The Heavy Armory · Chapter 12
Naval Weapons
The guns and weapons of warships from 1939 to today. The great guns of the age of sail are in Chapter 8, and the turret guns, torpedoes, mines, and depth charges of 1860 to 1938 in Chapter 9; all of those stay in service through this period.
After 1960 the missile replaces the gun as a warship's main weapon. The Anti-Ship Missile and the Surface-to-Air Missile are in Chapters 11 and 10.
Dual-Purpose Gun
Five-inch, four-point-five, main gun
Standard 6 3 Extreme 8
900000 Military 1939 Ballistic Pierce 2, Blast 3, Anti-Air, Crew 8
The main gun of a destroyer or a frigate, able to engage ships, shore targets, and aircraft. A modern automatic mount has no crew in the turret and fires a round every three seconds.
Cruiser Gun
Six- and eight-inch gun, triple turret
Heavy 9 3 Extreme 15
2500000 Military 1939 Ballistic Pierce 3, Blast 4, Crew 15, Slow-Firing 1
The main battery of a cruiser, three guns to a turret. After 1960 few ships carry anything this large.
Light Anti-Aircraft Mount
Forty-mil, pom-pom, twin Bofors
Light 4 4 Long 4
150000 Military 1939 Ballistic Auto-Fire, Linked 1, Anti-Air, Point Defense 1, Crew 4
A twin or quadruple automatic gun on a powered mount. Every warship and many merchantmen of the Second World War are covered in them. It serves equally well on a half-track.
Close-In Weapon System
Radar gun, goalkeeper, the last ditch
Light 3 4 Medium —
6000000 Military 1980 Ballistic Auto-Fire, Point Defense 3, Limited Ammo 10
A radar-directed rotary cannon that tracks and fires by itself. It exists to shoot down the Anti-Ship Missile and does little else.
Anti-Submarine Mortar
Hedgehog, squid, depth-charge thrower
Standard 8 3 Short 4
200000 Military 1942 Blast Blast 3, Salvo 2, Crew 4, Limited Ammo 4
Throws a pattern of small charges ahead of the ship, so that sonar contact is kept until they land. It attacks only submerged targets.
Heavyweight Torpedo
Wire-guided torpedo, long lance
Capital 18 2 Extreme 4
3000000 Military 1960 Blast Pierce 3, Lock-On, Tracking, Limited Ammo 1, Slow-Firing 2
A submarine's main weapon: a wire-guided, homing torpedo that explodes under a ship's keel. One breaks the back of anything smaller than a carrier. It cannot be intercepted.
