4"/50 caliber gun
4"/50 caliber naval gun | |
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The gun from USS Ward which fired the first American shot of World War II at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941
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Type | Naval gun |
Service history | |
In service | 1913 - 1945 |
Used by | United States Navy Royal Navy Royal Canadian Navy Soviet Navy |
Wars | World War I, World War II |
Production history | |
Designed | 1910 |
Variants | Mk 7, 8, 9 and 10 |
Specifications | |
Weight | 5,450 pounds (2,470 kg) |
Length | 206.5 inches (5.25 m) |
Barrel length | Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1851: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value). bore (50 calibres) |
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Shell | Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1851: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value).[1] |
Calibre | Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1851: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value). |
Elevation | -15 to 20 degrees |
Traverse | -150 to 150 degrees |
Rate of fire | 8-9 rpm |
Muzzle velocity | 2,900 feet per second (880 m/s)[1] |
Maximum firing range | 15,920 yards (14,560 m)[1] |
The 4"/50 caliber Mark 9 gun (spoken "four-inch-fifty-caliber") was the standard low-angle, quick-firing gun for United States destroyers through World War I and the 1920s. It was also the standard deck gun on S-class submarines, and was used to rearm numerous submarines built with 3" guns early in World War II. United States naval gun terminology indicates the gun fired a projectile 4 inches (10 cm) in diameter, and the barrel was 50 calibers long (barrel length is 4 inch x 50 = 200 inches or 5 meters).[2]
Contents
Description
The built-up gun with a tube, full-length jacket, and side swing Welin breech block with Smith-Asbury mechanism weighed about 2.7 tons. Fixed ammunition (case and projectile handled as a single assembled unit) with a 14.5-pound (6.6 kg) charge of smokeless powder gave a 33-pound (15 kg) projectile a velocity of 2,900 feet per second (880 m/s). Range was 9 miles (14 km) at the maximum elevation of 20 degrees. Useful life expectancy was 500 effective full charges (EFC) per barrel.[1]
Increasing awareness of the need for improved anti-aircraft protection encouraged mounting of dual purpose guns on destroyers beginning in the 1930s. The dual-purpose 5"/38 caliber gun became standard for United States destroyers constructed from the 1930s through World War II. United States destroyers built with 4"/50 caliber low-angle guns were rearmed with dual-purpose 3"/50 caliber guns. The 4"/50 caliber guns removed from destroyers were mounted on Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships of the British Merchant Navy and United States Merchant Marine like SS Stephen Hopkins.[1] As S-boats were transferred from combat patrols to training duties from mid-1942 through 1943, their 4-inch guns were removed and used to re-equip front-line submarines built with 3"/50 caliber guns.
The 4"/50 caliber gun was mounted on:
- Cassin-class destroyers[3]
- O'Brien-class destroyers[3]
- Tucker-class destroyers[3]
- Sampson-class destroyers[3]
- Caldwell-class destroyers[4]
- Wickes-class destroyers[4]
- Clemson-class destroyers[4]
- United States S-class submarines[5]
- the first seven Balao-class submarines[1]
- USS Dolphin (SS-169)[5]
- numerous rearmed submarines including USS Salmon (SS-182), USS Seadragon (SS-194), USS Gato (SS-212), USS Silversides (SS-236) and USS Robalo (SS-273)[1]
UK service
Many Mark 9 guns were supplied to the United Kingdom during World War II as part of Lend-lease, both individually and on naval and merchant ships.[6] Caldwell, Wickes, and Clemson-class destroyers transferred under the Destroyers for Bases Agreement became British and Canadian Town-class destroyers.[7]
See also
Weapons of comparable role, performance and era
- BL 4 inch naval gun Mk VII British equivalent
Notes
References
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- Gardiner, Robert and Gray, Randal, Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906-1921 Conway Maritime Press, 1985. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
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External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to 4"/50 caliber gun. |
- DiGiulian, Tony, United States of America 4"/50 (10.2 cm) Marks 7, 8, 9 and 10 at Navweaps.com