The BL 12 inch naval gun Mk I was a British
rifled breech-loading naval gun of the early 1880s intended for the largest warships such as
battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...
s and also coastal defence. It was Britain's first attempt to match the large guns being installed in rival European navies, particularly France, after Britain transitioned from
rifled muzzle-loading A muzzle-loading rifle is a muzzle-loaded small arm or artillery piece that has a rifled barrel rather than a smoothbore. The term "rifled muzzle loader" typically is used to describe a type of artillery piece, although it is technically accurate fo ...
guns to the modern rifled breech-loaders somewhat later than the European powers. Mks I - VII
[Mk I = Mark 1, Mk VII = Mark 7. Britain used ]Roman numerals
Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, eac ...
to designate marks (i.e. models) of ordnance until after World War II. Hence this article describes the first seven models of British BL 12-inch guns all had a barrel of approximately 303 inches in length (25.25 calibres) and similar performance.
Naval service
Mk II was installed on battleships from 1882, and the coastal service ironclad . Mk II guns failed in service and were quickly replaced by Mks III. IV and V, with many changes and improvements. The later marks were also mounted on , sistership of ''Conqueror'', and on
, sister ship of ''Colossus''.
Coast defence gun
Mks I, VI and VII were coast defence versions with trunnions for mounting on recoil slides. They were installed in forts in England at
Spitbank Fort
Spitbank Fort or Spitsand Fort or Spit Sand Fort or simply Spit Fort is a sea fort built as a result of the 1859 Royal Commission. The fort is one of four built as part of the Palmerston Forts constructions. Located in the Solent, near Portsmou ...
,
No Man's Land Fort
No Man's Land Fort, also referred to as No Man's Fort, is a sea fort in the Solent, near Portsmouth, England. It is one of the Palmerston Forts built between 1867 and 1880 after the recommendations of the 1859 Royal Commission. It is 200 f ...
and
Horse Sand Fort
Horse Sand Fort is one of the larger Royal Commission sea forts in the Solent off Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. The fort is one of four built as part of the Palmerston Forts constructions. It is across, built between 1865 and 1880, with tw ...
from 1884 onward and were in active service during World War I.
[Hogg & Thurston 1972, pages 188-189.]
Ammunition
File:BL 12 inch Palliser shot Mk II diagram.jpg,
See also
*
List of naval guns
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
Hogg, I.V. and Thurston, L.F. (1972). British Artillery Weapons & Ammunition 1914-1918. Ian Allan, London.
Text Book of Gunnery, 1887. London: Printed for His Majesty's Stationery Office, by Harrison and Sons, St. Martin's Lane
Text Book of Gunnery, 1902. London: Printed for His Majesty's Stationery Office, by Harrison and Sons, St. Martin's Lane
External links
Handbook for the 12-inch B.L. 47 ton gun Mark I, VI, VII, 1891at State Library of Victoria
*Rob Brassington
Dreadnought Project : detailed Mk IV gun description and diagrams*Tony DiGiulian
*Tony DiGiulian
{{DEFAULTSORT:BL 12 inch Mk 01 gun
Naval guns of the United Kingdom
305 mm artillery
Victorian-era weapons of the United Kingdom
Coastal artillery