10"/40 caliber gun Mark 3
| 10"/40 caliber Mark 3 Naval Gun | |
|---|---|
USS Washington (ACR-11) - 10 inch gun practice.
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| Type | Naval gun |
| Place of origin |  United States |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1902 |
| Used by |  United States Navy |
| Wars | World War I |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Bureau of Ordnance |
| Designed | 1899 |
| Manufacturer | U.S. Naval Gun Factory |
| Variants | Mark 3 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight |
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| Length | 413 in (10.5 m) |
| Barrel length | 400 in (10 m) bore (40 calibers) |
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| Shell | 510 lb (230 kg) armor-piercing |
| Caliber | Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1851: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value). |
| Elevation | -3° to +14° |
| Traverse | −150° to +150° |
| Rate of fire | 2 – 3 rounds per minute |
| Muzzle velocity | 2,700 ft/s (820 m/s) |
| Effective firing range | 20,000-yard (18,288 m) at 14.5° elevation |
The 10"/40 caliber gun Mark 3 (spoken "ten-inch-forty--caliber") was used for the primary batteries of the United States Navy's last generation of armored cruisers, theTennessee-class. The Mark 3's were the last, and most powerful, 10-inch guns built for the US Navy.[1]
Design of the Mark 3
The Navy's Policy Board call for a variety of large caliber weapons in 1890, with ranges all the way up to 16 in (410 mm), to use the new smokeless powder that had recently been adopted by the Navy. Because of this new propellant, projectiles could accelerate all the way along the gun barrel, which allowed for barrels of 40, or more, calibers long. This led to the development of the 10-inch/40 caliber gun.[1]
The Mark 3 was specifically designed for the Tennessee-class armored cruisers, numbered in order after the Mark 1 and Mark 2's, Nos. 27–47, with No. 27 being delivered in February 1906. Nos. 27–31, 36, and 45 were all Mod 0's, with Nos. 37–44, 46, and 47 being Mod 1's. The initial Mod 2's were Nos. 32–35, with other later converted to Mod 2. These were all constructed of gun steel.[2] The 10" Mark 3 Mod 0 was built in a length of 40 calibers, had a tube, jacket and four hoops with a locking ring, and a screw box liner, all of which were manufactured out of nickel-steel.[1] The Mark 3 Mod 1's only differed from the Mod 0 in the shape of the front of their chambers and the Mod 2 had a conical nickel-steel liner that was the same length as the tube, with the chamber volume being slightly reduced.[2]
| Ship | Gun Installed | Gun Mount |
|---|---|---|
| USS Tennessee (ACR-10) | Mark 3: 10"/40 caliber | Mark 6: 2 × twin turrets |
| USS Washington (ACR-11) | Mark 3: 10"/40 caliber | Mark 6: 2 × twin turrets |
| USS North Carolina (ACR-12) | Mark 3: 10"/40 caliber | Mark 6: 2 × twin turrets |
| USS Montana (ACR-13) | Mark 3: 10"/40 caliber | Mark 6: 2 × twin turrets |
References
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to 10"/40 caliber gun. |
