BL 13.5 inch Mk V naval gun

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BL 13.5 inch Mk V gun

Aft guns of HMS Emperor of India
Type Naval gun
Place of origin Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom
Service history
In service 1912 - 1940s (as railway gun)
Used by Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom
Wars World War I
World War II
Production history
Designed 1909
Variants Mk V(L)
Mk V(H)
Specifications
Barrel length Bore 607.5 inches (15.430 m) (45 cal)
Shell AP, HE 1,400 pounds (635.03 kg) (H); 1,250 pounds (566.99 kg) (L)[1]
Calibre 13.5-inch (342.9 mm)
Elevation 0° - 20° (naval); 0 - 40° (Railway)
Muzzle velocity 2,582 feet per second (787 m/s) (L); 2,491 feet per second (759 m/s) (H)
Maximum range 23,820 yards (21,780 m) at 20° (L); 23,740 yards (21,710 m) at 20° (H); 40,600 yards (37,120 m) at 40° (H, WWII railway gun, with Super Charge)

The BL 13.5 inch Mk V gun was a British naval gun, introduced in 1912 as the main armament for the new super-dreadnought battleships of the Orion class. The calibre was 13.5 inches (343 mm) and the barrels were 45 calibres long i.e. 607.5 inches (15.43 m). They were classified as breech loading, hence the designation BL. The weapons were distinct from, and greatly superior to, the earlier 13.5 inch 30-calibre guns used on the Admiral and Royal Sovereign classes in the 1890s.

Contents

[edit] Characteristics

The gun weighed approximately 168,000 lb (76 tonnes) (excluding the breech), and in its original form fired a 1,250 lb (567 kg) armour-piercing capped (APC) or high-explosive (HE) round a distance of 23,800 yards (21,800 m) at a 20-degree elevation.[2] Due to the excellent characteristics of the gun, it was decided to increase the weight of shell to 1,400 lb (635 kg) with an increased firing charge to achieve much the same range.

[edit] Variants

The gun as developed for the Royal Navy was designated Mark V(L) (for "light") and Mark V(H) (for "heavy"), according to whether it fired the 1,250 lb (567 kg) or the 1,400 lb (635 kg) round.[3] A very similar gun, designed for the Turkish battleship Reshadeih, received the designation Mark VI; this was assigned when the ship was requisitioned by the British government after the outbreak of the First World War, eventually being commissioned as HMS Erin.[4] The Mark VI gun fired the 1400 lb round.

[edit] Railway guns

Three BL 13.5 inch /45 Mark V guns were mounted on railway chassis during World War II for use as railway guns, named Gladiator, Piece Maker and Scene Shifter [5]. Scene Shifter re-used the same railway truck which had carried a 14 inch gun in the First World War. In 1940, Gladiator, Piece Maker, and Scene Shifter were issued to the Royal Marines Siege Regiment at Dover in Kent to bombard German batteries and shipping in the Calais area[6]. These guns could be hidden in railway tunnels when not in use, to protect them from air attack and counter-battery fire.

[edit] Service

British warships with the BL 13.5 inch /45 gun;

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ The gun had a Heavy (H) shell of 1,400 lb (640 kg) and a Light (L) shell of 1,250 lb (570 kg). Some guns were designated H or L to designated they were intended for the heavy or light shell.
  2. ^ navweaps.com - 13.5-in/45 Mark V
  3. ^ ibid.
  4. ^ navweaps.com - 13.5-in/45 Mark VI
  5. ^ Dale Clarke. "British Artillery 1914-19. Heavy Artillery". Osprey Publishing, London, 2005. Seite 41-42
  6. ^ http://www.doverpages.co.uk/big_guns.htm The Big Guns At Dover WW2 World War Two

[edit] References


[edit] External links

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