Shell Room
The shell room for B Turret, one of four aboard HMS Belfast, has three shell hoists (three of the steel vertical tubes) that carry 51 kg 6-inch shells up to the three barrels in the turret five decks above. The shells seen above are mounted on a rotating platform from which they are fed onto the three hoists. The ring is replenished by manual loading.
The other hoists in the centre include ones for the 14 kg cordite bag charges from storages even lower in the ship. The cordite provides the propellant that sends the shells downrange.
The ship was provided with 200 shells per barrel, giving a total of 2,400 rounds on board. They could be fired at a rate of eight rounds per barrel per minute.
HMS Belfast, the Imperial War Museum's largest exhibit, can be found in the Pool of London on the River Thames.
Shell Room
The shell room for B Turret, one of four aboard HMS Belfast, has three shell hoists (three of the steel vertical tubes) that carry 51 kg 6-inch shells up to the three barrels in the turret five decks above. The shells seen above are mounted on a rotating platform from which they are fed onto the three hoists. The ring is replenished by manual loading.
The other hoists in the centre include ones for the 14 kg cordite bag charges from storages even lower in the ship. The cordite provides the propellant that sends the shells downrange.
The ship was provided with 200 shells per barrel, giving a total of 2,400 rounds on board. They could be fired at a rate of eight rounds per barrel per minute.
HMS Belfast, the Imperial War Museum's largest exhibit, can be found in the Pool of London on the River Thames.