Origin
Gunfire support from cruisers and battleships had become an established part of United States amphibious warfare doctrine during World War II. As the last of the wartime cruisers and battleships were decommissioned, the 5"/54 caliber gun became the largest available for such assignments. The 5"/54 could fire a 70-pound (32-kg) projectile approximately 15 miles (24 km) in comparison to a range of 17 miles (27 km) for 260 pound (118 kg) projectiles from the 8"/55 caliber guns of heavy cruisers.
The impending loss of capability was anticipated by the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) in 1969. CNO established a requirement for a new gun capable of firing semi-active laser guided projectiles (SAL GP). Development took place through 1971 and 1972 at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division.
Read more about this topic: 8"/55 Caliber Mark 71 Gun
Famous quotes containing the word origin:
“Someone had literally run to earth
In an old cellar hole in a byroad
The origin of all the family there.
Thence they were sprung, so numerous a tribe
That now not all the houses left in town
Made shift to shelter them without the help
Of here and there a tent in grove and orchard.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“There are certain books in the world which every searcher for truth must know: the Bible, the Critique of Pure Reason, the Origin of Species, and Karl Marx’s Capital.”
—W.E.B. (William Edward Burghardt)
“Our theism is the purification of the human mind. Man can paint, or make, or think nothing but man. He believes that the great material elements had their origin from his thought.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)