How are the guns loaded?
In very general terms it happens like this: A projectile is brought up from one of the ammunition handling rooms below on a mechanical hoist. It comes up onto a hinged cradle which when lowered brings the projectile level with the breech of the gun. A hydraulic rammer pushes the projectile up into the gun, then retracts. A crewman opens the powder door which reveals three powder bags which have been brought up from below on another hoist (similar to a dumb-waiter). Those three powder bags are pulled down onto the cradle and the hydraulic rammer pushes those up into the gun and then retracts. The powder door is opened again and three more powder bags are pulled down, again the rammer pushes those into the gun. The cradle is raised back to vertical (out of the way) The gun operator closes the breech door, inserts the primer cartridge, turns the barrel switch to “Ready to Shoot” and then when whomever is doing the firing (typically somebody in one of the fire director rooms) is ready to f
