RML 8-inch 9-ton gun
Gundeck of HMS Northumberland
TypeNaval gun
Coast defence gun
Place of originUnited Kingdom
Service history
In service1866–190?
Used byRoyal Navy
Production history
ManufacturerRoyal Arsenal
Unit cost£568[1]
VariantsMk I – Mk III
Specifications
Mass9 long tons (9.1 t)
Barrel length118 inches (3.0 m) bore + chamber[2]
Shell174 pounds 12 ounces (79.3 kg)[3]
Calibre8-inch (203.2 mm)
Muzzle velocity1,420 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 in (810 cm)) 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]

See also

Surviving examples

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Notes and references

  1. ^ Unit cost of £567 12 shillings 10 pence is quoted in "The British Navy" Volume II, 1882, by Sir Thomas Brassey. Page 38
  2. ^ Text Book of Gunnery 1887 Table XVI page 313
  3. ^ 174 lb 12 oz projectile. Text Book of Gunnery 1887 Table XVI page 313
  4. ^ 1,420 feet/second firing 174-pound 12-oz projectile . Text Book of Gunnery 1887 Table XVI page 313
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ Gas-checks in British RML heavy guns

Bibliography

External links

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British Empire naval weapons of the Victorian era
British Empire small arms & ordnance of the Victorian era
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