Something for the experts - the shock of firing main guns

[LargeSlowTarget]

Allegedly, the blast of South Dakota main battery once ripped away the pants of Captain Gatch...

[HansBolter]

Lots of good answers.

As you have probably surmised by now "shock" didn't mean recaoil in this case it meant "concussion".

The concussive effect of large caliber rifles is stupendous.

I used to get a very, very small taste of this at the local shooting range when I went there with a buddy who shot a .357 magnum.

Shooting from the booth next to him I could always tell when he switched from his 9mm to his .357.

The concussive blast from the .357 would literally smack me in the face, even in the adjacent booth.

I could always tell when he had pulled out the "cannon"!

I can also recall reading many accounts of soldiers killed in action from the concussive blast of a large artillery shell without ever being touched by an ounce of shrapnel.

[ilovestrategy]

ORIGINAL: HansBolter

Lots of good answers.

As you have probably surmised by now "shock" didn't mean recaoil in this case it meant "concussion".

The concussive effect of large caliber rifles is stupendous.

I used to get a very, very small taste of this at the local shooting range when I went there with a buddy who shot a .357 magnum.

Shooting from the booth next to him I could always tell when he switched from his 9mm to his .357.

The concussive blast from the .357 would literally smack me in the face, even in the adjacent booth.

I could always tell when he had pulled out the "cannon"!

I can also recall reading many accounts of soldiers killed in action from the concussive blast of a large artillery shell without ever being touched by an ounce of shrapnel.

I spent 3 1/2 years in a tank battalion in the Marine Corps in the 80s. If you were behind a tank when it fired the concussion could knock the hat off of your head.

[Panther Bait]

A lot of the electronics on the battleships were also add-on equipment added after the fact as part of re-fits.  Probably made it much harder to design appropriate mounts and vibration isolation than fitting the equipment as part of the original design.  Not to mention that the original electronic equipment was very bulky and from what I've read was located more "wherever it would fit" rather than in a carefully maintained/crafted/protected location.
 
Protection from gun concussion (as well as damage from incoming fire) was probably a reason why CIC's eventually moved deeper into the ship as they started to get included in original designs.
 
Mike
 

[Dili]

From the Italian side the shock from main gun of Littorio prevented people being below the captain bridge. The rear main guns once made the floatplane catch fire.