RML 12.5 Inch 38 Ton Gun

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RML 12.5 Inch 38 Ton Gun


General Information
Military designation: Ordnance RML 12.5 inch 38 ton gun
Manufacturer designation: RML 12.5 inch 38 ton gun
Manufacturer country: United KingdomUnited Kingdom United Kingdom
Developer / Manufacturer: Royal Gun Factory / Royal Arsenal
Development year: 1874
Start of production: 1875
Model variants: Mk I, II
Weapon Category: cannon
Technical specifications
Pipe length: 198 inches (5.0 m)
Caliber :

12.5 inch (317.5 mm)

Number of trains : 9
Furnishing
Charging principle: Muzzle loader
Bullet weight: 800 to 809 pounds (362.9 to 367.0 kg)

The RML 12.5 inch 38 ton gun was a large-caliber British cannon that was used as a naval gun and in coastal artillery from 1875. RML stands for rifled muzzle-loading ( muzzle loader ), 12.5 inches for the caliber (317.5 mm) and 38 tons for the weight of the gun (without mount) in tons .

history

The first breech-loading guns ( RBL - Rifled Breech Loading) rifled were from Armstrong developed and in 1859 the British Army and the Royal Navy introduced. However, these guns could not convince in action. Therefore, the British Army and the Royal Navy switched to muzzle-loaders again from the mid-1860s. The rifled barrel was retained, however. With the improvement of the armor of warships, the need arose to increase the penetration capacity of the guns. This led to the development of increasingly large-caliber guns.

The cannon was developed on the basis of the existing RML 12 inch 35 ton gun with the aim of creating a gun of approximately the same caliber but with a longer barrel length. An increase in the barrel length leads to a higher muzzle velocity of the projectile and thus to a higher range and greater penetration capacity. In 1874, tests had shown that a version of the RML 12 inch 35 ton gun lengthened by 3 feet and drilled to a 12.5 inch caliber had improved properties. Further tests showed that a bullet weighing 800 pounds with a propellant charge of 130 pounds of P2 black powder could be fired without problems.

construction

Structure of the pipe, version Mk I

The cannon was a muzzle loader. First the propellant charge was inserted from the front, then the projectile in the same way.

The design was similar to that of the RML 12 inch 35 ton gun. The tube was made of carbonaceous steel hardened in oil. The wrought iron stopper was shrunk onto the tube. Several wrought iron rings were shrunk onto this entire construction. Construction was completed in 1875.

The pipe had a total of nine trains called “Woolwich” patterns . These trains were relatively flat, wide and had rounded edges. This construction made it easier to insert the propellant charge and the projectile from the front. The twist length was 35 caliber (437.5 inches).

The grenades used were provided with wart-shaped elevations that slid along the rifling of the barrel and thus made it possible to insert the projectile from the front.

The Mark II version had a larger powder chamber, which enables the use of stronger propellant charges. Muzzle velocity and range were slightly higher than the Mark I version .

The gun was the last large-caliber British muzzle-loader before the renewed transition to breech loading ( BL ) in the 1880s.

  • Grenade, note the wart-shaped bumps (Hurst Castle)

  • Shrapnel (Mk I)

Ship gun

Cannons of this type were used on the following ships:

Coastal artillery

Cannons of this type were used in various coastal fortifications in the United Kingdom and its colonies, for example in Hurst Castle on the banks of the Solent , Fort Nelson ( Portsmouth ) and Fort Delimara in Malta .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Treatise on the Construction and Manufacture of Ordnance in the British Service, p. 292
  2. ^ Treatise on the Construction and Manufacture of Ordnance in the British Service, pp. 77f
  3. ^ Treatise on the Construction and Manufacture of Ordnance in the British Service, pp. 286-287

literature

Web links

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