Weird movie question

[GlowwormGuy]

... would anyone know what kind of guns the legendary 'Guns of Navarone' were? Were they supposed to be the ex-H-class BB guns like the Lindenmann battery at Calais?

Thanks,
Mountbatten

[blue3golf]

I went to a bunch of movie databases and useless trivia sites. The only thing that came up was that they were radar controlled. I would almsot say they probably were some sort of naval gun but were modified alot for the movie. Maybe someone with a good knowledge of guns just by a visual of them would know more.

[CBDR]

GlowwormGuy,

I think your best bet is to get a copy of Alistair McClean's novel and see what he described them as. It's been ages since I last saw the movie but I would guess they would have been something similar to Bismarck's 380 mm guns.

It's all pure fiction, so make them whatever you like! Now that would be a tough scenario, 4 DD's trying to run the gauntlet of these shore batteries...

[GlowwormGuy]

I've long been a fan of these shore bombardment movies - I think one featuring what seemed to be Colony class cruisers was Raid on Rommel? Where did all those movies go? And the battle of the River Plate? Sigh... I think they were either 406mm ex-H Class guns or Bismark type guns.

Yeah it's probably in the book... now to find the book!

Thanks guys,
Mountbatten

[CBDR]

GlowwormGuy,

If you are interested in coastal defense batteries, then I recommend the following two books:

1. Osprey's Defenses of Pearl Harbor and Oahu 1907-1950 (Fortress series #8). Oahu was one heavily fortified island! Just about every type of gun was used in the defenses, including 16" guns emplaced at Fort Weaver, adjacent to the Navy housing area my family lived at from 1971-1975. Little did I know that the underground bunkers I attended Boy Scout meetings at were the old magazines and command posts! The Army even built emplacements for the two aft turrets salvaged from USS Arizona, although they did not become operational until after the war ended. I am very confident that any surface vessel approaching within 15-20 miles of Oahu would have received a very hot welcome...

2. Defenses of Naragansett Bay in World War II, by Walter K. Schroder (Minuteman Press, 1980). This was a local interest book I picked up while stationed at Newport RI, so it might not be available. This was another very heavily fortified area, with guns up to 16" in size (Batteries Hamilton and Gray). These batteries were fully casemated and could reach out over 22 miles!

Too bad DC isn't flexible enough to allow the player to take on the role of a shore battery - another lost opportunity.

[GlowwormGuy]

Hmmm nasty nasty... you wonder why they never tried to land in Hawaii... the Manila Bay defenses were pretty good too - so the Japanese had to try and outflank them (same with Singapore). One thing I'd like to see is 'the Concrete Battleship' Fort Drum. Hmmm... maybe a USS Texas model used as scenery?

Okay, yeah I'm playing around with a Navarone mission...

Cheers,
Mountbatten

[GlowwormGuy]

... which movie was that which featured the Royal Navy attack on a North African town? I'm guessing it was not Raid on Rommel. I caught it on TV a couple of months ago completely by chance. I think they were using Colony class cruisers for the naval scenes. I watched Navarone recently and they seemed to be using models or footage of what appeared to be British A-I class destroyers.

Mountbatten