What-If...a Purpose for Those Old Guns

[Sr. Gopher]

Hey everyone!! We all know that the HMS Vanguard was made with the old turrets from the Queen Elizabeth and at least 3 others ships in mind, and those 5 inch/54 cal mk 16 guns on the Midways were from the Montana class design, and many other weapons from an old or never were designs smacked onto a new one. I have a list of USN WWII guns that could fit this profile:
8 inch/55 cal twin guns - Lexington/Saratoga
3inch/50 cal single guns - Wickes/Clemson
4 inch/50 cal single guns - Wickes/Clemson
1.1 inch Quad mounts
and every other gun removed from a ship during a 1942-43 refit.

What could these have been used for? Especially those that are AA guns? what designs of ships could have been made with a colorful array of weapons. What ships could have recieved alternate armaments in the late war period?

To start, I was thinking of refitting two of the Omaha cruisers to accomodate the twin 8 inch guns from the Lex and Sara. These would have had more use in this role than they had as shore batteries in Hawaii. Also, on the Liberty/Victory ships - free up those 5 inch 38s for other tasks by replacing them with the more sub-hunting capable 4 inch gun. These were fitted to the Wickes, Clemson, and older Caldwell class destroyers.

[Russ2146]

The 8 Inch guns from Lex and Sara were removed at Pearl Harbor and given to the Army's Coast Artillery, which mounted them in various locations around Oahu.

[Sr. Gopher]

Yes, but what if these were put on an Omaha cruiser, and the 6 inch guns from that would be given to the Army?

How would the newly updated cruisers have been used, and how effective would they have been?

[Sr. Gopher]

The 1.1 guns could have been installed on LCMs as another weapon for shore bombardment.