15 cm/50 41st Year Type

15 cm/50 41 Year Type

Twin turrets on Agano, October 1942
Type Naval gun, Coastal Defence
Place of origin Japan
Service history
In service 1913-1945
Used by Imperial Japanese Navy
Wars World War II
Production history
Designed 1911
Specifications
Weight 8360 kg
Length 7876 mm
Barrel length 7620 mm
Shell 100 pounds (45 kg)
Caliber 6-inch (152.4 mm)
Elevation -5 to +30(Kongō & Fusō)
-5 to +55 (Agano)
Traverse -70 to +70(Kongō & Fusō)
-150 to +150 (Agano)
Rate of fire 6 (effective)
Muzzle velocity 850 m/s
Effective firing range 18,000 meters (Kongō & Fusō)
21,000 meters (Agano)

The 15 cm/50 41st Year Type gun (50口径四十一式15cm砲 50-kōkei yonjū-ichi shiki 15-senchi hō) was a naval gun used by the Imperial Japanese Navy before and during World War II. It had a 152 millimetres (6.0 in) bore with a length of 7,600 millimetres (300 in) (50 calibre) and fired 45.4 kilogram shell for a distance of 18,000 metres (20,000 yd) (in single mount version) or 21,000 metres (23,000 yd) (in the later twin mounts). The gun was first used in single casemates on the battleships of the Kongō and Fusō-class battleships and later in the Agano-class cruiser in twin mountings.

History

The Type 41 was a Japanese version of the Vickers "Mark M", originally introduced by Vickers-Armstrong (Barrow) as the secondary battery for the battlecruiser Kongō. These original guns where designated by the Japanese Navy as the "Mark II", whereas the Japanese-designed copy (adopted from 1912) was designated as the "Mark III".

In the 1930s, the Kongō-class battleships were modernized, at which time these guns were replaced by new 12.7 cm/40 DP guns. The old guns were placed in storage, and were reused on the Agano light cruisers. Some were taken to Guam and were used for coastal defense batteries.

In the Agano-class cruisers, the gun could elevate to 55 degrees for anti-aircraft fire; however, its manual loading method allowed a rate of fire of only about 6 rounds per minute, which significantly limited its utility as an anti-aircraft weapon.

See also

Weapons of comparable role, performance and era

External links

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