BL 7.5 inch Mk VI naval gun

Ordnance BL 7.5 inch gun Mk VI
Gun on HMS Frobisher off the south coast of England, 5 June 1944, 12 hours before D-Day
Type	Naval gun Coast defence gun
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1919–1945^[1]
Used by	Royal Navy
Wars	World War II
Production history
Number built	44^[2]
Specifications
Weight	14 tonnes^[2]
Barrel length	337.5 inches (8.6 m); (45 calibres)^[2]

Shell	200 pounds (91 kg)^[2]
Calibre	7.5-inch (190 mm)^[2]
Muzzle velocity	2,770 feet per second (844 m/s)^[2]
Maximum firing range	19 kilometres (12 mi)^[2]

The BL 7.5 inch gun Mark VI^[3] was the 45 calibre naval gun forming the main battery of Royal Navy Hawkins-class cruisers. These ships with seven single gun mounts were significant to the cruiser limitations defined by the Washington Naval Treaty.^[4]

Description

These were built-up guns with two tubes, full-length wire winding, a jacket, and Welin breech block with hand operated Asbury mechanism. They used two cloth bags each containing 14 kg (31 pounds) of cordite to fire a 200-pound (91-kg) projectile up to 19 kilometres at their maximum elevation of 30 degrees. Useful life expectancy was 650 effective full charges (EFC) per barrel.^[2]

Coast defence guns

Seven guns were installed as coastal artillery in the Netherlands Antilles, five in Mozambique, three in Canada, and three in a battery at South Shields during the Second World War.^[2]

Shell trajectory

Range^[2]	Elevation	Time of flight	Descent	Impact velocity
5000 yd (4.6 km)	2° 30′	7 sec	3° 19′	1799 ft/s (548 m/s)
10000 yd (9.1 km)	7° 3′	17 sec	12° 32′	1218 ft/s (371 m/s)
15000 yd (14 km)	15° 21′	32 sec	27° 33′	1038 ft/s (316 m/s)
20000 yd (18 km)	27° 59′	51 sec	44° 35′	1071 ft/s (326 m/s)

Notes and references

↑ Whitley 1995 pp.77–80
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Campbell 1985 p.33
↑ Mark VI = Mark 6. Britain used Roman numerals to denote Mark (models) of ordnance until after World War II. This was the 6th model of BL 7.5-inch naval gun.
↑ Preston 1980 pp.69–70

Bibliography

Campbell, John (1985). Naval Weapons of World War Two. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-459-4.
Lenton, H.T. & Colledge, J.J (1968). British and Dominion Warships of World War Two. Doubleday and Company.
Preston, Anthony (1980). Cruisers. Prentice-Hall. ISBN 013-194902-0.
Whitley, M.J. (1995). Cruisers of World War Two. Brockhampton Press. ISBN 1-86019-8740.

External links

Tony DiGiulain, Britain 7.5"/45 (19 cm) Mark VI

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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)

British Commonwealth artillery of World War II

Tank guns	QF 2 pounder QF 3 pounder QF 6 pounder QF 75 mm QF 3 inch Howitzer QF 17 pounder 77 mm HV QF 95 mm Howitzer

Anti-tank guns	QF 2 pounder QF 6 pounder QF 17 pounder

Field guns and howitzers	75 mm Gun M1917 QF 18 pounder 25 pounder Gun-Howitzer 25 pounder Short QF 4.5-inch howitzer

Medium and Heavy guns and howitzers	BL 4.5-inch Medium Field Gun BL 60-pounder gun BL 5.5-inch Medium Gun BL 6 inch Howitzer BL 6-inch Gun Mk XIX 155 mm Long Tom BL 7.2-inch howitzer BL 8 inch Howitzer BL 9.2-inch howitzer 240 mm howitzer M1

Mountain guns	75mm Pack Howitzer M1 3.7 inch Mountain Howitzer

Mortars	SBML 2inch Mortar ML 3-inch Mortar ML 4.2 inch Mortar

Anti-aircraft weapons	Z Battery 20 mm Oerlikon 20 mm Polsten QF 1½-pounder Mk III QF 2-pounder naval gun Bofors 40 mm QF 3 inch QF 3.7 inch QF 4.5 inch Mk II QF 5.25 inch Mk II

Coast defence	QF 6 pounder 10 cwt QF 12 pounder QF 4.7-inch Mk I–IV BL 6 inch Mk VII & Mk XXIV BL 7.5 inch Mk VI BL 8 inch Mk VIII BL 9.2 inch Mk X BL 14 inch Mk VII BL 15 inch Mk I

Railway artillery	BL 9.2 inch Mk XIII railway gun BL 12 inch Mk V railway howitzer BL 18 inch railway howitzer

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