14-inch/45-caliber gun

Large-caliber naval gun July 2022 14-inch/45-caliber gun USS Texas (BB-35) 1918.JPEG 300 Crewmen aboard Texas BB-35 6 pause to have their picture taken on top of one of the twin 14-inch/45-caliber gun turrets, 1918. United States Naval gun Coastal defence yes yes 1914–1946 United States Navy Royal Navy World War I World War II Bureau of Ordnance Mark 1: 1910 Mark 8: 1928 U.S. Naval Gun Factory Bethlehem Steel Marks 1–3, 5, 8–10, 12 Mark 1: 140670 lb kg (without breech) Mark 1: 142492 lb kg (with breech) Mark 8: 124000 lb kg 53 ft 6.5 in m 2 52 ft 6 in m 2 bore (45 calibers) Mark 8: 1402 lb Armor-piercing (AP) AP Mark 16: 1500 lb AP HC Mark 19: 1125 lb High explosive (HC) 14 in mm 1.25–1.75 rounds per minute Original charge: 2600 ft/s AP Enlarged charge: 2700 ft/s AP Reduced charge: 1935 ft/s AP Full charge: 2735 ft/s HC Reduced charge: 2065 ft/s HC 13000 yd m at 7.4° elevation Unmodernized turret: 23000 yd at 15° elevation Modernized turret: 34300 yd at 30° elevation 40 in Unmodernized turret: -5° to +15° Modernized turret: -5° to +30° -150° to 150° The 14-inch/45-caliber gun, (spoken "fourteen-inch-forty-five-caliber"December 2023), whose variations were known initially as the Mark 1, 2, 3, and 5, and, when upgraded in the 1930s, were redesignated as the Mark 8, 9, 10, and 12. They were the first 14 in 0 on out guns to be employed by the United States Navy. The 14-inch/45-caliber guns were installed as the primary armament aboard all of the United States Navy's New York battleship 0, Nevada battleship 0, and Pennsylvania battleships. The gun also saw service in the British Royal Navy, where it was designated BL 14-inch gun Mk II. History The design of the 14-inch/45-caliber dates to about 1910. They entered service in 1914 aboard Texas BB-35 2 and her sister ship New York BB-34 2 shortly after. At the time of their introduction they were intended to fire 1400 lb armor-piercing (AP) projectiles containing a bursting charge of explosive D.Fairfield, A.P. Naval Ordnance Lord Baltimore Press (1921) p. 560 Propellant charge was four silk bags of smokeless powder, each of which weighed 105 lb.Campbell, John Naval Weapons of World War Two Naval Institute Press (1985) 0-87021-459-4 p. 121 At a 15-degree angle, the guns could fire a shell out to 23000 yd. Each individual gun weighed 142492 lb with the breech and measured 53 ft 6.5 in m 2 in length. DiGiulian Tony 14"/45 (35.6 cm) Marks 1, 2, 3 and 5 http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_14-45_mk1.php Navweaps.com 11 July 2016 19 October 2016 Each of the original Mark 1 built-up guns consisted of a tube without liner, jacket, eight hoops and a screw box liner. To compensate for the problem of gun drooping, four hoop-locking rings were added to the guns. The Mark 3 added three hoop locking rings and contained a longer slide, while the Mark 5 had five hoops total. Owing to the interchangeability of the guns, the battleships fitted with the 14-inch/45-caliber guns often had guns of various Marks installed on each turret. In the 1930s, the Mark 1, 2, 3, and 5 were upgraded to allow for increased charges and muzzle velocities, resulting in the Mark 8, 9, 10, and 12, respectively. All guns employed a Welin breech block and used a Smith-Asbury mechanism, and, in the case of the Mark 12, chromium plating was introduced to prolong barrel life. These improvements enabled the guns to fire heavier 1500 lb shells, and increasing the gun mount elevation to 30 degrees extended the range of the guns to 36000 yd. The New York-class did not have their turrets modernized because their shell hoists could not accommodate the longer AP and HC shells; instead, a shorter version of shells with windshields were produced for them. DiGiulian Tony 14"/45 (35.6 cm) Marks 8, 9, 10 and 12 http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_14-45_mk10.php Navweaps.com 15 July 2016 19 October 2016 Service United States Navy thumb|left|14-inch/45-caliber guns aboard the battleship Nevada BB-36 2 fire at Utah Beach during Operation Overlord in 1944. The guns on the two battleships of the New York-class, New York BB-34 2 and Texas BB-35 2, the first ship of the Nevada-class, Nevada BB-36 2 and the first ship of the Pennsylvania-class, Pennsylvania BB-38 2, saw service in World War II in the role of shore bombardment. New York and Texas bombarded North Africa during landings in 1942, Pennsylvania took part in the Aleutian Islands Campaign and Texas and Nevada shelled Normandy during Operation Overlord in 1944. Throughout 1944 and 1945, Pennsylvania hit many different Pacific islands during their invasions, Pennsylvania II (Battleship No. 38) https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/p/pennsylvania-ii.html 1 December 2015 15 September 2016 while New York, Texas and Nevada all took part in the invasion of Iwo Jima and the invasion of Okinawa in 1945. New York V (Battleship No. 34) https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/n/new-york-v.html 18 February 2016 15 September 2016 yes Texas II (Battleship No. 35) https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/t/texas-ii.html 