Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!seismo!sundc!pitstop!texsun!sun-barr!rutgers!att!cbnews!military From: welty@algol.crd.ge.com (richard welty) Newsgroups: sci.military Subject: Re: USS Iowa explosion Message-ID: <6491@cbnews.ATT.COM> Date: 12 May 89 02:47:18 GMT References: <5788@cbnews.ATT.COM> <5853@cbnews.ATT.COM> <5979@cbnews.ATT.COM> <6022@cbnews.ATT.COM> <6159@cbnews.ATT.COM>, Sender: military@cbnews.ATT.COM Organization: New York State Institute for Sebastian Cabot Studies Lines: 46 Approved: military@att.att.com From: welty@algol.crd.ge.com (richard welty) From: Philip Verdieck >I was looking through Jane's to see some Iowa stuff. the recent Jane's editions are not entirely reliable sources of information about the Iowas; in particular at least one recent edition contains misstatements about the armor (Jane's claims that the Iowas are armored against 18" shells, but in point of fact they are only armored against 16"/45 -- it was not possible to armor them against the 16"/50 mk 7) > According to Jane's there are 34 spare mk 7 gun barrels left. Are these >not the ones needed. If so where is all of the hou-ha about no replacements >coming from. This was an 85/86 book. Were the 16's upgraded from mk 7's? >If I missed someone mentioning this stuff, sorry... >[mod.note: The Iowas use Mk7's, yes. I wonder if they meant barrel >*liners*, though, instead of complete barrels. I don't know... - Bill ] there are certainly spare barrel liners in existence. it is quite possible that there are spare barrels; remember that two more Iowas were ordered but not completed. besides, the big gun shop at the Watervliet Arsenal is still intact. there's even a 16" barrel on display outside, visible from I-787 (it may not be a mk7, though) [mod.note: _Warship International_, 1976, No.4 shows a picture taken outside the Naval Weapons Lab, Dahlgren, Va. In it is a complete 16"/50 Mk7, alongside the 18"/47 Mk A. I wonder if they're still there. - Bill ] i'd be more concerned about repair/replacement to the mechanical fire control computers; although they may be able to use the units from Alabama, Massachusetts, or North Carolina, since these ships will almost certainly not ever be returned to service. richard -- -- richard welty welty@algol.crd.ge.com 518-387-6346, GE R&D, K1-5C39, Niskayuna, New York ``Every time I see an Alfa Romeo pass by, I raise my hat'' -- Henry Ford