Page 224 - NAVAL SCIENCE 3 TEXTBOOK

Introduction to Naval Weapons

Before the invention of gunpowder, naval battles were fought with became the principal fleet unit. Battleships and cruisers built or
oar-powered gaUeys. The principe}l t,lCtic was to outm<lncu\'er ene- refitted dming \'''orld \Var II were outfitted with extensive antiair-
mies and attempt to ram them, overturn them, or set them on fire. craft batteries so that they could serve as defensive gunnery plat-
Other alternatives were to board enemy vessels after securing them forms protecting the carriers.
with grappling hooks, or to shave off oars with a close run alongside. Since \-''orld \Var 11, n,wal weapolls development has concen-
Fighting was basically hand-la-hand combat with the same weap- trated on improved lightweight rapid-fire guns, a whole arsenal
ons llsed on land: swords, bows and arrows, and spears. Gmduall)" of subsurface, surt:lCe and air-launched missiles, and extremely
crossbows, catapults, and spring- or torsion-powered artillery did sophisticated electronic fire-control radars, weapons control sys-
allow some battle action before aCluill ship contact, but speed and tems, sonars, and guidance systems. The development of the
maneuverability remained the best offense and defense. atomic bomb in 1945 ushered in a whole new family of weapons,
The first recorded use of naval gunfire occurred when the including the strategic lCBi'v1s with ranges in excess of 4,000 miles.
Spanish flred on a Turkish tleet in 1453. This action showed that an It is clear that naval wcaponry remains a dynamic technolog)'.
adversary could be destroyed at a distance. Eventllal1)', pistols, mus-
kets, cannon, and rudimentary rockets arrived all the scene. Even
Basic Weapons Terminology
so, the use of grapples and boarding parties normally concluded
a ship-to-ship naval action until well into the nineteenth century. Orallmlce is a general term tor weapons and related physical equip-
There was 110 fire control in the modern sense ulltil the late nine- ment. This can be further broken down into cxplosh'e orallntlCC,
teenth century. Early naval guns with their solid and grape shot which includes gun ammunition, missiles, torpedoes, mines,
depended for effectiveness all close range and skillful seamanship. bombs, and rockets, <md illert oramll/cc, which includes project-
The United States Navy defeated the Spanish at Manila !lay ing devices such as gUlls and launchers and all equipment needed
and Santiago de Cuba in 1898 in classic naval battles, with battle to operate and control wcapons. Aboard ship, all these elements
cruisers and battleships outfitted with large-caliber guns. By the cOllle under the general term ship's (lI'Illall/eIIl. A banel), of weap-
early twentieth centur}', rifled barrels and detailed shldies of pro- ons on a ship consists of all armamcnts of a similar type and sizc,
jectile Illation increased gun ranges to 9 miles, at which ranges for example, all 3-inch gUllS, or all antiaircl'i.lft missiles.
the famous British-German naval battlc off Jutland was fought in Tradition,llly, gllllllel)' is the art and science of lIsing gUllS,
World War I. while II'cnpOIll)' is concerned with the practicaillse of all ordnance.
During \'''orld \Vars I and II, destroyers assumed the primary Ballistics is the science of projectile Illation and is norinally used in
role in the deadly business of antisubmarine warfare (AS\"'), or relation to the motion of projectiles fired ti'olll guns.il/temalballis-
undersea warliue (US\''') as it is called today Depth charges were tics relates to the motion of i1 projectile within the bore or barrel of
used in both Will'S, imd forward-thrown projectiles called hedge- a gUll, and extcmal ballistics concerns the action of the projectile in
hogs were launched in circular patterns against U-boats in the lat- flight along its tmjeetory, the curved path Iral'eled by the projectile.
ter war. Concurrently, the submarine perfected tactics for the use
of the torpedo. By the end of World War I, the British had built
Naval Weapons Organization
their first aircraft carrier, a ship type that would be developed fur-
ther along with its main batteq', the airplane, during the interim Any military organization must make provisions for the procure-
between the wars. \·"hen the Japanese opened \Vorld \Var 11 ment of weapons and their ammunition, as well ,1S their installa-
in the Pacific with carrier-based air attacks on Pearl Harbor, ,md tion on vessels, vehicles, or aircraft, and their maintenance. These
then destroyed the two British battleships HMS Rep"lse ilnd responsibilities are handled at three levels in the U.S. defense estab-
H;'v1S Prillce oj H'l1les with land-based aircraft, the era of the bat- lishment: the Department of Defense for all militil1')' services, the
tleship as the main fighting ship of world navies was over. Except Department of the Navy for its fleet and shore facilities, and the
for the extremely importclllt gunfire support mission in amphibi- individual activity's weapons department.
ous assiHllt, the atti.-lck carrier with its aircraft as the main weapon

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