Such technical marvels battleships were, its a shame they were cut short.

"Well, firing those guns perpendicular to the beam does make the ship "jump" slightly
to the side."

No it doesn't.

http://www.navweaps.com/index_tech/tech-022.htm

And no, age of sail warships did not roll when their cannons were fired. The cannons
weren't even fixed to the deck..

"I can't remember where I heard that, but it seems to be a common myth about the
Iowas. And given the awesome photographs that exist of the Iowa class BB's firing
their main guns, it's not a big leap to think that the sheer recoil of all nine of those
guns firing simultaneously perpendicular to the beam of the ship would cause some
kind of structural issues. "

Well, firing those guns perpendicular to the beam does make the ship "jump" slightly
to the side, however the ship is so large and heavy that you cannot notice it. The
guns' recoil systems help take some of the load off of the ship. Whereas in the old
age of sail, huge 1st and 2nd rates would lean to the side when their cannons fired,
because there was no recoil system like there is on modern artillery.

"The typical WW2 loadout for both South Dakota and Iowa classes were aprox 1200 rounds
(give or take a dozen, depending on available supply)."
@ 1900 - 2700 lb per shell, depending on type.....
[mathmathmath]

Huh... SOME of the submarines represented in the game DID displace more than a
battleship's ammo load (not counting powder, anyway)...

I can't remember where I heard that, but it seems to be a common myth about the
Iowas. And given the awesome photographs that exist of the Iowa class BB's firing
their main guns, it's not a big leap to think that the sheer recoil of all nine of those
guns firing simultaneously perpendicular to the beam of the ship would cause some
kind of structural issues.

Yeah, I got top marks in tech school and got first pick of assignments. So I chose
Pascagoula, where the Wisconsin was being refitted, already in progress in 1987. As one
of the electricians who integrated newer systems into her (box launchers for one), I
remained with her during the Gulf War and into September 1991 prepping her for decom. I
still have nightmares about some of those wiring trunks. =)

When you were on deck, the noise and pressure of her firing was a physical shock, tugging
at your face and clothes. At my duty station, deep in the superstructure and behind 6" of
armor plate, it was just loud, like a rifle going off outside your house.

And no, the boat doesn't rock or move when the guns are fired. =)

You served on the Wisconsin storm?

I bet that was a hell of an experience. How loud was it when they fired the main guns?

No, the reason was that there was no need to change the loading systems. The ones in place
worked very efficiently and they didnt want nor need to tear the turrets apart to rework
the system.

Also to add to that, even todays guns on our destroyers and cruisers need human interface
to function. The 5"/54 and 5"/62 caliber Mark-45 mods while autoloaded still require a
crew to load the projectiles and powder casings into the 20 round drum magazine feeding
the weapon. Then you need deck apes to run out there and toss the spent casings overboard
after weapons firing (and sometimes paint the deck if the casings left "smileys" if
plywood or rubber wasnt laid out before).

The reason they never upgraded the loading to a computer is the same reason our
modern Abrams tanks still handload their rounds. A computer does not have the
sensitivity and gentleness that a human can provide when loading shells. It cannot
think as well as a human could or diagnose problems as well.

Also, Japan could not have built the Super Yamatos.
#1 They did not have the resources
#2 They did not have the time
#3 The US wouldve oblitterated them as they were being built
#4 You really cant hide a ship that large

*cough* copied off wiki *cough*

no but seriourly thats really cool. kinda makes you wonder if the japs ever built the
super yammy and its 20 inch guns O_o