14-inch/45-caliber gun

14"/45 caliber gun
14"/45 caliber gun
	Crewmen aboard USS Texas pause to have their picture taken on top of one of the twin 14"/45 caliber gun turrets, 1918.
Type	Naval gun; Coastal defence;
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	1914–1946
Used by	United States Navy; Royal Navy;
Wars	World War I; World War II;
Production history
Designer	Bureau of Ordnance
Designed	Mark 1: 1910; Mark 8: 1928;
Manufacturer	U.S. Naval Gun Factory; Bethlehem Steel;
Variants	Marks 1–3, 5, 8–10, 12
Specifications
Mass	Mark 1: 140,670 lb (63,810 kg) (without breech); Mark 1: 142,492 lb (64,633 kg) (with breech); Mark 8: 124,000 lb (56,000 kg);
Length	53 ft 6.5 in (16.32 m)
Barrel length	52 ft 6 in (16.00 m) bore (45 calibers)
Shell	Mark 8: 1,402 lb (636 kg) Armor-piercing (AP); AP Mark 16: 1,500 lb (680 kg) AP; HC Mark 19: 1,125 lb (510 kg) High explosive (HC);
Caliber	14 in (360 mm)
Recoil	40 in (1,000 mm)
Elevation	Unmodernized turret: -5° to +15°; Modernized turret: -5° to +30°;
Traverse	-150° to 150°
Rate of fire	1.25–1.75 rounds per minute
Muzzle velocity	Original charge: 2,600 ft/s (790 m/s) AP; Enlarged charge: 2,700 ft/s (820 m/s) AP; Reduced charge: 1,935 ft/s (590 m/s) AP; Full charge: 2,735 ft/s (834 m/s) HC; Reduced charge: 2,065 ft/s (629 m/s) HC;
Effective firing range	13,000 yd (12,000 m) at 7.4° elevation
Maximum firing range	Unmodernized turret: 23,000 yd (21,000 m) at 15° elevation; Modernized turret: 34,300 yd (31,400 m) at 30° elevation;

The 14-inch/45 caliber gun, (spoken "fourteen-inch-forty-five-caliber"), 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-inch (356 mm) 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-class, Nevada-class, and Pennsylvania-class battleships. The gun also saw service in the British Royal Navy, where it was designated BL 14 inch gun Mk II.

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