RML 10-inch 18-ton gun

Ordnance RML 10-inch 18-ton gun
Mk I gun on broadside ironclad HMS Sultan in the 1890s
TypeNaval gun
Coastal gun
Place of originUnited Kingdom
Service history
In service1868–1904?
Used byRoyal Navy
Australian Colonies
WarsBombardment of Alexandria
Production history
DesignerM Robert Fraser, Royal Gun Factory
Designed1868
ManufacturerRoyal Arsenal
Unit cost£1,006[1]
VariantsMks I – II
Specifications
Barrel length145.5 inches (3.70 m) (bore)[2]

Shell400 to 410 pounds (181.4 to 186.0 kg) Palliser, Common, Shrapnel
Calibre10-inch (254.0 mm)
Muzzle velocityPalliser : 1,364 feet per second (416 m/s)
Common & shrapnel : 1,028 feet per second (313 m/s)[3]
Maximum firing range6,000 yards (5,500 m)

The RML 10-inch guns Mk I – Mk II were large rifled muzzle-loading guns designed for British battleships and monitors in the 1860s to 1880s. They were also fitted to the Bouncer[4] and Ant-class flat-iron gunboats. They were also used for fixed coastal defences around the United Kingdom and around the British Empire until the early years of the 20th century.

  1. ^ Unit cost of £1,005 10 shillings 2 pence is quoted in "The British Navy" Volume II, 1882, by Sir Thomas Brassey. Page 38
  2. ^ Treatise on Construction of Service Ordnance 1877, page 292
  3. ^ 1,364 feet/second firing 400-pound projectile with "Battering charge" of 70 pound "P" (gunpowder). Treatise on Construction of Service Ordnance 1877, page 348. 1,028 feet/second firing 410-pound common shell with gas-check with 44 pounds "P" (gunpowder). Victorian Navy Handbook 1887, page 211.
  4. ^ Paloczi-Horvath, George (1996). From Monitor to Missile Boat Coast Defence Ships and Coastal Defence since 1860. Conway Maritime Press. p. 27. ISBN 0-85177-650-7.