| FIGHTING
WORDS: What is the difference between a "turret"
and a "mount"? Consisting of several heavy guns (usually 6" or
greater) in an armored housing, a turret is massive enough to require its inclusion
in the shipbuilding process. The
16/45 triple turrets were built into the USS North Carolina and Washington
as well as the South Dakota-class battleships. With the exception of the
16/50 guns of the Iowa-class battleships, the contained the largest guns used
in US Navy history. While the guns were the same in the North Carolina
and South Dakota class battleships, the turret armor in the latter was
thicker. On BB59, three 16", 45 caliber
guns are mounted in each turret. Each gun is mounted in a separate sleeve called
a "slide." On firing, each gun recoiled four feet in its slide. Each
slide has a pair of pivots called "trunnions," which allow each gun
to elevate independent of the other two guns. |