12"/35 caliber gun

12"/35 caliber Mark 1 & 2 Naval Gun

USS Iowa -- Crewmen pose by the ship's forward 12"/35 gun turret, 1898.
Type Naval gun
Place of origin  United States
Service history
In service 1896
Used by  United States Navy
Wars
Production history
Designer Bureau of Ordnance
Manufacturer U.S. Naval Gun Factory
Variants Mark 1 and Mark 2
Specifications
Weight
  • 102,550 lb (46,520 kg) (with breech)
  • 100,800 lb (45,700 kg) (without breech)
Length 441 in (11.2 m)
Barrel length 425 in (10.8 m) bore (35 calibers)
Shell 870 lb (390 kg) armor-piercing
Caliber 12 inches (305 mm)
Elevation
  • Marks 1:-3° to +15°
  • Marks 2:−5° to +15°
  • Marks 3:−3° to +14°
Traverse −150° to +150°
Rate of fire 1 rounds per minute
Muzzle velocity 2,100 ft/s (640 m/s)
Effective firing range 12,000-yard (10,973 m) at 15° elevation (max elevation of turrets)
Maximum firing range 21,000-yard (19,202 m) at 30° elevation

The 12"/35 caliber gun (spoken "twelve-inch-thirty-five--caliber") were used for the primary batteries of the United States Navy's "New Navy" monitor Puritan, the monitor Monterey, and the battleships Texas and Iowa.[1]

Mark 1

The Navy's Policy Board call for a variety of large caliber weapons in 1890, with ranges all the way up to 16 in (410 mm), led to the development of the 12-inch/35 caliber gun. The Mark 1 was constructed of gun steel, having a tube, jacket, ten hoops and a locking ring. The Mod 0, the original design, had the inner hoop starting 6 in (150 mm) from the breech and running out to the muzzle, with the Mod 1 being hooped from breech to muzzle.[1]

Mark 2

The Mark 2 was of similiar construction to the Mark 1 but with seven hoops starting from the breech and running out to the muzzle. The Mark 2 Mod 1 and Mod 2 were also given a new nickel-steel liner.[1]


Naval Service

Ship Gun Installed Gun Mount
USS Puritan (BM-1) Mark 1: 12"/35 caliber Mark 1: 2 × twin turrets
USS Monterey (BM-6) Mark 1: 12"/35 caliber Mark 1: 1 × twin turret
USS Texas (1892) Mark 1: 12"/35 caliber Mark 2: 2 × single turrets
USS Iowa (BB-4) Mark 2: 12"/35 caliber Mark 3: 2 × twin turrets

References

  1. 1 2 3 "United States of America 12"/35 (30.5 cm) Mark 1 and Mark 2". Navweaps. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2016.

External links

Bluejackets Manual, 1917, 4th revision: US Navy 14-inch Mark 1 gun


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