Category: Ammo

The nuclear arms race began during World War II, with the United States and the U.S.S.R. competing for supremacy for decades after the war’s end. Eventually, several other countries joined in, creating nukes for their own protection from their enemies. However, no country could match the scale of nuclear development of the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. superpowers.

Nuclear-armed battleships were designed to deliver devastating strikes against enemy forces and installations. The Mark 23 shells gave these WWII-era vessels a new lease on life as atomic weapons platforms.

After the U.S. destruction of Nagasaki and Hiroshima through the development of nuclear weapons as part of the Manhattan Project, the Soviet Union’s nuclear program went into high gear. While it was thought the Soviets would not be able to create a bomb for several years, they were able to complete their version of the Fat Man bomb, the RDS-1 (also known as the Joe-1 by the Allies in reference to Joseph Stalin) in 1949 due to espionage within the Manhattan Project.

USS New Jersey (BB-62) fires a salvo from her main guns during a deployment off the coast of Beirut, Lebanon, in January 1984. Image: PH1 Ron Garrison/U.S. Navy — USS *New Jersey* (BB-62) fires a salvo from her main guns during a deployment off the coast of Beirut, Lebanon, in January 1984. Image: PH1 Ron Garrison/U.S. Navy

In the 1950s, civilian views on nuclear weapons were a combination of fear and patriotism. Many Americans lived in fear of nuclear war with the Soviets, and the concerns of the long-term effects of radiation exposure was also high, prompting people to construct fallout shelters and stockpile food and supplies.

The Navy Needs a Nuke?

As a result of this arms race, the U.S. military had a prodigious amount of nuclear weapons. The U.S. Army had the Davy Crockett recoilless smoothbore gun, the Special Atomic Demolition Munition, aka the backpack nuke, the Honest John medium-range missile, and atomic cannons with nuclear artillery shells.

A practice round is shown as it would be loaded in the breech. A shell is inserted first, followed by 6 90-pound bags of powder loaded into silk bags. Image: U.S. Navy

The U.S. Air Force had the Mark 4 and B43 gravity bombs, the Atlas ICBM, and, starting in the early 60s, the Titan II ICBM equipped with a single nine megaton warhead.

View of the shell deck below a turret on the USS New Jersey. Image: Mark C. Olsen/N.J. Dept. of Veterans Affairs — View of the shell deck below a turret on the USS *New Jersey*. Image: Mark C. Olsen/N.J. Dept. of Veterans Affairs

The U.S. Navy had the Polaris submarine-launched ICBM and the Regulus cruise missile for surface vessels and submarines. Additionally, the Navy employed a number of aircraft, including the Douglas A-3 Skywarrior strategic bomber, capable of delivering a nuclear strike. The only weapon system without a nuke was the U.S. Navy’s big guns on the powerful Iowa-class battleships, but that would soon change.

The Mark 7

The main armament of the Iowa-class battleships, the remarkable Mark 7 gun weighed 267,900 pounds, with the breech. The fired shells weighed between 1,900 and 2,700 pounds. When firing armor-piercing rounds, their muzzle velocity was 2,500 feet per second. When fired at its maximum range of 24 miles, the shell spent almost one minute and 30 seconds in flight.

This diagram shows a typical Iowa-class battleship with its three independently elevating Mark 7 guns. Image: U.S. Navy — This diagram shows a typical *Iowa*-class battleship with its three independently elevating Mark 7 guns. Image: U.S. Navy

The turrets were described as “three-gun” rather than “triple” because each gun could be elevated or lowered independently of the others. The battleships could fire any combination of their guns, including a broadside of all nine. From the powder-handling level to the magazines, the projectile handling floor, and the gun deck, each turret required 79 men to staff all four levels.

Project Katie

The origin of the “Katie” shell dates back to 1952, when the world’s first artillery-fired atomic projectile, the MK9, was fired from the 280mm M65 Atomic Cannon, also known as “Atomic Annie.” The M65 cannon and Mk9 shell had a significant drawback: their short range, which was limited to about 14.7 miles.

Only one Mark 23 shell remains today, preserved at the National Atomic Museum in New Mexico. This survivor represents a unique chapter in naval history. Image: National Atomic Museum

In 1955, the MK9 was superseded by the introduction of the W19 shell, which weighed a few hundred pounds less, increasing the range to 18 miles. It was also a gun-type nuclear weapon which contained a yield of 15-20 kilotons.

