16-inch/45-caliber gun

16"/45 caliber Mark 1, 5, and 8
USS Colorado (BB-45), steams through rough seas, circa 1932, with her 16"/45 caliber gun turrets aimed to starboard.
TypeNaval gun
Place of originUnited States
Service history
In service1921–1947
Used byUnited States Navy
WarsWorld War II
Production history
DesignerBureau of Ordnance
Designed
  • Mark 1: 1913
  • Mark 5: 1935
Manufacturer
Produced1914–1920
No. built
  • Type Gun (45 cal): 1 (prototype)
  • Mark 1: 40 (Gun Nos. 2–41)
VariantsMarks 1, 5, and 8
Specifications
Mass
  • 230,948 lb (104,756 kg) (without breech)
  • 235,796 lb (106,955 kg) (with breech)
Length61 ft 4 in (18.69 m)
Barrel length60 ft 0 in (18.29 m) bore (45 calibers)

Shell
  • AP Mark 3: 2,110 lb (960 kg) armor-piercing (AP) (Mark 1 gun)
  • AP Mark 5: 2,240 lb (1,020 kg) AP (Mark 5 and 8 guns)
  • HC Marks 13 and 14: 1,900 lb (860 kg) High explosive (HC) (Mark 5 and 8 guns)
Caliber16 inches (406 mm)
Elevation-4° to +30°
Traverse300° max/280° min
Rate of fire1.5 round per minute
Muzzle velocity
  • AP Mark 3: 2,600 ft/s (790 m/s)
  • AP Mark 5: 2,520 ft/s (770 m/s) Full Charge
  • HC Marks 13 and 14: 2,635 ft/s (803 m/s) Full Charge
  • AP Mark 5: 1,935 ft/s (590 m/s) Reduced Charge
  • HC Marks 13 and 14: 2,075 ft/s (632 m/s) Reduced Charge
Effective firing range
  • AP Mark 3: 22,900-yard (20,940 m) at 15° elevation
  • AP Mark 5: 23,000-yard (21,031 m) at 15° elevation
Maximum firing range
  • AP Mark 3: 34,300-yard (31,364 m) at 30° elevation
  • AP Mark 5: 35,000-yard (32,004 m) at 30° elevation

The 16"/45 caliber gun (spoken "sixteen-inch-forty-five-caliber") was used for the main batteries of the last class of Standard-type battleships for the United States Navy, the Colorado-class. These guns promised twice the muzzle energy over the Mark 7 12-inch/50 caliber guns of the Wyoming-class battleship and a 50% increase over the 14-inch/45 caliber guns of the New York-class, Nevada-class, and Pennsylvania-class battleships.[1]

  1. ^ "United States of America 16"/45 (40.6 cm) Mark 1". Navweaps. 22 April 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2016.