6 inch/53 Marks 12,14,15,18 gun
The 6"/53 caliber gun (spoken "six-inch-fifty-three-caliber") formed the main battery of some United States Navy light cruisers and three US submarines built during the 1920s.
6 inch/53 Marks 12,14,15,18 gun
U.S. Navy photo 80-G-237439 · Public domain
- Name
- 6"/53 caliber naval gun
- Field
- rifled breech loader · naval artillery
- Region
- United States
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
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Documentary summary
The 6"/53 caliber gun (spoken "six-inch-fifty-three-caliber") formed the main battery of some United States Navy light cruisers and three US submarines built during the 1920s.
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wikidata · Q4641514
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — 6"/53 caliber naval gun • Type — Naval gun • Is Ranged — yes • Is Artillery — yes • Service — 1920 - 1945 • Used By — United States Navy, Soviet Navy • Wars — World War II • Variants — *Guns Mk 12, Mk 14, Mk 15, Mk 18 • Mountings Mk 13, Mk 16, Mk 17 • Part Length — 26.5 ft bore (53 calibers) • Cartridge — 105 lb • Caliber — 152 mm • Velocity — 900 m/s • Max Range — 23130 m
Mark 13 casemate mounting
Mark 13 casemate mounting
These guns were installed as the primary battery on the s, and were intended for the secondary battery of the never-completed s and South Dakota-class battleships. Maximum range was 21000 yd at the maximum elevation of 20 degrees.
Mark 16 turret mounting
Mark 16 turret mounting
This two-gun turret was a design modification to improve the range and broadside of the Omaha-class cruisers. Maximum range was 25300 yd at the maximum elevation of 30 degrees.
Mark 17 wet mounting
Mark 17 wet mounting
These single open mounts were installed fore and aft of the conning tower on Argonaut, Narwhal, and Nautilus. Maximum range was 23300 yd at the maximum elevation of 25 degrees.
Surviving examples
Surviving examples
Two guns from Narwhal are preserved at the Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Connecticut. The ship was present at the attack on Pearl Harbor and the guns were most likely on board at the time.
Weapons of comparable role, performance and era
Weapons of comparable role, performance and era
• BL 6 inch Mk XXII naval gun: roughly equivalent British gun deployed on battleships • 152 mm /53 Italian naval gun Models 1926 and 1929: Italian equivalent
Places
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Places
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- United States
Description
United States naval gun terminology indicates the gun fired a projectile 6 inches (15 cm) in diameter, and the barrel was 53 calibers long (barrel length is 6 inch x 53 = 318 inches or 8 meters.) The gun with side swing Welin breech block and Smith-Asbury mechanism weighed about 10 tonnes and used a silk bag containing 44-pounds (20 kg) of smokeless powder to give a 105-pound (47.6 kg) projectile a velocity of 3000 feet per second (900 m/s). Early Marks were built-up guns with a liner, tube, full-length jacket, and 2 hoops; but the Mark 14 gun was of monobloc construction. Useful life expectancy was 700 effective full charges (EFC) per liner.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Campbell 1985 pp.132-3
- 2.Fairfield 1921 p.156
- 3.DiGiulian, Tony. United States of America 6"/53 (15.2 cm) Marks 12, 14, 15 and 18. Navweaps.com. 8 February 2008.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 2
- Campbell, John. Naval Weapons of World War Two. Naval Institute Press. 1985. 0-87021-459-4.
- Fairfield, A.P. Naval Ordnance. The Lord Baltimore Press. 1921.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Partially resolved
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Militaria
6,095 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
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