From: "E.J. Totty", [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>Hi!
>
>Some interesting things about big naval guns have come
>to my attention recently. For example:
>
>They didn't all elevate up to 45 degrees, thus denying
>them maximum range.
>
>They weren't all capable of firing flat, thus denying
>them the ability to sink ships at point-blank range.
--snip--
>Regards
>Norman Bassett
>drakenfels.org
Steve, & Norm,
Oh, Norm . . .
That is what ballast is for.
Chief Engineer: "So, do you really want 45 degrees,
Captain? Is your coffee mug safely placed?" <Chuckle>
En route to my last duty station, USS Enterprise,
I was surprised to hear that it had run across Bishop Shoals,
somewhere off the southern California coast. Seems that there
was an A-7E in final approach, and the captain decided to
maintain course -- despite the Navigators admonition that
dead ahead of the ship was the shoals. Rather than have the
A-7 waved-off and do another approach after course change,
the old man opted to instead take a chance that the tide was
sufficient to allow over-passage.
The consideration was that the alternative would
have been to launch the tanker A-6, give the A-7 sufficient
latitude for more than one pass, upon course set.
The bottom edges of the outboard portions of the
keel just below the stabilizers (those blade-like structures that
run fore to aft at midships to dampen the rocking of a ship)
were torn through sufficiently as to cause the ship to
momentarily lose stability and immediately slip to one side,
in a rather severe list, on the side that had the worst damage.
There was an immediate call to all available hands
to report to the flight deck, on the opposite side.
A friend who was aboard at the time told me that
he was in a shower stall at the moment when he was flung
towards one side of the enclosure and almost got knocked
off of his feet. He said he was thinking that the ship had either
hit a lump of hard water, or a sub. (heh, heh. fat chance)
He said that it wasn't a moment later that the ship
took on a rather steep list, such that he had a terrible time
just getting out of the shower.
In the consideration that there were two gashes,
one on each side of the ship, and that the voids that were
breached were meant to be flooded anyway, the voids in
adjacent areas were stabilized with flooding to compensate,
and the ship returned to Alameda. It subsequently spent
the next month and a half in Hunter's Point NSY, at SF,
across the bay. Shipyard life is so damned nice . . . not.
The Captain lost his command, but was an
Admiral a year later. Go figure.
Ruin a ship, get advanced.
At a future date a few years later, the ship was out
doing sea trials for evaluations, and the Captain was advising
the crew that everything loose was to be tied down for sure.
The ship was push to max (flank) speed. The under
water log (device used to measure speed) was only made to
measure 40 knots. The indicator (according to the Captain)
was bouncing on the peg after less than a minute. It was then
that the ship was immediately (as fast as the helmsman can
turn that darned brass monster of a wheel) put into a full
left turn, and that was followed later by a full right turn.
I had my doubts about surviving that day.
Ever been side-hill with an off-road vehicle?
Severely side-hill?
I have a photo that shows the ship at that 40 plus
knots, and there is a solid wave of water rushing up the bow
three quarters (45 feet). Quite literally plowing water.
--
=*= =*= =*= =*= =*= =*= =*= =*= =*=
=*= Liberty: Live it . . . or lose it. =*=
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ET
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