Today on History X we help a subscriber understand what happened to their uncle
in turret 2 aboard the famed destroyer USS Johnston
Thank you for checking out History X! My name is Ken Stano
And recently I posted two videos about the discovery of the wreck of the World War Two destroyer USS Johnston.
For those of you not familiar, the USS Johnston led a small group of tin-can destroyers and escorts know as Taffy 3
in a heroic charge against a massive Japanese naval force that included cruisers and battleships.
Out of the many comments I received on those videos, a subscriber simply known as 'Vegan Conservative',
unfortunately they never shared their name, the subscriber was asking what it would have been like for their uncle,
who was stationed in the five-inch gun turret just below the bridge on the bow of that renowned Fletcher-class destroyer.
I was honored that someone chose this channel, HISTORY X,
as a source to answer this meaningful and, let's face it, important question.
wondering what it would have been like for their uncle to be stationed in one of the forward turrets
on the celebrated destroyer USS Johnston...
Sacrificing themselves in the heat of battle against an incredibly superior Japanese naval force...
Taking on huge enemy cruisers and battleships prior to themselves being destroyed and sunk
during the battle off Samar in the Philippines in 1944.
As a matter of fact, if you would like to learn more about that incredible battle,
please check out the link above.
Now because I am an engineer by degree I like to get into the details when I make these videos.
But in this case I soon realized I couldn't provide this subject the kind of expertise and respect it deserved.
So I reached-out to Shane Stephenson, Director of Museum Collections
at the Buffalo & Erie County Naval and Military Park.
If you're not familiar with Shane's work, he spends his days exploring World War II ships,
like the Cleveland-class cruiser USS Little Rock, the Gato-class submarine USS Croaker,
and the Fletcher-class destroyer USS The Sullivans on display there in Buffalo, New York.
How'd you like to have a job like that?
Now because the Buffalo Naval Park has the Fletcher-class destroyer USS The Sullivans on display,
I thought Shane would be the ideal resource
for this project; to give us some insight on what it would have been like
to be stationed in the forward turret on the USS Johnston.
If you haven't already, please visit the Buffalo Naval Park's YouTube channel
in the link I have posted below and subscribe.
It's a great way to support their efforts and I'd like to get them 50 new subscribers
as a way to say 'Thank You' for helping us answer this very important historical question.
Now check this out!
I'm Shane Stephenson, Director of Museum Collections and Curator here at the Buffalo Naval Park
and today we're going to be doing a pretty cool video with the guys at 'HISTORY X'
and I'm going to be answering some questions about these beauties behind me, the 5-inch 38's.
Now these 5-inch 38-caliber guns were on most of the destroyers during WW2
and certainly all of the Fletcher-class destroyers.
So USS The Sullivans... that's where I'm standing today.
She's been docked here in Buffalo since 1977
and she's one of three tourable vessels in the United States of the Fletcher-class destroyers
and she's one of four in the world that are tourable.
Now during wartime production, 175 of these Fletcher-class destroyers were built.
Before we begin answering questions from HISTORY X viewers,
I'd like to talk a little bit about the 5-inch 38 mark-12 modification-1 guns
that were on most, if not all, of the Fletcher-class destroyers.
There are 5 on each in their original configurations
all running down the centerline
and they were named Mount 51, Mount 52, Mount 53, Mount 54, and Mount 55.
The muzzle velocity on one of these 5-inch 38s was 2,600 feet-per-second
and they're lobbing a 55-pound shell with a 25-pound gunpowder casing.
Depending on the elevation of the gun, you'll be able to travel about 18,000 yards.
How many guys would actually be in a five-inch 38 turret?
All right, so obviously it varies, but we usually say about nine crew would be in this turret;
Starting right back there with the Pointer.
The pointer is the guy that controls the elevation.
And on this side, on the left side of the barrel, would be the Trainer
right back there.
And the Trainer is the horizontal angle of the gun.
You'd also have the Gun Captain.
The Gun Captain usually stood on this platform
and looking up into that hatch he would peek his head out.
So you'd have about nine guys, maybe four or five a side, on either side of the barrel.
Now the barrel is about 15-feet long, so probably half is outside of the turret itself,
the encased enclosed turret, and half would be inside.
We have the 55-pound projectile along with the 25-pound gunpowder casings.
