I was an Army artilleryman and worked in fire direction. However I always wondered how the Navy was able to fire and hit the target when the ship was rolling and pitching.
2007-10-26 10:27:21 · 12 answers · asked by "Bearman" 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Military
As you surmise, ships have a unique firing resolution. Not only do they recoil from a shot, but the sea is not a stable platform.
While they seldom fire guns anymore... missiles are more accurate and do more damage... there can still be the problems of roll due to uncooperative seas. Computers and guidance systems compensate for the ocean motion. Missiles have practically no recoil.... and it wouldn't make a whole lot of difference if they did... again they're guided AFTER they're fired.
However, if you look at pictures of battleships firing their main battery, you can see a wave kicked up on the opposite side of the ship as as the ship recoiled slightly sideways. In Desert Storm, the ship sent spotter drones over the target areas to assess accuracy. In fact, there were instances when the Iraqi troops, fearing the oncoming barrage, would surrender to the drones.
2007-10-26 11:04:28 · answer #1 · answered by gugliamo00 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
When I was in the Navy in the early '60s I served on a WWII destroyer. When the 5" guns were in manual mode there was no stabilization. Through the sights in the mount the Pointer picked a point on the target and would fire when the site hit that point. You always fired on the up roll. Based on where the splashes were you spotted the gun up or down and did it all again. When the guns were in automatic mode the guns and mount movements were controlled by the MK1A computer. Part of the system was a stable element which was a Gyro that fed information into the computer so it could stabilize the guns. This allowed the ship to roll under the guns. The data was also sent to the main battery director to stabilize the range finder and the RADAR dish.
Probably pretty much the same today but with much better computers.
2007-10-26 11:44:02 · answer #2 · answered by Tin Can Sailor 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Well, the gyro does have a lot to do with it.
The Mk 86 system on the old Spruance class destroyers and the 5"/54 Mk 45 also used the SPQ-9 radar to correct each shot for surface and low/slow flyers. There was also the SPG-60 for air targets and a Remote optical site (rarely used). Inputs from the gyro was input into the SPQ-9 and the UYK-7 computer that controls the whole thing. Extreme minor variations can be detected from the spinning gyro. Just in case one gyro failed, there are two on the ship.
Contrary to popular belief, the 16" guns on the Iowas did not push the ship back in the water as mentioned in another posting. The overhead shots make it look like it, but that is strictly from the shock waves created by the 660 pound charge and 2,240 - 2,700 lb shell that is fired. The shear physics of water resistance on a hull 890 ft long displacing about 58,000 tons (you do not see that much above the waterline) prevents it. Those were EXTREMELY stable gun platforms.
2007-10-28 18:47:30 · answer #3 · answered by Jman 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I was an M1A1 Tanker and the main gun on a tank is a lot like the guns on navy ships. Gyroscopes set off sensors that (used to be mechanically) now digitally relay info to a computor that operates the hydraulics to adjust for the changes in the level plane. For instance, the gunner on an M1 Abrams can aim at a tree, keep the system engaged and when the driver takes the tank over hill and dale (poor dale)
the gun is still aimed at the tree. Navy guns however, are much bigger.
2007-10-26 14:22:46 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
there is a tremendous recoil in those guns and the people down below wear ear protection, the ringing ,wangs through the superstructure,depending on the size of the guns,example:on the iowa class battleships, when they used to have all three turrets of sixteen inch blazing away, the entire(example-u.s.s. new jersey) moved sideways six to ten feet in the water, even while in forward motion and the ship would list sideways, the ringing in the metal would sound like loud bells for two hours after the firing stopped.should america bring those four behemoths out of mothball,clean them up and loan them to israel so they can have a small navy to patrol with?
2007-10-26 14:39:21 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Not that hard to use gyros to calculate roll and pitch, and as late as WWII there was still some guessing involved (and often missing) in sea battles. Hydraulics and electric devices do a pretty good job today though.
2007-10-26 10:47:39 · answer #6 · answered by promethius9594 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I would guess that ships would use a similar type of stabilization that a tank would use, allowing it to fire on the move.
2007-10-26 10:50:15 · answer #7 · answered by wichitaor1 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
They stabilize the ship AND the guns; guns with hydraulics and now, electronics.
2007-10-26 10:36:11 · answer #8 · answered by Kelly T 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think it would be hydrolics. I'm not sure :S
But most Naval weapons are missiles instead of guns.
And HOOAH! Thank you for serving :)
2007-10-26 11:10:51 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
IF YOU KNOW WHAT THE 109'S USE.You have an idea.
2007-10-26 10:39:17 · answer #10 · answered by yp_will_chicago_369 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