IOWA class battleships: Keep or remove 16" gun turrets?

[seadude]

Over the last several years, I've read dozens and hundreds of forum threads and websites about bringing the IOWA class battleships back into service and modernising them again with VLS missile systems, new propulsion, and so much more, even though I know the odds of bringing these ships back into service are nonexistant.
But the one thing which really stands out the most is whether to keep the 16" gun turrets or replace them with other weapon systems, one of which would be VLS missiles.
Sometime in the future, I'd like to build another what if modern IOWA battleship model. But I am severely torn between choosing whether to keep the 16" guns for gunfire support, or replacing some or all turrets with other weapon systems on the model. 

So, two questions........

1. What would you do if you were building an IOWA battleship model? Would you keep all the 16" guns or would you replace them with other weapon systems?

2. What would it be possible to do for the real IOWA class battleships? Should the 16" gun turrets be kept? Or should they be replaced with other modern and newer weapon systems?

[kerick]

The problem with any more modernization would be more with the power plants than weapons. To replace the boilers and turbines you would have to split the ship in half. Very expensive. All that 1940s technology that few people remember how to run would have to be replaced. IMHO better and probably cheaper to build new. As for the guns, same problem. for example, I don't think there is a factory that has the machines to make a new gun barrel any more. Just too expensive to recreate those facilities.

For whiffworld, where anything is possible, I'd stick to my guns and let the other ships fire the missiles. Just my &0.02 worth.

[lenny100]

they found more than a few 16 inch gun barreled liners just before they decommissioned them in the 1990s if they haven't been scraped by now they should last a few years before they run out, but i personly lose the rear turret to allow for a hanger and launching systems for a long range RPV system

[Thorvic]

Well the guns are kinda their reason for being although you could replace the Guns with the new rail gun as the barbets might be able to accommodate the power generators needed to launch the projectiles - a chance to revise the turrets to a single or twin configuration and lots of added greeblies to emphasise the difference from the old guns.

Alternately if you had them rebuilt in the 50s to the BBMG (Battleship Ballistic Missile Guided) then they had dropped the guns in favour of Polaris and a combination of Talos and Tartar as super Long Beach/Albany type ship. They might be updated with new sensors VLS silo's for Standard, Harpoon, Tomahawk and Sea Sparrow to act as a basis of the Arsenal ship with CIWS, Sea RAM for close defence and maybe a few 5 inch guns or the new Rail gun for the fire support roles. One that you could have fun with in 700 scale with a standard Iowa hull and a mix of Albany, Ticonderoga class kits 

[zenrat]

Turret 1 replaced with a single or twin rail gun turret.
Turret 2 retains the 16" guns because sometimes you just can't beat lobbing huge projectiles at someone.
Turret 3 replaced with a drone hanger.

[scooter]

For the Tsingtao-class BBN (which is essentially a nuclear-powered Montana), I retained all four turrets 16" turrets, added a below-decks hangar, and ABLs and launchers on the superstructure.  But then, she's a flagship, and doesn't necessarily go off on her own.

[PR19_Kit]

Did anyone actually make a rail gun that worked OK so far?

I can recall some work on them being done at Fort Halstead back in the 80s, but all that seemed to do was dim the lights all over Sevenoaks...........

[scooter]

Did anyone actually make a rail gun that worked OK so far?

I can recall some work on them being done at Fort Halstead back in the 80s, but all that seemed to do was dim the lights all over Sevenoaks...........

So far, yes

[DarrenP2]

keep the guns just produce better projectiles. like guided ones, extended range either base bleed or Rocket assisted, HE rounds instead of semi armour peircing

[jcf]

There are lots of people who know how to run a steam plant and steam driven turbines.
Have a pulp-mill nearby?, guess how its probably powered. Have a regular coal-fired
electrical generating plant close by?, guess how its probably powered.
Waste disposal electrical power plant?, ditto. Etc., etc.

Whats lacking is people currently serving in the various maritime military forces who
are familiar with the systems.

[PR19_Kit]

Did anyone actually make a rail gun that worked OK so far?

I can recall some work on them being done at Fort Halstead back in the 80s, but all that seemed to do was dim the lights all over Sevenoaks...........

So far, yes

Veeeery interesting, thanks. 

[seadude]

Well the guns are kinda their reason for being although you could replace the Guns with the new rail gun as the barbets might be able to accommodate the power generators needed to launch the projectiles - a chance to revise the turrets to a single or twin configuration and lots of added greeblies to emphasise the difference from the old guns.

I'd love to replace all 3 16" turrets on my model with something more modern that looks like a rail gun turret, but I haven't been able to find anything yet, either in my spare parts box or on Shapeways.   And even if I did have some sort of rail gun turrets, is the Iowa's powerplant able to produce enough power to fire the weapons? And if not, then it means I have to remove the smokestack funnels and make the model as if it were nuclear powered so that it could power the rail guns.
My other option is to replace some or all gun turrets with VLS missiles in the barbettes.

[scooter]

I would nuke her, and put the VLS in the superstructure, like I did with the Luckner BCGNs

[Thorvic]

Well the guns are kinda their reason for being although you could replace the Guns with the new rail gun as the barbets might be able to accommodate the power generators needed to launch the projectiles - a chance to revise the turrets to a single or twin configuration and lots of added greeblies to emphasise the difference from the old guns.

I'd love to replace all 3 16" turrets on my model with something more modern that looks like a rail gun turret, but I haven't been able to find anything yet, either in my spare parts box or on Shapeways.   And even if I did have some sort of rail gun turrets, is the Iowa's powerplant able to produce enough power to fire the weapons? And if not, then it means I have to remove the smokestack funnels and make the model as if it were nuclear powered so that it could power the rail guns.
My other option is to replace some or all gun turrets with VLS missiles in the barbettes.

Don't forget a rail gun doesn't use explosives as propulsion so the magazine capacity is greatly reduced to only the projectiles so you could replace the original barbets with a new superstructure to incorporate an additional propulsion plant and generators for the Rail guns so you could add additional air intakes and exhausts for gas turbines or diesels. For guns scratch build  a pair of Turrets similar to the ones used on the Zumwalt or beef up and reshape the kit turrets to a single barrel.

Replace the aft turret with a new superstructure for a full VLS array and maybe Hanger built in on either side, one for helicopters and the other for drones.

[proditor]

I thought the general consensus was once you get to "remove the barbettes" you're talking about so much money, since they are so integral to the hull, that you might as well just build a new ship?

No clue if the Iowa's could generate enough electrical power to utilize a rail gun, but a couple articles on the subject seem to indicate that the only thing in our navy other than a carrier that could power one of the those suckers is the Zummwalts.

A little looking yields this: "A railgun system needs 25 megawatts of energy flowing through it" from here: http://www.popsci.com/article/technology/navy-wants-fire-its-ridiculously-strong-railgun-ocean

and...

(On board the Iowas) "Each of the four engine rooms had a pair of Ship's Service Turbine Generators (SSTGs)[53] manufactured by Westinghouse. Each SSTG generated 1.25 MW for a total of 10 MW of electricity." from the wiki for the Iowa class, which is probably okay as a source. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iowa-class_battleship

So no, not even close.