I was Aviation navy and not Surface but do have some experience with the loading and unloading of ammo. It's not that ships can't enter port loaded with ammo (we did it all the time on cruise), it's that you can't load and unload ammo pierside within city limits There are ammo storage and loading/unloading areas near major navy ports that are far enough away from major city areas just for this purpose. You would only unload all your ammo if the ship with going into drydock or other major work required it.
You’re correct: ships did not offload ammo before entering port. We would offload ammo before going into the yards or before extensive maintenance availabilities, and we generally carried full load out only on deployment, but the magazines were rarely empty. I served on a Knox-class frigate in the early-mid 80s, so procedures may have been different at other eras.
That makes sense because I live in Australia and its not uncommon to have US navy ships come ashore and I cant imagine they would unload all the ammo just to enter Sydney harbor.
Thanks. I know USS Iowa visited Aarhus here in Denmark at the entrance to the Baltic sea and close to USSR and DDR. It would be strange to not bring ammunition during the Cold War On the other hand I suspect the port call was to explore resupply options. As well as hearts and minds. USS Iowa at coal pier in Aarhus www.flickr.com/photos/perryolf/4474302056/in/photostream
Thanks - I very highly doubted that. - I agree with Mr Knapp (below) - if major work -unload.- No Hot work (Grinding, oxy/acetylene work (cutting/ welding) near magazines with ammunition's present. Hot work type stuff is what started the Bon Homme Richard Fire in San Diego last year, I think.
@@wfoj21 yes. Hot work in the "parking garage" spaces. It spread to other construction materials and went initially unchecked because the fire fighting equipment was offline.
I have learned more about the Iowa Class Battleships and how they worked from Mr. Szimanski than just about any other source out there. It has been about 10 years since my last visit to the USS New Jersey and it was a day I would never forget. I will get up there again some day.
"I guess that still works". When we were going through the Alabama I was constantly cautioning my son not to push any buttons! I was terrified something would spring to life somewhere!
7:18 LMFAO!!! Don't ever let this guy go. He's the perfect amount of weird for the internet and keeps me coming back to watch more videos. 7:38 LOL!!! please stop I can't breath.
You could see it in his face he was totally shocked that it still worked. Then after the video was over I bet they pulled the fuse out of it to make sure nobody else could use it afterwords lol.
It’s just so cool that the cable hoist still works. My jaw dropped when the shell hoist raised that shell. It makes me wonder what other machinery can still be operated ( assuming fuses/ breakers are reset). Can you give us a sense for that? What Ryan and the whole team do with the NJ is a model for how a museum ships should operate. Lastly, I can’t recommend enough the curator tour with Ryan. It’s the. Best $500 you’ll ever spend if you’re a battleship nerd like me. Ryan was extremely accommodating.
The "shell hoist" you see in this video is a museum simulation. The "projectile" is one of the many fiberglass display shells in turret two. It has a hardware store eye bolt attached to the point, which in turn is secured to a lightweight cable that is in turn connected to a very light duty cable winch above on the upper shell deck. The display is arranged so that a casual observer taking the tour does not see the eye bolt or the winch cable. As demonstrated by Ryan, the faux shell hoist does use the original hand controls for raising and lowering the faux projectile. To re-activate the for-real shell hoist would require activating the hoist's 440 volt electrical motors and lifting ram hydraulics.
"Smart like tractors and strong like oxen".. LOL! I was an ordinance man myself. I'll have to remember that term when chatting with my fellow Ammo troops while reminiscing about the old days!
It would take us about 4-5 days to totally on load or off load all of the 16 inch ammunition at Seal Beach. The other ammo and missiles were done at the same time but the 16 inch ammo took the longest. Also for the “odd” turret 2 powder magazine that was difficult to access, that was where the reduced charges were stored as they were lighter to handle.
@@vrod665 Years ago in San Diego as well. My dad went to radio school in '39 or '40 and spoke of those signs on the yards in some neighborhoods. I don't know if the story is true or not, but I heard that to silence the complaints about sailors inundating downtown, one time the Navy paid the men with two dollar bills. Suddenly, businesses were up to their gunnels in pictures of ol' Thomas Jefferson. Some of the complaining seemed to quiet down immediately.
In one of the oral history videos I think it was a Marine, was supervising a detail loading the 16" shells to a magazine. The Lieut in charge told the Marine to hurry up the detail and as a result the loading crane was mishandled and a 16" slipped its tackle and fell all the way down into the magazine. The guys in the magazine must have thought 'game over'. Imagine a 16" arriving unannounced down the vertical loading shaft. Noise must have been hell. The Lieut was given a severely hard time but he stayed on the ship.
I remember watching that one and thinking it would be interesting to know if there was any damage able to be seen now from that occurring. Dent in the magazine floor or the hatch frames? (assuming it wasn't full citadel thickness STS on the magazine floor though I imagine even that STS would give a dent from the hit).
@Christopher Williams what explosive does the shell use, TNT? I do know that ally torpedo in the late war use TORPEX explosive but I am not sure about the shell.
@@user-ro9zf9kz1h the explosive in shells is very stable and will not be detonated by dropping it any distance. It has to be detonated by a fuse, which is activated by the centrifugal force generated when a shell is fired from a gun and the rifling sets the shell spinning. The chance of a shell exploding without being fired from a gun is essentially zero. The much more significant hazard is the bagged gunpowder, which is stored in magazines with piping that can flood them quickly in case of fire.
