Naval Weapons - Storage

[kalos72]

So, lets say some enterprising general wants to mount some 5" guns on his Coast Guard vessels...where would the Navy store extra guns/armament?

Or do they make it fresh each time they need it?

Also, do civilian contractors install the weapons or just build the ship and let the navy install them? Maybe Pascagoula has some in the shipyard?

[stormlion1]

There is desert storage with parts from stripped Battleships and Cruisers out in the Nevada Desert I've been told. Also the Mothball Fleet would be a source of parts as well. Also shipyards do all the work generally and the Navy 'accepts' a completed ship and tests it and sends it back for any changes that need to be made. Ammunition I believe is kept safe in bunkers all across the country.

[StainlessSteelCynic]

In the last few decades a naval gun is typically a complete weapons system "package" and it's installed by whoever builds the ship. But it can be removed/replaced easily enough by any shipyard with suitable heavy lift gear and skilled personnel (naval or civilian).
I don't think any navy has made it's own guns for at least the last couple of hundred years, it's not economically viable. When a steel company like say Krupp of Germany had the experience to make naval and land guns, it's cheaper to contract them to make the guns when you need them rather than maintain a specialized department within the navy to make the guns.

Naval guns are made by various companies and treated like any other weapons system they might make. For example, the OTO-Melara 76mm gun system can be found on various frigates around the world but the same gun was also offered as a turreted package for mobile AAA systems. OTO-Melara supply the gun to whoever is building the ship and maybe that country asks for a few spare systems for attrition or training purposes. It means that they'd be thrown into storage or set up at a naval gunnery school etc. etc.

[WallShadow]

There is a Ammo Storage Facility in northern NJ--Earle Ammunition Depot, although one wonders what the Perth Amboy and/or Edison blasts might have done sympathetically.

Scranton (PA) Army Ammunition Factory per Wiki: "Capabilities of the center include: manufacturing ammunition metal parts; producing 60 mm to 8-inch-diameter (200 mm) projectiles; 120 mm mortar facility; 5-inch/54 gun projectiles; 155 mm artillery projectiles; machining; forge presses; finishing and testing."

Near me (Central PA) the Mechanicsburg Naval Parts Depot stores and manages lots of components and materials. Not sure about large caliber ammo, but a Surplus-sale online auction section was dedicated to large bulk lots of expended brass--9mm, 5.56N, .45, 7.62N.

And further south near Chambersburg, Letterkenney Army Depot handles reclaim/disposal of munitions and explosives (hundreds of semi-buried ammo storage igloos). It has the job and facilities for refurbishment of M109 SPHs, missile avionics, MRLS, and had, at the time of the TDM, huge climate-controlled oil-tank-like vehicle mothball storage structures to maintain older, surplus trucks and other vehicles in a "rapid restoration to service" state. And a note about the igloos--several had weapons/small arms (AK47s) captured in Grenada and also shipped from Israel captured during her actions against her enemies. These bits of info make this base a very ripe plum to be guarded carefully.

[swaghauler]

Originally Posted by WallShadow

There is a Ammo Storage Facility in northern NJ--Earle Ammunition Depot, although one wonders what the Perth Amboy and/or Edison blasts might have done sympathetically.

Scranton (PA) Army Ammunition Factory per Wiki: "Capabilities of the center include: manufacturing ammunition metal parts; producing 60 mm to 8-inch-diameter (200 mm) projectiles; 120 mm mortar facility; 5-inch/54 gun projectiles; 155 mm artillery projectiles; machining; forge presses; finishing and testing."

Near me (Central PA) the Mechanicsburg Naval Parts Depot stores and manages lots of components and materials. Not sure about large caliber ammo, but a Surplus-sale online auction section was dedicated to large bulk lots of expended brass--9mm, 5.56N, .45, 7.62N.

And further south near Chambersburg, Letterkenney Army Depot handles reclaim/disposal of munitions and explosives (hundreds of semi-buried ammo storage igloos). It has the job and facilities for refurbishment of M109 SPHs, missile avionics, MRLS, and had, at the time of the TDM, huge climate-controlled oil-tank-like vehicle mothball storage structures to maintain older, surplus trucks and other vehicles in a "rapid restoration to service" state. And a note about the igloos--several had weapons/small arms (AK47s) captured in Grenada and also shipped from Israel captured during her actions against her enemies. These bits of info make this base a very ripe plum to be guarded carefully.

Been to Letterkenney. Very impressive place. How much time have you spent at the Gap?

[stormlion1]

If I remember correctly there is also a naval ammunition storage complex in Florida somewhere. I remember reading about it, but I can't remember if its a current one or from World War 2. Also as of a few years ago 1,500 inert 16-inch projectiles were stored at Crane Naval Weapons Center in Indiana. I think they were up for donation or destruction and the last stockpiles of spare 16" gun barrels were either cut up for scrap in 2011 or put up for donation. I know one ended up in Delaware in Cape Henelopen where its rusting away.

[WallShadow]

Originally Posted by swaghauler

Been to Letterkenney. Very impressive place. How much time have you spent at the Gap?

Only those few days a year when the Battle of the Bulge reenactment is in progress. I'm not military, I only play them on weekends.
I used to live in the acoustic footprint of LKY's ordnance disposal detonations; they made the window glass rattle when they bounced off Blue Mountain's eastern face.

[swaghauler]

Originally Posted by WallShadow

Only those few days a year when the Battle of the Bulge reenactment is in progress. I'm not military, I only play them on weekends.
I used to live in the acoustic footprint of LKY's ordnance disposal detonations; they made the window glass rattle when they bounced off Blue Mountain's eastern face.

I've seen that reenactment. Top Notch!

[ArmySGT.]

Originally Posted by kalos72

So, lets say some enterprising general wants to mount some 5" guns on his Coast Guard vessels...where would the Navy store extra guns/armament?

Or do they make it fresh each time they need it?

Also, do civilian contractors install the weapons or just build the ship and let the navy install them? Maybe Pascagoula has some in the shipyard?

Google gave me

Naval Weapons station Seal Beach

Naval Weapons station Earl

Naval Weapons station Charleston

Naval Weapons station Concord

Naval Weapons station Yorktown
These seem to primarily be munitions. Not systems, but repair and refit seems highly likely at Seal Beach which is actually on the shore.

[pmulcahy11b]

For small and to an extent heavy, infantry-type weapons, you could have your players check out China Lake. They develop and test ordnance from pistols to ATGM as well as the guns slated to be on naval aircraft, and also some air-to-ground ordnance and air-to-air missiles.