BL 6 inch gun Mk V

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
BL 6 inch gun Mk V


General Information
Military designation: 6-inch gun Mark V
Manufacturer designation: BL 6 inch gun Mk V
Manufacturer country: United KingdomUnited Kingdom United Kingdom
Developer / Manufacturer: Elswick Ordnance Company
Development year: 1884
Production time: 1884 to 19?
Weapon Category: cannon
Technical specifications
Pipe length: 30.58 caliber 4.661
32 caliber 4.877
Caliber :

6 inch (152.4 mm)

Number of trains : 28 (polygonal)
Furnishing
Charging principle: Breech loader

The BL 6 inch gun Mk V was a breech-loading cannon developed by the Elswick Ordnance Company . It was used in the coastal defense of the British Empire . Originally, it was to use the existing black powder - propellant charges provided.

History and commitment

The muzzle loaders with rifled barrel ( RML - Rifle Muzzle Loading) introduced from the mid-1860s had basically proven themselves in the Royal Navy and coastal artillery. Suitable caliber sizes had been determined in lengthy series of tests. However, progress in shipbuilding, particularly with regard to the speed and armor of steam-powered warships, required greater range and cadence as well as greater penetration. When gas-tight closures became available, the breech loader was used again. For economic reasons, however, the large numbers of black powder propellant charges should continue to be used. Elswick Ordnance then developed the BL 6 inch gun Mk I ( BL - Breech Loading), which was replaced from 1880 by the BL 6 inch guns Mk II-VI built by Elswick Ordnance and the Royal Gun Factory .

Elswick Ordnance originally developed the Mk V version for export. Some of these weapons were bought up by the British government and used in coastal defense. They were named 6-inch gun Mark V . The gun was exported to Hong Kong , New Zealand , the Australian colonies and Siam , where it was used in coastal artillery.

construction

Mk V
Mk V clasp

The construction of the Mk V was basically similar to the construction of the BL 6 inch guns Mk II – VI. However, the barrel was lengthened to a length of 30 calibers and had 28 instead of 24 puffs, but fired the same 100 lb.-bullets as the versions Mk III, IV and VI.

The breech and the trigger system were modified on the cannons in British service in order to match them to the Mk III, IV and VI already introduced. However, the lock was hinged on the left, in contrast to the Mk III, IV and VI, which had a lock hinged on the right.

The pipe was an all-steel construction and consisted of a core pipe and the jacket pipe, which in turn consisted of several, partially overlapping rings.

The cannon had no device for the return of the barrel and therefore required a special carriage construction . The guns were either mounted on hydropneumatic articulated mounts or had a Vavasseur slideway. The upper mount, which is firmly connected to the cannon, slid on an inclined slideway of the lower mount in order to absorb the recoil of the cannon.

QFC conversion

QFC in Albany, Western Australia, 1943

During the 1890s cartridge ammunition was developed that was fired with rapid fire guns ( QF - Quick Fire). This new technology led to a significant increase in the cadence . In some cases, existing guns were converted to use cartridged ammunition. Four Mk V were returned to Great Britain from New South Wales and converted there. They were named QFC (Quick Fire Converted).

Two of these cannons were in use at Princess Royal Fortress in Albany , Western Australia until 1945 .

literature

  • Treatise on the construction and manufacture of ordnance in the British Service prepared in the Royal Gun Factory, 1887, London: Printed in Order of the Secretary of State of War.
  • "Text Book of Gunnery", 1887. London: Printed for His Majesty's Stationery Office by Harrison and Sons, St Martin's Lane.
  • "Text Book of Gunnery", 1902. London: Printed for His Majesty's Stationery Office by Harrison and Sons, St Martin's Lane.

Web links

Commons : BL 6 inch gun Mk V  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Text Book of Gunnery 1902, Table XII
  2. ^ Text Book of Gunnery 1887, Table XVI
  3. ^ "Treatise on Construction of Service Ordnance, 1893", pages 263-264
  4. ↑ Since a conversion into the metric system results in "crooked" values, some of which no longer harmonize with the names of the guns and ammunition, the original units of measurement are used in the text for masses and weights.
  5. ↑ Peter Dunn, "two emplaced at the fortress from 1938 to 1945. It was originally from South Head - Sydney and was one of the four BL guns from the Colony of NSW which was sent to England in the late part of the 19th Century to be converted to QF "