Trump Picks WWII Battleship in L.A. for Defense Speech [LIVE THREAD]

Times of San Diego ^ | September 15, 2015 | Chris Jennewein

[Red Steel]

Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump picked a World War II-era battleship in San Pedro as a backdrop to share his views Tuesday about national security.

Trump’s appearance, organized by Veterans for a Strong America, is expected to draw more than 1,000 attendees to the top deck of the USS Iowa, which has been docked in Los Angeles as a nonprofit tourist attraction, community gathering space and educational museum since 2012.

The Iowa was launched in 1942 and recommissioned in 1984 during the military build up at the end of the Cold War. In April 1989, an explosion of undetermined origin wrecked her No. 2 gun turret, killing 47 sailors.

ome critics contend Trump’s visit — on the eve of the CNN Republican candidate debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library — is not an appropriate use of the battleship. An online petition, “Tell the USS Iowa: We Don’t Want Trump in San Pedro,” had garnered more than 3,500 signatures as of late last week from area residents calling for the event to be canceled.

“This battleship is part of American history and should not allow a man who has injured and insulted a significant portion of the Los Angeles community,” wrote Gabriela Lopez of San Pedro, who started the petition on Change.org. “We are for freedom of speech, however this ship represents freedom, equality and justice; terms that do not align with Mr. Trump’s political views.”

“We are not taking sides — this is neutral ground,” Williams said. “Our number one goal is to be a community platform, and freedom of speech is a great thing, whether that’s from Trump or from protestors. We are happy people are talking.”

This is the first time Veterans for a Strong America has used the battleship, which rents out and hosts a variety of events throughout the year, from free community movie nights and a veterans’ job fair to corporate events that can be much larger in scale than Trump’s appearance, Williams said.

Registration and advance payment is required for those interested in attending the event. For details, visit www.veteransforamerica.org.

[Bull Snipe]

Not quite. The over ram condition was observed as soon as experienced personnel got inside the turret. The rammer console operator cannot see the gun breach or the position of the ram. His action at the console is controlled by hand signals from the gun captain (GM2 Hartwig) at the gun breach. The early portion of the investigation concentrated on the the gun, it loading and any mechanical problems that could have caused the explosion. As part of that investigation, the investigating team examined reports of gun turret explosions onboard American Cruisers and Battleships and reports of turret explosions on battleships of the Royal Navy, the Japanese Navy and the German Navy, all of which had had similar accidents. The shift in the investigation to the 2nd class gunners mate Clayton Hartwig,came several months into the investigation, when his sister asked BUPERS, why his mother had not received his life insurance. Invesitgation into that showed that he had changed the designated beneficiary from his mother to a friend of his the day before the turret explosion. That set off all sorts of bells and sirens with the investigation team.

[Bull Snipe]

Believe the Iowas used the Mark 8 rangekeeper as the main batter fire control computer.

[WVKayaker]

The Mark 8 Fire Control Computer was developed by Bell Laboratories during World War II. It was initially requested by the USN Bureau of Ordnance as an alternative to the Ford Instruments Mark I Fire Control Computer, in case supplies of the Mk I were interrupted or were unable to be manufactured in the required numbers.[1] The Mk 8 computer used all electric methods of computation, in contrast to the Mk 1, which performed most computations via mechanical devices. The Mk 8 was found to be more accurate than the Mk 1 and substantially faster in reaching a fire control solution,[2] but by the time it was developed and tested in 1944, supplies of the Mk 1 were found to be sufficient in quantity. The USN extensively tested the Mk 8 and may have incorporated some of its technology into the post war Ford Instruments Mk1A computer. The Mk 8 technology was similar to that used in the M9 gun data computer used by the US Army for coast defence fire control and in the SCR-584 radar system computer.

[WVKayaker]

How many were assigned to operate the inputs at a given time?

The inputs were mainly electro-mechanical links. There were three or four FT's around the machinery, but there was an optical rangefinder in the gun director on top of the ship that also had a radar unit. It was hooked up via synchs and servos to the computer, and the output then went to the gun mounts in the same manner. WE had 5"38's on the Perkins.

In the computer room, there was also a big gimballed gyroscope that kept the level on the guns, again through a servo system. They would pitch and yaw with the ship's movement. We could lob our rounds accurately up to 12 miles +/-.

The toughest part was underway replenishments, alongside and hand-by-hand transfer from the supply ships. Firing the guns was just a pull of a trigger!!!

[Bull Snipe]

Thanks

[wally_bert]

The Montana went to the bottom at the end of the episode. There used to be a full episode online.

[al baby]

I am still looking

[sternup]

fishing grounds near Thimble Shoals Light... to this day, known by locals as “Missouri Flats”

[dragnet2]

A candidate who actually supports our military instead of millions of illegal aliens.

[GOP_Party_Animal]

I recommend you both read this terrific article regarding the Iowas fire control computers:

Gears of War

[GOP_Party_Animal]

Firing the guns was just a pull of a trigger!

Got to tour the ship with my dad (Korea vet) a month ago. He got to sign his bunk and tell my kids all about his days as an officer on the ship. Got a great picture of my son and daughter with their hands on the firing keys.

Take a look at the article in post #150.

[SnuffaBolshevik]

Great article, GPA.

Thanks for the link.