RML 12 Inch 35 Ton Gun
| RML 12 Inch 35 Ton Gun | |
|---|---|
| General Information | |
| Military designation: | Ordnance RML 12 inch 35 ton gun |
| Manufacturer designation: | RML 12 inch 35 ton gun |
| Manufacturer country: |
 United Kingdom
|
| Developer / Manufacturer: | Royal Arsenal |
| Development year: | 1871 |
| Number of pieces: | 15th |
| Weapon Category: | cannon |
| Technical specifications | |
| Pipe length: | 162.5 inches (4.13 m) (tube and powder chamber) |
| Caliber : |
12 inch (304.8 mm) |
| Furnishing | |
| Charging principle: | Muzzle loader |
| Costs: | £ 2,154 |
The RML 12 inch 35 ton gun gun was a large-caliber British cannon used as the main armament on warships. It was larger and more powerful than the 12 inch RML 12 inch 25t gun .
RML stands for rifled muzzle-loading ( muzzle loader ), 12 inches for the caliber (304.8 mm) and 35 ton 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.
construction
The gun was developed in 1871 with a caliber of 11.6 inches and fired shells with a projectile weight of 700 pounds. However, the results of the testing were unsatisfactory, so the pipe was bored out to 12 inches. With this modification, shells weighing 708 pounds 12 oz (320.6 kg) were used.
The cannon was a muzzle loader. First the propellant charge was inserted from the front, then the projectile in the same way. The pipe 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.
Typically, 706 pound armor-piercing shells were fired with a 110 pound charge of black powder . In addition, shrapnel and explosive grenades were available, which weighed 613 pounds and were fired with propellant charges of 85 or 67 pounds of black powder.
commitment
Cannons of this type were used on the Devastation-class ships .
With the HMS Thunderer , however, guns of the type RML 12.5 inch 38 ton gun were used in the front tower , as the originally planned RML 12 inch 35 ton gun were not available. They used the same propellant charges and projectiles as the RML 12 inch 35 ton gun in the aft tower, which simplified the ammunition supply.
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Treatise on the Construction and Manufacture of Ordnance in the British Service 1879, p. 284
- ^ Treatise on the Construction and Manufacture of Ordnance in the British Service 1877, p. 292
- ↑ unit price £ 2.153 13 shillings 9 pence after TA Brassey: The British Navy Volume II, 1882, p 38
- ^ Treatise on the Construction and Manufacture of Ordnance in the British Service 1877, pp. 77f
- ^ Treatise on Ammunition 1877, pp. 191, 194, 220
- ^ TA Brassey: The British Navy Volume II, 1882, pp. 81-85
literature
- Treatise on the Construction and Manufacture of Ordnance in the British service. War Office, UK, 1877
- Treatise on the Construction and Manufacture of Ordnance in the British Service. War Office, UK, 1879
- Text Book of Gunnery, LONDON 1887. PRINTED FOR HIS MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE, BY HARRISON AND SONS, ST. MARTIN'S LANE
- Sir Thomas Brassey, The British Navy, Volume II. London: Longmans, Green and Co. 1882
