Armstrong Whitworth 12-inch 40-calibre naval gun
| Industry | Ordnance manufacturing |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Newcastle upon Tyne , United Kingdom |
| Parent | Armstrong Whitworth |
Overview
The Armstrong Whitworth 12-inch naval gun, featuring a barrel length of 40 calibres, was developed and predominantly produced by Armstrong's ordnance division, the Elswick Ordnance Company. Initially designed for the Royal Navy's Royal Sovereign-class battleships, its deployment was postponed due to financial limitations. Consequently, the earliest units were delivered to Japan. Known there as the Type 41 12-inch (305 mm) 40-calibre naval gun, it became the principal main battery weapon on several early United Kingdom-constructed pre-dreadnought battleships serving in the Imperial Japanese Navy.
Subsequently, the Royal Navy adopted the gun under the designation 12-inch Mark IX, installing it on vessels from three distinct pre-dreadnought classes before the outbreak of World War I. Throughout the conflict, numerous guns were modified for deployment as railway guns and, towards the war’s conclusion, adapted for use aboard M-class submarine monitors.
In addition to British and Japanese service, this naval artillery piece was also utilized by Italy’s Regia Marina, equipping two classes of pre-dreadnought battleships.
Design and development
The Type 41 12-inch naval gun was manufactured by Armstrong Whitworth at their Elswick facility in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. It represented a slightly altered iteration of the "EOC G pattern" 12-inch artillery pieces employed on contemporary Royal Navy battleships.
Japanese service
Japan acquired a total of 44 of these guns to equip the four vessels of the Fuji and Shikishima class classes, as well as the battleships Asahi and Mikasa. Each warship was armed with four guns arranged in twin turrets.
During the Battle of the Yellow Sea in the Russo-Japanese War, the battleships Asahi, Shikishima, and Mikasa all experienced premature bore detonations that disabled one of their main guns.[1] Investigation revealed defective fuses as the cause, which were corrected before the Battle of Tsushima.
The gun received its formal designation as "Type 41" on 25 December 1908, marking the 41st year of Emperor Meiji's reign. Subsequently, on 5 October 1917, it was reclassified using metric measurements in line with the Imperial Japanese Navy’s conversion to the metric system.
The Type 41 12-inch gun fired shells weighing approximately 850-pound (390 kg), available in armour-piercing, high-explosive, or general-purpose variants.
United Kingdom service
Within the Royal Navy, this weapon was designated as "BL 12 inch gun Mark IX"[note 1]. It was installed on the following classes:
- Formidable-class battleship class: Three ships, all laid down in 1898, each equipped with four guns.
- London-class battleship class: Five ships constructed between 1898 and 1901, each mounting four guns.
- Duncan-class battleship class: Six vessels laid down in 1899, each armed with four guns.
- King Edward VII-class battleship class (1904): Five out of eight ships in this class (HMS King Edward VII, HMS Commonwealth, HMS Hindustan, HMS Dominion, and HMS New Zealand) carried the Mark IX gun.
M-class submarine mounting
This artillery piece was also fitted on three M-class submarines. The guns aboard HMS M2 and M3 were removed during refits in 1927–28.
Railway gun
During World War I, four of these guns were adapted for use as railway artillery by the British Army on the Western Front.
Ammunition in the United Kingdom
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Diagram of a 63½ lb cartridge (¼ charge) using Cordite M.D., employed on the King Edward VII-class battleship -
Common pointed capped shell from 1912
Italian usage
Armstrong manufactured variants of their 12-inch 40-calibre gun for Italy, equipping the two Regina Margherita-class vessels (commissioned in 1905) as well as the quartet of Regina Elena-class battleship ships (commissioned in 1908). The guns mounted on the Regina Elena class were designed to fire a heavier projectile, weighing approximately 417 kg (919 lb). The Regina Margherita battleships were lost during wartime, while the Regina Elena class was dismantled following the conflict.
See also
Comparable weapons by role, capability, and period
- 305 mm/40 Modèle 1893/1896 – French counterpart
- Russian 12-inch 40-caliber naval gun – Russian counterpart
Notes
- ↑ Mark IX indicating it was the ninth model of 12-inch breech-loading naval guns adopted by Britain, using Roman numerals for identification
References
- ↑ Corbett, Julian Stafford (1994). Maritime Operations in the Russo-Japanese War 1904–05. Naval Institute Press. pp. 391–392. ISBN 1-55750-129-7.
Bibliography
- Text Book of Gunnery. London: His Majesty's Stationery Office. 1902. Archived from the original on 2012-02-16.
- Brown, D. K. (2003). Warrior to Dreadnought: Warship Development, 1860–1905. Book Sales. ISBN 1-84067-529-2.
- Brown, D. K. (2003). The Grand Fleet: Warship Design and Development, 1906–1922. Caxton Editions. ISBN 978-1-84067-531-3.
- Friedman, Norman (2011). Naval Weapons of World War One: Guns, Torpedoes, Mines and ASW Weapons of All Nations; An Illustrated Directory. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-100-7.
- Gardiner, Robert; Lambert, Andrew, eds. (2001). Steam, Steel and Shellfire: The Steam Warship, 1815–1905. Conway's History of the Ship. Book Sales. ISBN 978-0-7858-1413-9.
- Hodges, Peter (1981). The Big Gun: Battleship Main Armament, 1860–1945. United States Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-917-0.
- Parkes, Oscar (1990) [1957]. British Battleships. United States Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-075-4.
- DiGiulian, Tony. "Britain 12"/40 (30.5 cm) Mark IX". NavWeaps.com.
Further reading
- Anderson, Richard M.; Brescia, Maurizio; Del Prete, Maurizio (1989). "Question 53/87". Warship International. XXVI (2): 198–200. ISSN 0043-0374.
External links
- DiGiulian, Tony. "Japanese 30.5 cm/40 (12") Type 41". NavWeaps.com. http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNJAP_12-40_EOC.htm