Shown here is the rail system used for transporting the 2,700 pound shells fired from the 16-inch guns on the Iowa-class battleships. Image: Mark C. Olsen/N.J. Dept. of Veterans Affairs — Shown here is the rail system used for transporting the 2,700 pound shells fired from the 16-inch guns on the *Iowa*-class battleships. Image: Mark C. Olsen/N.J. Dept. of Veterans Affairs

The W19 was quickly modified for use with the Mark 7 guns of the Iowa-class battleships. The W23 was the first nuclear shell designed for a naval gun. It was 16” in diameter, 64” long, and weighed between 1,500 and 1,900 pounds with a 15-20 kiloton yield — the same kiloton range as the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs.

The W80 nuclear warhead represented the next generation of naval atomic weapons after the Mark 23 shells were retired. Image: U.S. Dept. of War

If all nine guns fired a salvo, the yield would be approximately 185 kilotons. It is said that the Katie designation came from the abbreviation for kiloton, as in “getting some Kt”.

Under Project Katie, 50 Mark 23 shells were produced for the battleships Iowa (BB-61), New Jersey (BB62) and Wisconsin (BB-64), while the USS Missouri (BB-63) was not modified and left untouched as it was placed into the mothball fleet in 1955. Each battleship carried 10 Mark 23 shells, one for each barrel and one backup round, nine practice shells, and one loading drill round for gunner certifications. The device would be assembled just before firing.

Each ship had modifications made to its “Broadway” section. Broadway is the longest straight passageway on the Iowa-class battleship, with a length of 288 feet between the number II and number III turrets for the safe storage of these shells, and a separate locker for the nuclear warheads, which was secured by a Marine Corps security detachment.

Smoke and flames shoot out from 16-inch guns of the battleship USS New Jersey while firing off the coast of Beirut, Lebanon in December 1983. Image: JO2 Lance Johnson/U.S. Navy — Smoke and flames shoot out from 16-inch guns of the battleship USS *New Jersey* while firing off the coast of Beirut, Lebanon in December 1983. Image: JO2 Lance Johnson/U.S. Navy

The Katie-armed battleships were short-lived and sent back to the mothball fleet not long after their modifications, and the Mark 23 was completely withdrawn from service by October 1962.

Fortunately, no Mark 23 shell was ever fired in war, but one projectile was expended during Project Plowshare, which studied the use of nuclear weapons for peaceful purposes. There is currently one remaining Mark 23 shell on display at the National Atomic Museum in New Mexico.

The TLAM-N

In the 1980s, the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM-N) came into service. The BGM-109A Tomahawk Cruise missile was fitted with a W80 200-kiloton nuclear warhead and had a range of approximately 2,500 kilometers, with a speed of 550 miles per hour. The missile is guided by a combination of GPS, inertial navigation, and Terrain Contour Matching (TERCOM), which compares the missile’s flight path with a stored map of the terrain to navigate. The Tomahawk is estimated to have an accuracy of five meters.

A BGM-109A Tomahawk missile loaded into a Mark 143 Armored Box Launcher. Image: U.S. Navy

The Tomahawk missile is approximately 20 feet long, with a 21” diameter, and weighs 3,000 pounds. When fired, it begins the launch sequence powered by a solid propellant. When the solid propellant is expended, a turbofan engine takes over and propels the missile to the target. The missile is hard to detect due to its small size, low cross-section, and low heat signature from its turbofan, and it avoids radar by flying at an altitude of only 100 to 300 feet.

Tomahawk missiles, whether conventional or nuclear, were initially launched from the Mark 143 4-cell armored box launcher (ABL) mounted on the deck. The size and weight of the launcher with missiles were prohibitive, as a standard cruiser was only capable of carrying two launchers for a total of 8 missiles. To carry more ordnance, WWII battleships were chosen for their ability to support heavier armaments.

This 1983 test launch demonstrates the Tomahawk’s ability to deliver nuclear firepower from naval platforms with unprecedented range and accuracy. Image: U.S. Navy

Starting with the USS New Jersey in 1982, all four Iowa-class battleships were modernized and retrofitted for the modern weapons systems, as they were capable of carrying eight box launchers for a total of 32 Tomahawk missiles. Another modification was the addition of the Mark 160 Fire Control system, which was used to guide the Mark 7 16-inch guns.

The box launchers were eventually phased out and replaced starting in 1984 by the Mark 41 Vertical Launch System. The VLS became the standard system installed on U.S. Navy ships, as they were capable of launching Tomahawks, Harpoons, and all other missiles in the Navy’s inventory.

