12.7 cm/50 Type 3 naval gun

12.7 cm/50 Type 3 naval gun Sagiri.jpg 300 12.7 cm/50 Type 3 guns seen in a twin gun Model B turret on Japanese destroyer Sagiri 2, 1941 Japan Naval gun YES YES 1928–1966 Imperial Japanese NavySoviet NavyRepublic of China Navy World War II 1926—1927 approximately 700 4205 kg 6.483 m ft 6.265 m ft (length of bore) separate-loading, bagged charge 23 kg 127 mm 5–10 rpm 910 - 915 m/s 0 18400 m yd Welin interrupted screw depended on mount The 12.7 cm/50 Type 3 naval gun was a medium-caliber naval gun of the Imperial Japanese Navy used during World War II. It was the standard weapon for Japanese destroyers between 1928 and 1944 (except the Akizuki and Matsu classes). It has been credited as a true dual-purpose gun, but this was more a nominal capability than real, as its bag propellant and need for hand ramming required the gun to be loaded at elevation angles of 5–10°. This dropped its rate of fire to a relatively slow 5–10 rounds per minute, and its training speed of only 6° per second meant that it had a great deal of difficulty engaging enemy aircraft with any chance of success. After the end of World War II, the gun was exported via the two Japanese destroyers ceded as war reparations to the Soviet UnionOn the Verniy (ex "Hibiki), those guns then being replaced by the 130 mm/50 B13 Pattern 1936 Soviet guns. and the Republic of China.On the Dan Yang (ex "Yukikaze), those guns then being replaced by the 12.7 cm/40 Type 89 naval gun and 10 cm/65 Type 98 naval gun Japanese dual-purpose guns. Description The 50-caliber 12.7 cm Type 3 gun was of built-up construction, originally with three and later two layers with the usual breech ring and breech bush.Campbell, p. 192 It used a Welin interrupted screw breech and powder bags, unusual for guns of that caliber. The shell was fuzed manually on the loading tray before being rammed by hand and could only be loaded at elevations between 5° and 10°. All mounts used pusher-type shell hoists, but the powder bags were passed by hand.Lengerer, p. 105 Mountings These guns were first used in the twin gun Model A turret on the revolutionary Fubuki destroyer 1s. These were the first weatherproof, splinterproof and gas-proof enclosed gun turrets ever mounted on a destroyer.Whitley, pp. 192–93 Guns in twin mounts were in individual cradles and could elevate separately. All twin gun mounts weighed approximately 32 t ton. All mounts could traverse at 6° per second and could elevate at a rate between 6° and 12° per second although speeds up to 27° per second have been reported. The twin gun Model A mount was fitted with a 9 - 12 mm in mid -thick gun shield. Its guns could depress −5° and elevate to +40°. These mounts were deployed on the first ten Fubuki-class destroyers. The twin gun Model B mount had its elevation increased to 75° and was fitted in the rest of the Fubuki-class as well as the Akatsuki destroyer (1931) 0 destroyers. In order to save weight its gun shield was reduced to 3.2 mm in thickness, but this proved too thin to withstand heavy seas and was later reinforced. The first four of the Hatsuharu destroyer 4 used the Model B mod 2 mount although how it differed from the earlier Model B mount is unknown. The last two of the Hatsuharu class, the Shiratsuyu destroyer 5, Asashio destroyer 5, and Kagerō destroyer 0 destroyers used the Model C which reduced its maximum elevation to 55°, but could depress to −7° and was supposedly lighter than earlier models. The Model D used by the Japanese destroyer Shimakaze 1942 2 and the Yūgumo destroyer 0 destroyers retained the depression limit of the Model C, but elevation returned to the 75° of the Model B.http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNJAP_5-50_3ns.htm Japan 12.7 cm/50 (5") 3rd Year Type 19 March 2009 2009-07-08 Tony DiGiulian https://web.archive.org/web/20090201155624/http://navweaps.com/Weapons/WNJAP_5-50_3ns.htm 1 February 2009 live thumb|left|View of the Type A single mount and the Type B twin mount on Japanese destroyer Nenohi 1932 2 The Type A single mount could depress −7° and elevate to +75°, but the Type B reduced the maximum elevation to 55°. Both mounts weighed approximately 18.5 t ton. The Type A was fitted on the Hatsuharu class and the Type B on the Shiratsuyu-class destroyers. Ammunition The gun normally fired a 23 kg high-explosive shell, an illumination shell or an incendiary shrapnel round (sankaidan) intended for anti-aircraft use. All of these shells weighed 23 kg and used 7.7 kg of 30 DC propellant. After 1943, a flat-nosed anti-submarine shell also became available. This had a minimum range of 800 m yd and a maximum range of 4300 m yd. A new, heavier, but more streamlined, high-explosive projectile with a range of 23025 m yd was under development when the war ended. Shell name Weight Filling Weight Muzzle velocity Common Type 0 high-explosive 23 kg 1.88 kg 910 - 915 m/s 0 Common Type 1 high-explosive 23 kg 1.88 kg 910 - 915 m/s 0 Illumination 23 kg Not applicable 750 m/s Anti-submarine 20.9 kg 4 kg 250 m/s New Type high-explosive Projectile 27.9 kg 2.2 kg 910 - 915 m/s 0 See also Weapons of comparable role, performance and era 5"/38-caliber gun: US Navy equivalent dual-purpose gun QF 4.5-inch Mk I – V naval gun: British equivalent dual-purpose gun 12.7 cm SK C/34 naval gun: German equivalent limited to low-angle fire 12.8 cm FlaK 40: Dedicated anti-aircraft, land-based German gun of equal caliber Notes References Campbell John Naval Weapons of World War Two Conway Maritime Press London 2002 0-87021-459-4 Evans David C. Peattie Mark R. Mark Peattie Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887–1941 Naval Institute Press Annapolis, MD 1997 0-87021-192-7 Lengerer Hans The Japanese Destroyers of the Hatsuharu Class Conway London 2007 Warship 2007 91–110 978-1-84486-041-8OCLC 77257764 Whitley M. J. Destroyers of World War 2 Cassell Publishing 1988 1-85409-521-8 External links http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNJAP_5-50_3ns.htm Japan 12.7 cm/50 (5") 3rd Year Type 19 March 2009 2009-07-08 June 2017 Category:World War II naval weapons Category:Naval guns of Japan Category:127 mm artillery Category:Military equipment introduced in the 1920s