Random wow fact of the day

**grandkodiak** · 05-17-2007, 09:12 PM

The 16" Mark 7 gun of the Iowa class US Navy battleship could fire twice a minute, a 2,700 (1.35 ton) pound projectile at Mach 2.5 for over 7.9 miles of distance.

ouch.

**Hi-Po** · 05-17-2007, 09:15 PM

Wow! 7.9 miles out of a 16 inch ["] barrel! That impressive!..... J/K

**94z28l** · 05-17-2007, 09:40 PM

a 16" projectile is impressive

**third_shift|studios** · 05-18-2007, 05:42 AM

that's what the ladies tell me

**TMF** · 05-18-2007, 11:05 AM

OK, let me add some data, I actually worked on the re-fit of these ships in the early 80's. It takes 660 lbs of powder to charge that projectile

**Zapper2003** · 05-18-2007, 03:53 PM

660lbs? I believe that could add to the "BIG BANG" theory!

**joerockhead** · 05-18-2007, 05:01 PM

Originally Posted by grandkodiak

The 16" Mark 7 gun of the Iowa class US Navy battleship could fire twice a minute, a 2,700 (1.35 ton) pound projectile at Mach 2.5 for over 7.9 miles of distance.

ouch.

Where did you get that info?

Becasue the 16" gun had two differnt load.

1/2 load was nearly 8 miles, while a full load would be 12-15 miles.
The Gun did not "Shoot" the projectile, rather it "Lobbed" it. The projectile would roll end over end as it flew through the air and made a "whizzing" sound as it flew over the smaller Destroyer's. The Destroyer 5" guns had a max range of much shorter (I forget, it has been a long time).

The sound from the 16" gun was louder from a distance then onboard the Battleship.