What was it like to work in the gun turrets? | HMS Belfast's Armament
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- Опубликовано: 22 май 2024
- HMS Belfast's primary armament throughout her life was her 6-inch guns. It took over 200 men working together over 8 decks to keep these guns firing - what made these guns so complicated? Our experts take us from the Gun Direction Platform to the Fire Control Table, then into A-Turret and A-Turret's shell room to see how exactly they worked. We then take a look at her secondary 4-inch guns and where her two Supermarine Walruses used to stand.
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Music credits
Destination Unknown - Ugonna Onyekwe
Long Road - Futuremono
Slow Burn - Corbyn Kites
It is fortunate that HMS Belfast has been preserved. Just think how wonderful it would've been had HMS Warspite been preserved!!
And Vanguard.
The person who signed the order to scrap the Warspite should have been shot
Or Sheffield.
Hood would've been my pick had she not blown up. Warspite, Duke of York, Rodney or Dreadnaught would all have been incredible. Vanguard would've been easy to preserve.
I took my 7 year old son on the Belfast he is now 37, time flies, My uncle was in B turret of the repulse before WW2, and he told me one day ( its a sailors yarn) they were closed up when suddendly the turret range clock started ticking the big guns followed this information, slowly turning ( the ship was close to shore) the turret stopped, and they went the other way, it stopped again and traversed quicker, at this my uncle looked through the turret range finder to see the guns pointing at a man walking his dog, A new Lieutenant in the spotting top was playing, and all guns were following, I cannot imagine what the chap on the cliffs thought but by all accounts he made a run for it, Its not every day you get 15inch guns pointed at you. Every time he moved the guns followed. Yes a sailors yarn but a good one.
I was in the U.S. Air Force stationed at Utapao Thailand as a munitions specialist. The B52-D tail gun's fire control radar would sometimes be tested on our trucks as we drove through the munitions storage area. It is an unnerving experience to have four .50 caliber machine guns tracking you.
Its my understanding that A and B turret are trained on a gas station in London. I guess you would call it a petrol station on your side of the pond.
@@madrabbit9007 The guns are trained on London Gateway services (fuel, food & drink etc) on the M1 motorway, just outside London. I sometimes drive that part of the motorway just to be where the shells would fall!
=)
We visited HMS Belfast in 2000 on a stay in London to see the Millennium Dome. My ten year old son sat in one of the port Bofors mount and at that a man leaned out of a window in the council offices alongside to have a cigarette. Suddenly we discovered we could traverse and elevate. “Let’s cure him of his habit,” I called to my son and he trained on the smoker who was not well pleased.
My Great Uncle Arthur was a Stoker on H.M.S Belfast during the Russian Convey Campaigns in W.W.2 . Brave Lads and total respect to them all.....
I remember touring her in 1985, and still have my ticket stub. On board was a map of London and how far she could fire, a red circle showing the range. I was surprised when I noted she could hit my hotel so far away. Beautiful ship and a great tour going into all turrets and machinery spaces. Spent a few hours on her overall, would love to see her again.
Unreal. 26 people in each turret, can you imagine the heat these guys had to work in ? Brutal. The incredible build up of heat from the firing of the guns, the body heat of 26 men in a fairly small metal compartment, wearing the overalls and flash gear that they had to wear, working like Trojans to do the job that was required of them. I take my hat off to them all, and if I had two hats on, the other would come off quick smart too.
No ear defenders it seems.
My father R.J. Mundy PO of A turret from 1944 to 1946 Had very bad ear problems and it took till 1990 to get compensation in 1945 he spent one week stuck in the A turret due to heavy small arms fire whilst on the yellow river.
79 men in each turret of the US Iowa Class battleships.
@@maryreichle7623 eh
@@Sion_Revan
I was just wondering how many men would be in one of the turrets of the big girls, if Belfast had 26 in each turret. I thought 79 was impressive.
HMS Rodney also had 16 inch guns, and the entire turret operation consisted of 85 men, for each turret.
Those big girls were certainly incredibly impressive. I would love to be able to visit the US to see one of them.
My farther PO, RJ Mundy was PO on A turret from 1944 to 1946. He campaign for these guns to be restored for firing, back in 1980’s
It’s wonderful to see all the components of how the old girl fought. It’s even more wonderful to see all the equipment still work such as the breeches and the elevation wheels. Absolutely magnificent and interesting
That Admiralty Fire Control Table is an incredible piece of machinery! Truly a masterpiece of artillery technology! I'm an ex-Gunner (Royal Artillery) and really appreciate the history of equipment such as this!
