Helena, Honolulu, and St. Louis fired roughly 1,500 6-inch shells in five minutes at Kula Gulf. Spread across forty-five guns, that works out to about seven rounds per gun per minute under radar direction. The volume validates the design argument made at the start of the lecture: Brooklyn-class ships could rapidly overwhelm a surface target during a short contact. Helena exhausted her flashless charges, however, and ordinary propellant produced conspicuous muzzle flashes that made her easier for the Japanese destroyers to locate.
Notable Point · 1:24:45-1:27:20
Forty-five 6-inch guns demonstrate Brooklyn rapid fire
Three cruisers fired about 1,500 6-inch shells in five minutes, sustaining roughly seven rounds per gun per minute under radar control.