I believe the men working in the magazines were affectionately known as Mag Rats. On a carrier where aircraft weapons were stored in cramped spaces like up in the bow, your height, or lack thereof, would usually get you the job since many of these spaces were no more than 5ft high and the short guys could go in there and handle missiles and rockets with better ease. In the Navy they have a job for you no matter who you are or your stature.
@@tobyw9573the AP rounds for the 16"/45s were several hundred pounds lighter than for the 16"/50s I think the lighter rounds could be used in the 50s but am not sure if the reverse is true
@@XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX981 Crane, Indiana is closest thing the department of the navy has to a dedicated arsenal, which explains why the excess 16" ammo is stored there. As to why they chose Indiana for a navy base, i would assume its fairly central to rail lines and other central transportation hubs of the country so that delivery can be made to either coast fairly quickly
Ryan from what I've seen, he is very knowledgeable about everything he says. He is a very smart man in my view, so when the next mzn comes along; his job will be easier, because Ryan and his crew of Volunteers have kept things very authentic. Thank you Ryan for all of the work you do to keep New Jersey looking as good as she is.,
That is a topic I have requested a video about, so thank you very much for picking it up 👍🏻 I wouldn’t have thought that (un)loading the shells is apparently such a massive effort
"Smart like tractors and strong like oxes". In the Aussie army we used to say guys like that "could lift a ton, but couldn't spell it". Looks like all forces have some of those guys. The other thing we used to say was "he's not very smart, but he can lift heavy things".
Thank you so much for satisfying my request for loading the ammo onboard ship. It was VERY informative and I especially liked the actual use of the lifts and winches.
While touring the USS Alabama area under the turret we noticed a giant circular dent in the floor, under the gantry. Sure enough, the docent said that is where a shell fell off the gantry and hit the floor. This was in their gantry.
Given the lack of 400v 400hz power generation onboard, he shouldn't be. (he'd know what's been done to get compatible power there, and likely was the one who flipped the breaker to enable it.)
Just because something is designed for so many volts doesn't mean it wouldn't work with less. It will still work just not as well. If thats a 440v unit or whatever 220v will work well for a short demonstration like in this video but it lickly wouldn't lift the weight of a shell.
Thanks. I was wondering about that, so I looked it up. The 2.9 mile long pier is located in Sandy Hook Bay. There is a 15 mile military railroad and road that connects the pier to Naval Weapons Station Earle.
Ryan I can say with 100% certainty that we did not unload our ammunition and powder when going into a civilian port and reload when leaving. That would take DAYS each way.
Excellent.. I'm one of the guys who asked about It. Ryan you explained it to me in a email but nice to see in a visual context. I will visit when this corvid ends. Until then your videos, and knowing how to read a ships bulls eye and having the San Francisco maritime booklet of general plans are bringing it all together in my minds eye. Thank you from me and those who can not travel yet.
I am a Brit and found this fascinating. Sadly, we no longer have a Battleship to view. However, I guess there are strong similarities in US and UK Battleships. Surely, to have an oiled deck for sliding shells must have been dangerous for slipping over, especially if the ship is rolling around? I have subscribed..
Pretty exciting - ships I deployed aboard had either a pair of 5 inch guns or a single 76mm gun. ONE fun thing as AirDet - we got to man the Mk38 Mod 1 25mm Bushmaster on frigates if we weren't flying
I was on a replenishment oiler (AOR). We onloaded ammo at anchor, in San Francisco Bay, with the ammo being brought to the ship by barge. When this was done it was an all hands operation, officers and enlisted. I don't remember what we did since obviously shells are to heavy to be handled even by a group, but there were long lines of sailors. At the time I was in the Navy, 1973 - 79, Concord Naval Weapons Station was still operating, but my oiler never got there in the 6 months I was on board.
i feel like you should paint all the museum era stuff like those railings the same color, so everyone knows it was added by the museum and doesnt mistakenly believe the navy had your safety at heart when you were on the ship (or maybe they just went "if you're stupid enough to fall down a hatch, thats your problem buddy")
The comment about unloading ammunition before entering a civilian port is incorrect. Navy ships unload ammunition before going into a shipyard for a maintenance availability. They go into civilian ports all the time without unloading ammunition, which is not a hazard when it's properly stored in magazines and not being handled. USS Missouri sailor 1988-90. The shell decks on Missouri were bare steel with a thin coat of oil.
I get "greasing the deck" to move shells of that size but how does the crew gain any traction? The grease must have been equally slippery on the sole of a shoe or boot.
It was an incredibly fine coat of oil, I do not remember it being slippery but during the process of loading the shell into the hoist a term called Par Buckling they MAY have put a little more oil down in the path of the shell to the hoist. I can't say for certain, I was never on the projectile decks during a shoot.
Interesting note - Ryan took us under turret #1 which has not been restored, they still have some pad on the deck to sop up oil that saturated the area.
No worse than walking on ice. You "skate" rather than walk. The person looping rope around a shell is one of the few trying to change positions often. The guys at the catheads, just sit there looping rope and pulling on it.
@@haroldhenderson2824 Skated & ice fished a lot growing up. Natural ice has a certain feel (texture). Never had to horse a ,1500+ lb shell in a confined space. I wonder what the temp was in that turret?
Really interesting video and have been enjoying these informative insights into the behind the scenes kind of stuff. I was not aware that ships needed to unload ammunition before going into dock. Surely, there is a greater risk of an accident that could potentially be catastrophic when transporting ammunition on and off the ship each time than there would be leaving it as is?
