On Fri, 24 Oct 2008 12:31:52 -0700, Calif Bill wrote:

I fish next to the Iowa at the Mothball Fleet in the Carquinez Straits.
Amazing how little freeboard the ship has. Family friend of my parents
was the smallest guy on the Battleship he served on in WW2. Part of his
job was cleaning the barrels. They would pull him through the guns with
a wire brush in hand.

He may have been pulling your leg, don't you think? If he wasn't, 16
inch guns or not, that wasn't a job I'd want.

wrote in message
t...
On Fri, 24 Oct 2008 12:31:52 -0700, Calif Bill wrote:

I fish next to the Iowa at the Mothball Fleet in the Carquinez Straits.
Amazing how little freeboard the ship has. Family friend of my parents
was the smallest guy on the Battleship he served on in WW2. Part of his
job was cleaning the barrels. They would pull him through the guns with
a wire brush in hand.

He may have been pulling your leg, don't you think? If he wasn't, 16
inch guns or not, that wasn't a job I'd want.

Nope, was just a stated fact. Russell was a small guy and was still being
carded in bars at 35 years old. How do you think they cleaned the guns? I
am 6'4" and am not much more than 16" across the shoulders.

On Fri, 24 Oct 2008 13:42:28 -0700, Calif Bill wrote:


Nope, was just a stated fact. Russell was a small guy and was still
being carded in bars at 35 years old. How do you think they cleaned the
guns? I am 6'4" and am not much more than 16" across the shoulders.

I was thinking a big ass bore brush. Here's a picture of sailors
cleaning the Oklahoma's guns (only 14").

http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/013723.jpg

It does look like a sailor could fit, if he was small enough, but you
have to wonder about the efficiency.

According to wikipedia, the did use a bore brush on the Iowa.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armamen...leship#Turrets

On Sat, 25 Oct 2008 05:40:45 -0500, wrote:

On Fri, 24 Oct 2008 13:42:28 -0700, Calif Bill wrote:


Nope, was just a stated fact. Russell was a small guy and was still
being carded in bars at 35 years old. How do you think they cleaned the
guns? I am 6'4" and am not much more than 16" across the shoulders.

I was thinking a big ass bore brush. Here's a picture of sailors
cleaning the Oklahoma's guns (only 14").

http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/013723.jpg

It does look like a sailor could fit, if he was small enough, but you
have to wonder about the efficiency.

According to wikipedia, the did use a bore brush on the Iowa.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armamen...leship#Turrets

I'm entering the fray a little late here, but when we found a tunnel
system once we couldn't find any tunnel rats. Finally, the Navy sent
a Gunner's mate from the New Jersey - little guy - he volunteered and
after everything was finished, he told us he used to inspect the bores
of the 16" guns of the New Jersey after every fifteen rounds - he was
used to tight spaces.

Again, dunno about cleaning, but I do know of at least one guy who
crawled inside those things on Iowa class battleships.

Tom Francis - SWSports wrote:
On Sat, 25 Oct 2008 05:40:45 -0500, wrote:

On Fri, 24 Oct 2008 13:42:28 -0700, Calif Bill wrote:


Nope, was just a stated fact. Russell was a small guy and was still
being carded in bars at 35 years old. How do you think they cleaned the
guns? I am 6'4" and am not much more than 16" across the shoulders.
I was thinking a big ass bore brush. Here's a picture of sailors
cleaning the Oklahoma's guns (only 14").

http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/013723.jpg

It does look like a sailor could fit, if he was small enough, but you
have to wonder about the efficiency.

According to wikipedia, the did use a bore brush on the Iowa.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armamen...leship#Turrets

I'm entering the fray a little late here, but when we found a tunnel
system once we couldn't find any tunnel rats. Finally, the Navy sent
a Gunner's mate from the New Jersey - little guy - he volunteered and
after everything was finished, he told us he used to inspect the bores
of the 16" guns of the New Jersey after every fifteen rounds - he was
used to tight spaces.

Again, dunno about cleaning, but I do know of at least one guy who
crawled inside those things on Iowa class battleships.



Gee, I hope he waited for the barrels to cool...

On Sat, 25 Oct 2008 11:22:23 +0000, Tom Francis - SWSports wrote:


Again, dunno about cleaning, but I do know of at least one guy who
crawled inside those things on Iowa class battleships.

No thank you. I'm not overly claustrophobic, but that would put me over
the top. Fortunately, I don't think my fat head would fit.

On Sat, 25 Oct 2008 06:43:57 -0500, wrote:

On Sat, 25 Oct 2008 11:22:23 +0000, Tom Francis - SWSports wrote:


Again, dunno about cleaning, but I do know of at least one guy who
crawled inside those things on Iowa class battleships.

No thank you. I'm not overly claustrophobic, but that would put me over
the top. Fortunately, I don't think my fat head would fit.

I'm not claustrophobic at all, but being my size, even when I was a
lean mean fighting machine at 190 lbs, there was no way I could get
inside small spaces and leave room to defend myself. Oddly, most of
my squad and platoon where like me which was unusual - all of us over
6' and most around 6'2"/6'3" and even the 5' guys were 5'11".

Acrophobia is my main problem believe it or not. And oddly, I can fly
just fine - no problems looking out a window or anything like that.
But get me exposed to the outside in some fashion - like an
observation deck of a tall building, I go berzerk. My kids think it's
hilarious seeing how I used to jump out of perfectly good airplanes on
purpose. :)

When I worked for Texaco and climbing around rigs in the Gulf, man -
that was really hard for me - seriously. :)

On Sat, 25 Oct 2008 12:14:13 +0000, Tom Francis - SWSports wrote:

When I worked for Texaco and climbing around rigs in the Gulf, man -
that was really hard for me - seriously. :)

I worked derricks for awhile. I got to trust the monkey belt, but if I
had to freehand, walking those greasy I-beams, with the wind howling, and
the derrick rocking ... Some liked it. I wasn't one of them.

"Tom Francis - SWSports" wrote in
message ...
On Sat, 25 Oct 2008 06:43:57 -0500, wrote:

On Sat, 25 Oct 2008 11:22:23 +0000, Tom Francis - SWSports wrote:


Again, dunno about cleaning, but I do know of at least one guy who
crawled inside those things on Iowa class battleships.

No thank you. I'm not overly claustrophobic, but that would put me over
the top. Fortunately, I don't think my fat head would fit.

I'm not claustrophobic at all, but being my size, even when I was a
lean mean fighting machine at 190 lbs, there was no way I could get
inside small spaces and leave room to defend myself. Oddly, most of
my squad and platoon where like me which was unusual - all of us over
6' and most around 6'2"/6'3" and even the 5' guys were 5'11".

Acrophobia is my main problem believe it or not. And oddly, I can fly
just fine - no problems looking out a window or anything like that.
But get me exposed to the outside in some fashion - like an
observation deck of a tall building, I go berzerk. My kids think it's
hilarious seeing how I used to jump out of perfectly good airplanes on
purpose. :)

When I worked for Texaco and climbing around rigs in the Gulf, man -
that was really hard for me - seriously. :)

I've got the cure. Spend a day walking, running & jumping on the CN Towers
'glass floor'.
http://www.cntower.ca/portal/SmartDefault.aspx?at=928
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alO2RdRQLCE

wrote in message
t...
On Fri, 24 Oct 2008 12:31:52 -0700, Calif Bill wrote:

I fish next to the Iowa at the Mothball Fleet in the Carquinez Straits.
Amazing how little freeboard the ship has. Family friend of my parents
was the smallest guy on the Battleship he served on in WW2. Part of his
job was cleaning the barrels. They would pull him through the guns with
a wire brush in hand.

He may have been pulling your leg, don't you think? If he wasn't, 16
inch guns or not, that wasn't a job I'd want.


Didn't they use small boys in that fashion cleaning chimneys in England a
couple hundred years ago?