4-inch/50-caliber gun
4″/50 caliber gun Marks 7, 8, 9, and 10 | |
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Naval gun | |
Place of origin | United States |
Service history | |
In service | 1898–1945 |
Used by | |
Wars | |
Production history | |
Designer | Bureau of Ordnance |
Designed |
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Manufacturer | |
No. built |
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Variants | Mark 7, 8, 9 and 10 |
Specifications | |
Mass |
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Length |
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Barrel length | All: 200 in (5,080 mm) bore (50 calibres) |
Shell |
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Calibre | 4 in (102 mm) |
Elevation | -15° to +20° |
Traverse | -150° to 150° |
Rate of fire | 8-9 rounds per minute |
Muzzle velocity |
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Effective firing range | Mark 7: 9,000 yd (8,200 m) at 13° elevation |
Maximum firing range | Mark 9: 15,920 yd (14,560 m) at 20° elevation[1] |
The 4″/50 caliber gun (spoken "four-inch-fifty-caliber") was the standard low-angle,
Design
The original 4-inch/50 caliber Mark 7 gun, M1898, serial nos. 213–254, 257–281, 316–338, was an entirely new high-power design
Gun No. 353 was the prototype of the Mark 8 and was test fired on 22 September 1910. This gun had been ordered 16 June 1907 and delivered in November 1907. The simplified design of the Mark 8 had just a gun tube and jacket. The jacket extended all the way to the muzzle and ended in a muzzle bell. The production run was small with only 12 guns built, Nos. 353–364.[3]
The Mark 9 was a design directly resulting from tests with gun No. 353. It was designed to be light in weight, and would go on to be the standard 4-inch gun used on destroyers and submarines during WW I. The gun would use an A tube, full-length jacket, a muzzle swell with a side swing
The Mark 10, gun No. 365-A, was ordered in 1915 but does not appear to have been completed until after WW I. The initial drawings were for a 4-inch/50 caliber anti-aircraft gun dated January and February 1915. It was designed with a vertically sliding breech block on a built-up gun with a tube, jacket, chase hoop and locking ring, all constructed of nickel steel, but it does not appear that the Mark 10 was put into service.[3]
The gun was rapid firing (US term) or quick firing (British term). Fixed ammunition (case and projectile handled as a single assembled unit) with a 14.5-pound (6.6 kg) charge of
Increasing awareness of the need for improved
Manufacturer list Mark 9 gun
Manufacturer | Date ordered | Gun Nos. | Total built | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Midvale Steel | 18 October 1911 | 365–389 | 25 | |
Bethlehem Steel | 7 November 1911 | 390–414 | 25 | |
British and American Mfg. Co. | 4 February 1913 | 415–444 | 30 | Mod 4 No. 432 on |
Watervliet Arsenal | 19 April 1913 | 445–478 | 34 | Mod 4 |
British and American Mfg. Co. | 28 November 1914 | 479–508 | 30 | Mod 2, Mod 5 No. 502 on |
Watervliet Arsenal | 8 June 1915 | 509–538 | 30 | Mod 2, Mod 5 No. 516 on |
Bethlehem Steel | 31 October 1916 | 539–605 | 67 | Mod 5 |
British and American Mfg. Co. | 18 November 1916 | 606–705 | 100 | Mod 5 |
Watervliet Arsenal | 17 October 1916 | 706–755 | 50 | Mod 5 |
Bethlehem Steel | 4 April 1917 | 756–855 | 100 | Mod 5 |
Root & VanDervoort | 25 May 1917 | 876–1875 | 1000 | Nos. 856-875 were not assigned |
American Radiator Corp. | 7 June 1917 | 1876–2380 | 505 | Nos. 2381-2875 were not assigned |
Poole Engineering | 29 August 1917 | 2876–2994 | 119 | Nos. 2995-3375 were not assigned |
American and British Co. | 24 September 1917 | 3376–3506 | 131 | Nos. 3507-3575 were not assigned |
Watervliet Arsenal | 11 July 1918 | 3576–3605 | 30 |
The unassigned numbers mostly corresponded to gun orders that were cancelled with the signing of the Armistice.[3]
The 4″/50 caliber gun was mounted on:
- Arkansas-class monitors (Mark 7)
- Cassin-class destroyers[4]
- Aylwin-class destroyers
- O'Brien-class destroyers[4]
- Tucker-class destroyers[4]
- Sampson-class destroyers[4]
- Caldwell-class destroyers[5]
- Wickes-class destroyers[5]
- Clemson-class destroyers[5]
- United States S-class submarines[6]
- The first seven Balao-class submarines[1]
- USS Dolphin[6]
- Numerous rearmed submarines including USS Salmon, USS Seadragon, USS Gato, USS Silversides and USS Robalo[1]
- Eagle-class patrol craft
- Some minesweepers - Q-ships like USS Eagle
- Some minelayers like USS Miantonomah
- Some patrol gunboats like USS Sacramento, Asheville-class gunboat, USS Plymouth
- armed yachts,
United States Merchant Marine
- Most Liberty ships
- World War I underway replenishment oilers like USS Maumee
- Some World War II oilers like USS Big Horn, USS Victoria and USS Pasig
Coast defense use
Four two-gun batteries of 4″/50 caliber ex-Navy guns were emplaced on the North Shore of Oahu in 1942. They seem to have been withdrawn in 1943 as other defenses were constructed. It is not clear who operated these guns; likely possibilities include the United States Army Coast Artillery Corps, Marine defense battalions, or naval personnel. The batteries were at Kaena, Kalihi (Mokuoeo Island), Battery Dillingham at Mokuleia, and Kaneohe Bay.[7]
UK service
Many Mark 9 guns were supplied to the United Kingdom during
See also
Weapons of comparable role, performance and era
- QF 4-inch naval gun Mk IV: British equivalent
- 10.5 cm SK L/45 naval gun: German equivalent
Notes
References
- Berhow, Mark A., ed. (2015). American Seacoast Defenses, A Reference Guide (Third ed.). McLean, Virginia: CDSG Press. ISBN 978-0-9748167-3-9.
- Campbell, John (1985). Naval Weapons of World War Two. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-459-4.
- DiGiulian, Tony, United States of America 4″/50 (10.2 cm) Marks 7, 8, 9 and 10 at Navweaps.com
- Fahey, James C. (1939). The Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet, War Edition. Ships and Aircraft.
- Fairfield, A.P. (1921). Naval Ordnance. The Lord Baltimore Press.
- Gardiner, Robert and Gray, Randal, Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906-1921 Conway Maritime Press, 1985. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
- Lenton, H.T.; Colledge, J.J. (1968). British and Dominion Warships of World War II. Doubleday and Company.
External links
- List of all US coastal forts and batteries at the Coast Defense Study Group, Inc. website
- FortWiki, lists most CONUS and Canadian forts