Naval turrets being used on land

[AirForceBrat]

I have heard stories of the Germans using complete battleship and cruiser turrets as coastal emplacements. I think the process was to disassemble the turret , move it to the emplacement and reassemble it. I vaguely remember a proposal for outfitting a turret on a very large tank. I guess it was supposed to be a mobile emplacement. Any thoughts?

[OpanaPointer]

Bismarck's turrets weighed 1,056 metric tons, and were supported on roller track platforms. Below there were a series of levels that extended from the upper deck down to the bottom of the ship.

https://www.kbismarck.com/armament.html ... the%20ship.

[paul.mercer]

I vaguely remember something about an 11" turret either from Gneisnau (sorry about the spelling) or from one of the pocket battleships being mounted
on land (Norway?) but I may be wrong on this, it was something that Hitler did consider and apparently suggested to Admiral Raeder when he got fed up with the 'Big Ships'

[Byron Angel]

I believe your recollection is accurate, Paul. I recall having some literature on it somewhere.

B

[OpanaPointer]

IIRC the guns from Arizona's after turrets were placed as defensive weapons. No need for a turret.

[Steve Crandell]

IIRC the guns from Arizona's after turrets were placed as defensive weapons. No need for a turret.

The complete turrets were emplaced on Oahu.

Also, the 8" turrets from Lexington or Saratoga were placed to augment Oahu's defenses.

[OpanaPointer]

IIRC the guns from Arizona's after turrets were placed as defensive weapons. No need for a turret.

The complete turrets were emplaced on Oahu.

Also, the 8" turrets from Lexington or Saratoga were placed to augment Oahu's defenses.

I'd forgotten about the Lex and Sara. T/Y.

Somewhere in this morass I have a book on Hawaiian coastal defense.

[Mostlyharmless]

There is an article in Wikipedia on the use of Gneisenau's turret https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austr%C3%A5tt_Fort with nice pictures.

If we want really ingenious uses for battleship mechanisms, the large radio telescope at Jodrell Bank was turned as if it was a battleship turret using machinery from HMS Revenge and HMS Royal Sovereign https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jodrell_Bank_Observatory.

[OpanaPointer]

Somewhere in this morass I have a book on Hawaiian coastal defense.

Defenses of Pearl Harbor & Oahu 1907-50
by Glen Williford (Author)

[Steve Crandell]

I've been in Red Hill, the underground fuel depot. Fascinating and a bit spooky.