My grandfather served in the US Navy during WW2. And had only positive things to say about the Royal Navy. I look forward to seeing Belfast when I come visit next year.
I find it amazing that the USN managed to grow from its post-war size to the enormous fleet it became by 1945. How on earth did the USN manage to train the hundreds of thousands of crewmen needed to such a high standard? One of the great feats of the war in my opinion.
You, Sir, will be most welcome
Great video. We are so lucky that people preserve our history.
Agreed but Warspite. Rodney. KGV and Vanguard, would have looked lush parked next to Belfast. Warspite and Rodney were tried and tested legends.
I was a sea cadet in the City Of London SCC on board HMS Belfast for 6 years from 1978 until 1984 and loved my time on her. Three evenings a week and usually Sundays for boating or cleaning and occasional overnight stays in the accommodation. Got to wander all over this ship and have many happy memories. I joined Royal Navy in 1984 at the age of 16 and the experiences I gained through membership of the Sea Cadets stood me in good stead for my service life. I never moved back to London after joining the navy but I still visit her whenever I am visiting London. Amazing ship.
My Father was an Ordinance Artificer in HMS Belfast in WW2 and was onboard during the Arctic Convoys, the sinking of the Scharnhorst, the Normandy Invasion on D-Day and left Belfast when she had her refit prior to going to the Far East.
Fortunately Belfast was a lucky ship otherwise I may not be here today to write this comment.
what is an "Artificer"? is that like a loader?
Hi there an Artificer was a trade qualified Petty Officer in my dad’s case guns and weapon systems (Ordinance)specialist.
The modern equivalent would probably be a Weapons Technician.
Thanks for your interest.
My bucket list includes crossing the pond and seeing Belfast along with all the other preserved ships.
Sadly, the UK has very few big preserved ships, unlike the US, which has a large number, including 7 of the 10 battleships built for the Second World War. HMS Belfast is the largest preserved British warship, and it's only a light cruiser (though a very big one).
@@awuma it really is sad. I would love to walk the decks of Warspite or Vanguard. I understand the government was strapped for cash after the war but they couldn’t even save one?
One of the ships we saved was Texas and served in both wars. She’s about to go into dry dock for a new bottom and other repairs.
Judging speed by observing the bow wave impressed me.
That might be why some camo schemes on ships have patterns down there? Totry and disguise the shape of the wave at the bow perhaps?
@@martincurran-gray2287 Interesting thought, though l think the camo was to fool the observer as to the ship's size.
@@martincurran-gray2287 ..exactly that.
@@louisavondart9178 I have seen the schemes where there is fake bow wave and bow painted somewhat further back from the real bow, but I’ve seen some where they have dark grey or black paint in a shape along the water line coming back from the real bow.
Thank you so much for this informative and enjoyable tour of this iconic warship.I was unaware that she carried two Supermarine Walruses.
Thanks for a great presentation. My wife and I toured the ship in the mid 80's, a fantastic change from the usual tourist attractions.
I'm so glad that a thing of this size has been preserved in view of the fact that they can't be accommodated in a display hall, they are usually sent to the breakers yard.
Such foresight has to be commended.
Great video. I toured the ship in June 2022 and it was fascinating to see it in person.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I really want to come across the pond and have a look at her. I've been aboard a number of battleships, carriers, destroyers and subs he have saved over here. A shame y'all didn't save any of your battleships. I would have loved to walk the decks of Warspite.
Wish i could see her soon, it would be fantastic experience
A brilliant tour! Many thanks to all of you at the IWM.
Toured the Belfast in 1980. All those sets of ladders. Could I do it now. Travelled from Australia to see Belfast. One of my university lecturers served on Belfast.
I'm a retired USN submariner. We submariners would consider all surface ships as targets. lol. This was a fascinating look at how these ships worked. Bravo to John. The Belfast is in great hands.
thanks for informing me how to fire 6 inch guns
As a 36 year old engineer from Aust, I looked over the ship quite unrestricted back in 1986… you could wander anywhere which was fantastic… now at 72 I still remember that massive ship!
