Five Inch Friday

While we are doing the anniversary thing - time to talk about NSFS again. Not Vietnam or WWII, but OIF. Three years ago, we have all the info we need to justify both the 155mm and 8", (even though in this case it was all 5") if we want to look at it. There are also lessons here on the LCS tradeoff between questional draft, speed and main gun tradeoff - and just the fundamentals of seamanship and Naval warfare. THIS is littoral warfare.

At 0604 on March 21 HMAS Anzac (CAPT Peter Lockwood), often called the ‘Lighthorse’, began Naval gunfire in direct support of the British-led Royal Marine 40 Commando assault on Al Faw Peninsula in southern Iraq.

Full story here. More info on the OP here and here. And if you really like good gun work....