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History
World War II
Living here in Hawaii, there is a tremendous amount of WWII
history all around us. This page will get more content later, but here are
a couple of useful WWII sites.
The Rutgers Oral History of WWII - An interesting site featuring more than
170 interviews with WWII vets.
Canadian Forces College Links - An extensive set of links on WWII sites and
subjects from the Canadian Forces College.
USS Missouri (BB-63)
Jill has started working at the
USS Missouri (BB-63) so I thought I'd
take this opportunity to post a few thoughts on the Missouri. For basic USS
Missouri information just click her link above and you'll be taken to the
website for the Missouri, where you can learn lots of fascinating stuff, and buy
USS Missouri gear from her online Ship's Store.
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USS Missouri is an Iowa-class battleship; the youngest of four
sisters that were built and launched. Her older sisters are USS Iowa (BB-61),
USS New Jersey (BB-62) and USS Wisconsin (BB-64). Wisconsin was launched
before Missouri, but Missouri got her designation earlier; that's why Missouri
is BB-63 but is actually a bit younger than Wisconsin. Two other Iowa-class
battleships were originally ordered; and construction was started, but both were
cancelled and scrapped before they were ever launched. Those two ships were USS
Illinois (BB-65) and USS Kentucky (BB-66).
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The Iowa-class battleships were the fastest battleships ever
built; capable of sustained speeds in excess of 33 knots. This is important for
several reasons:
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The Iowa-class were the first battleships fast enough to run
with the Essex-class aircraft carriers which the U.S. built in great quantities
during WWII. Prior to Iowa-class carrier battle groups sometimes didn't include a
battleship because they slowed down the rest of the convoy too much. However,
it's NOT true that the Iowa-class were designed to support the aircraft
carriers. In fact, they were designed and begun before the attack on Pearl
Harbor at a time when carriers were widely considered support ships to the
battleships.
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Being the fastest battleship on the water meant that the
Iowa-class ships could choose where and when they wanted to fight. It also meant
that when they chose to fight their enemy often couldn't get away -- Missouri
and her sisters were fast enough to catch most of her enemies as well as fast
enough to keep her distance from a bad situation.
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Speed is a great tactical advantage in a fight. One of the best
defenses against incoming enemy fire is to not be there when it arrives. It's
hard enough to hit a target moving at 20 knots; try hitting one moving at 30
knots. Especially one that can hit you from 23 miles away.
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USS Missouri's deck is wood-covered and that wood is teak. Teak
was chosen because it doesn't get slippery when it's wet and it doesn't rot
easily (important when you spend a lot of your time soaked with salt water).
There is a steel, armored, deck beneath the teak for protection and you may
wonder why they bothered to cover it with wood. One good reason is that a wood
deck doesn't spark if you drop something metal on it. Considering the amount of
high explosives on board anything that reduces unintended sparks is a good
thing.
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Like most capital ships of her era Missouri was originally
outfitted with seaplanes on catapults at the stern. The seaplane was used for spotting and
reconnaissance purposes. Especially in the days before widespread use of radar
the seaplane allowed the Missouri to "see" over the horizon; spot approaching
enemy ships and get an overview of the battle conditions. Additionally it was
used to aid in fire control. When the Missouri fired her big guns the rounds
often landed at distances in excess of 20 miles away. It's not always easy to
see if you hit your target from that range, and if you missed it's helpful to
know how much you missed by and whether it was too long, too short, too far to
the left or whatnot so that you can adjust your aim for the next shot. The
seaplane gave them that capability; the pilot could circle over their target,
watch the shells land, and radio back to the ship with information to help them
with their next shot.
The seaplane was launched from a catapult, but obviously
couldn't land that way when it returned. To recover the seaplane on the open
ocean, where there were sometimes heavy seas was no small feat but they had a
good trick. As any water-skiier can tell you there is generally a relatively
flat patch of water in the wake of a moving vessel. When the seaplane returned
from its mission the Missouri would turn a tight circle, its wake creating a
large flat spot on the water in the middle of that circle that the plane could
land on. The plane landed in the water, then taxiied up
next to the ship, and would be plucked from the sea and placed back on the
catapult by a large crane mounted on the stern of the ship.
Later in Missouri's service life her catapult was
removed and the rear deck was used to service helicopters. The helicopters
served the same role as the seaplane as well as being more versatile for moving
men and equipment from place to place as needed as well as for other tasks.
Finally, by the time of the gulf war, a
Pioneer Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
(UAV) was used for the spotting role. They were launched off the rear deck sort
of like a remote controlled airplane was, flown by remote control out to the
target area and broadcast back pictures of the target which the gunners could
then use to make their firing more accurate. When the drone returned to the ship
sit actually was flown into a big net for recovery.
Interested in a book about the USS Missouri? Visit my
USS Missouri Books page!
The History Channel
- Nice site, lots of history information, sort of a dodgy search engine, though.
Takes a little getting used to.
Military.com History - Military.com is a nice site for military information
of all types; their history section has some fascinating facts and stats.
Warships1.com - A great site for indepth
information and discussions about warships of the world; especially battleships.
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