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Main Armament

HMS Belfast mounts four main turrets, each containing three 6 inch guns.

From the bow of the ship, one can look back at the forward guns raised triumphantly to the skies.

I can just imagine the flames spitting from these monstrous weapons – luckily, there wasn’t a war on when I visited and I was able to pose with my ACG once again

The view of the forward turrets inside is quite nice from the inside too – here are two shots from the main Bridge and the Admiral’s Bridge.

As you can probably tell, I was rather taken with these guns, hence the large number of pictures I took of them from every angle.

But, even better, it’s even possible to go inside the turrets for a closer look at the workings of these complex mechanisms. A link at the end of this article will take you to some moving footage which includes a look inside one of these turrets.

The turrets are cramped and unforgiving inside, with protruding pieces of equipment ready to catch the unwary. I do not envy those men who had to work inside these structures, especially during battle.

Below decks, handling carousels containing row upon row of shells ready to fire form an essential part of the ammunition supply process – mechanical hoists transfer take shells up to the turrets above deck in a constant stream, whilst massed crates of other shells stand ready to be loaded into the carousels – the potential firepower is staggering.

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