MK52 Director Control Station

MK52 Director Control Station aboard USS SLATER.

Mechanical Range Keeper Computer aboard USS SLATER.

The MK52 director control station is located on the flying bridge. In the Navy, "fire control" is the science of directing gunfire with optics and radar. The gun director for the 3"/50 caliber gun battery is a MK52 gun director, located atop its supporting radar room. The gun director contained optics and radar for locating and tracking targets. The gun director is mounted on a pedestal, with a MK15 lead computing gunsight and a MK26 radar for ranging. From the gun director, information on target course and speed is fed automatically into the gun fire control computer located below the director.

This computer combines the information from the director with information on the SLATER's course and speed, wind direction and speed, ship's roll and pitch and the range and trajectory for each gun. The resulting answer is where the guns need to be aimed to hit the target.

All three 3"/50 caliber guns are fed this information simultaneously. They are kept on target automatically by the director and its computer through a series of servos and synchros. In the event of director system failure, the guns can be aimed by the individual gun crews. This would be known as "local control."

Equipment found within the fire director control house:Radar Equipment MK26 MOD 4 SN 569


Control Indicator Unit Type CG-55ADZ SN 144
Radar Transmitter Housing Type CG-52ADA SN 119
Magnetic Controller
Sight Angle and Deflector Transmitter MK2 SN 482
Gun Order Corrector MK2 MOD 0 SN 492
Repeater Compass
Voltage Stabilizer SN 7536823
Converter Type CG-46ACZ SN 333 Range Servo Amplifier SN 432
Gun Fire Control System MK52 (2 pieces)

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