Wisconsin let’s em rip, 27 years ago today
6 February 1991:
PH2 Robert Clare, USN. (OPA-NARA II-2016/01/10)
The Iowa-class battleship USS Wisconsin (BB-64) fires a round from one of the Mark 7 16-inch/50-caliber guns in its No. 3 turret during Operation Desert Storm. The ship’s target is an Iraqi 155mm artillery battery in southern Kuwaiti, which her guns greatly outranged. This was the first time Wisconsin‘s guns had fired in anger since 1952 where she pounded Chinese positions in Korea and would mark the start of her participation in the ground war during Operation Desert Storm.
I wonder if the photographer’s ears are still ringing after being so close to a 16″/50. Even the “small” 5″/54 is loud in a way that I was not expecting!