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Originally Posted by TopHatter
RustyBattleship asked me to post this for him:
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Dick,
I am truely sorry to hear about your wife. I seem to recall she's had similar problems a few years back, so I hope it's nothing serious and she'll recover pretty soon.
Copies of the JJMA drawings were circulated within the Navy and the Corps shortly before the WIP got axed.
The arrangement raised quite a few objections when submitted, but the abandonment of any more expenditures on battleships after the decision to deactivate USS Iowa and USS New Jersey didn't really allow for subsequent iterations.
I'd be pleased to discuss some of these objections with you, since the originals in your possession might have more details than the copies I have.
Meanwhile, I'd have a few comments on some of the information you posted on the 5"/54 :
1. The replacement of the existing 5"/38 with 5"/54 was a recurring theme throughout the 1980s. As you stated, analysis showed that the modification of both the projectile hoists and powder hoists to accommodate the new ammunition was not much of a problem.
2. As far as I remember, the options considered at the time for the replacement of the existing 5"/38 Mark-28 Mod.2 twin mounts were either the 5"/54 Mark-42 single mount or the 5"/54 Mark-45 single mount. Though less than ideal, the Mark-42 option received attention because of the number of mounts available at short notice after the decommissioning of quite a few Forrest Sherman DDs in the early 1980s.
3. I don't recall any twin 5"/54 option being seriously considered at the time, though this may well have been one of these ideas that briefly floated in the air at some point. In any case, I don't quite see how it could have been a reasonable option :
a. merely replacing the 5"/38 Mark-12 guns with 5"/54 guns was not feasible within the existing gunhouse.
b. the 5"/54 Mark-41 twin mounts planned for the Montanas were similar to the 5"/54 Mark-39 single mounts used on the Midways which proved relatively unsuccessful in service (hence the development of the aforementioned Mark-42 single mount).
c. the late 5"/54 Mark-66 twin mount never made it to the prototype stage.
4. Is the rebuild of Jean Bart you are referring to one of the two schemes the French submitted in 1943 ? As far as I know, both schemes used 5"/38 Mark-12 guns (scheme #1 with 15 twin mounts and scheme #2 with 17 twin mounts).
After WW2, the French developped their own 5"/54 twin mount (Model 1948) for their destroyers and cruisers, but did not use it for Jean Bart which was eventually fitted with 3.9" guns (Model 1945, 12 twin mounts).
I am not aware of any French project including the 5"/54 Mark-41 twin mount, and I was wondering whether you had come across any document suggesting the French envisioned using this mount on their Jean Bart (or any other ship) post-war.
Any information you would have on this specific subject would be greatly appreciated.
Take care.