Eli5 how the guns on large navy ships actually work? They are just shooting really large bullets at other ships in the sea? Like, does it use combustion to accelerate the projectile?
In: 9
At a basic level, big naval guns are just big guns. They use the same basic principle of a projectile pushed down a rifled barrel by an explosive propellant.
There are some differences, though. Obviously with such a big projectile and propellant, the method of loading the gun is quite different. In the biggest guns, the propellant and the shell are loaded separately, though guns of that type went out of front line use after the second world war, with ammunition with a brass cartridge containing the propellant like for a rifle or hand gun being normal for modern warships.
Generally the projectile is a shell rather than a solid bullet. Basically the “bullet” is hollow and filled with explosives, with a fuse on the nose that causes it to explode when (or very shortly after, so that it explodes inside rather than on the surface) it hits its target. This is mainly because a ship is a different kind of target than a human body, so it will be damaged somewhat differently.
Other differences are relevant depending on the time frame. In particular the technology available to accurately aim the guns. From about 1900 onwards, the guns on big warships were capable of firing a shell significantly beyond the range that a person aiming the gun through a gunsight could reliably hit anything. Various advances in technology were applied as they were invented, to allow guns to be fired accurately, up to and including drone aircraft.
Latest Answers