Vickers 10 inch /45 naval gun
| Vickers 10 inch /45 naval gun Type 41 10-inch (254 mm) /45-caliber naval gun BL 10 inch Mk VII | |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | United Kingdom |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1904-1923 |
| Used by | Imperial Japanese Navy United Kingdom
|
| Wars | World War I |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Vickers |
| Manufacturer | Vickers |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 22 tons |
| Barrel length | 450-inch (11.430 m) bore (45 calibres) |
| | |
| Shell | IJN service : 518 pounds (235 kg) RN service : 500 pounds (227 kg) |
| Calibre | 10-inch (254 mm) |
| Elevation | -5 / +30 degrees |
| Traverse | +80 / -80 degrees |
| Rate of fire | 1.5 rounds per minute |
| Muzzle velocity | 2,657 ft/s (810 m/s) |
| Effective range | 26,900-yard (24,597 m) at 30°elevation |
The Vickers 10 inch naval gun was used on battleships of the early part of the 20th century. They were built and used as the Type 41 10-inch /45-caliber on the British-built semi-dreadnought Katori class and Satsuma class battleships of the Imperial Japanese Navy.
Contents
History
Japanese service
The Type 41 10-inch (250 mm) naval gun was designed by Vickers specifically for the Imperial Japanese Navy, and was of a very similar design to the Vickers-built Mark VII guns produced initially for the Chilean Navy and later used in Royal Navy service.
The Katori class used these weapons as secondary armament. The Satsuma class was originally intended to be built with all 12-inch (300 mm) guns, which would have made this class the first true all big gun dreadnought class in the world; however, budgetary constraints forced the Japanese navy to use a mixture of 12-inch (300 mm) and 10-in guns, as per the previous Kashima-class.
The gun was officially designated as "Type 41" from the 41st year of the reign of Emperor Meiji on 25 December 1908. It was further re-designated in centimeters on 5 October 1917 as part of the standardization process for the Imperial Japanese Navy to the metric system.
After the scrapping of both the Katori-class and the Satsuma-class under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty in 1923, the guns were salvaged and used in coastal artillery batteries. The guns formerly on the Aki were re-used in fortifications around Tokyo Bay.
The Type 41 10-inch (250 mm) gun fired a 518-pound (235.0 kg) shell with either an armor piercing, high explosive or general purpose warhead.
United Kingdom service
Vickers supplied 5 of their 10-inch 45-calibre guns for use on the battleship Libertad that they were building for Chile. Britain took the ship over in 1903 as HMS Triumph, and the guns were designated BL 10 inch Mk VII in UK service. These guns fired a 500-pound (226.8 kg) projectile using 146 pounds 12 ounces (66.56 kg) cordite MD propellant.[1]
Notes
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- Brown, D. K. (2003). Warrior to Dreadnought: Warship Development 1860-1905. Book Sales. ISBN 978-1-84067-529-2.
- Brown, D. K. (2003). The Grand Fleet: Warship Design and Development 1906-1922. Caxton Editions. p. 208. ISBN 978-1-84067-531-3.
- Gardiner, Robert (Ed.) and Lambert, Andrew (Ed.). Steam, Steel and Shellfire: The steam warship 1815-1905 - Conway's History of the Ship. Book Sales. p. 192. ISBN 978-0-78581-413-9.
- Hodges, Peter (1981). The Big Gun: Battleship Main Armament 1860-1945. United States Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0870219170.
- Parkes, Oscar (1990). British Battleships. first published Seeley Service & Co, 1957, published United States Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-075-4.
- DiGiulian, Tony. "Japanese 15.2 cm/40 (10") Type 41". NavWeaps.com.
External links
- Tony DiGiulian, British 10"/45 (25.4 cm) Marks VI and VII
- ↑ Treatise on Ammunition 10th edition 1915
