RML 8-inch 9-ton gun

RML 8-inch 9-ton gun
RML 8-inch 9-ton gun
	Gundeck of HMS Northumberland
Type	Naval gun; Coast defence gun
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1866–190?
Used by	Royal Navy
Production history
Manufacturer	Royal Arsenal
Unit cost	£568[1]
Variants	Mk I – Mk III
Specifications
Mass	9 long tons (9.1 t)
Barrel length	118 inches (3.0 m) bore + chamber[2]
Shell	174 pounds 12 ounces (79.3 kg)[3]
Calibre	8-inch (203.2 mm)
Muzzle velocity	1,420 feet per second (430 m/s)[4]

The British RML 8-inch 9-ton guns Mark I – Mark III[5] were medium rifled muzzle-loading guns used to arm smaller ironclad warships and coast defence batteries in the later 19th century.

Design

In common with other Royal Ordnance RML designs of the 1860s, Mark I used the strong but expensive Armstrong system of a steel tube surrounded by a complex system of multiple wrought-iron coils, which was progressively simplified in Marks II and III to reduce costs : Mark III consisted only of A tube, B tube, breech coil and cascabel screw.

Rifling was of the "Woolwich" pattern of a small number of broad shallow grooves: 4 grooves with twist increasing from 0 to 1 turn in 40 calibres (i.e. in 320 in (810 cm)) at the muzzle.

Ammunition

The ammunition was mainly studded, with the studs engaging in the Woolwich rifling grooves. However, a studless pointed common shell with automatic gas-check also became available later in the gun's life.[6]

Surviving examples

Notes and references

Unit cost of £567 12 shillings 10 pence is quoted in "The British Navy" Volume II, 1882, by Sir Thomas Brassey. Page 38
Text Book of Gunnery 1887 Table XVI page 313
174 lb 12 oz projectile. Text Book of Gunnery 1887 Table XVI page 313
1,420 feet/second firing 174-pound 12-oz projectile . Text Book of Gunnery 1887 Table XVI page 313
Mark I – Mark III = Mark 1 through to Mark 3. Britain used Roman numerals to denote Marks (models) of ordnance until after World War II. Hence this article describes the three models of RML 8-inch guns.
Gas-checks in British RML heavy guns

Bibliography

External links

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[1] Unit cost of £567 12 shillings 10 pence is quoted in "The British Navy" Volume II, 1882, by Sir Thomas Brassey. Page 38

[2] Text Book of Gunnery 1887 Table XVI page 313

[3] 174 lb 12 oz projectile. Text Book of Gunnery 1887 Table XVI page 313

[4] 1,420 feet/second firing 174-pound 12-oz projectile . Text Book of Gunnery 1887 Table XVI page 313

[5] Mark I – Mark III = Mark 1 through to Mark 3. Britain used Roman numerals to denote Marks (models) of ordnance until after World War II. Hence this article describes the three models of RML 8-inch guns.

[6] Gas-checks in British RML heavy guns

British Empire naval weapons of the Victorian era
Smoothbore muzzle-loading cannons	18-pounder 24-pounder 32-pounder 55 cwt 32-pounder gun 68-pounder Somerset cannon
Smoothbore muzzle-loading shell guns	8-inch 10-inch 86 cwt
Mortars	10-inch Blomefield 13-inch Blomefield
Howitzers	12-pounder Millar 24-pounder Millar
Rifled breechloaders (Armstrong)	RBL 9 pounder RBL 20-pounder RBL 40-pounder RBL 7-inch 110-pounder
Rifled muzzle-loaders (Lancaster)	68-pounder Lancaster gun
Rifled muzzle-loaders (converted)	RML 64-pounder 71 cwt
Rifled muzzle-loaders (Woolwich)	RML 9-pounder 8 cwt RML 64-pounder 64 cwt RML 7-inch RML 8-inch RML 9-inch RML 10-inch RML 11-inch RML 12-inch 25-ton RML 12-inch 35-ton RML 12.5-inch RML 16-inch
Breech-loaders (new pattern)	BL 4-inch BL 5-inch BL 6-inch 80-pounder BL 6-inch Mk II – VI BL 8-inch BL 9.2-inch Mk I – VII BL 9.2-inch Mk VIII BL 10-inch BL 12-inch Mk I – VII BL 12-inch Mk VIII BL 13.5-inch BL 16.25-inch
Quick-firing guns	QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss QF 6-pounder Hotchkiss QF 6-pounder Nordenfelt QF 12-pounder 12 cwt Mk I QF 4-inch QF 4.7-inch QF 6-inch
Light weapons	Gatling gun Gardner gun Nordenfelt gun 1-inch Nordenfelt gun
Torpedoes	Whitehead torpedo