[jonascord]

"The funny thing is, no one seems to be aiming the gun. There is an elevation and an azimuth layer on opposite the sides of the mount, and neither one seems to be looking through the sights."

Spit balling here, but did the Navy have a centralized synchronized fire control system for anti-aircraft defense? It would explain the absence of gun layers.

I know they kept adding gun tubs on their capital ships wherever they could fit, just to increase the volume of steel in the air at any one time, until carriers were edged with 20mm and 40mm installations, and 5 inch twin turrets, fore and aft of the island, that could handle the proximity fused shells.

[Rinnwald]

Good call!

NavWeaps says the quad mounts could be directed by the Mk 51 director.

The photo is attributed to the USS Hornet (CV-12, not CV-8), and an online check of the ship’s equipment shows Mk 51 directors during WWII. So, that is likely what is happening here.

Also, Hornet, much modernized and with an angled deck, still exists and is docked at Alameda, CA.