BL 14 inch Mk VII naval gun

BL 14 inch Mark VII
Gunners and forward turrets of HMS Duke of York after the Battle of North Cape
Type	Naval gun
Place of origin	UK
Service history
In service	1940-1945
Used by	UK
Production history
Designed	1937
Number built	78
Specifications
Weight	80.26 metric tons (176,900 lb)
Barrel length	53 ft 6 in (16.31 m) bore (45 calibres)

Shell	1,590 lb (720 kg)
Calibre	14 inches (360 mm)
Elevation	Naval: 40° Coastal: 45°
Rate of fire	2 rounds per minute
Muzzle velocity	Standard Charge: 2,400 ft/s (730 m/s) (25% wear), 2,483 ft/s (757 m/s) (new gun)^[1]
Maximum firing range	36,500 yd (33,400 m) at 40.7° (25% wear) or 38,600 yd (35,300 m) at 40° with new linings

The BL 14 inch Mk VII naval gun^[2] was a breech loading (BL) gun designed for the battleships of the Royal Navy in the late 1930s. This gun armed the King George V-class battleships during the Second World War.

Background

The choice of calibre was limited by the Second London Naval Treaty, an extension of the Washington Naval Treaty which set limits on the size armament and number of battleships constructed by the major powers. After disappointing experiences with the combination of high velocity but relatively light shell in the BL 16 inch /45 naval gun of the Nelson-class battleships, the British reverted to the combination of lower velocities and (relatively) heavier shells in this weapon.

Design

These built-up guns were constructed using a non wire wound radial expansion design which was an advance on previous British practice with a longer barrel life and better accuracy. Unfortunately, the choice of mountings was for quadruple turrets and in practice these developed a reputation for unreliability, with the turrets jamming during battle. However, it has been argued that these jams were typically caused by errors in drill, either due to lack of gun crew training, as was the case when the newly commissioned HMS Prince of Wales engaged the Bismarck in the Battle of the Denmark Strait (1941), or due to crew fatigue resulting from the prolonged nature of the engagement, as was the case when HMS King George V engaged Bismarck in 1941 and HMS Duke of York engaged Scharnhorst in the Battle of North Cape (1943).

Coastal guns

Main article Cross-Channel guns in the Second World War.

"Pooh" in March 1941

"Winnie", a 14-inch gun at St Margaret's at Cliffe near Dover, March 1941

Two guns, nicknamed Winnie and Pooh, were also mounted in World War II as coastal artillery near Dover to engage German batteries across the Channel in occupied France.

Armour penetration

Penetration: Belt
- 668 mm @ 0 m
- 396 mm @ 9,144 m
- 335 mm @ 13,716 m
- 285 mm @ 22,860 m
Decks
- 29 mm @ 9,144 m
- 50 mm @ 13,716 m
- 73 mm @ 18,288 m
- 102 mm @ 22,860 m
- 121 mm @ 25,603 m

Surviving example

On display at Fort Nelson
Breech detail

Notes

↑ With 338.3 lb (153.5 kg) cordite.
↑ Mk VII = Mark 7. Britain used Roman numerals to denote Marks (models) of ordnance until after World War II. This was the seventh model of BL 14-inch naval gun.

References

Page from Nav weapons.com

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to BL 14 inch Mk VII naval gun.

British Commonwealth naval weapons of the Second World War

Monitor guns	BL 15 inch

Capital ship main armament	BL 14 inch BL 15 inch BL 16 inch

Heavy cruiser main armament	BL 7.5 inch Mk VI BL 8 inch Mk VIII

Secondary armament and light cruiser main armament	QF 4 inch Mk V QF 4.5 inch QF 5.25 inch BL 6 inch Mk XII BL 6 inch Mk XXII BL 6 inch Mk XXIII

Minesweeper, Sloop, Corvette, Frigate and Destroyer armament	QF 6 pounder 10 cwt QF 12 pdr 12 cwt Mk V QF 4 inch Mk IV BL 4 inch Mk IX QF 4 inch Mk XVI QF 4 inch Mk XIX QF 4.5 inch BL 4.7 inch Mk II QF 4.7 inch Mk IX & XII QF 4.7 inch Mk XI

Submarine guns	QF 12 pdr 12 cwt Mk V QF 3 inch 20 cwt QF 4 inch Mk XII & XXII

Anti-aircraft weapons	Unrotated Projectile Holman Projector 20 mm Oerlikon QF 2 pounder "pom-pom" Mk VIII 40 mm Bofors QF 3 inch 20 cwt QF 4 inch Mk V QF 4 inch Mk XVI QF 4.5 inch QF 4.7 inch Mk VIII

Light weapons	.303 Lewis machine gun .50 Vickers Mk III machine gun QF 3 pounder Vickers

Torpedoes	21 inch Mk VII 21 inch Mk VIII 21 inch Mk X 21 inch Mk XI 24.5 inch Mk I

Anti-submarine weapons	Thornycroft depth charge thrower Hedgehog Squid

Small craft armament	Molins 6 pounder Vickers K machine gun 18 inch torpedo

Foreign-sourced weapons	20 mm Oerlikon 40 mm Bofors 3-inch 23 caliber gun (US) 3-inch 50 caliber gun (US) 4-inch 50 caliber Mark 9 gun (US) 5-inch 51 caliber Mark 8 gun (US) Y-gun depth charge projector (US) Mark 8 torpedo (US)

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