Reloading and Firing US Navy Monstrously Powerful Gun at Sea

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
"Welcome back to The Daily Aviation for a feature on the MK 45 deck gun found on US Navy destroyers and cruisers and the incredible accuracy these systems maintain."

This is the new 5"/54 that loads itself from the ammunition drum, there is seldom a need to load it while firing because guns aren't really used much in the modern navy.

The old 5"/54 (and even older 5"/38) had to be loaded for each round fired. The ammo was big and heavy but the ammo was two-piece, which split up the weight. The smaller 3"/50 used fixed ammunition and the rate of fire was one hell of a lot higher. 45 rounds per minute per gun, and usually on a twin mount - keeping that beast fed was a chore.