RML 8 inch 9 ton gun

Ordnance RML 8 inch 9 ton gun
Gundeck of HMS Northumberland
Type	Naval gun Coast defence gun
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1866 - 190?
Used by	Royal Navy
Production history
Manufacturer	Royal Arsenal
Unit cost	£568^[1]
Variants	Mk I - Mk III
Specifications
Weight	9 long tons (9.1 t)
Barrel length	118 inches (3.0 m) bore + chamber^[2]

Shell	174 pounds 12 ounces (79.3 kg)^[3]
Calibre	8-inch (203.2 mm)
Muzzle velocity	1,420 feet per second (430 m/s)^[4]

The British RML 8 inch 9 ton guns Mark I - Mark III^[5] were medium rifled muzzle-loading guns used to arm smaller ironclad warships and coast defence batteries in the later 19th century.

Design

In common with other Royal Ordnance RML designs of the 1860s, Mark I used the strong but expensive Armstrong system of a steel tube surrounded by a complex system of multiple wrought-iron coils, which was progressively simplified in Marks II and III to reduce costs : Mark III consisted only of A tube, B tube, breech coil and cascabel screw.

Rifling was of the "Woolwich" pattern of a small number of broad shallow grooves : 4 grooves with twist increasing from 0 to 1 turn in 40 calibres (i.e. in 320 inches) at the muzzle.

Ammunition

The ammunition was mainly studded, with the studs engaging in the Woolwich rifling grooves. However, a studless pointed common shell with automatic gas-check also became available later in the gun's life.^[6]

Notes and references

↑ Unit cost of £567 12 shillings 10 pence is quoted in "The British Navy" Volume II, 1882, by Sir Thomas Brassey. Page 38
↑ Text Book of Gunnery 1887 Table XVI page 313
↑ 174 lb 12 oz projectile. Text Book of Gunnery 1887 Table XVI page 313
↑ 1,420 feet/second firing 174-pound 12-oz projectile . Text Book of Gunnery 1887 Table XVI page 313
↑ Mark I - Mark III = Mark 1 through to Mark 3. Britain used Roman numerals to denote Marks (models) of ordnance until after World War II. Hence this article describes the three models of RML 8-inch guns.
↑ Gas-checks in British RML heavy guns

Bibliography

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to RML 8 inch 9 ton gun.

British Empire naval weapons of the Victorian era

Smoothbore muzzle-loading cannons	18-pounder 24-pounder 32-pounder 58 cwt 68-pounder Somerset cannon

Smoothbore muzzle-loading shell guns	8 inch 10-inch 86 cwt

Mortars	10-inch Blomefield 13-inch Blomefield

Howitzers	12-pounder Millar 24-pounder Millar

Rifled breechloaders (Armstrong)	RBL 9 pounder RBL 20 pounder RBL 40 pounder RBL 7 inch 110 pounder

Rifled muzzle-loaders (Lancaster)	68-Pounder Lancaster gun

Rifled muzzle-loaders (converted)	RML 64 pounder 71 cwt

Rifled muzzle-loaders (Woolwich)	RML 9 pounder 8 cwt RML 64 pounder 64 cwt RML 7 inch RML 8 inch RML 9 inch RML 10 inch RML 11 inch RML 12 inch 25 ton RML 12 inch 35 ton RML 12.5 inch RML 16 inch

Quick-firing guns	QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss QF 6-pounder Hotchkiss QF 6 pounder Nordenfelt QF 12-pounder 12 cwt Mk I QF 4 inch QF 4.7 inch QF 6 inch

Breech-loaders (new pattern)	BL 4 inch BL 5 inch BL 6 inch 80 pounder BL 6 inch Mk II – VI BL 8 inch BL 9.2 inch Mk I – VII BL 9.2 inch Mk VIII BL 10 inch BL 12 inch Mk I – VII BL 12 inch Mk VIII BL 13.5 inch BL 16.25 inch

Light weapons	Gatling gun Gardner gun Nordenfelt gun 1-inch Nordenfelt gun

Torpedoes	Whitehead torpedo

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