Destroyers - Fletcher Class

[blidgepump]

artifacts ....

Touring the ship offered a look back into history through the lives of the sailors on board the Salem.
The artifacts left by the crew are illustrated in these photos ...

[blidgepump]

Back to the turret ....

Great thing about the threads on the Naval Affairs board is they usually wander back on track given enough time .....

So I wondering about the turret on one of two 10 x 21-inch quintuple mounts. I.e., the aft mount.
The pictures show a turret on the aft but not on the forward mount... anybody available to fill in as to why?

[Gun Grape]

Not needed on the forward tubes.

Its a blast shield to protect the torpedo guys from muzzle blast from the 53 mount (3d 5in gun)

[tbm3fan]

Touring the ship offered a look back into history through the lives of the sailors on board the Salem.
The artifacts left by the crew are illustrated in these photos ...

I've got artifacts left by the Hornet crew that I have found in the many obscure places I reach in restoration. Rolling papers, 35mm vials of seeds, and a little bit of mary jane. Of course they are safely in my possession...

[blidgepump]

Don't shoot ....

Not needed on the forward tubes.

Its a blast shield to protect the torpedo guys from muzzle blast from the 53 mount (3d 5in gun)

That makes sense GG, thank you!
Though the material used for the turret's construction doesn't appear strong enough to deflect a 5" inch shell ;^) !!

[Gun Grape]

Just has to be strong enough to withstand the shock wave from the propellant exiting the barrel. Also one of the reasons its round instead of flat sided

[blidgepump]

Reaction to the action ....

Just has to be strong enough to withstand the shock wave from the propellant exiting the barrel. Also one of the reasons its round instead of flat sided

Understood.

The expansion ( concussion ) and collapse of the gas produced by the propellant would surely make your eyeballs bulge and retract at really hurtful levels .....
While touring I hadn't thought about the 53 gun endangering the crew manning the torpedoes.

[Builder 2010]

Imagine the hell that was unleashed when all the 40mm, 20mm and 10, 5" barrels were all firing simultaneously when fighting aircraft on an Iowa class ship. I don't know how any of those that served had any hearing left when their tours were completed.

[blidgepump]

Hellish explosions ...

Imagine the hell that was unleashed when all the 40mm, 20mm and 10, 5" barrels were all firing simultaneously when fighting aircraft on an Iowa class ship. I don't know how any of those that served had any hearing left when their tours were completed.

USN veterans were few in my part of the Nation as the Army & Marines provided ample opportunity for the young men to serve.
Three veterans that I knew with the last one passing several months back served on the USS Massachusetts as an Ensign.
He would describe the effect of firing of the main batteries as a giant sledge hammer on your chest and lungs.
Once would of been enough,, but to lay up for a landing and shell an island for several days OMG !

[blidgepump]

Torpedo launchers ....

The Cassin Young's torpedo launchers are the most "brightly painted of the three Fletcher display ship in the U.S. of A".
The firing system used a blank 40mm shell to launch the ten 21 inch Mark 15 torpedo out of the tubes.

[Gun Grape]

What all those fiddly bits do

[Gun Grape]

So Bildgepump. When are you going to Greece to see the other remaining Fletcher museum ship? Which also happens to be the only Fletcher that a mutiny occurred on.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Charrette_(DD-581)

[blidgepump]

Velos .....

So Bildgepump. When are you going to Greece to see the other remaining Fletcher museum ship? Which also happens to be the only Fletcher that a mutiny occurred on.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Charrette_(DD-581)

Interesting that you mention Greece GG ....
Over the past few years my taste buds have acquired an appreciation for Greek food.
I can ravage a bowl of humus to the point of embarrassing myself.
The thought of travelling to Greece does have an attraction and not completely out of the question.

[Albany Rifles]

From this landlubber, thanks for the photos and explanations.

Fascinating

[blidgepump]

Make your ears ring ...

Another photo of the turret atop the torpedo tubes on the Cassin Young.
This imagine shows the closeness of the 53 barrel to the sailors manning the torpedo mount.
Danger close ... ??