Path: utzoo!censor!geac!torsqnt!lethe!yunexus!ists!helios.physics.utoronto.ca!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!thunder.mcrcim.mcgill.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!spool.mu.edu!uwm.edu!linac!att!cbnews!cbnews!military From: welty@sol.crd.ge.com (richard welty) Newsgroups: sci.military Subject: Re: battleships Message-ID: <1991Feb27.015634.19142@cbnews.att.com> Date: 27 Feb 91 01:56:34 GMT References: <1991Feb13.220636.4720@cbnews.att.com> <1991Feb15.064150.7336@cbnews.att.com> <1991Feb18.052418.9551@cbnews.att.com> <1991Feb19.031700.16527@cbnews.att.com> Sender: military@cbnews.att.com (William B. Thacker) Organization: New York State Institute for Sebastian Cabot Studies Lines: 36 Approved: military@att.att.com From: welty@sol.crd.ge.com (richard welty) In article <1991Feb19.031700.16527@cbnews.att.com> phil@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG (Phil Gustafson) writes: >This has come up before, but does anyone have any idea how many 16"/50's >and liners still exist? Could we reline a gun if we had to? according to _The Iowa Class Battleships_ (Malcolm Muir, Blandford Press, UK, distributed by Sterling Press in the US), in addition to the 36 barrels on the 4 Iowa class ships, in 1981 there were 33 spare barrels which are ready for use; 24 at Hawthorne, Nevada, and 9 at Subic Bay in the Philipines. there were at that time 9 barrels at the Dalgren range, 3 in storage and 4 for testing, and there was an additional barrel at the Yuma Proving grounds. the book goes on to claim that the Watervliet arsenal could manufacture more barrels, which is not true; some of the equipment no longer exists. the Arsenal *can* reline barrels; the necessary lathes, shrink pits, and chrome pits still are in place and operational. as of 1981, there were 13 liner forgings at the Arsenal; more could be made. before Kuwait, the barrels were not being worn at that fast a rate, so i would expect that the figures are not significantly different today, although the locations of various materials may have changed. as far as this teflon business goes, here is the scoop: the silk propellant bags are wrapped in a jacket containing what is called `Swedish additive', which is titanium dioxide and wax. when fired, the additive forms a layer over the bore, which Muir says is ``rather like coating it with Teflon'. wear by an AP shell is cut by 75%; HC shells cause even less wear. cheers, richard -- richard welty welty@sol.crd.ge.com 518-393-7228, Infologic, 1400 Balltown Road, Niskayuna, New York