16‐IN GUN BLAST AND THE BATTLESHIP REACTIVATION PROGRAM

Abstract

ABSTRACTReactivated and modernized USS Iowa class battleships employ many new systems, none of which were designed to withstand blast from 16‐inch guns. Placement of the new equipment was driven by the need to impose the smallest possible restrictions on the guns. The design problem was complicated by two factors: first, the blast overpressure field surrounding the gun had not been accurately measured with modern instruments. Second, the blast overpressure tolerance of several important systems was unknown. The problem was solved through judicious placement of the equipment so that work could begin on the ship. Meanwhile the pressure surrounding a 16‐inch gun was measured at the Dahlgren Laboratory. Mathematical functions describing the blast field were then used to design shipboard experiments in which the guns were fired at progressively more severe angles of train and elevation, while the equipment performance was carefully monitored. Four sets of shipboard experiments were required. Limiting values for the firing arcs have been determined, and the consequences of exceeding the recommended limits are now known.