Does anyone know if there is video of the inside of turret and barbette of a South Dakota or later class battleship? I would like to see how the shells were handled in the interior and how the other machinery functioned.
Slip, there might be something related to the turret explosion back in the '90s? Congress luvs to over-engineer their investigations.
these have some good stills; Mark 7 16-inch/50-caliber gun Battleship Photo Index BB-57 USS SOUTH DAKOTA Battleship USS Massachusetts BB-59 - 16 Inch Turret Interior Hope it helps a bit;
This is a rather well known video that's been posted here before. Not sure if it's precisely what you're looking for, as it's the 16" 50s off an Iowa, rather than the 16" 45s off a S. Dakota or N. Carolina. But you did say S. Dak or later, so maybe this will help: YouTube - 16 Inch Gun Training Film It does show the shell and powder handling very well.
Yes, this is what I was looking for. It did not occur to me that someone would post it on YouTube. I was wanting to see how the handled the powder and shells down in the turret, mainly how they moved around the projectiles. It looks like a lot of hard work down there.
Oh, but does it. A navy acquaintance of mine who was briefly aboard an Iowa (NJ, I think) tells me the decks were oiled to make it easier (possible maybe?) to handle the shells. On the other hand, an oiled deck just sounds like a catastrophe waiting to happen to me. Still, I guess you do what you have to do.
Nice video's! I'm sending the link to an Uncle who was stationed aboard the USS Massachusetts. He worked on the shell floor moving those big things.