BL 16 inch Mk I naval gun

Ordnance BL 16 inch Mark I
Guns of HMS Rodney at maximum elevation, 1940
Type	naval gun
Place of origin	UK
Service history
In service	1927-1948
Used by	UK
Production history
Designed	1922
Specifications
Weight	108 tons (109.7 tonnes)
Length	61 ft 10 in (18.85 m)
Barrel length	60 ft (18.3 m)
Shell	separate charge, AP shell
Shell weight	2,048 pounds (929 kg)
Calibre	16 inch (406 mm)
Breech	Welin
Elevation	40° in mounting Mark I
Rate of fire	1.5 rounds per minute as fitted
Muzzle velocity	2,586 feet/second (788 m/s)
Effective firing range	35,000 yards (32,000 m) at 32° elevation
Maximum firing range	39,780 yards (36,375 m)

The BL 16 inch Mark I was a British naval gun introduced in the 1920s and used on the two Nelson-class battleships. A breech loading gun, the barrel was 45 calibres long ("/45" in shorthand) meaning 45 times the bore (16 in) - 60 ft (18 m) long.

Description

These wire-wound built-up guns had originally been planned for the cancelled G3-class battlecruiser design upon which the Nelson class drew.

Sir W. G. Armstrong Whitworth & Company at Elswick, Vickers at Barrow-in-Furness, William Beardmore & Company at Dalmuir and the Royal Gun Factory at Woolwich made a total of 29 guns of which 18 would be required for both ships at any time.

These guns broke with the example offered by the earlier 15 inch Mk I gun, which fired a heavy shell at a rather low muzzle velocity, and instead fired a rather light shell at a high muzzle velocity; this was not a success, as at the initial muzzle velocity the gun wore down rapidly and the accuracy was unsatisfactory, so much that it was lowered. Furthermore, a heavier shell was proposed but not adopted because of stringent budget policies of the 1930s; therefore, this naval gun wasn't seen as particularly successful.^[1]

An improved weapon, the BL 16 inch Mark II was designed for the Lion-class battleship which was a successor to the King George V class taking advantage of the larger weapon allowed under the London Naval Treaty from March 1938. This "new design" of 16-inch gun fired a shell that weighed 2,375 lb (1,077 kg). Construction of first two Lion battleships - each of which was to have nine 16-inch guns - was halted at the start of the Second World War; only a few months after they were laid down.^[2] Work on the armament continued for a while but that was also stopped after only four guns and no turrets were produced.

See also

• List of naval guns

Weapons of comparable role, performance and era

• 41 cm/45 3rd Year Type naval gun : Japanese equivalent
• 16"/45 caliber Mark 6 gun : designed a decade later with similar specifications

Notes

1. Campbell, John (1985). Naval weapons of World War Two. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press. p. 21. ISBN 0870214594.
2. Brown Nelson to Vanguard 2000 Chatham Publishing p36

References

• Tony DiGiulian, British 16"/45 (40.6 cm) Mark I
• Terry Duncan, British 16" Mark I Gun and Mounting

External links