Just saw an interesting RUclips video from USS Missouri in the gulf war from i think the plot room. The speakers kept talking about reduced loads in each turret and the amounts. During the video the ship gets two missiles fired at it, one was destroyed less than a mile from Missouri by the British. Very interesting to see the crew reaction while bracing for impact, even laughing at the comments on the speaker. they then wear gas masks as burning oil from the wells was mistaken as gas. It would be awesome for you to breakdown the video and translate what the being said and the work going on.
It is the large number of unprotected and unconfined HiCap and AP shells being moved that causes the safety issue. A good old barge could do the job of carrying powder and shells out to a stationary battleship at anchor (a few miles from shore facilities). Powder in the storage flasks, has a less than 1 time in a million chance of "accident". Even then, it is a fire (NOT an explosion). An unquenchable, hot fire. Just one burning could "cook off" more flasks, but they tended to be guarded with fire hoses (for cooling). Shells have been dropped, but the nose fuse (HiCap) and the base fuse (AP) is not just started by an impact alone. I don't know the details, but modern fuses require a shell to spin fast (to arm) AND then impact before detonating. Whacking it with a big hammer, won't do anything but scratch the paint.
Don't push any buttons! I remember when taking a tour of the USS Cobia in Manitowoc Wisconsin. There was a guy who was touching everything and turning handles and knobs, the guide got in his face and said, " This equipment still works!".
The excellent book "Strike Able Peter" by John Butler describes the grounding of USS Missouri. She was lightened by removing all ammunition, including 16" shells. No detail is given on the process.
I'd like to share something that I found on a competing RUclips channel: "Yes, Iowa landscapers? My husband and I would like to have a pool in our garden." "Of course madam. Quick question, how far is your house from the coast line?" "Ehm, 15 miles I believe." "Very good, we can help you. How big should the pool be?" "We'd like a big pool. 6 feet deep, 50 feet long, 30 feet wide." "Understood madam. Just give us the GPS coordinates of where the pool should be, then step back a bit. Mike, load the 16 inch HE shells."
i recently thought of an idea for a possible video you guys could do if you havent already. possibly one detailing the process of scuttling the ship if the crew had no other option due to a catastrophic situation
I did a tour on the USS Texas a few years ago and the guide said the powder canisters that the bags came in were filled with laughing gas and they had to relieve the crews handling the bags every few minutes or hours can't remember which.
Nitrocellolose in the different formulations (some had more nitrogen compounds than others), will slowly breakdown in some conditions. Nitrous Oxide (laughing gas) is one of the products. No gas that you can intentionally place in a powder flask will protect it from fire. The propellant has "all the oxygen it needs", as loaded. The flasks are just to keep it dry and separated.
Maybe carrying the powder cases was doable. 300 lbs, 2 men could carry one, be a sweat but possible. Or small trolleys. This in ref to the weird powder magazine setup mentioned in video.
@@CRAZYHORSE19682003 If you watched the part of the video [NUMBERS] was talking about, there is NO HOIST in that section. So they obviously didn't use one for loading through that hatch. Now, I would obviously prefer using a hoist myself, so if there were ANY other usable hatch with a hoist, I'd use that one. But if a situation forced me to use that hatch, it would be a sweat job.
If you use those old Yale hoists look on the brake end. I would make sure if you do have the vented style of brake housing you limit your youth because those Yale hoist are made with asbestos brakes and they vented the asbestos brakes to atmosphere for cooling
You'de thing they would have figured out a moder ergonomic way of getting the shells into the belly of the ship.. like a sloped slide away from the turret, sliding down to the bottom of the barbette.. reducing the load on the hoist.. Could even be used as a slide down to lower decks for people
>it would take a small wrench to open all this. Christ, if that's a small wrench what's a big wrench considered to be on these ships?! XD Great video btw. Love seeing these parts of the ship and how they would function.
My only complaint is the audio isn't very good, I think it's gotten better from the newer videos and I get that it's noisy and inside the ships makes a lot of echoes. But the content is great
@@BattleshipNewJersey I have a BL&P shell in a cradle marked 1902 lbs and 8.1 cu ft. Its a bear to move around. I would like to have an AP round but they are impossible to come by. Where can I get a fiberglass replica AP?
You know how people ask why can't we reactivate them in 2022, we'll we all know why,but isn't it something that the U.S.NAVY did such a good job designing these ships that even now they still project power just sitting still.thats power!!
The thumbnail, you know those guys had clinched sphincters... That said, a lot of people indeed wonder how shells and fuel are embarked, thanks for the video. Can you do fueling next?
The off loading of a Navy warship seems silly. Even when the Arizona went nuclear it didn't do anything close to what the ammo ship did in Halifax. It was just a cargo ship full of explosives not a warship.
@@tobyw9573 The Black Tom explosion was an act of sabotage by German agents to destroy U.S.-made munitions that were to be supplied to the Allies in World War I. The explosions, which occurred on July 30, 1916, in the New York Harbor, killed four people and destroyed some $20,000,000 worth of military goods. This incident, which happened prior to U.S. entry into World War I, also damaged the Statue of Liberty. It was one of the largest artificial non-nuclear explosions to have ever occurred. So it's not the first time. Still cant see why warships need to be unloaded.
