14-inch/50-caliber gun

April 2022 14"/50 caliber gun USS Idaho (BB-42) - NH 53203.jpg 300 New Mexico-class battleship Idaho BB-42 in 1920, showing six 14"/50 caliber guns United States Naval gun "yes" "yes" 1918–1956 US Navy World War II Bureau of Ordnance * Mark 4: 1916 Mark 7: 1930 Mark 11: 1935 Mark B: 1937 U.S. Naval Gun Factory * Mark 4 Mod 0: 39 (Nos. 82–120) Mark 4 Mod 1: 80 (Nos. 121–200) Marks 4, 6, 7, 11 and B 179614 lb kg on (with breech) 59.5 ft m on 700 in m on bore (50 calibers) * Mark 8: 1402 lb kg on 0 Armor-piercing (AP) AP Mark 16: 1500 lb kg on 0 AP HC Mark 19: 1275 lb kg on 0 High explosive (HC) 14 in mm on 0 * Marks 4, 6, 7, 11: 1.75 rounds per minute Mark B: 2 rounds per minute * Mark 4 and 6: 2800 ft/s m/s on Marks 7, 11, and B: 2700 ft/s m/s on AP Marks 7, 11, and B: 2825 ft/s m/s on HC Reduced charge: 1935 ft/s m/s on AP Reduced charge: 2065 ft/s m/s on HC 25000 yd m 0 on at 15° elevation HC 36800 yd m on at 30° elevation AP 48 in mm on -1 * New Mexico-class: -5° to +15° (later increased to 30°) All other: -5° to +30° 306° max 297° min thumb|right|The 14"/50 caliber guns on Tennessee BB-43 fire in support of the invasion of Okinawa The 14"/50 caliber gun was a naval gun mounted on New Mexico battleship 5 and Tennessee battleships. These ships also featured the first "three-gun" turrets, meaning that each gun in each turret could be "individually sleeved" to elevate separately (however, they could be linked so they would elevate as a unit, similar to the triple turrets on other Navy ships). The 14"/50 caliber guns were designated as Mark 4 and 6, with later versions known as Mark 7, and 11. These guns were more powerful than the main gun mounted on the previous three classes of US battleships (the New York battleship 5, Nevada battleship 5 and Pennsylvania battleship 4es), the 14"/45 caliber gun. DiGiulian Tony 14"/50 (35.6 cm) Mark 4 and Mark 6 http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_14-50_mk4.htm Navweaps.com 2008-08-15 2008-11-23 https://web.archive.org/web/20090102090308/http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_14-50_mk4.htm 2 January 2009 A newer version known as Mark B was proposed but ultimately not used for the North Carolina battleship 2s. History The 14-inch (356mm), 50 caliberIn the field of naval guns, the caliber indicates the length of the gun and is the length divided by the diameter, so a 50 calibre 14 inch gun has a length of about 700 in m. gun was the weapon chosen as the main armament on the Lexington battlecruiser when they were originally designed, but it was later switched to the 16"/50 caliber Mark 2 gun in a 1917 redesign. The ships were eventually canceled in 1922 after the Washington Naval Treaty was signed.Morison and Polmar (2003), pp. 71–72 The 14"/50 caliber gun was designed in 1916 and entered service in 1918 on the New Mexico battleship 2s. The guns were capable of firing a 1402 lb kg armor-piercing (AP) projectile at an angle of 15 degrees, to a range of 24000 yd m 0. Each gun weighed approximately 179614 lb kg, including the breech, and was 59.5 ft m long. The propellant charge used for the ammunition weighed 470 lb kg and was contained in four bags. Each Mark 4 built-up gun consisted of a tube, liner, and a screw box liner with a separate screwed-on flange. Three hoops and two locking rings were also included. The Mark 6 was slightly different in that it contained a single step taper liner and uniform twist rifling. Downward-opening Welin breech blocks and Smith-Asbury mechanisms were used on both Mark 4 and Mark 6 types. The Navy encountered dispersion problems at extreme ranges with these guns in the 1920s. Several methods were used to correct these problems, including correction of range tables for errors, addition of delay coils, reduction of chamber volume, and improvement of shot seating. The Mark 7 was designed in the 1930s and entered service in 1935. This gun included a smaller chamber, a shell-centering cone, a single-slope band seat, uniform rifling, and a tube locking ring. The Mark 11 was introduced later, with chromium plating added to the bore. New Mexico- and Tennessee-class battleships were rearmed with 14"/50 Mark 11 guns, with the Tennessee receiving the