BL 15 inch Mk I naval gun

Infobox Weapon
name= BL 15 inch Mark I


caption=An animation showing the loading cycle of the Mark I turret for the BL 15 inch Mark I.
origin= UK
type= naval gun
is_ranged=YES
is_bladed=
is_explosive=
is_artillery=YES
is_vehicle=
is_UK=YES
service=1913-1959
used_by=UK
wars=
designer=
design_date=1912
manufacturer=see text
production_date=
number=
variants=
weight= 100.3 tons (102 tonnes)
length=
part_length= 52.5 ft (16.5 m)
width=
height=
crew=
cartridge= separate charges and shell
caliber=15 in (381 mm)
action=
rate= 2 rounds per minute
velocity=
range=
max_range= 32,500 yards (29,720 m): 30° elevation, streamlined shell
feed=
sights=
breech=
recoil=
carriage=
elevation=
traverse=
blade_type=
hilt_type=
sheath_type=
head_type=
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diameter=
filling=
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yield=
armour=
primary_armament=
secondary_armament=
engine=
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speed=The BL 15 inch Mark I was the first British 15 inch (381 mm) gun design and the most widely used and longest lasting of any British designs. The barrel was 42 calibres long (i.e. 15 in x 42 = 630 in) and was referred to as "15 inch/42". The gun fired a 1920 lb (871 kg) shell at a muzzle velocity of 2,575 fps (785 mps). Maximum range in shipboard mountings was 32,500 yards (29,720 m) (30 degrees elevation) but coastal artillery mounting with higher elevations could reach 44,150 yards (40,370 m). Two coastal guns (Clem and Jane) were mounted near Wanstone Farm in Kent in the 1940's. Five guns were mounted in Singapore in the 1930's.

Usage

These guns were used on several classes of battleships from 1915 until HMS "Vanguard", the last battleship to be built for the Royal Navy, completed in 1946.

Warships with the BL 15 inch Mark I gun:
*"Queen Elizabeth" class battleships (Five ships with eight guns each)
*"Revenge" class battleships (Five ships with eight guns each)
*"Renown" class battlecruisers (Two ships with six guns each)
*HMS "Hood" - battlecruiser (Eight guns)
*"Glorious" class large light cruisers (Two ships with four guns each)
*"Erebus" class monitors (Two ships with two guns each)
*"Marshal Ney" class monitors (Two ships with two guns each)
*"Roberts" class monitors (Two ships with two guns each)
*HMS "Vanguard" - battleship (Eight guns, taken from "Courageous" and "Glorious")

Production

184 guns were manufactured. They were removed from ships, refurbished, and rotated back into other ships over their lifetime.
* Armstrong Whitworth, Elswick, Newcastle: 34
* Armstrong Whitworth, Openshaw, Manchester: 12.
* William Beardmore & Company, Parkhead, Glasgow: 37
* Coventry Ordnance Works, Coventry: 19
* Royal Arsenal, Woolwich: 33
* Vickers Limited, Sheffield: 49

Two guns, one formerly from HMS "Ramillies" (left gun) and one from HMS "Resolution" (right gun), are mounted outside the Imperial War Museum in London.

World War II Ammunition

ee also

*List of artillery Naval guns
*Langer Max - German Counterpart

External links

* [http://www.dockmuseum.org.uk/archive/index.asp Images from the Vickers Photographic Archives]
* [http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNBR_15-42_mk1.htm Information at Naval Weapons website]
* [http://battleshiphmsvanguard.homestead.com/15inch.html HMS Vanguard site]
* [http://collections.iwm.org.uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.990 The IWM guns]