I know that the Iowa-class battleships have bow with shear, but can the guns fire directly forward if they're elevated enough to have clearance? A museum curator on the New Jersey said that the ship structure can't handle the stress and blast of the guns firing directly forward and there are angle limits to prevent that from happening.
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Can Iowa-class battleships fire directly forward?
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Common sense says that the Iowa Class would definitely be able to fire forward. Think about it. If an enemy battleship was ever able to cross the "T" with an Iowa Class then she would be defenseless. Now one can scour the photo archives for such a picture but I have never found one. The photo of a broadside being unleashed is simply too dramatic to be passed up compare to one turret firing forward. Also, having stood atop both turret 1 and 2 the bow of the Iowa is no impediment.
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They can, indeed, fire forward over the bow. But the last time we did it on the New Jersey, the green water vent shutters would slam shut sounding like M1 Garands being fired inside the berthing spaces.
Nobody could sleep or nap in that bunkroom -- except one gunners mate. He was so pooped out rearranging the shells for the tests, unloading powder bags (110 lbs each) from their top cannisters onto trays for the loaders, he slept through the entire gunnery trial. When he woke up he was asked if he was okay with all that noise.
He replied, "What noise?"Able to leap tall tales in a single groan.
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