Vickers 14 inch/45 naval gun

Vickers 14 inch 45-calibre naval gun 14"41st Year Type 14" 43rd Year Type 36 cm 41st Year Type
Gun being installed on Haruna, Kobe, October 1914
Type	Naval gun
Service history
In service	1913 - 1945
Used by	Japan
Wars	World War I, World War II
Production history
Designer	Vickers
Manufacturer	Vickers Kure Arsenal Japan Steel Works
Specifications
Barrel length	Bore 52 ft 6 in (16.002 m) (45 calibres)
Shell	673.5 kg (1,485 lb)[1]
Calibre	14-inch (355.6 mm)
Muzzle velocity	775 m/s (2,540 ft/s)[2]
Maximum firing range	35,450 m (38,770 yd)[3]

The Vickers 14 inch 45 calibre gun was designed and built by Vickers and initially installed on the battlecruiser Kongō which it was building for the Imperial Japanese Navy. Guns similar to this Vickers design were also later built in Japan to arm Kongō's sister ships and subsequent Japanese-constructed "super-dreadnoughts" which were all built in Japan.

History

The original design for the Kongō class featured 12-inch (304.8 mm) 50-caliber guns. Cdr Katô Hirohasu of the Imperial Japanese Navy pushed for the adoption of the new 14-inch gun that was currently under development. After trials of the new gun, which were witnessed by both the Japanese Navy and Royal Navy, the Japanese made the decision on 29 Nov 1911 to use the new gun in the Kongō despite her keel having already been laid down on the 17 January 1911, and the resulting need to quickly make a large number of alternations to the design, so as to not prolong the construction.^[4]

This gun armed the following Japanese warships:

• Kongō-class battlecruisers, launched 1912 - 1913:
  • Kongō
  • Hiei
  • Kirishima
  • Haruna
• Fusō-class battleships, launched 1915:
  • Fusō
  • Yamashiro
• Ise-class battleships, launched 1916 - 1917:
  • Ise
  • Hyūga

Japanese-built versions of the guns were designated 14 inch 41st Year Type, and from 1917 when the Navy went metric they were redesignated 36 cm 41st Year Type.

See also

• List of naval guns

Weapons of comparable role, performance and era

• EOC 14 inch /45 naval gun Elswick Ordnance (Britain) equivalent
• 14"/45 caliber gun US equivalent

Notes

1. http://navalhistory.flixco.info/H/66230x53535/8330/a0.htm
2. http://navalhistory.flixco.info/H/66230x53535/8330/a0.htm
3. http://navalhistory.flixco.info/H/66230x53535/8330/a0.htm
4. Lengerer. Page 142.

References

• Tony DiGiulian, Japan 14"/45 (35.6 cm) Vickers Mark "A" - 14"/45 (35.6 cm) 43rd Year Type - 14"/45 (35.6 cm) 41st Year Type - 36 cm/45 (14") 41st Year Type
• Lengerer, Hans (2012). Jordan, John, ed. The Battlecruisers of the Kongō Class. Warship 2012. London: Conway. pp. 142–161. ISBN 978-1-84486-156-9.

External links