wilson@b11.b11.ingr.com (Jon Wilson) (05/31/91)
From: wilson@b11.b11.ingr.com (Jon Wilson) The MCLWG project was an attempt to bolster the gunfire support capability of the Spruance-class DDs. A friend who served on an early Spruance (without VLS) verified that the ships had extra space belowdecks for the gun. The mount contained a single automatic 8in/55 weapon. The gun fired 260-lb high capacity shells to a maximum range of 31000 yards. I do not think that AP rounds were used. There were plans to develop a Copperhead-type guided shell for the MCLWG, but with the cancellation of the system in (I think) 1978 by Harold Brown, these plans were not pursued. Rate of fire was 12 rpm, or 6 rpm for guided shells. Shell weight was the same as for the triple 8in/55s mounted on the Navy's remaining CAs, and range was similar. The system weighed some 140000 lbs, compared with the mount it would have replaced on the Spruances, the 5in Mk 45, at 40000 lbs. The mount was not armored, required a crew of only 6 men (same as the Mk 45), and could fire its 75 round ready magazine fully automatically. One wonders if the Kidd and Ticonderoga classes, both derivatives of the Spruance, have any provision for this weapon (not that the AEGIS cruisers could handle the topweight.) I cannot but think that this weapon would have been a splendid addition to the US Navy's arsenal. I watched, several years ago, some Mk45-armed destroyers attempting to destroy Iranian oil platforms on the evening news. The 5in is a popgun for purposes of bombardment. I am posting this from memory, but a good reference is Norman Polmar's _Ships and Aircraft of the US Fleet_. (Any errors are due to my failing recollection.) Jonathan Wilson DEC Systems Support Intergraph Corporation wilson@b11.b11.ingr.com