A BGM-109 Tomahawk land attack missile (TLAM) is fired toward an Iraqi target from the battleship USS Missouri at the start of Operation Desert Storm. Image: NARA — A BGM-109 Tomahawk land attack missile (TLAM) is fired toward an Iraqi target from the battleship USS *Missouri* at the start of Operation Desert Storm. Image: NARA

The TLAM-N served as a deterrent for approximately 10 years until 1991, when President George H.W. Bush began removing the nuclear Tomahawks from the Navy’s inventory and putting them in storage. In 2010, the Obama Administration had the inventory dismantled after its Nuclear Posture Review.

The Legacy

U.S. battleships were designed to fight the Axis powers in World War II and were a symbol of U.S. strength. They played crucial roles in the defense of the country, while ushering in the aircraft carrier as the dominant naval power.

The USS New Jersey fires her main 16-inch guns and secondary five-inch guns in the northern Pacific Ocean during a training exercise in October 1986. Image: U.S. Navy — The USS *New Jersey* fires her main 16-inch guns and secondary five-inch guns in the northern Pacific Ocean during a training exercise in October 1986. Image: U.S. Navy

With continuous modernization and technological advances, they proudly served well into the nuclear age, while still deploying serious firepower in the old-fashioned way. While never fired in war, the nuclear-armed battleships were a unique deterrent to Soviet aggression during the Cold War.

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The Story of Gunpowder By Wayne van Zwoll

Post author By Grumpy
Post date January 1, 2026
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Accepting command of the Continental Army in 1775, General George Washington requested an inventory of gunpowder stores. The report of 90 barrels left him speechless.

His mood brightened a bit in March of ‘76 when a Congressional Committee of Secret Correspondence shooed Connecticut merchant Silas Deane to France, with an appeal to American sympathizer Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, confidant to Louis XVI. Result: Roderique Hortalez & Co., a group organized to smuggle Dutch, French and Spanish arms and other supplies to the colonies. These included gunpowder from Antoine Lavoisier, whose factory produced powder for the French government

Firearms changed warfare forever, and this medieval illustration shows a very early example in Europe. The crude design tells you everything about how experimental gunpowder weapons were back then.

Lavoisier had earned his credentials by refining the ratios of black powder’s ingredients. He declared his powder, of 75 percent saltpeter and 12.5 percent each of charcoal and sulfur, “the best in Europe.” But to American rebels, availability mattered as much as quality. By the end of 1777, France had shipped two million pounds to the Continental Army. This powder and 60,000 donated infantry arms (roughly one for every soldier) helped secure a pivotal victory at Saratoga in October that year.

While crude explosives date to ancient China, the English Friar Roger Bacon is credited with the first description of gunpowder in 1249. Rudimentary firearms soon followed.

From the 14th century to the late 19th century, black powder furnished the high-pressure gas that hurled all manner of projectiles, from rocks to jacketed bullets, at animals and adversaries. Its varied blends of fuel and oxidants all contained saltpeter (potassium nitrate), charcoal and sulfur.

In 1846, an Italian, Ascanio Subrero, discovered nitroglycerine. A clear, oxygen-rich solution of nitric and sulfuric acids plus glycerin, “nitro” could quickly rearrange itself into stable gases.

No need for spark; a bump would set it off. In 1863, Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel and his father, Emmanuel Nobel, learned how to put this volatile, explosive compound in cans. Still, it punished inattention. In 1875, after it leveled Nobel’s German factory, Alfred developed the relatively docile Dynamite.

By the 17th century, gunpowder weapons had become relatively commonplace. A musketeer is shown here handling one of these somewhat temperamental firearms.

By then, the Swiss chemist Christian Schoenbein had discovered that cotton treated with sulfuric and nitric acids burned so fast, it turned to ash without igniting its bed of black powder!

Efforts to throttle it and carelessness proved costly. John Hall’s guncotton plant in Faversham, England blew up. Stateside, German immigrant Carl Dittmar lost his New Sporting Powder factory to an explosion that erased much of Binghampton, New York. Some accidents tallied more victims than survivors.

In the 1890s black powder gave way to nitrocellulose-based smokeless. Single-base propellants contained no nitroglycerin. England’s cordite, named for its spaghetti-like strands, was initially a double-base powder, with guncotton, nitroglycerin, petroleum jelly and acetone. Addition of nitroguanidine in the 1930s made it a “triple-base.”

Shown are examples of early smokeless powder used in modern firearms. Good luck finding a pound of fresh powder for $2.75 today!

