The BL 13.5 inch Mk V gunMk V = Mark 5. Britain used Roman numerals to identify Marks (models) of ordnance until after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. This was the fifth model of British 13.5 inch gun was a British heavy

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

, introduced in 1912 as the main armament for the new super-dreadnought battleships of the . The

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 ...

was 13.5 inches (343 mm) and the barrels were 45

s long i.e. 607.5 inches (15.43 m). The guns were greatly superior and unrelated to the earlier 13.5-inch (30-calibre) Mk I to Mk IV guns used on the , and es completed between 1888 and 1896.

Background

The gun was developed in response to the relative failure of the British high-velocity 12-inch Mk XI and XII guns. Unlike Germany, which developed and deployed successful high-velocity 12-inch guns, Britain in this case switched to guns firing larger and heavier shells at lower velocity which could achieve similar performance in range and armour penetration but could deliver a heavier explosive charge on impact.

Characteristics

The gun was

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 ...

and weighed approximately 168,000 lb (76

tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United State ...

s) (excluding the breech), and in its original form fired a 1,250 lb (567 kg) armour-piercing capped (APC) or high-explosive (HE) round a distance of 23,800 yards (21,800 m) at a 20-degree elevation.navweaps.com - 13.5-in/45 Mark V
/ref>

Variants

Due to the excellent characteristics of the gun, it was decided to increase the weight of shell to 1,400 lb (635 kg), with an increased firing charge to achieve about the same range. The gun firing the lighter shell was designated Mark V(L) (for "light") by the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

, and the 1,400 lb version Mark V(H) (for "heavy").

Railway guns

In 1939 three WW1

BL 14 inch Railway Gun Ordnance BL 14-inch gun on truck, railway were 2 British 14-inch Mk IIIMk III = Mark 3. Britain used Roman numerals to denote Marks (i.e. models) of ordnance. Hence these were the third model of 14-inch gun in British service. naval guns mounte ...

s (named ''Gladiator'', ''Piece Maker'' and ''Scene Shifter'') were removed from storage at RAOC Chilwell and recommissioned. The original 14" gun barrels had long since been scrapped, so they were fitted with BL 13.5 inch /45 Mark V gun barrels from the Royal Navy's Duke class reserves, which had been designed close enough to the dimensions of the 14" barrels to fit. In 1940 these guns were issued to the Royal Marine Siege Regiment at Dover in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

to bombard

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

batteries and shipping in the Calais area. They could be stored in railway tunnels when not in use to protect them from attack.

Experimental hypervelocity gun

A 13.5/8 inch hypervelocity gun (a type of very

large-calibre artillery The formal definition of large-calibre artillery used by the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms (UNROCA) is " guns, howitzers, artillery pieces, combining the characteristics of a gun, howitzer, mortar, or multiple-launch rocket syst ...

) for stratospheric experiments was developed and deployed near St Margaret's in

. The weapon was a 13.5 inch gun Mark V lined down to 8 inches; the liner projected several feet beyond the 13.5 inch barrel. The concept was suggested by F. A. Lindemann,

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

's scientific advisor. Due to its deployment near the heavy cross-Channel guns and manning by the Royal Marine Siege Regiment, it is often erroneously assumed to have been intended as a cross-Channel gun. It was initially named ''Wilfred'', but this was soon changed to ''Bruce'', after Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser.Sussex History Forum post with material from RMSR War Diary
/ref> The projectiles were custom-made with external rifling to match the gun's rifling, with tighter tolerances than normal; this resulted in the need for a screwdriver-type tool to ram the projectiles. The rate of fire was very low as a result; but this was not a major concern in an experimental piece. Both high explosive and high velocity shells were made for the gun; the high velocity shell was a smoke shell, intended to burst at high altitude. Observations of the smoke were used to study conditions in the stratosphere. The gun was first test-fired in June 1942 at the

Isle of Grain Isle of Grain (Old English ''Greon'', meaning gravel) is a village and the easternmost point of the Hoo Peninsula within the district of Medway in Kent, south-east England. No longer an island and now forming part of the peninsula, the area i ...

, also in Kent. The gun was deployed near St. Margaret's on 21 January 1943, and experimental firing commenced on 30 March 1943. Successful experiments with smoke shells were conducted in February 1944. The intended burst zone for the smoke shells was horizontally from the gun and at altitude. These trials resulted in the need for a new barrel or liner; the replacement took about two weeks. The data from these experiments was important in the development of the

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

bomb.Flower, p. 95 After further experimental firings, the weapon was taken out of service in February 1945.

Service

British warships with the BL 13.5 inch /45 gun; * s: Mark V(L) * battleships of 1911: Mark V(H) * s: Mark V(H) * , a battleship: Mark VI(H) * s: Mark V(L) * , a battlecruiser: Mark V(H) * , a battlecruiser: Mark V(H)

Notes

References

Bibliography

* DiGiulian,Tony
British 13.5"/45 (34.3 cm) Mark V(L) 13.5"/45 (34.3 cm) Mark V(H)
* *

External links

Vickers Photographic Archives

{{DEFAULTSORT:BL 13.5 inch Mk 05 gun Naval guns of the United Kingdom World War I naval weapons of the United Kingdom World War II railway artillery of the United Kingdom Railway guns Vickers 340 mm artillery Coastal artillery