@@finscreenname the black tom and Halifax explosions both played a part in the us government deciding to no longer load and unload ammunition and explosives in civilian ports and instead use dedicated military ports such as concord, ca and sunny point, nc for handling explosives
Where you mentioned rotating the turrets: I wonder how fast the turrets can rotate. Do you have any numbers for that, like „x seconds for 180 degrees“ for the 16“ and/or the 5“ turrets? Thank you very much for your answer! 😊
TEXAS paints the deck, because all the shell handling is done by overhead hoists with the nose of the ammunition pointed down. Only her and her sister, New York, handled ammunition in this configuration. The numerous dents in the floor from the shells slipping from the hoists and crashing into the floor, is sobering.
Thats a great question with a complicated answer, not only does the navy never confirm the presence of nuclear weapons on board ships, this was a particularly vague program. Check out this video we made about it ruclips.net/video/Pq3WYY9Aiys/видео.html
@@BattleshipNewJersey Did they ever make 16" nuke shells? The stuff "atomic annie" [ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M65_atomic_cannon ] fired were 280mm (~11in)
@@jfbeam The W23 nuclear shell which basically if i understand it right were an up-dimensioned W19 shell (so the hard stuff were already done ie downsizing the bomb and get into a shape such that it survives being launched as a gun shell.)
“I guess that still works” - Ryan after pulling the trigger on a 16 inch gun starting a civil war with Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania would win because they allow their citizens their 2nd Amendment rights with less restrictions.
@@johnmcmickle5685 cool
Ha!.. good one! I propose "i guess that still works" as Ryan's new signature catch phrase. It should be on every video from now on.
@@jmrico1979 yes agreed I mean it would be a great video just going around the ship trying to see what still works
The look on Ryan's face was priceless.
"How to Load Ammunition onto the Battleship"
-Very carefully.
You don't want to drop it on your flipflop
I liked Ryan's reaction when the hoist worked. :D
and hes curator of the ship. Wow it still works.
I was Aviation navy and not Surface but do have some experience with the loading and unloading of ammo. It's not that ships can't enter port loaded with ammo (we did it all the time on cruise), it's that you can't load and unload ammo pierside within city limits There are ammo storage and loading/unloading areas near major navy ports that are far enough away from major city areas just for this purpose. You would only unload all your ammo if the ship with going into drydock or other major work required it.
^this comment needs to be pinned
Saw the Red Flag flying many times as we passed by the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Center, outside Long Beach California.
You’re correct: ships did not offload ammo before entering port. We would offload ammo before going into the yards or before extensive maintenance availabilities, and we generally carried full load out only on deployment, but the magazines were rarely empty. I served on a Knox-class frigate in the early-mid 80s, so procedures may have been different at other eras.
That makes sense because I live in Australia and its not uncommon to have US navy ships come ashore and I cant imagine they would unload all the ammo just to enter Sydney harbor.
I can relate to Ryan's commitment to originality and keeping the look of things period-correct. That's the way to go.
It’s only period correct to 1989 tho
I think that's a law!
I can tell you from my own service on New Jersey in the 90’s we did not offload ammunition every time we went into port.
I’m glad to here that, what a pain in the ass that would be.
Thanks. I know USS Iowa visited Aarhus here in Denmark at the entrance to the Baltic sea and close to USSR and DDR.
It would be strange to not bring ammunition during the Cold War
On the other hand I suspect the port call was to explore resupply options. As well as hearts and minds.
USS Iowa at coal pier in Aarhus
www.flickr.com/photos/perryolf/4474302056/in/photostream
Yeah, I would that would greatly increase the chance of an accident than just leaving it where it is.
Thanks - I very highly doubted that. - I agree with Mr Knapp (below) - if major work -unload.- No Hot work (Grinding, oxy/acetylene work (cutting/ welding) near magazines with ammunition's present. Hot work type stuff is what started the Bon Homme Richard Fire in San Diego last year, I think.
@@wfoj21 yes. Hot work in the "parking garage" spaces. It spread to other construction materials and went initially unchecked because the fire fighting equipment was offline.
I have learned more about the Iowa Class Battleships and how they worked from Mr. Szimanski than just about any other source out there. It has been about 10 years since my last visit to the USS New Jersey and it was a day I would never forget. I will get up there again some day.
"I guess that still works". When we were going through the Alabama I was constantly cautioning my son not to push any buttons! I was terrified something would spring to life somewhere!
Luckily there's nothing within the line of fire fore or aft or within her range.
7:18 LMFAO!!! Don't ever let this guy go. He's the perfect amount of weird for the internet and keeps me coming back to watch more videos.
7:38 LOL!!! please stop I can't breath.
You could see it in his face he was totally shocked that it still worked. Then after the video was over I bet they pulled the fuse out of it to make sure nobody else could use it afterwords lol.
He is one of my favorite RUclips personalities.
Lol. That 20+ ton hoist popping off was a bit terrifying.
@@chrisbanbury it's just 1ton hoist. That was the powder hoist so it only lifted 500# canisters.
It’s just so cool that the cable hoist still works. My jaw dropped when the shell hoist raised that shell. It makes me wonder what other machinery can still be operated ( assuming fuses/ breakers are reset). Can you give us a sense for that? What Ryan and the whole team do with the NJ is a model for how a museum ships should operate. Lastly, I can’t recommend enough the curator tour with Ryan. It’s the. Best $500 you’ll ever spend if you’re a battleship nerd like me. Ryan was extremely accommodating.
