Naval guns and rust

[molonlabe]

Several years ago I bought a can of Naval Ordinance (I will call it cream) at the Silverado Gun Show in Ponoma. (remember that guys). When I lived in the PRK in the Bay area my gun safe was kept in the garage. The place was extremely damp most of the time so I coated all my firearms with it. The stuff left what looked like a coat of wax on the firearms but it would wipe clean with a rag and a patch. The firearms I did not shoot got coated under the stock and in assessable places. None of my firearms rusted as the result of the application unfortunately I have never seen it again. Tonight I will update this thread with the can info but it was a white cream about the consistency of 20-weight oil. It dried to a wax consistency but wiped off easily. I would bet the stuff is WWII era.

OK it is Grease Aircraft Ordinance MIL-L-19701B
Royal Lubricants Co Inc. Cirica 8/85
It says for lubrication of Ammunition and Guns Only.
So I was mistaken I don't know how I thought is was Naval Ordinance.

In the words of Rosana Rosana Dana "Never Mind"

 

[Old NFO]

Oops sorry...

"I remember the New Jersey off Nam firing full broadsides at 27 nm with a 100x CEP. Pretty impressive!!!"

Sorry MFree- What that means is they were firing what is called counter battery fire against an NVA target, from about 3 nautical miles (nm) offshore. The range to target was 27 nm and their accuracy was 100 yards about the point of aim (also called circular error of probability). In other words- 2000 lb shell within 100 yards or LESS of where they were aiming (not much left but a big smokin' hole...)

As an aside, when the New Jersey was off Lebanon in the mid-80's, the standing "joke" was we were using car bombs too, just that ours were a little more compressed. When the A-7's flew strikes in the Bacca Valley, they were actually flying UNDER the shells from New Jersey on their run up the valley.
jim

 

[4v50 Gary]

What Preacherman says. BTW, if you get a chance, look at the tampions for RN ships. They have the ship's crest on it. Gotta hand it to the RN for having class. I think ours has the five pointed star.

 

[Boats]

A lack of brightwork befits an actual fighting Navy. The RN can keep its "class."

 

[280PLUS]

Ours had a five pointed star

That I do remember

our 5" 54 (1975-1980) supposedly, at 25 miles IIRC, were capable of "hitting your house with the first shot, and your coffee table with the second" day or night. Our projectile was 72 lbs. I know, i heaved enough of them. We had "starshell too, those had glass tubes inside of which was phosphorous, I believe. They were carried from the moment they arrived on board all the way down to the magazine by one person to minimize the possibility of dropping them. Cause they could go off. There were water barrels stationed and if you dropped one you were supposed to pick it up and toss it in the nearest water barrel.

They always picked me for that detail, I often wondered if it was because they trusted me so much or because they didnt like me.

They used analog computers and radar and were said to have outshot the newer digital stuff in later days. I don't know that for sure though.

One other thing I remember was they were also tied to the ships gyro and you could watch the barrels actively adjust to the roll of the ship.