| BL 4.7 inch (120 mm) 45 calibre naval gun | |
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"A" gun on destroyer HMAS Stuart, circa. 1930s |
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| Type | Naval gun |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1918–45 |
| Used by | United Kingdom |
| Wars | World War I World War II |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1917 |
| Variants | Mk I, Mk II[1] |
| Specifications | |
| Barrel length | 5.4 metres (213 in) bore (45 calibres) |
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| Shell | 50 pounds (22.68 kg)[2] |
| Calibre | 120 millimetres (4.724 in) |
| Muzzle velocity | 814 metres per second (2,670 ft/s)[3] |
| Maximum range | 14,450 metres (15,800 yd)[4] |
The BL 4.7 inch 45 calibres gun (actually a metric 120 mm gun) was a British medium-velocity naval gun introduced in 1918 for destroyers, to counter a new generation of heavily-armed destroyers Germany was believed to be developing.
Contents |
Mk I, of built-up wire-wound construction, went into service beginning in 1918 on destroyers of the new Admiralty type destroyer leader (Scott class) and Thornycroft type leader (Shakespeare class). Some saw service in World War I, but most entered service after the war ended.
It was also mounted on :
Mk II was a monobloc-barrel (i.e single-piece, typical of small-medium WWII guns) gun of similar performance introduced in World War II to replace the worn-out Mk I guns on surviving ships.
These were the only BL-type 4.7 inch guns in British service, all others have been of the QF-type. They were superseded on new destroyers from 1930 by the 4.7 inch QF Mark IX.
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