During the third naval battle of the Savo Sea two US destroyers closed to within feet of the Japanese flagship and battleship Hei causing severe damage to the superstructure and taking the Hei out of the fight.jimlongley wrote:KBCraig wrote:The Mark 2 turret, mounting three guns, has a lower limitation to depressing the guns based on the loading mechanism. All of the guns pictured appear to be at that elevation, leading to the assumption that a salute was being fired rather than any combat readiness exercise.
On the other hand, if those Phalanx CIWS Gatlings above the bridge were firing, then the very high velocity, flat trajectory, definitiion would fit, and it would make a pretty impressive mussle blast pic.
I wonder what it was like to be on a little destroyer and pass so close to a huge battleship like that!!!!!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_Batt ... uadalcanal
"Hiei, with her nine lit searchlights, huge size, and course taking her directly through the U.S. formation, became the focus of gunfire from many of the U.S. ships. Laffey passed so close to Hiei that they missed colliding by 20 feet (6 m).[35] Hiei was unable to depress her main or secondary batteries low enough to hit Laffey, but Laffey was able to rake Hiei’s superstructure with 5-inch shells and machine gun fire, causing heavy damage to Hiei’s superstructure and bridge, wounding Admiral Abe, and killing his chief of staff.[36] Admiral Abe was thereafter limited in his ability to direct his ships for the rest of the battle.[37] Sterett and O'Bannon likewise pumped several salvos into Hiei’s superstructure from close range, and perhaps one or two torpedoes into her hull, causing Hiei further damage, before both destroyers escaped into the darkness.[38]"