Hello,i have visited the Belfast twice,and being a retired marine engineer with an interest in all ships I could happily tour the nooks and crannies that people do not get to see,more so without my family in tow.I have in my book collection Anatomy of the cruiser HMS Belfast,if my memory serves me right bought at the onboard gift shop,very interesting and informative reading.your personal tour is excellent.Thank you very much. Cheers,Roly 🇬🇧⚓️.
When I last visited London in 2022 I remember seeing her moored on the Thames River!! Magnificent ship,, lovely to look at, I was unable to tour her,, perhaps on my next visit 🫡❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥
This is a brilliant series, thank you
'I'm a great believer in welding' brilliant 😂😂😂
My Dad Lt.Jack Palmer was on HMS Glasgow, he was the pilot of the Walrus on the arctic convoys. Joined Glasgow on 30/12/1942, total hours flown to August 1943 92.05 hours. Flew Lord Mountbatten from Worthy Down to Lee on Solent on 26/08/1943. He was in the no 751 squadron.
Hoping to visit her some day!
They did a great talk when we went on board last week!
Thanks for the interesting and informative video. I was fortunate to have visited and toured the ship. Well worth a visit.
I had the pleasure of crossing HMS Belfast's deck and onwards to a Frigate alongside, which was my Brother-in-law's ship
I remember going in, but the exit is beyond my ken. Thanks to the Royal Navy for looking after my wife and me that night.
As I understand it, HMS Belfast has it's main guns aimed on a motorway service station on the M1 out of London, and having been there, I wish the Ship would fire.
so Eye-catching attraction I almost ignore the surrounding attractions in that part of River Thames, very impressive ship indeed, so shame that the U.K never preserved a single Battleship from WW1 and WW2
The UK was very strapped for cash and for space after WWII as it rebuilt and also kept Germany fed in the immediate aftermath of the war. I remember ration books or stamps being still in effect in the early '50s.
Hat off to Fred Sutton from Czech Republic. I really appreciate his love for navy.
My uncle was on the sister ship HMS Edinburgh, he served 22 years in the RN .
Fantastic, I could never quite get my head around how a massive warship bobbing up and down on the waves could possibly aim at a moving target. Fascinating!
Customer of mine was Navy, said he was one of the last to fire a big gun. He said you never saw a turret empty so quick when a miss fire was called. One chap had to remove the cordite and chuck it out of turret, then someone else into the sea.
So refreshing to see this clear, enthusiastic presentation after watching a number from a similar American channel that often comes up in my feed.
My favourite Ship . I would love to visit some time .
Very informative video, thank you for uploading.
my Grandad, Robert healey, was a gunner on belfast, he also shelled egypt in the suez canal crisis in the 50's. interesting video!
Fun Fact; during the war those naval Rifles were tested by Churchill himself catching every round fired mid Air.
Then testing the shells, Churchill would pitch the rounds (obviously American Baseball style) into 6" armor plates, then HE shells were tested by Churchill throwing each she'll up to 12 miles for beach assaults.
Churchill pretty much won the war all by himself. God Bless Churchill, and his 16" disco stick
greatly enjoyed, thank you
My grandfather was a gunner he joined the royal navy at 17 in 1936 he got his discharge in1948 ,, tribal class service,, then he was on KG5 in Japan Tokyo bay for the Japanese surrender,,did Russian convoy.duty ,on the Somali which got torpedoed ,,,royal navy made him a great man ☘️☘️☘️☘️ from Belfast,, northern Ireland great video
What an absolute brilliant and very interesting video❗️Thank you very much and I hope this wonderful ship will stay there for much longer. Wish you all the best. Boris 🇨🇭
I’m so glad I watched this informative video. Now I know how to fire my six inch guns. Gotta love military surplus.
I had the pleasure of visiting this amazing piece of engineering 3 times, and was looking forward to a fourth visit when brexit came along. I would absolutely recommend a visit to everyone! What the preservation teams are doing is jawdropping …
Hi what happened re Brexit ? Far as I know the UK made a political decision, didn’t ban flights lol or people visiting
Great video. Keep them coming!
Very interesting that such t techknowledgey existed so long ago.
Love your work 👍
Thank god someone is preserving these old ships, otherwise they would be lost forever.
Amazingly complex!!!
About the same turret crew as a U.S. 5”/38 dual gun destroyer mount. That is fairly impressive.
