Re: Naval Gunfire Question


"Brad Meyer" <bradm110@xxxxxxxxx> wrote ...
On Sat, 25 Mar 2006 08:05:07 -0800, "a425couple"
<a425couple@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Advantages against a symmetric force certainly seem present.
Seems like there are some disadvantages against a
close in small target.

During the early stages of Viet Nam, the USS Longbeach was rather
hurriedly fitted with a pair of 5 inch (54s IIRC) after being
essentially chased around the Gulf of Tonkin by some MTBs and they
sudenly realized that they had nothing in their weapons suite between
Terrier and rifles.

LONG BEACH was fitted with a pair of 5"/38 ("open mounts". IIRC, from the
deck edge sponsons of an ESSEX class CV losing 4 of her 8 in overhaul) long
before the time inquestion.....(the threat of small attack craft already
becomoing a factor in the Summer of 1962 in the Med, and LB wasa LANTFLT
unit at the time). Nor was any "cahse" in the GoT the cause of any weapons
additions, nor, come to think of it, was there such a chse, at least not in
her deck logs, a place along with the media in which one might have
appeared, and even more likely, LB never ventured too close to the coast in
the GoT, since her BFR ("Big F*cking Radar") became an even more marginal
asset when adding the element of land-clutter


OTOH the USN has always shown itself adept at modifying what it has to
match it requirements. For instace the conversion of PT boats in the
Solomons to "barge hunters" by the removal of two torpedo tubes and
the addition of several more guns. They are currently modifying their
Burkes "on the fly" for small surface target hunting and arming the
Great Lakes cutters. I wouldn't be surprised to see the USN adopt some
sort of medium Coast Guard Cutter platform to modify as required
specifically for such coastal work.


Well, we did a bunch of that in SEA (and learned that the little cutters,
along with being long in the tooth, were under-gunned for the mission). The
BURKEs have had an anti-small craft operational role since day 1 of their
development process, and at various times were scheduled to receive all
sorts of ancient and magical weapons designed to complement the task. The
ancients, .50M2, are with us always. The magical variety alter with the
ability of contractors to produce devices which live up to their optimistic
prognostications and can be maintained by simple souls in maritme
environments.

TMO


.

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