EOC 12 inch 45-calibre naval gun
12"/45 41st Year Type
41st Year Type on Mikasa
TypeNaval gun
Place of originUnited Kingdom
Service history
In service1906-1952
Used byUnited Kingdom
Brazil
Empire of Japan
WarsWorld War I
Production history
DesignerElswick Ordnance Company
Specifications
Barrel lengthBore 45 feet (13.716 m) (45 cal)

Shell850 pounds (385.6 kg)
Calibre12-inch (304.8 mm)
Muzzle velocity2,700 feet per second (823 m/s) - 2,800 feet per second (853 m/s)
Maximum firing range18,850 yards (17,240 m)

The EOC 12 inch 45 calibre gun were various similar 12-inch wire-wound naval guns designed and manufactured by Elswick Ordnance Company to equip ships that the parent company Armstrong Whitworth built and/or armed for several countries before World War I.

History

Brazil service

Elswick supplied its 12-inch 45-calibre guns for the Minas Geraes-class battleships completed by itself and Vickers in 1910 for Brazil.

UK service

Section of barbette and gunhouse of HMS Agincourt

When World War I began, Elswick were completing the battleship Sultân Osmân-ı Evvel for the Ottoman Empire, originally begun as Rio de Janeiro for Brazil. It was armed with 14 of a slightly later version of Elswick's 12-inch 45-calibre guns. The battleship was completed as HMS Agincourt and served in the Royal Navy in World War I, with its guns designated BL 12 inch Mk XIII.[1] The gun's performance was similar to the standard Royal Navy equivalent gun, the BL 12 inch Mk X designed by Vickers.

Japan service

Elswick supplied its 12-inch 45-calibre guns to the Imperial Japanese Navy, and they were also manufactured under licence in Japan. In Japanese service from 1908 they became 12"/45 41st Year Type and later after the navy metricised in 1917, 30 cm/45 41st Year Type. They equipped the following ship classes:

Surviving examples

See also

Weapons of comparable role, performance and era

Notes

  1. Britain used Roman numerals to denote Marks (models) of ordnance until after World War II. This was the thirteenth model of BL 12-inch gun in British service.

References

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