Long Beach (CGN 9) - Naval Cruise Book

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,,n..,,,..,,,,, ,, ,-... .,,, ,...,, . . ..,.... . ,Y,, . ,... .. F. . . '-Lg-rm.-I-a-.1-m,' ' ...Q -------1---A ' ' --LML' ifE1d55'51f-3T'4'?ff5t2'T7E-.-..f,m 1, OM DIVISION The Ship's Gunner and his thirty-four HLibera- tors make up OM', Division aboard Long Beach. Made up of gunner's mates Ctechnicians, missile and gunsj, sonarmen, yeomen and mis- silemen, this important component of the Weap- ons Department performs a diversity of duties that would come as a surprise to comparable divisions on most vessels. In addition to a pair of the fleetis standard - the reliable old 5 38 caliber gun mounts- there are a host of other 'gdestroyern weapons and systems operated and maintained by MOMU on CCN-9. The Mark 16 ASROC fantisubma- rine rocketj Launcher System, a completely re- volutionary development since World War II, is certain death to hostile undersea craft with its rocket-thrown torpedoes or depth charges. This system, capable oflaunching eight weapons with- out reloading, can be fired from either of two stations: Launcher Control or Sonar Control. The sonarmen have the tedious task of trans- lating the assorted pings of their gear and the mysterious sounds of the deep into accurate evaluations of possible subs. Another standby is the Mark 32 Torpedo Battery, an auxiliary anti-submarine weapon used to launch homing torpedoes. The 53' 38,s could be used for shore bombard- ment, engaging enemy torpedo boats or other surface craft, or, as an emergency measure against aircraft. Dependent upon the Mark 56 Fire Control System, it has had a high reliability rating since the second World War. The men who man these mounts have a much easier task than their naval forebearers who fired cannons in anger two centuries ago. As An Universal Dictionary of the Marz'ne, published in England in 1769, described: HCannon are charged by putting down into the bottom first a quantity of powder, one-third or one-half the weight of the ball. This is done with an instrument termed a ladle, which is a kind of cylindrical spoon, generally made of copper . . . .Upon the powder is put a wad of rope- yarn, formed like a ball, which is pressed down upon the powder with the rammer. Upon this wad is put the ball or shot, and to secure it in its place another wad is firmly pressed down upon it .... The touch-hole of the piece is then filled with powder.'7 The ship's Landing Force weapons, Armory and 5 magazines are also the responsibility of MQMN, along with the Ordnance Technical Li- brary and the Weapons Department Office and its many records. Last but not least is the Saluting Battery Qlovingly referred to as the Main Batteryj, a particularly important com- ponent on a modern capital ship. 'ffm

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the guns. Third, allowance had to be made for the ship's roll and pitch. The omission of one of these items might change the range of the pro- tile by several thousand yards. MTO meet all these problems, director firing was instituted. Director firing is essentially the firing of all guns in one battery by use of a director, range finder and computer. uThe director itself is a master gun sight for all the guns in its battery. The director is train- ed continuously on the target, giving the line-of- sight bearing and elevation. These, and the distance to the target as given by the range deter- mining equipment, are fed directly to the computer. . . There are, of course, a greatxmany more com- ponents Qfrom ship's course to muzzle velocity loss through erosionj fed into the computer Which, in turn, provide a continuous output of data such as present range and bearing, ad- vance range, gun train and elevation orders, and fuse orders. The introduction of radar into fire control proved a great advancement. Firing, or more accurate firing, under adverse conditions of visibility or at ranges hitherto prohibiting visual contact now became possible, surface and air targets could be picked up, locked on, and held until coming into the range of the ship 's Weapons. The ASROC Weapons system Qanti-submarine rocketj provides Long Beach with a deadly weapon for use against submarines. Basically the ASROC system is one which detects a subma- rine at long ranges, quickly computes its course and speed, and launches a rocket-propelled bal- listic missile containing either an acoustic-hom- ing torpedo or a depth charge as a payload. After the missile is accelerated, the rocket falls away and the payload continues its flight to the vicinity of the target. just prior to entering the Water, the Weapon sheds its airframe and pre- pares for Water entry. On entering the water, the acoustic-homing device causes the torpedo to in- tercept the submarine for the kill, Whereas the depth charge explodes at pre-determined depth. The range of the rocket is sufficient to enable Long Beach to strike first before a submarine can close sufficiently to launch its torpedoes.

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