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
TypeNaval gun
Service history
In service1913-1945
Used byImperial Japanese Navy
WarsWorld War I, World War II
Production history
DesignerVickers
Designed1910
ManufacturerVickers
Kure Arsenal
Japan Steel Works
No. built100
Specifications
Mass86,000 kilograms (86 t)
Barrel lengthBore 52 ft 6 in (16.002 m) (45 calibres)
Shell673.5 kg (1,485 lb)[1]
Calibre14-inch (355.6 mm)
Elevation-3° to +43°[2]
Rate of fire2 rpm
Muzzle velocity775 m/s (2,540 ft/s)[1]
Maximum firing range35,450 m (38,770 yd)[1]

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. 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.

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 Kongō despite her keel having already been laid down on 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.[3]: 142 

This gun armed the following Japanese warships:

See also

Weapons of comparable role, performance and era

References

  1. ^ a b c "Gun Model: JPN 14in 36cm 45cal 41st Type". Naval History via Flix. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  2. ^ Campbell, John (1985). Naval Weapons of World War Two. Naval Institute Press. p. 184. ISBN 0870214594.
  3. ^ 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.

Bibliography

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vickers 14 inch/45 naval gun.

Japanese naval weapons of the Second World War
Categories