HISTORY

Story of 356 mm caliber main guns

(Jiří Fiala)

USS Nevada (BB-36) bombarding Iwo Jima, 19

February 1945. A North Carolina class battleship (probably USS Washington, BB-56) is in

the left distance (photo: Naval History and Heritage Command).

the guns from the turret nr.2 and in the

fall of 1944 had them carefully cleaned up,

overhauled and re-bored for the more modern ammunition. In New York shipyards

they were mounted on USS Nevada (BB36) battleship which during the Pearl Harbor attack had also suffered the heavy damage however, not as fatal as Arizona and

was returned to service after a general

overhaul. The turret nr.2 remnants and severely damaged turret no. 1 were left on the

wreck. So ultimately Arizona guns did fire

in anger when Nevada was part of the fleet

supporting with heavy guns fire the landing

on Iwo Jima and Okinawa during the spring

months of 1945.

Some components, which could be, after repair, re-used as military material were salvaged from the ship’s wreck. The most important were the massive, 14 inch (356 mm)

caliber main guns Mk.3 L/45. Twelve of them

were mounted on Arizona. Due to the fatal

bomb hits concentrated on the ship’s bow,

the rear gun turrets nos. 3 and 4 remained

practically intact. The Navy picked them up

and after necessary cleaning and overhaul

intented to mount them as a coastal gun

batteries „Pennsylvania“ on the Northeast

of the island of Oahu on Mokapu peninsula

and „Arizona“ on the West coast of the island, near the cape Kahu Point. In the end

the full installation was not completed, only

the battery „Pennsylvania“, which was the

most advanced in terms of construction

and mounting, in August 1945 performed the

training gunnery excersise and with its fire

celebrated the Japan‘s surrender. Shortly

after the war both batteries were decommissioned and dismantled.

Nowadays only some landscaping and concrete barbette for one of the turrets can be

recognized on the hill above the cape Kahu

Point. There is a communal garbage dump

nearby this area. The turret barbette (including the safety mesh to prevent falls) and

the support building ruins were preserved

on Mokapu peninsula, fairly well accessible

from the small adjacent township. One of

the guns of Arizona‘s main battery is now on

display at the Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza

in Phoenix, Arizona.

The Arizona’s forward gun turrets (nr. 1 and

2) remained on the wreck until the final stage of the salvage operations in 1943. The

Navy, after the careful analysis and consideration of all options, decided to remove

USS Nevada (BB-36) Operating off Okinawa, circa March-May 1945.

She is wearing Camouflage Measure 31a, Design 6B (photo: Naval History and Heritage Command).

34

INFO Eduard

14-inch gun formerly on USS Arizona, displayed at Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza near the Arizona State House, Phoenix, Arizona (photo:

Wikimedia Commons).

April 2022