20.3 cm/45 Type 41 naval gun

Type 41 203 mm 45 caliber naval gun
Type Naval gun
Coastal artillery
Place of origin Japan
Service history
In service 1908–1945
Used by  Imperial Japanese Navy
Wars World War I
World War II
Production history
Designer Elswick Ordnance Company
Specifications
Weight 18.75 – 19.4 metric tons
Length 9.487 metres (31.13 ft)
Barrel length 9.114 metres (29.90 ft) bore
Caliber 203 millimetres (7.99 in)
Action manual
Breech single motion interrupted screw
Elevation -5° – +30°
Traverse +/- 150°
Rate of fire 2 rounds per minute
Muzzle velocity 760 m/s (2,500 ft/s)
Effective firing range 18,000 metres (59,000 ft) at +30°[1]

The 20.3 cm/45 Type 41 naval gun was a Japanese Naval gun and coastal artillery used on cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy from the Russo-Japanese War through the end of World War II.

Design and development

The 20.3 cm/45 Type 41 naval gun was a designation applied to existing foreign produced EOC 8 inch 45 caliber Pattern S, U, W guns which had been produced by Armstrong of Great Britain and Ansaldo of Italy and a license produced Japanese variant.[2] Licensed production of Japanese guns based on Pattern S drawings began in 1902 and in 1908 a modified version with a different rifling pattern and a resized propellant chamber was produced.[2] Ships produced before 1902 in foreign shipyards most likely had Pattern S, U, W guns. While ships produced or refit after 1902 in Japanese shipyards most likely have Japanese built guns. These weapons were officially designated as Type 41 on 25 December 1908, and re-designated again on 5 October 1917 in centimeters.[2]

The first ship armed with these guns was the protected cruiser Takasago completed in 1898 by Armstrong and armed with Pattern S guns.[3] The last ships armed with these guns were probably the Ibuki-class armored cruisers built between 1905–1911.[4] This series of guns also armed the armored cruisers Asama, Azuma, Iwate, Izumo, Kasuga, Nisshin, Tokiwa and Yakumo. Many of these ships were disarmed under the conditions of the Washington Naval Treaty or subsequent London Naval Treaty and their guns converted into coastal artillery batteries, including installations at Tokyo Bay, Tarawa and later at Wake Island during World War II.

Notes

  1. ↑ Campbell, Naval Weapons of WWII, p.187.
  2. 1 2 3 Friedman, Norman (2011-01-01). Naval weapons of World War One. Seaforth. ISBN 9781848321007. OCLC 786178793.
  3. ↑ "TAKASAGO protected cruiser (1898) – Imperial Japanese Navy (Japan)". www.navypedia.org. Retrieved 2017-04-20.
  4. ↑ "Ibuki armoured cruisers (1909–1911) – Imperial Japanese Navy (Japan)". www.navypedia.org. Retrieved 2017-04-20.

References

  • Bishop, Chris (eds) The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II. Barnes & Nobel. 1998. ISBN 0-7607-1022-8
  • Friedman, Norman (2011). Naval Weapons of World War One. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-84832-100-7.
  • Campbell, John (1985). Naval Weapons of World War Two. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-459-4.
  • DiGiulian, Tony. "Japanese 20.3 cm/45 Type 41". NavWeaps.com.

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