1.1" Guns aboard USS HONOLULU (CL 48)

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I served on the HONOLULU in 1944 where we were part of the invasion
force at Leyte (where we were torpedoed and laid out of action). Now,
although I was not a gunner, I thought that I was familiar with all the
different guns we had aboard. I am now looking at a book on the
HONONLULU and included in there are pictures of what are labeled 1.1"
guns in action at the Battle of Kula Gulf July 6, 1943. There is a set
of 4 of these guns, which have very long barrels and appear to be much
larger than 1.1" They must have been removed and replaced by something
else before I reported aboard. Does anyone have any idea what they were
and where they were located aboard the ship?
Thanks
John

[Andrew C. Toppan]

On Sat, 9 Jul 2005 10:50:25 -0700, wrote:

>larger than 1.1" They must have been removed and replaced by something
>else before I reported aboard. Does anyone have any idea what they were
>and where they were located aboard the ship?

Well, 1.1" guns were just that, 1.1" guns. They were a common 'heavy'
anti-aircraft gun of the late-prewar era. They were replaced by the
newer and much heavier 40mm guns that formed the standard wartime
heavy AA battery. Generally the quad 1.1" was replaced by the quad
40mm, although in smaller ships the quad 1.1" was sometimes swapped
for a twin 40mm or another smaller, lighter mount.

--
Andrew Toppan --- --- "I speak only for myself"
"Haze Gray & Underway" - Naval History, DANFS, World Navies Today,
Photo Features, Military FAQs, and more - http://www.hazegray.org/

[Merlin Dorfman]

wrote:
> I served on the HONOLULU in 1944 where we were part of the invasion
> force at Leyte (where we were torpedoed and laid out of action). Now,
> although I was not a gunner, I thought that I was familiar with all the
> different guns we had aboard. I am now looking at a book on the
> HONONLULU and included in there are pictures of what are labeled 1.1"
> guns in action at the Battle of Kula Gulf July 6, 1943. There is a set
> of 4 of these guns, which have very long barrels and appear to be much
> larger than 1.1" They must have been removed and replaced by something
> else before I reported aboard. Does anyone have any idea what they were
> and where they were located aboard the ship?

The 1.1 inch guns, known as "Chicago pianos," were the standard
light AA armament before WW II. They replaced shortly after the
start of the war by the Bofors 40mm quads which is probably what you
remember.

[Geoffrey Sinclair]

wrote in message >...
>I served on the HONOLULU in 1944 where we were part of the invasion
>force at Leyte (where we were torpedoed and laid out of action). Now,
>although I was not a gunner, I thought that I was familiar with all the
>different guns we had aboard. I am now looking at a book on the
>HONONLULU and included in there are pictures of what are labeled 1.1"
>guns in action at the Battle of Kula Gulf July 6, 1943. There is a set
>of 4 of these guns, which have very long barrels and appear to be much
>larger than 1.1" They must have been removed and replaced by something
>else before I reported aboard. Does anyone have any idea what they were
>and where they were located aboard the ship?


Tracking the AA fit on cruisers can be a problem, they kept changing.

The information I have is the Brooklyn's were not fitted with 1.1 inch gun
mountings, they were too early to be built with them and, with the mounting
in short supply in 1941 there it was a case of right time right place to
receive any.

According to Norman Friedman, Honolulu did not have any in 1941, but
the 4 mountings from the damaged Helena were removed and given to
Honolulu and Phoenix, presumably 2 each. Unfortunately I do not have
any details where they were fitted or if more 1.1 inch mountings were
fitted later, but it is unlikely since the USN was changing over to the
40mm.

There is little doubt when 40mm guns were fitted they were put where
the 1.1 inch guns had been, as well as in new positions. It is highly
probable the Honolulu's 1.1 inch guns were replaced during battle
damage repairs in the second half of 1943 but the ship could have
been "lucky" earlier, or simply operated with a mix of 40mm and
1.1inch. It appears the standard quad 40mm mounting fit was a pair
forward, one each side of the bridge superstructure about level with
the mast, and a pair aft, again one each side roughly level with the mast.

The 1.1 inch gun mounts had 4 evenly spaced barrels, the quad bofors
2 pairs of barrels with a gap in the middle, the bofors being the much
longer barrels.

Geoffrey Sinclair
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