SUBSIM Radio Room Forums - View Single Post - were all deck guns mounted aft as standard equipt?

LtCdrTwilley · 02-21-09, 02:25 PM

Ok,

Hopefully this is the answer you're looking for. Yes it was primarily up to the captain what he wanted to to put where. It also depended on the class. What I can help with are Balao Class Fleet Boat questions. LtCdr O'Kane mounted his 3" forward. He later regretted this on the Tang's 4th patrol when he couldn't bring the gun to bear on his target as he was running from a sub chaser. I know for a fact that the Batfish had her 3" mounted forward. When all of the boats recieved their 5" guns, special weldment deck extensions had to be placed around the gun to allow room for the crew to move. There wasn't room forward for these mods as they would interfere with the two ammo lockers under the deck forward of the sail so all 5" guns were mounted aft.

Note in this picture just after the 5" was removed from the Batfish at the end of the war, you can still see the deck mod aft of the sail.

Just as an extra, AA guns were the same way. They were mounted per the preference of the skipper. I've found that as the 40mm's became more readily available, they would place the first one (in most cases the only one) on the forward gun platform with the 20mm Oerlikon mounted on the after cigarette deck. The reason being that with the deck gun being mounted aft of the sail, a large caliber gun could still be brought to bear on a target no matter where it was.

The best form of research you can do is to pull up your boat's patrol logs. Before and/or after each patrol, they list what refits and mods were made to the boat.

On a side note, if any of you modders out there want to build a completely accurate paint scheme, let me know. I have the original orders issued from ComSubPac to the squadron commanders on EXACTLY how they were to be painted in '44. This paint scheme held up until after the war. It even gives diagrams on where to put what color.

I'm a veteran and a historian at a sub museum (the U.S.S. Batfish) and the inaccurate paint drives me crazy.

If there are any historical questions that you might have, feel free to email me at sgttwilley@yahoo.com. I can help you do a little research but I'll warn you. I'm in the middle east currently so my response might be a little slow.

02-21-09, 02:25 PM	#15
LtCdrTwilley Nub Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 4 Downloads: 15 Uploads: 0	Final Answer Ok, Hopefully this is the answer you're looking for. Yes it was primarily up to the captain what he wanted to to put where. It also depended on the class. What I can help with are Balao Class Fleet Boat questions. LtCdr O'Kane mounted his 3" forward. He later regretted this on the Tang's 4th patrol when he couldn't bring the gun to bear on his target as he was running from a sub chaser. I know for a fact that the Batfish had her 3" mounted forward. When all of the boats recieved their 5" guns, special weldment deck extensions had to be placed around the gun to allow room for the crew to move. There wasn't room forward for these mods as they would interfere with the two ammo lockers under the deck forward of the sail so all 5" guns were mounted aft. Note in this picture just after the 5" was removed from the Batfish at the end of the war, you can still see the deck mod aft of the sail. Just as an extra, AA guns were the same way. They were mounted per the preference of the skipper. I've found that as the 40mm's became more readily available, they would place the first one (in most cases the only one) on the forward gun platform with the 20mm Oerlikon mounted on the after cigarette deck. The reason being that with the deck gun being mounted aft of the sail, a large caliber gun could still be brought to bear on a target no matter where it was. The best form of research you can do is to pull up your boat's patrol logs. Before and/or after each patrol, they list what refits and mods were made to the boat. On a side note, if any of you modders out there want to build a completely accurate paint scheme, let me know. I have the original orders issued from ComSubPac to the squadron commanders on EXACTLY how they were to be painted in '44. This paint scheme held up until after the war. It even gives diagrams on where to put what color. I'm a veteran and a historian at a sub museum (the U.S.S. Batfish) and the inaccurate paint drives me crazy. If there are any historical questions that you might have, feel free to email me at sgttwilley@yahoo.com. I can help you do a little research but I'll warn you. I'm in the middle east currently so my response might be a little slow. Last edited by LtCdrTwilley; 02-21-09 at 02:38 PM.