BL 14 inch Mk VII naval gun

The BL 14 inch mk VII naval gun was designed for the ships of the Royal Navy in the late 1930s. This gun armed the "King George V" class battleships.

The choice of calibre was limited by the Second London Naval Treaty, an extension of the Washington Naval Treaty which set limits on the size armament and number of battleships constructed by the major powers. After disappointing experiences with the combination of high velocity but relatively light shell in the BL 16 inch /45 naval gun of the "Nelson" class battleships, the British reverted to the combination of lower velocities and (relatively) heavier shells in this weapon. These guns were constructed using a non wire wound radial expansion design which was an advance on previous British practice with a longer barrel life and better accuracy. Unfortunately, the choice of mountings was for quadruple turrets, and in practice these developed a reputation as being unreliable with the turrets jamming during battle. However, it has been argued that these jams were typically caused by errors in drill, either due to lack of gun crew training, as was the case when the newly commissioned "Prince of Wales" engaged the "Bismarck" in the Battle of the Denmark Strait (1941), or due to crew fatigue resulting from the prolonged nature of the engagement, as was the case when "King George V" engaged "Bismarck" in 1941, and "Duke of York" engaged "Scharnhorst" in the Battle of North Cape (1943).

Two guns were also mounted as coastal artillery near Dover. A total of 78 guns were made.

pecifications

* Date of design- 1937
* Entered service - 1940
* Bore - 14 inches (356 mm)
* Length - 45 calibres (16.02 m)
* Weight - 80.26 metric tonnes
* Rate of fire - 2 rounds per minute
* Shell weight - 1,590 lb (721 kg)
* Propellant weight - 383.3 lb (153.4 kg)
* Range - up to convert|36500|yd|m|-2 at 40.7 degrees (25% wear) or convert|38600|yd|m|-2 at 40 degrees with new linings
* Muzzle Velocity - Standard Charge: 2400 ft/s (25% wear)(732 m/s), 2,483 ft/s (757 m/s) (new gun)
* Mountings
**4 gun turret Mark III (1,557 Metric tonnes, up to 40 degree elevation)
**2 gun turret Mark I (900.5 Metric tonnes, up to 40 degree elevation)

ee also

List_of_artillery#Naval_guns

References

* [http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNBR_14-45_mk7.htm Page from Nav weapons.com]