Long ago, DuPont powder guru Larry Werner assured me that double-base powders have more energy per grain than single-base. “But to see that edge, you need about 10 percent nitro.” He noted that double-base spherical powders are especially useful in cases of limited capacity. “Their drawback is residue; they don’t burn as cleanly as single-base.”

Diphenylamine or a similar stabilizer is present in nearly all smokeless powders to extend shelf life. Some have flame retardant to reduce muzzle flash. Another additive — graphite — gives powder its gray color, though that coating’s main job is to ward off static electricity as grains rub against each other.

Physically, powder comprises grains, as does sand. Powder charges are given in grain weight — entirely different. There are 437 ½ grains per ounce, 7,000 grains per pound, the unit dating to the Bronze Age and its wheat. Black powder for muzzle-loading rifles is measured by bulk (a cup is a bulk measure). But an adjustable powder measure is pre-set by the shooter to hold a given weight of powder when filled.

Black powder doesn’t just produce smoke — it leaves behind a serious mess that fouled barrels and could affect accuracy.

Pyrodex, Hodgdon’s black powder substitute, is only about 70 percent as heavy as black. Both are measured in bulk 1:1. Convenient pellets in specific equivalents make loading easy. Two 30-grain pellets, for instance, comprise a 60-grain charge. Ditto for the Triple Seven substitute and its Firestar pellets.

A Matter of Interpretation

Powder designations are usually meaningful but often beg interpretation. Early DuPont smokeless powders came in cans marked “MR” (military rifle). Improvements brought the IMR series in the 1920s as four-digit DuPont numbers replaced two-digit, beginning with 4198. In 1934, DuPont introduced IMR 4227. IMR 4895 would fuel the .30-06 in M1 Garand infantry rifles. IMR 4831 for 20mm cannons would prove a top choice for medium-bore magnum rifle cartridges of the 1950s and ‘60s.

M1 Garand fired by US Marine in Korean War — A U.S. Marine aims his M1 Garand rifle during the Korean War. The Garand was the primary battle rifle carried by U.S. troops in World War II and in Korea. Image: NARA

Aware that huge quantities of military powders had been dumped at sea after WWI, Brewster E. Hodgdon had a better idea. After his U.S. Navy service in the ‘40s, he set about buying up surplus powder to supply handloaders. First step: borrowing against his life insurance to sock 25 tons of IMR 4895 away in a salvaged boxcar on a rented field. Customers who responded to his modest ad in American Rifleman got 150 pounds for $30!

Sons Bob and J.B. crated it and took it to REA and Merriam Frisco terminals on the Kansas City rim in a 1940 Ford. Brisk demand birthed the Hodgdon Powder Co. in 1966. Magazines appeared on 160 acres west of its headquarters in Overland Park, Kansas. They’d become a staging area for four million pounds of propellant!

Modern spherical powders look deceptively simple, but those tiny balls contain incredibly sophisticated chemistry. The additives controlling burn rate represent over a century of refinement since the first smokeless propellants appeared. — Modern spherical powders look deceptively simple, but those tiny balls contain incredibly sophisticated chemistry. Additives control the burn rate, representing more than a century of refinement.

His bonanza in surplus powders almost gone by 1959, Bruce turned to military sources offshore, one of them having supplied British forces from a plant in Scotland.

He also tapped commercial powder houses stateside — notably the Olin Corp., which furnished a line of spherical powders pioneered by John Olin in 1933. “Ball Powder,” by the way, is a trademarked moniker owned by Winchester, then an Olin asset. Spherical powders from other sources are best called … well, spherical.

Now Hodgdon sells 13 Winchester canister powders under a licensing agreement. While DuPont did not release its extruded (“stick”) powders to Hodgdon during Bruce’s search for commercial partners, it would sell Hodgdon its business in 2003, with a stable that now comprises 15 IMR powders. Hodgdon, meanwhile, was growing its rifle, pistol and shotgun series to offer handloaders 35 options. Its Extreme line, led by Varget in 1996, performs across a wide temperature range. Hodgdon also sells Superformance and LEVERevolution powders, which sprang from Hornady’s work with specific cartridge classes.

Having welcomed ADI (Australian Defense Industries) propellants into its fold, Hodgdon added 22 more from Accurate Arms. In 2020, Ramshot joined, with a dozen offerings — plus Blackhorn 209 to complement Hodgdon’s Pyrodex and Triple Seven for muzzle-loaders.

Hodgdon once distributed Finland-bred Vihtavuori propellants. This brand catalogs more than 20 superb single- and double-base powders, now marketed by Capstone Precision Group.