How do they get the actual ammunition, the projectiles and the gunpowder up into the turret itself?
So all of the magazine stores are down below
and they're passed up through a series of hoists in what are called "Handling Rooms"
Now you'd have four or five crew in this handling room,
so the 55-pound shells, the actual destructive projectiles,
would be passed up mechanically through this hoist system from the lower decks, up into the turret.
While the gun powder, which is here behind me,
as examples those yellow casings right there,
those would be passed up manually
to the crew that's standing here.
There was a little hatch
and they would be passed up through that hatch.
What is the best rate of fire that you should be getting from the 5-inch 38s?
Their goal was always about 20 to 22 rounds per minute,
but after hauling the 25 pounds, after grabbing the 55-pound shells,
keep that up for more than a couple of minutes,
and after the first minute or two, was anywhere from about 12 to 15 rounds per minute.
And under the heat of battle, again with the repercussion,
the smoke, the disorientation that you'd be experiencing,
your body's slowing down, it's hot,
you're under great stress and strain, your body and mind would begin to wear-out very quickly.
Why were these encased here on the Fletcher classes?
All five mounts were enclosed.
They did offer windows right there and there.
So mostly it was for crew protection that you enclose these.
Certainly from flack and shrapnel. Weather could play a role for those pedestal
turrets that were just exposed to the sea and the wind.
It could do some damage to the mechanics and the barrel itself.
That was the main reason is the crew protection.
Well I want to thank you for watching and I want to thank the guys at HISTORY X.
This has been fabulous and I really hope you enjoy this video here from the Buffalo Naval Park
talking about the 5-inch 38 turrets.
Now as I mentioned earlier, this video is in response to the comments submitted by a subscriber
inquiring about what it would have been like for their uncle stationed in the 52 turret of the USS Johnston.
And here at HISTORY X we are thrilled that Shane Stephenson there on the USS The Sullivans
at the Buffalo & Erie County Naval & Military Park was willing to help us out.
So what happened to your uncle during the Battle off Samar where the Johnston sank?
And look I would totally understand since we're talking about the demise of your uncle, the death of your family member,
I would totally understand if you turn this video off right here and now.
Because as I see it, when it comes to your uncle in turret 52 aboard the USS Johnston,
there are three possibilities.
Here we see the 52 turret intact and trained to the starboard as they were during the battle, as if they are still firing
as they lie there in-state at the bottom of the Pacific ocean.
So unlike the direct hits received by the aft turrets,
your uncle's turret wasn't destroyed.
However...
Accounts tell how the bridge had to be abandoned in the middle of the battle due to a fire from a hit that was received.
And that is the damage that we see here.
A Japanese shell hit below deck, below the turret.
Which leads us to 'Possibility #1' for your uncle....
If your uncle was at his station in the turret at the time of this impact,
imagine the utter chaos inside that turret.
To have an explosion like this occur right underneath you,
The concussion would have been unimaginable.
And it's assumed many inside the turret would have died due to that shell impact and the resulting fire underneath.
Now 'Possibility #2'....
Your uncle may have survived the impact of that shell,
but due to injuries suffered, later went down with the ship and unfortunately drowned.
Or 'Possibility #3'.....
Survivors from the battle eventually abandoned ship and were forced into the water.
But after the sinking of the USS Johnston, those survivors were not immediately picked up.
You see naval leadership feared Japanese submarines were in the area
just waiting for US rescue vessels to arrive and pick up the survivors.
Therefore initial requests by American vessels to head to the area of the battle to pick up survivors were denied.
At least two days passed before it was deemed safe to head to the area.
During that time many seamen succumbed to their injuries and....
there were sharks.
Of the 327 men aboard the USS Johnston at the time of the battle, 186 men lost their lives.
It's assumed that approximately 50 died due to the enemy action during the battle.
92 men went into the water after the ship went down, including Commander Evans,
but they were never seen again.
And in the two days while adrift waiting for rescue,
45 men died on rafts from their wounds.
I want to say it was an honor to create this video
and I was thrilled to receive the help from Shane Stephenson at the Buffalo Naval Park.
Again please click and subscribe to their channel.
And if you find WW2-related content like the heroics of the destroyer USS Johnston fascinating,
please click and subscribe.
My name is Ken Stano. Thank you for checking out HISTORY X!