Check this video out for some info on what systems work: ruclips.net/video/lK9ofM6ef5g/видео.html
The "shell hoist" you see in this video is a museum simulation. The "projectile" is one of the many fiberglass display shells in turret two. It has a hardware store eye bolt attached to the point, which in turn is secured to a lightweight cable that is in turn connected to a very light duty cable winch above on the upper shell deck. The display is arranged so that a casual observer taking the tour does not see the eye bolt or the winch cable. As demonstrated by Ryan, the faux shell hoist does use the original hand controls for raising and lowering the faux projectile.
To re-activate the for-real shell hoist would require activating the hoist's 440 volt electrical motors and lifting ram hydraulics.
I always enjoy Ryan just plain off the cuff explanations with no script.
"Smart like tractors and strong like oxen".. LOL! I was an ordinance man myself. I'll have to remember that term when chatting with my fellow Ammo troops while reminiscing about the old days!
Don't forget to add the "cheap, like borscht"
It would take us about 4-5 days to totally on load or off load all of the 16 inch ammunition at Seal Beach. The other ammo and missiles were done at the same time but the 16 inch ammo took the longest. Also for the “odd” turret 2 powder magazine that was difficult to access, that was where the reduced charges were stored as they were lighter to handle.
Lol, smart like a tractor and strong like an ox.
Yeah that made me smile too
One of “kinder” comments I have ever heard about sailors. Norfolk still has a “dogs and sailors stay off the grass” mentality.
@@vrod665 Years ago in San Diego as well. My dad went to radio school in '39 or '40 and spoke of those signs on the yards in some neighborhoods. I don't know if the story is true or not, but I heard that to silence the complaints about sailors inundating downtown, one time the Navy paid the men with two dollar bills. Suddenly, businesses were up to their gunnels in pictures of ol' Thomas Jefferson. Some of the complaining seemed to quiet down immediately.
In my experience on ship is all E-4 and below are smart like tractors and dumb like ox when it comes to working parties.😂
In one of the oral history videos I think it was a Marine, was supervising a detail loading the 16" shells to a magazine. The Lieut in charge told the Marine to hurry up the detail and as a result the loading crane was mishandled and a 16" slipped its tackle and fell all the way down into the magazine. The guys in the magazine must have thought 'game over'. Imagine a 16" arriving unannounced down the vertical loading shaft. Noise must have been hell. The Lieut was given a severely hard time but he stayed on the ship.
I remember watching that one and thinking it would be interesting to know if there was any damage able to be seen now from that occurring. Dent in the magazine floor or the hatch frames? (assuming it wasn't full citadel thickness STS on the magazine floor though I imagine even that STS would give a dent from the hit).
@Christopher Williams what explosive does the shell use, TNT? I do know that ally torpedo in the late war use TORPEX explosive but I am not sure about the shell.
@@user-ro9zf9kz1h According to U.S Explosive Ordnance maritime.org/doc/ordnance/ it was Explosive D (Ammonium Picrate).
@@user-ro9zf9kz1h the explosive in shells is very stable and will not be detonated by dropping it any distance. It has to be detonated by a fuse, which is activated by the centrifugal force generated when a shell is fired from a gun and the rifling sets the shell spinning. The chance of a shell exploding without being fired from a gun is essentially zero. The much more significant hazard is the bagged gunpowder, which is stored in magazines with piping that can flood them quickly in case of fire.
Ammo handling. The only job where "You had only one job!" is not an option.
I wish I could live near an Iowa class battleship and spend my retirement serving these great men that served on them.
I believe the men working in the magazines were affectionately known as Mag Rats. On a carrier where aircraft weapons were stored in cramped spaces like up in the bow, your height, or lack thereof, would usually get you the job since many of these spaces were no more than 5ft high and the short guys could go in there and handle missiles and rockets with better ease. In the Navy they have a job for you no matter who you are or your stature.
It would seem they would design these ships a little more accomidating to work in.
The sheer immensity of these beauties is just awe inspiring! Truly, modern battleships from this era are wonders of the world.
As of 2016 there were still 15,595 live 16"/ 50 calibre rounds in storage at Crane, Indiana.
Ok, I get that you want to store shells out of the range of shore bombardment, but why put a navy base so far from the ocean?
@@Ben_306 As of 2016 the Indiana site seems to be a facility for storage prior to disposal. It is not a Navy arsenal
Are 16"/50 cal rounds different from the 16'/45 cal rounds? I think I read the weights are the same.
@@tobyw9573the AP rounds for the 16"/45s were several hundred pounds lighter than for the 16"/50s I think the lighter rounds could be used in the 50s but am not sure if the reverse is true
@@XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX981 Crane, Indiana is closest thing the department of the navy has to a dedicated arsenal, which explains why the excess 16" ammo is stored there.
As to why they chose Indiana for a navy base, i would assume its fairly central to rail lines and other central transportation hubs of the country so that delivery can be made to either coast fairly quickly
Ryan from what I've seen, he is very knowledgeable about everything he says. He is a very smart man in my view, so when the next mzn comes along; his job will be easier, because Ryan and his crew of Volunteers have kept things very authentic. Thank you Ryan for all of the work you do to keep New Jersey looking as good as she is.,
That is a topic I have requested a video about, so thank you very much for picking it up 👍🏻 I wouldn’t have thought that (un)loading the shells is apparently such a massive effort
The look on his face was priceless when he realized the hoist still worked. I'm suprised it still did to, considered its 480 volt.