Another popular powder brand stateside is Alliant, whose roots run to Laflin & Rand in 1872. DuPont’s divestiture in 1912 brought about the formation of Hercules Powder Co., then Alliant, now part of Vista. With 21 propellants for shotguns and handguns, Alliant lists 19 (in Reloder and Power Pro lines) for rifles.

Pyrodex gave muzzleloader shooters a cleaner alternative without abandoning traditional firearms altogether. It’s less dense than true black powder, but measures the same by volume.

Hodgdon manufactures no powder. Instead, its chemists develop products with the staffs at powder factories like St. Mark’s. With over 120 propellants in its group of companies, the business Bruce Hodgdon started with a loan on his life insurance and a boxcar of surplus propellants on a rented pasture accounts for about 70 percent of gunpowder sold to U.S. consumers!

Reading the Tea Leaves

Apowder’s label may say nothing useful about its behavior in any given cartridge. After a career at Hodgdon, Ron Reiber told me Bruce renamed one powder because in his pet .22-250 “he discovered 38 grains drove 50-grain bullets at 3,800 fps. So WC852 is now H380. But if you’re not shooting a .22-250, H380 is still a versatile powder!”

Burn rate is charted in “closed bomb” tests. Ignited in a chamber of known volume, each powder yields a distinctive pressure curve. Larry Werner, whose work at DuPont began in the ‘50s, told me IMR powders were given Relative Quickness values. IMR 4350’s RQ of 100 shows it’s slower than IMR 3031, with an RQ of 135. IMR 4227 is fast, with an RQ of 180.

Fast-burning propellants best serve small, wide-mouthed cases and short, light bullets. Think 9mm Luger. Its case capacity is modest, its base generous for the bullet’s small bearing surface. The bullet imposes little resistance at launch; a short barrel dumps pressure quickly. Slow powders excel behind long, heavy bullets. Instead of a slap, they give a muscular shove to overcome substantial mass and bore friction. Think 7mm Magnum. In gas-driven self-loading rifles, burn rates and pressure curves must ensure proper thrust at the barrel port.

Extruded powders burn from both inside and outside at once thanks to the brilliantly engineered hollow tube design.

Grain shape affects gas release as powder burns. Grains of flake and spherical powders shrink as they’re consumed; they burn regressively. Extruded powders are tubes (some grains have multiple tubes). Flame reduces outside area as it increases inside diameter. Grains whose total surface grows more than it shrinks are said to burn progressively. They extend thrust down long barrels. Spherical powders compete in this arena too, additives replacing grain structure to throttle gas release. Chris Hodgdon pointed out that “extruded powders are usually more consistent across temperature ranges than are spherical powders.”

Handloaders have debated differences in burn rate between IMR and Hodgdon propellants of the same number — 4831 for instance. Slight blending differences show up in load data. “When not specified, in data, assume the powder is IMR,” Chris advised. With charges of 70 to 80 grains in magnum hulls, I’ve found IMR 4831 a tad faster than H4831. But IMR 4227 and H4227 are essentially identical.

Gunpowder can stay potent for decades in its original capped container in a cool, dry place. Keep it above freezing. Old powder with red dust is deteriorating. Flush it down the drain.

IMR 4350 remains one of the most versatile and popular powders ever for powerful medium-bore rifles.

While compressing a powder column with the bullet causes no harm, crushing grains by jamming a bullet deep into a tall charge can affect burn rate and pressures. The press of the powder can even cause bullet creep in the rifle’s magazine during recoil. Spherical powders, like marbles, don’t compress well.

Ideally, a powder column should comfortably fill a case. Dead space allows powder to change its position and perhaps its behavior. Reduced charges of slow powders in big cases have delivered pressure spikes. These may be caused by primer flame skating across the powder surface, igniting both ends of the charge. The burn then collides in a violent finish. Inert filler makes sense in reduced loads.

Hodgdon’s family comprises over 120 powders — and all brands here, save the Vihtavuori and Alliant offerings.

Powder leaves evidence of its action. Beware signs of high pressure: difficult extraction, flattened primers, bright ejector marks. Other signals can mislead. Muzzle flash may not mean there was too much powder; in fact, it’s more common with low-pressure loads and slow powders. Blackened case necks tell of pressures too mild to seal case necks against the chamber. Tracking velocities, a chronograph reflects pressures and shows when increasing charges reach a “performance plateau.”

Conclusion

Whichever powder you use, or how much of it, only about 30 percent of its energy will shove the bullet. About that amount is lost as heat inside the case and barrel, and nearly 40 percent leaves as useless exhaust! Even after 13 centuries of improvements!

Ammo