14-inch/45-caliber gun

14-inch/45-caliber gun
Crewmen aboard USS Texas pause to have their picture taken on top of one of the twin 14-inch/45-caliber gun turrets, 1918.
Type
Place of originUnited States
Service history
In service1914–1946
Used by
Wars
Production history
DesignerBureau of Ordnance
Designed
  • Mark 1: 1910
  • Mark 8: 1928
Manufacturer
VariantsMarks 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)
Length53 ft 6.5 in (16.32 m)
Barrel length52 ft 6 in (16.00 m) bore (45 calibers)
Shell
Caliber14 in (360 mm)
Recoil40 in (1,000 mm)
Elevation
  • Unmodernized turret: -5° to +15°
  • Modernized turret: -5° to +30°
Traverse-150° to 150°
Rate of fire1.25–1.75 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 range13,000 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"[citation needed]), 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.