"as a visitor, please don't press any of the buttons" After seeing this it would be very hard to resist not pressing at least a few buttons.....
"Smart like tractors and strong like oxes". In the Aussie army we used to say guys like that "could lift a ton, but couldn't spell it". Looks like all forces have some of those guys. The other thing we used to say was "he's not very smart, but he can lift heavy things".
Thank you so much for satisfying my request for loading the ammo onboard ship. It was VERY informative and I especially liked the actual use of the lifts and winches.
Thanks once again for letting us view this important piece of history.
While touring the USS Alabama area under the turret we noticed a giant circular dent in the floor, under the gantry. Sure enough, the docent said that is where a shell fell off the gantry and hit the floor. This was in their gantry.
What if a shell fell on your toe!!??? %^÷&%#!!!!!
@@kirbyculp3449 what toes, they're gone if you drop 2700 lbs on them.
Im guessing you weren’t expecting the hoist to work? 😳
Given the lack of 400v 400hz power generation onboard, he shouldn't be. (he'd know what's been done to get compatible power there, and likely was the one who flipped the breaker to enable it.)
@@jfbeam 400Hz is just for electronics. Anything big runs on 440V 60Hz.
I'm wondering if there's a prankster on board who made sure it would work just to startle Ryan as a gag.
@@ghost307 they probably turned it on to crack open the hatch it's above
Just because something is designed for so many volts doesn't mean it wouldn't work with less. It will still work just not as well. If thats a 440v unit or whatever 220v will work well for a short demonstration like in this video but it lickly wouldn't lift the weight of a shell.
Navy ammo depot in NY Harbor is at Earle, about 10 miles from Bayonne. Some ships anchored in Gravesend Bay and off loaded to barges.
Thanks. I was wondering about that, so I looked it up. The 2.9 mile long pier is located in Sandy Hook Bay. There is a 15 mile military railroad and road that connects the pier to Naval Weapons Station Earle.
My father was a Chief Gunners Mate, plank owner on the Iowa and North Carolina. He mentioned unloading the 16" gun out the muzzle.
Ryan I can say with 100% certainty that we did not unload our ammunition and powder when going into a civilian port and reload when leaving. That would take DAYS each way.
Excellent.. I'm one of the guys who asked about It. Ryan you explained it to me in a email but nice to see in a visual context. I will visit when this corvid ends. Until then your videos, and knowing how to read a ships bulls eye and having the San Francisco maritime booklet of general plans are bringing it all together in my minds eye. Thank you from me and those
who can not travel yet.
I am a Brit and found this fascinating. Sadly, we no longer have a Battleship to view. However, I guess there are strong similarities in US and UK Battleships. Surely, to have an oiled deck for sliding shells must have been dangerous for slipping over, especially if the ship is rolling around? I have subscribed..
Pretty exciting - ships I deployed aboard had either a pair of 5 inch guns or a single 76mm gun. ONE fun thing as AirDet - we got to man the Mk38 Mod 1 25mm Bushmaster on frigates if we weren't flying
I was on a replenishment oiler (AOR). We onloaded ammo at anchor, in San Francisco Bay, with the ammo being brought to the ship by barge. When this was done it was an all hands operation, officers and enlisted. I don't remember what we did since obviously shells are to heavy to be handled even by a group, but there were long lines of sailors.
At the time I was in the Navy, 1973 - 79, Concord Naval Weapons Station was still operating, but my oiler never got there in the 6 months I was on board.
@5:10 Ahh Ryan you never fail to underestimate the size
i feel like you should paint all the museum era stuff like those railings the same color, so everyone knows it was added by the museum and doesnt mistakenly believe the navy had your safety at heart when you were on the ship (or maybe they just went "if you're stupid enough to fall down a hatch, thats your problem buddy")
Thats exactly what we do. Our go to is to paint that sort of thing yellow
The comment about unloading ammunition before entering a civilian port is incorrect. Navy ships unload ammunition before going into a shipyard for a maintenance availability. They go into civilian ports all the time without unloading ammunition, which is not a hazard when it's properly stored in magazines and not being handled. USS Missouri sailor 1988-90. The shell decks on Missouri were bare steel with a thin coat of oil.
I get "greasing the deck" to move shells of that size but how does the crew gain any traction?
The grease must have been equally slippery on the sole of a shoe or boot.
It was an incredibly fine coat of oil, I do not remember it being slippery but during the process of loading the shell into the hoist a term called Par Buckling they MAY have put a little more oil down in the path of the shell to the hoist. I can't say for certain, I was never on the projectile decks during a shoot.
Interesting note - Ryan took us under turret #1 which has not been restored, they still have some pad on the deck to sop up oil that saturated the area.
No worse than walking on ice. You "skate" rather than walk. The person looping rope around a shell is one of the few trying to change positions often. The guys at the catheads, just sit there looping rope and pulling on it.
@@haroldhenderson2824 Skated & ice fished a lot growing up. Natural ice has a certain feel (texture). Never had to horse a ,1500+ lb shell in a confined space. I wonder what the temp was in that turret?
Use the oil only were it is necessary and train the crew to NOT put their feet in those areas ??
I remember the Missouri back in the 80s when it opened fire of the east coast of Australia sure was spectacular blanks off course
Ryan, you are quite the spokesman. You try you're best I'm sure.
Really interesting video and have been enjoying these informative insights into the behind the scenes kind of stuff. I was not aware that ships needed to unload ammunition before going into dock. Surely, there is a greater risk of an accident that could potentially be catastrophic when transporting ammunition on and off the ship each time than there would be leaving it as is?
