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Naval History and Heritage Command #NH 64514
| Bore |
16" 406.4mm |
| Ammunition type |
Bagged APC and HC shells |
| Weight of projectile | 2240 lbs 1016 kg |
| Velocity | 2520 feet per second 768 meters per second |
| Maximum elevation | 30 degrees |
| Range | 35,000 yards 32,000 meters |
| Firing cycle | 40 seconds |
| Penetration |
18.9" at 12,000 yards 48 cm at 11,000 m |
This weapon was used on the Colorados.
It was designed in great secrecy as "Type Gun, 45 calibres" and first
test fired in August 1914. The Bureau of Ordnance was proud of its
design, believing the only rival was the German
15"/45 gun and claiming that the U.S. gun "far exceeds it in power and
energy per ton of gun. The Bureau believes our gun to be the most
powerful in existence" (quoted by Friedman 1985). However, the other
major naval powers had been doing their own highly secret development
of new weapons, and the Japanese tested a comparable 16" weapon at about the same time and put it in service slightly sooner.
References
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