12-inch gun M1895

12-inch gun M1895
12-inch M1895 coastal defense gun being fired by lanyard
TypeCoastal artillery
Place of originUnited States
Service history
In service1895–1945
Used byUnited States Army
WarsWorld War I, World War II
Production history
DesignerWatervliet Arsenal
Designed1888
ManufacturerWatervliet Arsenal, Bethlehem Steel, possibly others
VariantsM1888, M1895, M1900
Specifications
Mass115,000 pounds (52,163 kilograms) (M1895)
Length442.56 inches (11.241 meters)
Barrel length35 calibers (442.56 inches; 11.241 meters)

Shellseparate loading,
975 pounds (442 kg) AP,
1,070 pounds (490 kg) AP shot & shell[1]
Caliber12 in (305 mm)
BreechWelin breech block
CarriageM1891 gun lift, M1892 or M1897 barbette, M1896, M1897 or M1901 disappearing, M1917 long-range barbette from 1920[2]
Traversedisappearing: 170° (varied with emplacement),
long-range M1917 barbette: 360° (145° casemated),
railway: 10°
Muzzle velocity2,250 feet per second (690 m/s)[3]
Maximum firing rangedisappearing: 18,400 yards (16,800 m),
long-range M1917 barbette: 30,100 yards (27,500 m),
railway: 30,100 yards (27,500 m)[1]
Feed systemhand

The 12-inch coastal defense gun M1895 (305 mm) and its variants the M1888 and M1900 were large coastal artillery pieces installed to defend major American seaports between 1895 and 1945. For most of their history they were operated by the United States Army Coast Artillery Corps. Most were installed on disappearing carriages, with early installations on low-angle barbette mountings. From 1919, 19 long-range two-gun batteries were built using the M1895 on an M1917 long-range barbette carriage. Almost all of the weapons not in the Philippines were scrapped during and after World War II.

  1. ^ a b Berhow, p. 61
  2. ^ Berhow, pp. 130–155
  3. ^ Description of 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16-inch Seacoast Guns, p. 32