I would love to have heard a little bit more about the actual lifting lug used to hoist the 16-inch shells.
So the navy has gunbunnies just like the Army! Redlegs needs their gunbunnies to do the heavy lifting. Great video again!
I would love to spend the rest of my life educating my grandchildren.
Thank you for this video! That was something I wondered about.
Such a good channel
The Real History Channel.
Got to love perry just like my Dad 💕
Ah, the halifax incident. That was a doozy
Just saw an interesting RUclips video from USS Missouri in the gulf war from i think the plot room. The speakers kept talking about reduced loads in each turret and the amounts. During the video the ship gets two missiles fired at it, one was destroyed less than a mile from Missouri by the British. Very interesting to see the crew reaction while bracing for impact, even laughing at the comments on the speaker. they then wear gas masks as burning oil from the wells was mistaken as gas. It would be awesome for you to breakdown the video and translate what the being said and the work going on.
Wow! That was fantastic. Nice job, both of you.
Excellent subject matter. Five stars *****. Thanks
Great video thank you ❤
To quote Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy "buttons aren't toys" 😁
It is the large number of unprotected and unconfined HiCap and AP shells being moved that causes the safety issue. A good old barge could do the job of carrying powder and shells out to a stationary battleship at anchor (a few miles from shore facilities). Powder in the storage flasks, has a less than 1 time in a million chance of "accident". Even then, it is a fire (NOT an explosion). An unquenchable, hot fire. Just one burning could "cook off" more flasks, but they tended to be guarded with fire hoses (for cooling).
Shells have been dropped, but the nose fuse (HiCap) and the base fuse (AP) is not just started by an impact alone. I don't know the details, but modern fuses require a shell to spin fast (to arm) AND then impact before detonating. Whacking it with a big hammer, won't do anything but scratch the paint.
I need a starburst shell in 16”.
I have an APnround and a 14.6” British AP round.
I cant imagine designing a machine as large and complex as a battleship. they were truly geniuses
All before computers too!!
The start point for any new battle ship design was the main armament shell calibre then the barrels then the rest of the ship
Don't push any buttons!
I remember when taking a tour of the USS Cobia in Manitowoc Wisconsin. There was a guy who was touching everything and turning handles and knobs, the guide got in his face and said, " This equipment still works!".
Specifically, the radar still works. It's rumored to be the oldest working radar in the U.S. However, O'hare gets very upset if it gets turned on
Have you witnessed any of the Cobia engine start ups? They are definitely not subtle lol
Only watched them on video.
My father was a Jewish War Veterans' member for years, but he was in the Army in WWII
Jersey loves her Marines. Always has, always will.
The CIC came in during 1943 and 1944. The USS Abercrombie was retrofitted with a CIC shortly after it was commissioned.
The Mt Blanc/Halifax explosion was utterly horrific.
@Al D
Oh, I can't stand that sanctimonious bearded weirdo.
@Al D
No worries, someone else might find the video interesting while suppressing their gag reflex.
The excellent book "Strike Able Peter" by John Butler describes the grounding of USS Missouri. She was lightened by removing all ammunition, including 16" shells. No detail is given on the process.
I'd like to share something that I found on a competing RUclips channel:
"Yes, Iowa landscapers? My husband and I would like to have a pool in our garden."
"Of course madam. Quick question, how far is your house from the coast line?"
"Ehm, 15 miles I believe."
"Very good, we can help you. How big should the pool be?"
"We'd like a big pool. 6 feet deep, 50 feet long, 30 feet wide."
"Understood madam. Just give us the GPS coordinates of where the pool should be, then step back a bit. Mike, load the 16 inch HE shells."
Loved this! Might have been easier to understand with more use of plan & section illustrations.
I was wondering about this the other day
Great video Ryan and team! Thank you
Definitely leave the shell deck unpainted!
The fuses weren't in the shells until ready for firing, correct? They were basically inert heavy SOB's before arming.
i recently thought of an idea for a possible video you guys could do if you havent already.
possibly one detailing the process of scuttling the ship if the crew had no other option due to a catastrophic situation
@keith moore im thinking more battle damage that hasnt sufficiently damaged the magazines. sort of like a situation the bismark faced.
I did a tour on the USS Texas a few years ago and the guide said the powder canisters that the bags came in were filled with laughing gas and they had to relieve the crews handling the bags every few minutes or hours can't remember which.
Nitrocellolose in the different formulations (some had more nitrogen compounds than others), will slowly breakdown in some conditions. Nitrous Oxide (laughing gas) is one of the products. No gas that you can intentionally place in a powder flask will protect it from fire. The propellant has "all the oxygen it needs", as loaded. The flasks are just to keep it dry and separated.
Maybe carrying the powder cases was doable. 300 lbs, 2 men could carry one, be a sweat but possible. Or small trolleys. This in ref to the weird powder magazine setup mentioned in video.
They were never manually carried, chain hoists were used.
@@CRAZYHORSE19682003 If you watched the part of the video [NUMBERS] was talking about, there is NO HOIST in that section. So they obviously didn't use one for loading through that hatch. Now, I would obviously prefer using a hoist myself, so if there were ANY other usable hatch with a hoist, I'd use that one. But if a situation forced me to use that hatch, it would be a sweat job.
a rope and a lifting bar and two men.
