[Fred Douglass]

The 16"x 45, which is Gawd-knows-what mm's and the 5" which is roughly equivalent to a 105mm. The REAL difference is in the flat trajectory----mv for BOFE is in the neighborhood of 3000 fps. That's just a little slower than an M-16 round. REPEAT: the standard three-bag load of unfixed ammo in the 16"x45 cal. is good for a mv of c. 2850 fps! You CAN load four bags and exceed 3000.

Naval HE shells contain a wicked concoction of gelignite (Sp?) which uster be known as "Torpex". 'Way explosive. Torpex is for torpedoes, as you know. When either delay-fused or AP fused that crap can build up a wicked "temper". Great for not only cratering airfields but bunker-busting. Since the 16" shell weighs 2300 lbs. but "only" contains around 150 lbs. of Torpex----the rest is frag. Yummee! Take down about an acre of trees, or fused to go off 25+ feet el. take out hundreds of people. Send 'em home in a ring-box!!!!

ALL naval projectiles are inertially armed----good to go only when fired. But drop one on the deck.....h-m-m-m-m! Did that once. Rotated the gun-turret (bow-most "mount 51", thank Gawd) which allowed us to plop it over the rail directly from the man-hatch at the back of the mount. Of course the location was then marked on charts as "UE Ordinance"----and broadcast in a notice to mariners beforehand.

This crap made me deaf, but I loved it.