Brilliant content, well presented.
Loving this videos, thank you!
I got the chance to tour her in 1973! I need to go back and visit again as an adult.
Thanks for reminding me of my cadet's time onboard INS Delhi ( ex-HMS Achilles).
Interesting to see bracketing procedures used on these big naval guns. Did so myself as a mortarman for 8 years. Goes to show that what a good tactic it is, being used more than 60 years later.
If the opportunity presents itself it would be very interesting if the staff of HMS Belfast should visit the USS Salem. As two of the only 20th century cruiser's left in the world it would be interesting to see if the challenges of conservation have been the same or different as well as seeing what changes were made to a ship built just before World War 2 to one designed near the end of the war. (Yes i know the Salem was built later but it was planned to be built in 1944)
When I left my first ship after two years in the South Atlantic I was posted to Whale Island in Pompey for some shore time on reserve ships. They were Belfast and Sheffield. This was 1966.
Excellent dit.
A great history for a Great navy!
It’d be great if you guys could do a video with Ryan from Battleship New Jersey.
Dad had the meanest scar on his shin from a 4" turret.
To the day he died he had a lot of pride as a teenager being a gunner on her.
If memory serves correct, the guns were Snap,Crackle, Pop but unsure which turret. He showed my brother where his hammock was stowed during action stations inside the turret for added protection.
quite impressive and very complicated to fire!!
Great vid.
Such a cool ship, its just a shame we didn't keep any of our old battleships/ battle cruisers, and a few of our other ship type of ww2, one day I'll get the chance to see the Belfast in the metal fantastic job of keeping the ship looking as good as possible
Yeah she should have been modernised fitted with modern weaponry and state of the art modern radar and recommissioned like the Americans did with the massouri she had plenty of life left in her
Yeah, but that was before the North Sea oilfields started up about 1980. 1960's UK was really difficult and it didn't get better in the 70's as oil embargos ruined the European economies.
Enjoyed your video and I gave it a Thumbs Up
Thank you for the very informative video. Anyway, as a fellow artillery-man (retired), but land based, I have always wondered, how do navy gunners cope with the ship swaying? It was hard to be precise enough even with gun on a firm ground, and although enemy ships are quite a big targets, it's kind of a miracle to me to hit anything when your gun is actually constantly moving.
Anyway, looking forward to visit HMS Belfast with my sons (hopefully) next year.
That analog machine is so cool!
Great video, thank you ever so much for posting. I'd love to see more of her. Gallant ship. Greetings from Poland, hope to visit HMS Belfast one day👌
I was just wondering how to fire my 6-inch guns on my newly bought dreadnought! Thanks!
Awesome! I have to go play her on world of warships now!
Brilliant 🙏
Fascinating.. ☆☆☆☆☆
I saw her first when I was just a smal boy.
But we have no picutes of her or other proof. But I am still very sure. Another trip to London is definitively on my bucket-list
brilliant thanks
My Father was an Armourer in the Royal Marines. He always said he was in charge of fitting the guns on HMS Belfast. He joined in 1937 and came out in 1946. PLY 2149X
An old workmate in Newtownards County Down CPO Bob McTaggart was in gunnery control on the morning of D-Day 1944. He and his oppo had split a bottle of rum between them during the night, and as HMS Belfast was control ship for the sector, from where he was seated Bob could look down and see the radio operator behind the Admiral’s Bridge waiting to send the code signal to commence the naval bombardment. All the turrets were lit ready to fire and Bob determined to send the first salvo into Occupied France. In his own words, “The code signal was G for George, dah-dah-dit.” (Morse code) “When the signaller makes a dash, he drops his wrist. When he makes a dit he keeps his wrist straight. As soon as he dropped his wrist I fired the turret.” Bob did not say which, but I have read independent reports that X turret was fired as a signal to commence, although this appears not to be corroborated officially.
Impressive machinery. Gunners were traditionly well muscled. No wonder with all the heavy manual lifting.
