The Forgotten AA Weapon America’s 1 175 28 mm Mark 1 and Mark 2

The Forgotten AA Weapon America’s 1.175 (28 mm) Mark 1 and Mark 2
Before the Oerlikon 20mm and Bofors 40mm became the gold standards of naval defense, the U.S. Navy pinned its hopes on a unique weapon: the 1.1"/75 (28 mm) Mark 1 and Mark 2. Known by sailors as the "Chicago Piano" due to its four-barrel arrangement resembling a keyboard, this weapon was intended to be the ultimate shield against enemy aircraft. However, as the Pacific War erupted, the reality was devastating. Prone to jamming, dangerously heavy, and agonizingly slow to traverse, the 1.1" gun often went "silent when needed most."

In this video, we explore the rise and rapid fall of one of the U.S. Navy's most significant technical failures—a weapon forgotten by history, overshadowed by the rapid innovations that replaced it just in time to win the war.

📍 What You’ll Learn in This Video:
The "Chicago Piano" Design: Why the 4-barrel quad mount was seen as revolutionary in the 1930s.
Failure Under Fire: Real accounts from the early battles of the Pacific where the gun's reliability issues cost lives.
The Logistical Nightmare: Why the heat-induced jamming and weight made it a liability on cruisers and destroyers.
The Replacement: How the U.S. Navy pivoted to the Oerlikon and Bofors systems in one of the fastest industrial shifts in history.

📚 Historical References & Sources:
NavWeaps: USA 1.1"/75 (28 mm) Mark 1 and Mark 2 – The definitive technical database for naval weapons.

http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_...

National Museum of the U.S. Navy: Archives on early WWII anti-aircraft defense systems.
https://www.history.navy.mil/content/...

U.S. Navy Bureau of Ordnance (BuOrd) Reports: Historical records on the development and testing failures of the 1.1" gun.
https://www.hnsa.org/manuals-documents/

Pacific War Online Encyclopedia: Tactical analysis of U.S. naval anti-aircraft effectiveness (1941-1942).
http://pwencycl.kgbudge.com/1/1/1.1-7...

The American Society of Naval Engineers: Papers discussing the rapid transition from the 1.1" to the 40mm Bofors.
https://www.navalengineers.org/History

#USNavy #WWIIHistory #NavalWarfare #ChicagoPiano #MilitaryHistory #PacificWar #ForgottenWeapons #Warship #Documentary