18 February 2016 15 September 2016 yes Nevada II (Battleship No. 36) https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/n/nevada-ii.html 18 February 2016 15 September 2016 yes As they were sunk in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, both Oklahoma BB-37 2 and Arizona BB-39 2 never fired their main batteries in combat. Three guns removed from Arizona that in the relining process at the time of Pearl Harbor were installed aboard Nevada in fall 1944 and were used in several shore bombardments in the Pacific. http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/11973 Phoenix, Arizona – USS Arizona Anchor and Mast 15 July 2011 Roadside America.com 16 July 2011 The aft turrets from Arizona (numbers 3 and 4) were salvaged from the wreck and used for United States Army Coast Artillery Corps Battery Arizona on the west coast of Oahu and Battery Pennsylvania on Mokapu Point.Lewis, Emanuel Raymond. Seacoast Fortifications of the United States: An introductory history. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press (1979). 978-1-55750-502-6 p. 123FortWiki article on Hawaii turret batteries Royal Navy left|thumb|The single 14-inch gun turret of a British Abercrombie monitor 0 monitor during World War I. Eight US Navy standard 14-inch/45-caliber guns, complete with mountings, were built by Bethlehem Steel for the Greek battleship Salamis under construction in Germany. When World War I started, Bethlemen Steel cancelled the sale and offered the guns for purchase by the United Kingdom. The UK agreed to buy them and drew up a design for four monitors. These ships were to have been named after American military leaders but, as the United States was neutral, entered service as the Abercrombie monitor 0 with the British service designation "BL 14-inch gun Mk II". Under the British bore-measuring scheme, they were recorded as 44.5 calibers long.DiGiulian Tony 18 March 2023 14"/45 (35.6 cm) Marks II, IV and V http://navweaps.com/Weapons/WNBR_14-45_mk2.php 28 December 2023 navweaps.com Woolwich Arsenal built two more guns after the same pattern but using wire-wound techniques. Two ex-USN guns were supplied as spares and designated BL 14-inch gun Mk IV due to the different tube makeup, and two US guns with Asbury roller cams were designated Mark V. In British service it was noted that it took a few shots before the guns warmed up and barrels straightened as the tubes locked together. The ships were built quickly enough that they could sail to the Eastern Mediterranean in 1915 and participate in the Gallipoli campaign bombarding Ottoman positions. Naval service ShipGun mountingNew York BB-34 5 × twin-gun turretsTexas BB-35 5 × twin-gun turretsNevada BB-362 × twin-gun turrets 2 × triple-gun turretsOklahoma BB-37 2 × twin-gun turrets 2 × triple-gun turretsPennsylvania BB-38 4 × triple-gun turretsArizona BB-39 4 × triple-gun turretsAbercrombie 1915 6 1 × twin-gun turretHavelock 1915 6 1 × twin-gun turretRaglan 6 1 × twin-gun turretRoberts 1915 6 1 × twin-gun turret Surviving examples thumb|right|14-inch gun formerly on USS Arizona, displayed near the Arizona State House, Phoenix, Arizona thumb|right|The breech of the restored USS Arizona gun barrel in Phoenix, Arizona. On Texas BB-35, as of 2024 docked in Galveston, Texas. Texas has 9 out of 10 of her original 14-inch gun barrels that served on her from 1914 to 1923. These nine guns served with Pennsylvania BB-38 2 from 1925 to 1940. They were refurbished, relined, and reinstalled on Texas in late 1944. The serial numbers for these 10 guns on Texas are 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 25. Texas was the first ever battleship to be outfitted with 14-inch guns.Tom, The Older One Scott Sep 23, 2022 Battleship Texas, Getting 3,500 Shots Out Of A 250 Shot Barrel! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXLueUOnJN8 YouTube 13 March 2023 Go to 0:55. Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza, memorial to USS Arizona and World War II, Phoenix, Arizona; one of three previously on Arizona that served on Nevada in World War II. Pennsylvania Military Museum, Boalsburg, Pennsylvania. See also 14-inch/50-caliber gun – later 14-inch gun (American) BL 14-inch Mk VII naval gun – for British Royal Navy King George V-class battleships (1939) Greek battleship Salamis Weapons of comparable role, performance and era 14-inch gun M1910 US Army coast defense equivalent EOC 14-inch /45 naval gun contemporary British equivalent Vickers 14-inch/45 naval gun contemporary Vickers-designed Japanese equivalent 340mm/45 Modèle 1912 gun contemporary French naval gun Notes Bibliography Lewis E. R. Kirchner D. P. The Oahu Turrets Warship International 1992 XXIX 3 273–301 0043-0374 amp Crossley Jim Monitors of the Royal Navy; How the Fleet Brought the Great Guns to Bear Barnsley, UK Pen & Sword 2013 978-1-78383-004-6 External links Bluejackets Manual, 1917, 4th revision: US Navy 14-inch Mark 1 gun Category:Naval guns of the United States Category:Naval guns of the United Kingdom Category:World War II naval weapons Category:Coastal artillery Category:356 mm artillery