upgrade in 1942. The dispersion problems that existed with Marks 4 and 6 were corrected with these guns. DiGiulian Tony 14"/50 (35.6 cm) Mark 7 and Mark 11 http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_14-50_mk11.htm Navweaps.com 2008-08-15 2008-11-23 https://web.archive.org/web/20081231103732/http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_14-50_mk11.htm 31 December 2008 Proposed Mark B A newer version of the 14"/50 caliber gun, Mark B, was designed in 1937. It was the original gun intended for use on the North Carolina battleship 2s, in three quadruple turrets. The Mark B was the most powerful 14 inch weapon ever designed by the United States, being simpler and lighter than the older versions. However, the prototype of this gun was not completed because the 14 inch treaty limit was rescinded in 1937 which allowed the new battleships, despite being already under construction, to be modified in order to carry 16 inch/45-caliber Mark 6 guns. Naval action The 14"/50 caliber gun was installed on five battleships: New Mexico BB-40 2, Mississippi BB-41 2, Idaho BB-42 2, Tennessee BB-43 2, and California BB-44 2. Although both Tennessee and California were damaged during the attack on Pearl Harbor, both of these ships' guns, along with the other three, were used in the Second World War in shore bombardment duty. Mississippi, Tennessee, and California all participated in the last line battle to date: the Battle of Surigao Strait. As shore bombardment platforms, these five battleships participated in all phases of the war, such as the Aleutian Islands Campaign (Idaho, Tennessee), the Battle of Kwajalein (New Mexico, Mississippi, Idaho, Tennessee), and the Battle of Guam (New Mexico, Idaho, Tennessee, California). New Mexico http://hazegray.org/danfs/battlesh/bb40.txt 9 December 2008 Mississippi http://hazegray.org/danfs/battlesh/bb41.txt 9 December 2008 no yes Idaho http://hazegray.org/danfs/battlesh/bb42.txt 9 December 2008 no yes Tennessee http://hazegray.org/danfs/battlesh/bb43.txt 9 December 2008 no yes California http://hazegray.org/danfs/battlesh/bb44.txt 9 December 2008 no yes Naval service ShipGun InstalledGun MountLexington battlecruiser (1916 design)Guns: 14"/50 caliber (never installed)Turrets: 2 × two-gun turrets (never installed) 3 × three-gun turrets (never installed)New Mexico battleshipGuns: 14"/50 caliberTurrets: 4 × three-gun turretsTennessee battleshipGuns: 14"/50 caliberTurrets: 4 × three-gun turretsNorth Carolina battleship (1935 "B" proposed design)Guns: 14"/50 caliber (never installed)Turrets: 3 × four-gun turrets (never installed) Railway artillery 14"/50 caliber railway gun During World War I, five of the 14"/50 caliber guns served as railway guns on the Western Front in France.Breck (1922), pp. 3–4 Gun No. 119L2, a Mark 2 gun on a Mark 1 Railway Mount No. 148, is located at the US Navy Museum, Washington Navy Yard, Washington, D.C. Gun No. 19, on an M1918 Railway Mount No. 9, built by the Marion Steam Shovel Company, is located at the US Army Ordnance School, Fort Gregg-Adams, Virginia.http://cdsg.org/old/reprint%20PDFs/survive14.pdf American Seacoast Defenses Reference Guide Coast Defense Study Group 2014 232–233 1 June 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160418105553/http://cdsg.org/old/reprint%20PDFs/survive14.pdf 18 April 2016 dead See also 14"/45 caliber gun – an earlier American gun of the same caliber Weapons of comparable role, performance and era 14-inch gun M1910 US Army coast defense equivalent BL 13.5-inch Mk V naval gun contemporary British equivalent to Marks 4, 6, 7, 11 BL 14-inch Mk VII naval gun contemporary British equivalent to Mark B Vickers 14 inch/45 naval gun contemporary Vickers-designed Japanese equivalent References Bibliography Morison, Samuel Loring Polmar, Norman The American Battleship St. Paul, Minnesota Zenith Imprint 2003 0-7603-0989-2 https://books.google.com/books?id=SYurkGIlgLMC 6 December 2008 Breck Edward The United States naval railway batteries in France Washington, D.C. U.S. Government Printing Office 1922 https://archive.org/details/unitedstatesnava00unitrich 3 March 2009 Category:Naval guns of the United States Category:World War II naval weapons Category:356 mm artillery