sad really. What are they being replaced with?

Zumwalt class destroyers and pinpoint weaponry combined with aerial drone weaponry, and submarines. They no longer see the need for limited distance "inaccurate" barrages from sea to land.

[george graves]

"You sunk my destroyer" doesn't have the same ring to it. Actually - sounds like a gay porn title.

[FLYNAVY]

Wow, that's kinda sad really. What are they being replaced with?

They were replaced a couple decades ago with modern destroyers and cruisers. In spite of the recent actual transfer of custody to said museum, the Iowa was decommissioned in 1990, and hasn't been in service since, aside from being technically owned by the Navy and in mothballs. I agree that they are cool ships, but given the nature of modern warfare, I think lobbing 16" shells without precision guidance is probably a thing of the past sadly.

[KamakaziX]

They're still cool as hell though.

[2761377]

just to clear up the 50 caliber confusion- the 16" rifles aboard the Iowa have barrels that are 50 times as long as the nominal diameter of the bore. 16" x 50 = 800" or 66.7'.

they are capable of minute-of-angle accuracy- the tangent of one minute of angle (.000291) times the distance fired equals the size of the expected impact area. it is a common benchmark for hunting rifles. for these rifles it means a projectile fired 20 miles will impact in a circle 31' in diameter. not as precise as modern guided weapons but still useful.

the vulnerabliltiy and expense of the ship were more responsible for its obsolesence than the inaccuracy of its weapons.


hth
robert w.

[FLYNAVY]

They're still cool as hell though.

Damn right they are :)

[mechdonald]

What's that about?

the movie... it was really that bad

[BlackbirdM3]

just to clear up the 50 caliber confusion- the 16" rifles aboard the Iowa have barrels that are 50 times as long as the nominal diameter of the bore. 16" x 50 = 800" or 66.7'.

they are capable of minute-of-angle accuracy- the tangent of one minute of angle (.000291) times the distance fired equals the size of the expected impact area. it is a common benchmark for hunting rifles. for these rifles it means a projectile fired 20 miles will impact in a circle 31' in diameter. not as precise as modern guided weapons but still useful.

the vulnerabliltiy and expense of the ship were more responsible for its obsolesence than the inaccuracy of its weapons.


hth
robert w.

She also carried both Tomahawk and Harpoon missiles, and a pretty good complement of them. To have a battleship sitting off your shore is pretty imposing. Knowing that it could hurl large projectiles a great distance, and fire cruise missiles at you if provoked makes you think twice about doing something stupid. You need some SERIOUS fire power if you want to sink her, not just your everyday Exocet missile, RPG, or anything like that.

From 20 miles out, even if the shell will hit somewhere in the 31' area, that whole 31 feet is going to be effected pretty seriously anyway. Perhaps not as pinpoint as a so called smart weapon, but in the grand scheme of things, its likely just as accurate due to the damage it will cause when it lands in that spot, not to mention the fact that the next shell will land in about the same place. Oh yeah, its a lot cheaper to fire a 16" gun than it is to launch a missile. There was a reason her last mission was to go sit in the Persian Gulf to protect the Tankers and other shipping.

Will