| Ordnance RML 11-inch 25-ton gun | |
|---|---|
 Disappearing gun on HMS Temeraire in firing position | |
| Type |
Naval gun Coast defence gun |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1867–1903 |
| Used by | Royal Navy |
| Wars | Bombardment of Alexandria |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Royal Arsenal |
| Variants | Mk I, Mk II |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 25 long tons (25,000 kg) |
| Barrel length | 145 inches (3.7 m) (bore + chamber)[1] |
|
| |
| Shell | 532 to 543 pounds (241.3 to 246.3 kg) Palliser, Common, Shrapnel |
| Calibre | 11-inch (279.4 mm) |
| Muzzle velocity | 1,360 feet per second (410 m/s)[2] |
RML 11-inch 25-ton guns were large rifled muzzle-loading guns used as primary armament on British battleships and for coastal defence. They were effectively the same gun as the RML 12-inch 25-ton gun, bored to 11 inches instead of 12.
Design[]
Mark I was introduced in 1867. Mark II was introduced in 1871 using the simpler and cheaper "Fraser" gun construction method which had proved successful with the RML 9-inch 12-ton Mk IV gun. [3]
[]
Guns were mounted on :
- HMS Alexandra, commissioned 1877.
- HMS Temeraire, commissioned 1877.
Ammunition[]
When the gun was first introduced projectiles had several rows of "studs" which engaged with the gun's rifling to impart spin. Sometime after 1878, "attached gas-checks" were fitted to the bases of the studded shells, reducing wear on the guns and improving their range and accuracy. Subsequently, "automatic gas-checks" were developed which could rotate shells, allowing the deployment of a new range of studless ammunition. Thus, any particular gun potentially operated with a mix of studded and studless ammunition.
The gun's primary projectile was 536 – 543 pound "Palliser" armour-piercing shot, which were fired with a "Battering charge" of 85 pounds of "P" (gunpowder) or 70 pounds of "R.L.G." (gunpowder) for maximum velocity and hence penetrating power. Shrapnel and Common (exploding) shells weighed 532 – 536 pounds and were fired with a "Full charge" of 60 pounds "P" or 50 pounds "R.L.G.".[4]
See also[]
Surviving examples[]
Mk II gun at Fort Nelson, Portsmouth, UK
RML 11-inch 25-ton gun at Fort George in St. George's, Bermuda.
- Two Mark II guns, number 12 and 14 at Fort George, Bermuda : [1]
- Mark II gun number 30 at Fort Nelson, Portsmouth, UK
- Three Mark II guns on Drake's Island, Plymouth, UK
- Four guns outside Fort Saint Elmo, Malta
- Mark II gun dated 1871 outside Fort St. Catherine, Bermuda
Notes[]
- ↑ Treatise on Construction of Service Ordnance 1877, page 292
- ↑ MV of 1,360 feet/second firing 543-pound 2-oz projectile with "Battering charge" of 85 pounds "P" (gunpowder) is quoted in "Text Book of Gunnery 1887" Table XVI.
- ↑ Treatise on Construction of Service Ordnance, 1879, page 281-282
- ↑ Treatise on Ammunition 1877, pages 191,194, 205, 220
References[]
- Treatise on Ammunition. War Office, UK, 1877[dead link]
- 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, 1887. LONDON : PRINTED FOR HIS MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE, BY HARRISON AND SONS, ST. MARTIN'S LANE
External links[]
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