The EOC 8 inch 40 caliber were a family of related

40 caliber The .40 S&W is a rimless pistol cartridge developed jointly by American firearms manufacturers Smith & Wesson and Winchester in 1990. The .40 S&W was developed as a law enforcement cartridge designed to duplicate performance of the Federal Bur ...

naval guns designed by the Elswick Ordnance Company and manufactured by Armstrong Whitworth for export customers before World War I. Users of this family of gun included the navies of

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

History

The EOC 8 inch 40 caliber family of guns originated in 1893 from the Elswick Ordnance Company Pattern P gun which was first produced for export in 1893 and did not serve on board ships of the British Royal Navy. At this time the Royal Navy had moved away from 8 inch guns to guns due to difficulties with ammunition handling. It was felt that the 7.5 inch guns projectile was the limit of what a two-man crew could manage. It wasn't until 1923 after the Washington Naval Treaty that 8 inch guns began to reappear on British cruisers. In addition to the Pattern P there were R and T Pattern guns produced for export. Patterns P, R and T were all 8 inch 40 caliber guns, while the Pattern Q, S, U and W were all 8 inch 45 caliber guns. The weights and dimensions of the P, R and T Pattern guns were similar and their ammunition, bagged charges and their ballistic performance were also similar.

Naval Service

Pattern P

* Blanco Encalada - The primary armament of this Chilean protected cruiser consisted of one, shielded, 8 inch 40 caliber gun, on single mounts fore and aft.

Pattern T

* Esmeralda - The primary armament of this Chilean armored cruiser consisted of one, shielded, 8 inch 40 caliber gun, on single mounts, fore and aft. * O'Higgins - The primary armament of this Chilean armored cruiser consisted of four, 8 inch 40 calibre guns in single turrets, with two on the ship's centerline fore and aft and two port and starboard in line with the forward funnel. *

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira (; ; c. 1460s – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea. His initial voyage to India by way of Cape of Good Hope (1497–1499) was the first to link E ...

- The primary armament of this Portuguese

ironclad An ironclad is a steam engine, steam-propelled warship protected by Wrought iron, iron or steel iron armor, armor plates, constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships ...

consisted of two, shielded, 8 inch 40 caliber guns, mounted in forward

sponson Sponsons are projections extending from the sides of land vehicles, aircraft or watercraft to provide protection, stability, storage locations, mounting points for weapons or other devices, or equipment housing. Watercraft On watercraft, a spon ...

s after a 1901-1903 refit.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:EOC 8 40 203 mm artillery