US Naval Gunnery in Jane's Fighting Ships 1969/70

[uk 75]

I have been looking for the attached picture for years and found it in the US Navy section of Jane's Fighting Ships 1969/70 .
It shows the range of guns planned for US service in the 1970s.
From left to right we have:
8 inch Major Calibre Lightweight Gun (MCLWG).
5 inch 54cal Mk 42 gun for DD931 class destroyers.
5 inch 54cal Mk 45 gun for DD963 class destroyers.
5 inch 54cal Mk 65 gun possibly for later destroyers.
3 inch 70cal lightweight gun.
The last one seems to have been a simple shroud round an existing weapon.

 

[TomS]

I have been looking for the attached picture for years and found it in the US Navy section of Jane's Fighting Ships 1969/70 .
It shows the range of guns planned for US service in the 1970s.
From left to right we have:
8 inch Major Calibre Lightweight Gun (MCLWG).
5 inch 54cal Mk 42 gun for DD931 class destroyers.
5 inch 54cal Mk 45 gun for DD963 class destroyers.
5 inch 54cal Mk 65 gun possibly for later destroyers.
3 inch 70cal lightweight gun.
The last one seems to have been a simple shroud round an existing weapon.

Mk 65 was a single-barrel rapid-firing gun: 48 rpm, with ammo feeding from 8 drums of 12 rounds into a central loading ring of 16 rounds (so, total of 112 ready rounds). The Mk 66 was a twin version of this gun, with a maximum ROF of 96 rpm and each gun fed form a 100-round loader. Both of these would have needed manual reloading to replenish the ready-use ammo but could be fired by a single operator until the ready use magazines ran dry.

The lightweight 3in/70 seems to have been entirely notional -- I've seen it mentioned several times but never drawn. Does Jane's have a picture of that one?

 

[uk 75]

I have been looking for the attached picture for years and found it in the US Navy section of Jane's Fighting Ships 1969/70 .
It shows the range of guns planned for US service in the 1970s.
From left to right we have:
8 inch Major Calibre Lightweight Gun (MCLWG).
5 inch 54cal Mk 42 gun for DD931 class destroyers.
5 inch 54cal Mk 45 gun for DD963 class destroyers.
5 inch 54cal Mk 65 gun possibly for later destroyers.
3 inch 70cal lightweight gun.
The last one seems to have been a simple shroud round an existing weapon.

Sorry this is the photo that I meant to post.

 

[TomS]

I have been looking for the attached picture for years and found it in the US Navy section of Jane's Fighting Ships 1969/70 .
It shows the range of guns planned for US service in the 1970s.
From left to right we have:
8 inch Major Calibre Lightweight Gun (MCLWG).
5 inch 54cal Mk 42 gun for DD931 class destroyers.
5 inch 54cal Mk 45 gun for DD963 class destroyers.
5 inch 54cal Mk 65 gun possibly for later destroyers.
3 inch 70cal lightweight gun.
The last one seems to have been a simple shroud round an existing weapon.

Sorry this is the photo that I meant to post.

Thanks. I've seen that last one in ship proposal drawings (but can't find one at the moment). I always assumed it was a placeholder for the Mk 75/OTO Melara Compact but evidently not. There apparently was a single 3-inch/70 Mk 35 in the 1950s, but I find almost nothing about it aside from this DTIC link (3 IN./70 Caliber Single Mount Mark 35 Mod 0, Test Firings of. ) and a citation on NavWeaps.

(In US Naval Weapons, Freidman says a single version of the Mk 37 was never built, but the DTIC report suggests otherwise?)

BTW, that sort of spherical gunhouse was also shown as an early shape for the Mk 45 gun, before the more iconic "wedge" shape became known.

Late Edit: @uk75 started another thread about that same 3-inch gun a few years ago. 2008 to be exact.

https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/us-70s-lightweight-gun-programme.4176/

 

[Tzoli]

I still yet to find top and side views for the Mark 65 and 66 gun/mountings. The 3"/70 gun is new to me and me too thought that the USN designs with such spherical turret and 3" guns was for the OTO gun!