5"/54 caliber Mark 16 gun

• Name — 5"/54 caliber gun Mark 16 • Origin — United States • Type — Naval gun • Is Ranged — YES • Is Artillery — YES • Service — 1945 – 1993: USN 1945-1980, JMSDF 1958-1993 • Used By — U.S. Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force • Wars — * World War II • Korean War • Vietnam War • Designer — Bureau of Ordnance • Design Date — 1940 • Production Date — 1945 – 1959 • Weight — 5,361 lb (without breech) • Part Length — 270 in bore (54 calibers) • Cartridge — 127×836mmR 70 lb Mark 42 armor-piercing • Caliber — 5 in • Rate — 15–18 rounds per minute • Velocity — 2,650 ft/s • Range — 19,000 yd at 20° elevation • Max Range — * 25,909 yd at 45° elevation • 51,600 ft at 85° elevation (anti-aircraft ceiling) • Elevation — −10° to +85° • Traverse — −150° to +150°

The 5"/54 cal gun turrets were similar to the 5"/38 caliber gun mounts in that they were equally adept in an anti-aircraft role and for damaging smaller ships, but differed in that they weighed more, fired heavier rounds of ammunition, and resulted in faster crew fatigue than the 5"/38 cal. guns. The ammunition storage for the 5"/54 cal. gun was 500 rounds per turret, and the guns could fire at targets nearly 26,000 yd away at a 45° angle. At an 85° angle, the guns could hit an aerial target at over 50,000 ft. The cancellations of the Montana-class battleships in 1943 and then the CL-154 class cruisers in 1945 pushed back the first use of the 5"/54 cal guns to their installation aboard the US Navy's s. The guns proved adequate for the carrier's air defense, but were gradually phased out of use by the carrier fleet because of their weight (rather than having the carrier defend itself by gunnery the task would be assigned to other surrounding ships within a carrier battle group). These mounts were then installed in the Japanese and destroyers in 1958–59.

• Ship — Gun Installed — Gun Mount • Montana (cancelled 1943) — Mark 16: 20 × 5"/54 caliber — Mark 41: 10 × twin mount • Ohio (cancelled 1943) — Mark 16: 20 × 5"/54 caliber — Mark 41: 10 × twin mount • Maine (cancelled 1943) — Mark 16: 20 × 5"/54 caliber — Mark 41: 10 × twin mount • New Hampshire (cancelled 1943) — Mark 16: 20 × 5"/54 caliber — Mark 41: 10 × twin mount • Louisiana (cancelled 1943) — Mark 16: 20 × 5"/54 caliber — Mark 41: 10 × twin mount • CL-154-class cruisers (six ships, cancelled 1945) — Mark 16: 12 or 16 × 5"/54 caliber — Mark 41: 6 or 8 × twin mount • Midway — Mark 16: 18 × 5"/54 caliber (all removed by 1980) — Mark 39: 18 × single mount • Franklin D. Roosevelt — Mark 16: 18 × 5"/54 caliber (some guns removed before retirement in 1977) — Mark 39: 18 × single mount • Coral Sea — Mark 16: 14 × 5"/54 caliber (all removed by 1980) — Mark 39: 18 × single mount • Mississippi — Mark 16: 2 x 5"/54 caliber — Mark 39: 2 x single mount • Murasame (DD-107) - Murasame-class destroyer — Mark 16: 3 × 5"/54 caliber — Mark 39: 3 × single mount • Yūdachi (DD-108) - Murasame-class destroyer — Mark 16: 3 × 5"/54 caliber — Mark 39: 3 × single mount • Harusame (DD-109) - Murasame-class destroyer — Mark 16: 3 × 5"/54 caliber — Mark 39: 3 × single mount • Akizuki - Akizuki-class destroyer — Mark 16: 3 × 5"/54 caliber — Mark 39: 3 × single mount • Teruzuki - Akizuki-class destroyer — Mark 16: 3 × 5"/54 caliber — Mark 39: 3 × single mount