welty@algol.crd.ge.com (richard welty) (05/30/89)
From: welty@algol.crd.ge.com (richard welty)
I just checked with a friend of mine who works at the
Watervliet Arsenal, and she tells me that the big gun
shop there is completely intact, and posseses all the
tooling necessary to manufacture 16"/50 mark 7 guns
(i had asserted this earlier, but this is a much, much
better source than i had before.) while no such guns
have been manufactured for a logn time (probably since
wwii) the Arsenal regularly relines the existing barrels,
and several are reportedly on site at any given point in
time. also, the quality of work there is apparently
extremely high, at least in part because many of the
craftsmen there are veterans, who take considerable
pride in the quality of the equipment they provide to
the armed services.
this should put to bed any rumors about the diffculty
of replacing the barrels ...
richard
(i'll see if i can learn any more at dinner tomorrow
night, although i suspect i'll be somewhat distracted)