120-pounder Whitworth naval gun

120-pounder Whitworth gun
Type Naval gun
Place of origin United Kingdom
Service history
In service 1865–
Used by Brazil
Wars Paraguayan War
Production history
Designer Joseph Whitworth
Manufacturer Joseph Whitworth
Produced 1865?–
Specifications
Weight 16,660 pounds (7,556.8 kg)
Length 144 inches (3.658 m)

Shell Solid shot
Explosive shell
Shell weight 151 pounds (68.5 kg)
Calibre 7-inch (178 mm)
Maximum firing range about 5,540 yards (5,070 m)
Filling Black powder
Filling weight 5 pounds (2.3 kg)[1]

The 120-pounder Whitworth naval gun was designed by Joseph Whitworth during the 1860s. It was a rifled muzzle loader and used his hexagonal rifled bore design.

Service

A number of 120-pounders were bought by the Brazilian Navy and used to arm some of its ironclads during the Paraguayan War in the late 1860s.[2]

Notes

  1. Holley, p. 34
  2. Gratz, pp. 141, 144, 153

References

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