The Type-41 203 mm / 45 naval gun is a naval and coastal defense weapon of the Imperial Navy of Japan , used from the end of the Russo-Japanese war to the end of World War II on armored, armored cruisers and coastal defense batteries.
| 203 mm / 45 Type 41 | |
|---|---|
 Drawing of an 8-inch gun on the center pin mounted on the Takasago cruiser | |
| Production history | |
| Country of Origin |  Japan |
| Service History | |
| It was in service |  Japan |
| Gun characteristics | |
| Gun brand | Type 41 |
| Caliber mm | 203 |
| Barrel length, mm / calibres | 9487 |
| Barrel length, mm | 9144/45 |
| Barrel weight with a bolt, kg | 18450 - 19100 |
| Projectile weight, kg | 113,4 |
| The initial velocity of the projectile, m / s | 760 |
| Loading principle | separate |
| Rate of fire rounds per minute | 2 (theoretical) |
| Gun mount specifications | |
| Trunk angle, ° | -5 / + 24 |
| Maximum firing range, m | 18000 |
Creation History
The Type 41 203 mm cannon is a Japanese implementation of the British 8 "/ 45 (20.3 cm) EOC Patterns S, U, U 1 and W developed by Armstrong Whitworth & Co. in Elswick (the so-called Elswick Pattern) . This weapon was made Armstrong the company to foreign customers, in particular, Italy and Japan, and is mounted on many cruisers of the Japanese fleet, as well as an armored cruiser of the Italian construction Nisshin acquired by Japan just before the Russian-Japanese war. December 25, 1908 an instrument received Officio noe Japanese designation Type 41 (named according to one made in Japan of the era system of chronology, '41 era Meiji ), and October 5, 1917, as well as all other naval guns of the Imperial Japanese Navy, received the designation in centimeters, thus, taken in Japanese and English historiography designation 20.3cm / 45 .
There is disagreement over the issue of real barrel length. Many Russian-language sources claim that the length of the barrels at the gun installations of armored cruisers was 40 calibers, while later data by J. Campbell [1] indicate a magnitude of 45 calibers.
Ship Installation
The gun was installed on the following ships of the Imperial Navy of Japan:
Armored cruisers Azuma , Asama, Tokiva , Izumo, Iwate , Yakumo — four guns in two-gun towers;
Armored cruisers Nissin and Kasuga - four and two guns, respectively, in two-gun towers;
Armored cruisers Takasago , Kasagi and Chitose - two cannons on the central pins at the extremities.
After the disarmament of most of these ships by the decisions of the Washington Maritime Agreement of 1922 and the London Sea Treaty of 1930, some of this type of guns were installed on coastal defense batteries in Tokyo Bay and later, during World War II, on Tarawa Atoll and on Wake Island .
Literature and external references
Notes
- ↑ * John Campbell. Naval Weapons of World War II. - Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1985. - ISBN 0-87021-459-4 .