MJones: Been on the U.S.S. Missouri battleship MANY times both in Bremerton and in Hawaii.
I was absolutely stunned to learn that some of the "bullets" the U.S.S. Missouri's 16" "guns" could fire weighed 2,700 pounds (two thousand seven hundred pounds!)!
Whilst the U.S.S. Missouri was in Bremerton they had some of those "bullets" (shells) on deck - they weighed more than a Volkswagen Beetle and I forget how many miles they could be slung - something like 27 miles. And if needed to fly further the Captain could flood some ballast tanks on the other side of the ship so they could get some more degrees of elevation for the "guns".
I was told that technique was used on multiple occasions in the Persian Gulf (IIRC).
Will not lie - I shed a tear or two each time I stood under those huge guns on the U.S.S. Missouri.
Worth seeing if ever in Hawaii.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy
