BlackBat242
10-11-2011, 05:32
While I'm going to speak about their unique armament feature, any further info or pics are welcome.
We normally associate "running out the Guns"* with sailing ships and muzzle-loading cannons.
However, these modern warships (commissioned 1969) also feature this type of armament.
* armament located behind closed hatches that are opened and the armament moved to stick outside the hull.
The Finnish Turunmaa-class gunboats carried two RBU-1200 anti-submarine rocket launchers. The RBU-1200 launchers were mounted inside the ship.
The bulkhead behind the launcher is fitted to slide up and over the launcher, in the manner of a garage door made up of horizontal panels (pic #1, just aft of the hull number). You can see the segments, the hinges, the rails it slides up&over on, and the locking lugs on the sides of the segments. At the left outboard edge of the plate the launcher is mounted on, can be seen the pivot-hinge next to the door in question (pic #2). The mount rotates on that pivot and would clear the door.
In action the door is opened, the RBU is swung outside, and then the door closes to keep the blast out from the hull. The RBU is fixed forwards for firing and is fully external.
This is because this model uses manual reloading, although larger RBUs are reloaded automatically. This system stops crews from having to run around the cramped deck of a small ship in a seaway... especially in the snow, wind, & waves of a north Baltic winter. They can reload and maintain the RBU in comfort.
We normally associate "running out the Guns"* with sailing ships and muzzle-loading cannons.
However, these modern warships (commissioned 1969) also feature this type of armament.
* armament located behind closed hatches that are opened and the armament moved to stick outside the hull.
The Finnish Turunmaa-class gunboats carried two RBU-1200 anti-submarine rocket launchers. The RBU-1200 launchers were mounted inside the ship.
The bulkhead behind the launcher is fitted to slide up and over the launcher, in the manner of a garage door made up of horizontal panels (pic #1, just aft of the hull number). You can see the segments, the hinges, the rails it slides up&over on, and the locking lugs on the sides of the segments. At the left outboard edge of the plate the launcher is mounted on, can be seen the pivot-hinge next to the door in question (pic #2). The mount rotates on that pivot and would clear the door.
In action the door is opened, the RBU is swung outside, and then the door closes to keep the blast out from the hull. The RBU is fixed forwards for firing and is fully external.
This is because this model uses manual reloading, although larger RBUs are reloaded automatically. This system stops crews from having to run around the cramped deck of a small ship in a seaway... especially in the snow, wind, & waves of a north Baltic winter. They can reload and maintain the RBU in comfort.