Despite the all-in-one rocket ships popular in science fiction stories, going to the moon is a mission best broken into separate parts: achieving low-Earth orbit, transferring from Earth to lunar orbit, landing on the moon, and reversing the steps to return to Earth. Some science fiction stories that depicted a more realistic approach to going to the moon had astronauts going to an orbiting space station where smaller rockets were docked that would take them to the moon and back to the station. Because the United States was in competition with the Soviet Union, this approach was not adopted; the space stations Skylab, Salyut, and the International Space Station were all put up after Project Apollo had ended. The Apollo project used the three-stage Saturn V rocket. The bottom-most first stage lifted the assembly off the launching pad to a height of 42 miles (68 km), the second stage boosted it almost to low Earth orbit, and the third stage pushed it into orbit and then toward the moon. The Constellation project proposed by NASA for a return to the moon in 2018 consists of a two different two-stage rockets. There are two different first stage rocket designs: a crew-only lifting stage consisting of a single five-segment rocket booster, the Ares I, and a crew-and-cargo lifting stage consisting of five rocket engines beneath an external fuel tank supplemented by two five-segment solid rocket boosters, the Ares V. The second stage for both versions uses a single-liquid fuel engine. The heavy lifting assembly would carry the lunar orbital capsule and lander, which the astronauts would transfer to when the two rocket systems doc Because the moon has no atmosphere, you have to bring your own oxygen so you have something to breathe while you’re there, and when you stroll about on the lunar surface you need to be in a spacesuit to protect yourself from the blazing heat of the two-week-long lunar day or the mind-numbing cold of the equally long lunar night - not to mention the radiation and micro-meteoroids the lack of atmosphere exposes the surface to. You’ll also need to have something to eat. Most of the foods used by the astronauts in space missions have to be freeze-dried and concentrated to reduce their weight and then be reconstituted by adding water when eaten.[6] They also need to be high-protein foods to minimize the amount of body waste generated after eating. (At least you can wash them down with Tang.) Everything you take into space with you adds weight, which increases the amount of fuel necessary to lift it and the rocket carrying it into space, so you won’t be able to take too many personal effects into space - and those lunar rocks will weigh 6 times as much on Earth as they do on the moon. A launch window is the time range for launching the rocket from Earth to be able to land in the desired area of the moon during a time when there would be sufficient light for exploring the landing area. The launch window was actually defined two ways, as a monthly window and a daily window. The monthly launch window takes advantage of where the planned landing area is with respect to the Earth and the sun. Because Earth’s gravity forces the moon to keep the same side facing Earth, exploration missions were chosen in areas of the Earth-facing side to make radio communication between Earth and the moon possible. The time also had to be chosen at a time when the sun was shining on the landing area.
The daily launch window takes advantage of launch conditions, such as the angle at which the spacecraft would be launched, the performance of booster rockets, and the presence of a ship downsite from the launch to track the rocket’s flight progress. Early on, light conditions for launching were important, as daylight made it easier to oversee aborts on the launch pad or before achieving orbit, as well as being able to document aborts with photographs. As NASA gained more practice in overseeing missions, daylight launches were less necessary; Apollo 17 was launched at night.
My late dad was Killick Guuner on the HMS Birmingham sister ship to the HMS Belfast
6inch is 152mm, today mainly used as field artillery of the east
its only 3mm smaller as a diameter than the 155mm used in the west
Thanks for noting this similarity.
My grandad was a gunner during the war on Belfast
In Uganda Navy we ride hippos and throw rocks. Range finder was eyeball. Have to be careful if hippo ran too fast you would bust both nuts.
good video
Fab film! Would love to see a video about the Fire Control Analog computer please?
🏆🏆🏆👍🇺🇲🙏
Thank you for sharing.
Remember vividly doing the Belfast tour in the 70s.
Beautiful ship. I was there maybe 10years ago. I would like to go there with my son when he will be little bit older to enjoy it.
Prefect for conceal and carry
i am a sea cadet so i go on it every friday
You should come across the pond one day and take a look at some of the battleships we've saved to see how they compare.
@Retired Bore when you're in that moment you are scared but in the future, you look back and ask yourself to do that or not to do that is the question......
Thanks ...
Right, thanks for the tutorial! Now all i need is a town class cruiser.
Visited her in 87 while touring
I like the ship design
My farther took me when I was 4 years old, I still have the IWM book about Belfast.
British statistical gunnery at its finest.
Any idea if the Warspite at Jutland would use the same type of fire control table ?
Amazing, she had her back broken by a mine, was saved repaired and back into the fleet.
Fire control is probably done now with a $500 off the shelf PC
(although marked for milspec)