| 14-inch M1920 railway gun | |
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Diagram showing gun barrel in elevated, normal and traveling positions |
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| Type | Railway gun |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1925 to 1946 |
| Used by | United States |
| Wars | World War II |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1920 |
| Manufacturer | Watervliet Arsenal |
| Produced | 1925 |
| Number built | 4 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | Tube and recoil band- 230.000 Lbs |
| Length | 59-feet 6-inches |
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| Shell | separate loading, HE, and AP |
| Caliber | 14-inch (355.6 mm) |
| Breech | Inerrupted thread, (step-cut) |
| Recoil | hydropneumatic |
| Carriage | railway truck, 14 axles |
| Elevation | 50° fixed, 19° on track |
| Traverse | 7° on track, 360° fixed |
| Rate of fire | 1 round / minute |
| Muzzle velocity | 2,650 feet per second (808 m/s) |
| Effective range | 48.220 Yds. |
| Feed system | hand |
The 14-inch M1920 railway gun was the last large caliber railway gun to be deployed by the U.S. Army. It was an upgrade of the Navy 14"/50 caliber railway gun.
Contents |
After the close of World War I, the US Army wanted to incorporate the lessons learned from other railway gun mounts and fulfill coastal artillery requirements for hitting a moving target. An effort to design a more universal mount for the Navy's Mk. IV 14"/50 caliber gun was undertaken.
The primary difference from the earlier Navy versions lies in the M1920 carriage, which could be raised and lowered. Prepositioned fixed mounts were installed at the forts, and the gun's rail trucks could be taken out from under the frame. After the removal of the rail trucks, the gun was lowered and bolted onto a pivot point for 360 degree movement. The M1920 carriage made the gun much more flexible. It allowed for the standard practice of using a curved piece of rail to traverse the gun, and it enabled the gun to be used in a fixed position.
Two guns were deployed to Fort MacArthur. The remaining two guns were deployed to Fort Grant and Fort Randolph in the Panama Canal Zone. The two guns deployed to the Panama Canal Zone could be moved to either coast on the Panama Canal Railway.
The Mk.IV gun was manufactured in two models:
The following sighting equipment was used with the gun:
All four guns were cut up for scrap in 1946.
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