The BL 16-inch Mark I was a British

naval gun Naval artillery is artillery mounted on a warship, originally used only for naval warfare and then subsequently used for naval gunfire support, shore bombardment and anti-aircraft roles. The term generally refers to tube-launched projectile-firi ...

introduced in the 1920s and used on the two ''Nelson''-class battleships. A

breech-loading A breechloader is a firearm in which the user loads the ammunition (cartridge or shell) via the rear (breech) end of its barrel, as opposed to a muzzleloader, which loads ammunition via the front ( muzzle). Modern firearms are generally breech ...

gun, the barrel was 45

calibre In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the finished bore match ...

s long ("/45" in shorthand) meaning 45 times the bore – long.

Description

These

wire-wound This article explains terms used for the British Armed Forces' ordnance (i.e.: weapons) and also ammunition. The terms may have slightly different meanings in the military of other countries. BD Between decks: applies to a naval gun mounting in ...

built-up gun A built-up gun is artillery with a specially reinforced barrel. An inner tube of metal stretches within its elastic limit under the pressure of confined powder gases to transmit stress to outer cylinders that are under tension.Fairfield (1921) p.1 ...

s had originally been planned for the cancelled G3-class battlecruiser design upon which the ''Nelson'' class drew. Sir W. G. Armstrong Whitworth & Company at Elswick,

Vickers Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public in 18 ...

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...

William Beardmore & Company William Beardmore and Company was a British engineering and shipbuilding conglomerate based in Glasgow and the surrounding Clydeside area. It was active from 1886 to the mid-1930s and at its peak employed about 40,000 people. It was founded and ...

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and the

Royal Gun Factory The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich is an establishment on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London, England, that was used for the manufacture of armaments and ammunition, proofing, and explosives research for the British ...

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...

made a total of 29 guns of which 18 would be required for both ships at any time. HMS Rodney, firing a salvo (Warships To-day, 1936)

These guns broke with the example offered by the earlier 15-inch Mk I gun, which fired a heavy shell at a rather low muzzle velocity, and instead fired a rather light shell at a high muzzle velocity; this was not a success, as at the initial muzzle velocity the gun wore down rapidly and the accuracy was unsatisfactory, so much that it was lowered. Furthermore, a heavier shell was proposed but not adopted because of stringent budget policies of the 1930s; therefore, this naval gun wasn't seen as particularly successful. An improved weapon, the BL 16-inch Mark II was designed for the ''Lion''-class battleship which was a successor to the ''King George V'' class taking advantage of the larger weapon allowed under the

London Naval Treaty The London Naval Treaty, officially the Treaty for the Limitation and Reduction of Naval Armament, was an agreement between the United Kingdom, Japan, France, Italy, and the United States that was signed on 22 April 1930. Seeking to address is ...

from March 1938. This "new design" of 16-inch gun fired a shell that weighed . Construction of first two ''Lion''-class battleships - each of which was to have nine 16-inch guns - was halted at the start of the Second World War; only a few months after they were laid down.Brown, p. 36 Work on the armament continued for a while but that was also stopped after only four guns and no turrets were produced.

Notes

References

* *

External links

* Tony DiGiulian
British 16"/45 (40.6 cm) Mark I
* Terry Duncan
British 16" Mark I Gun and Mounting
{{WWIIBritishCommNavalWeapons World War II naval weapons of the United Kingdom Naval guns of the United Kingdom 400 mm artillery Military equipment introduced in the 1920s

Description

See also

Weapons of comparable role, performance and era

Notes

References

External links