If you use those old Yale hoists look on the brake end. I would make sure if you do have the vented style of brake housing you limit your youth because those Yale hoist are made with asbestos brakes and they vented the asbestos brakes to atmosphere for cooling
awesome video as always... thank you
"You load 16 inch and what do you get another day older an' deeper in debt..." ^_^
You'de thing they would have figured out a moder ergonomic way of getting the shells into the belly of the ship.. like a sloped slide away from the turret, sliding down to the bottom of the barbette.. reducing the load on the hoist.. Could even be used as a slide down to lower decks for people
Thank you.
>it would take a small wrench to open all this.
Christ, if that's a small wrench what's a big wrench considered to be on these ships?! XD
Great video btw. Love seeing these parts of the ship and how they would function.
Wait until you see the prop wrench!
My only complaint is the audio isn't very good, I think it's gotten better from the newer videos and I get that it's noisy and inside the ships makes a lot of echoes. But the content is great
Love the vid's. Wanna see more plus BB-61
How many of those dummy rounds do you have on the ship? Surprised by the apparent number.
They are light weight replicas. Any full weight rounds they have are for training and painted blue.
Probably about 75 fake shells and another 50 of the real but BL&P rounds that are in the parkinglot.
@@BattleshipNewJersey I have a BL&P shell in a cradle marked 1902 lbs and 8.1 cu ft. Its a bear to move around. I would like to have an AP round but they are impossible to come by. Where can I get a fiberglass replica AP?
A bunch were made for the Steven Seagal movie (Under Siege?) These might be former movie props.
@@PhantomP63 Somebody has the molds to make them. I just want ONE AP round.
You know how people ask why can't we reactivate them in 2022, we'll we all know why,but isn't it something that the U.S.NAVY did such a good job designing these ships that even now they still project power just sitting still.thats power!!
The thumbnail, you know those guys had clinched sphincters...
That said, a lot of people indeed wonder how shells and fuel are embarked, thanks for the video.
Can you do fueling next?
Watch a shell go up the hoistway shaft was really cool...however you folks managed to do it.
Only on a battleship, is that a small wrench!
Great information and video, I love these longer vids
The off loading of a Navy warship seems silly. Even when the Arizona went nuclear it didn't do anything close to what the ammo ship did in Halifax. It was just a cargo ship full of explosives not a warship.
There was a fertilizer ship that blew up in Galveston, I believe , I believe it holds the record.
@@tobyw9573 The Black Tom explosion was an act of sabotage by German agents to destroy U.S.-made munitions that were to be supplied to the Allies in World War I. The explosions, which occurred on July 30, 1916, in the New York Harbor, killed four people and destroyed some $20,000,000 worth of military goods. This incident, which happened prior to U.S. entry into World War I, also damaged the Statue of Liberty. It was one of the largest artificial non-nuclear explosions to have ever occurred.
So it's not the first time. Still cant see why warships need to be unloaded.
@@finscreenname the black tom and Halifax explosions both played a part in the us government deciding to no longer load and unload ammunition and explosives in civilian ports and instead use dedicated military ports such as concord, ca and sunny point, nc for handling explosives
Thank you for the video. Could you do one discussing loading of other ammunition, food, or other stores?
Its basically the same process, onload by a crane and then down a hatch to where ever it needs to go
Where you mentioned rotating the turrets: I wonder how fast the turrets can rotate. Do you have any numbers for that, like „x seconds for 180 degrees“ for the 16“ and/or the 5“ turrets? Thank you very much for your answer! 😊
Theres a clip of the 16s rotating in this video:
ruclips.net/video/IwEubWYGzfk/видео.html
(Its the hostoric footage thats in color)
4 degrees per second.
You should come down to Wilmington and do a feature video of BB55 NorthCarolina. We would love to have you
Its on the wishlist for when things improve.
Carefully, but you've probably heard that before.
Thats my usual answer when someone asks how you do it!
USS Missouri must be a little different. Moving shells was much easier in the movie battleship.
Little NJ sarcasm.
Were the magazine's just protected from the side by the armor belt or were they armored separate?
That was the purpose of the armored deck and side belts. There was no additional armor inside that armored box.
TEXAS paints the deck, because all the shell handling is done by overhead hoists with the nose of the ammunition pointed down. Only her and her sister, New York, handled ammunition in this configuration. The numerous dents in the floor from the shells slipping from the hoists and crashing into the floor, is sobering.
Did the battle ship ever carry nuclear shell in the 50's and 60's ?
Thats a great question with a complicated answer, not only does the navy never confirm the presence of nuclear weapons on board ships, this was a particularly vague program. Check out this video we made about it ruclips.net/video/Pq3WYY9Aiys/видео.html
@@BattleshipNewJersey Did they ever make 16" nuke shells? The stuff "atomic annie" [ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M65_atomic_cannon ] fired were 280mm (~11in)
@@jfbeam The W23 nuclear shell which basically if i understand it right were an up-dimensioned W19 shell (so the hard stuff were already done ie downsizing the bomb and get into a shape such that it survives being launched as a gun shell.)
Would you ever make more of those dragon plushies? I would love to have one.
Were out of stock at the moment but they'll be back
@@BattleshipNewJersey ok. Thanks for replying so quickly.
Would love to see a video about how the guns were fired. What kind of primer was used to set off the powder?
They have a whole lot of videos of that already. Go look a the list of videos.
Nice sequence!
Great video sir!
How can you show me that the buttons still work and tell me not to push the buttons...