8"/55 caliber gun

• Name — 8"/55 caliber naval gun • Origin — United States • Type — Naval gun Coastal defence • Is Ranged — yes • Is Artillery — yes • Service — 1925–1975 • Used By — United States • Wars — World War II Korean War Vietnam War • Variants — Mk 9, Mk 12, Mk 14, Mk 15, Mk 16 • Part Length — 440 in bore (55 caliber) • Cartridge — 335 lb A.P. 260 lb H.E. • Caliber — 8 in • Velocity — 2500 ft/s • Max Range — 30050 yd • Illustration — The rounded roofs of early Mark 9 twin and triple turrets of Salt Lake City and Pensacola with the later turrets of New Orleans on the right.

These built-up guns weighed about 30 tons including a liner, tube, jacket, and five hoops. A down-swing Welin breech block was closed by compressed air from the gas ejector system. Loading with two silk bags each containing 45 lb of smokeless powder gave a 260 lb projectile a velocity of 2800 feet per second (853 m/s). Range was 18 miles 31860 yd at the maximum elevation of 41 degrees.

These simplified built-up guns eliminated hoops to reduce weight to 17 tons. The breech mechanism was similar and loading two silk bags each containing 43 pounds (20 kg) of smokeless powder gave a 335-pound (152 kg) projectile a velocity of 2500 feet per second (760 m/s). Each gun could fire about four rounds per minute. Maximum range was 30050 yd at the maximum elevation of 41 degrees.

These guns were similar to Mark 9, with the same shell weight and maximum range, with a smaller chamber and rifling twist increased from 1 in 35 to 1 in 25 in a chromium-plated bore.

These guns were similar to Mark 12, with the same shell weight and maximum range, with the smaller chamber of the Mark 14 gun. Useful life expectancy was 715 effective full charges (EFC) per liner.

These self-loading guns with lined monobloc construction and vertical sliding breech blocks weighed about 20 tons. Semi-fixed ammunition (projectile and powder case handled separately) with 78 pounds (35 kg) of smokeless powder gave a 335-pound (152 kg) projectile a velocity of 2500 feet per second (760 m/s). Each gun could fire about ten rounds per minute. Useful life expectancy was 780 Effective Full Charges per liner. Range was 17 miles (27 kilometers) at the maximum elevation of 41 degrees. This gun was modified for the experimental Major Caliber Lightweight Gun.

The eight twin turrets of Lexington and Saratoga were removed in early 1942 during refits at Pearl Harbor. The turrets were turned over to the United States Army Coast Artillery Corps and remounted as coastal artillery on Oahu. Four two-turret batteries were established at Salt Lake near Aliamanu Crater (Battery Salt Lake, later Battery Burgess), Wiliwilinui Ridge Military Reservation (Battery Wilridge, later Battery Kirkpatrick), Opaeula Military Reservation (Battery Opaeula, later Battery Riggs), and Brodie Camp Military Reservation (Battery Brodie, later Battery George Ricker). After the war, all of the guns and turrets were scrapped in 1948, along with almost all other US coast artillery. One of Louisvilles main battery 8 inch 55 caliber gun turrets (Turret No. 2) damaged in a kamikaze attack on January 5, 1945, was removed and taken to the Nevada Test Site and converted into a rotating radiation detector, to collect data on nuclear tests.

• Illustration — 8"/55 caliber Mark 9 guns on USS Lexington • Illustration — The heavy cruiser Helena fires her 8"/55 caliber Mark 15 guns at enemy forces ashore on the Korean Peninsula in August 1950 during the Korean War. • Illustration — The after turret of the heavy cruiser Toledo fires its 8"/55 caliber Mark 15 guns at enemy targets ashore around Incheon, South Korea, on 13 or 14 September 1950 during the bombardment preceding the invasion of Incheon during the Korean War. • Illustration — The heavy cruiser Saint Paul fires her 8"/55 caliber Mark 15 guns at Chinese troops threatening the evacuation of United Nations troops from Hungnam, North Korea, in December 1950 during the Korean War. • Illustration — The heavy cruiser Saint Pauls forward 8"/55-caliber guns fire at enemy targets ashore in North Vietnam in October 1966 during the Vietnam War. • 2 (c. 1921 – 1925) aircraft carriers: • Lexington, Saratoga • Mk 9 guns in four 190-ton twin turrets • removed in 1942 and added to Oahu coast defenses • 2 (c. 1927) heavy cruisers: • Pensacola, Salt Lake City • Mk 9 (later Mk 14) guns in two 190-ton twin turrets and two 250-ton triple turrets • 6 (c. 1928) heavy cruisers: • 2 of 6: Chicago, Houston • Mk 9 guns in three 250-ton triple turrets • Houston was sunk in March 1942, Chicago was sunk in January 1943 • 4 of 6: Northampton, Chester, Louisville, Augusta • Mk 9 (later Mk 14) guns in three 250-ton triple turrets • Northampton was sunk in November 1942 • 2 (c. 1930) heavy cruisers: • Portland, Indianapolis • Mk 9 (later Mk 14) guns in three 250-ton triple turrets • Indianapolis was sunk in July 1945 • 7 (c. 1931) heavy cruisers: • 3 of 7: 294 ton triple turrets • Astoria: Mk 9 guns (sunk in 08/1942) • New Orleans: Mk 9 (later Mk 14) guns • Minneapolis: Mk 9 (later Mk 15) guns • Astoria was sunk in August of 1942 • 4 of 7: Tuscaloosa, San Francisco, Quincy, Vincennes • Mk 12 guns in three 250-ton triple turrets • Quincy and Vincennes were sunk in August 1942 • Wichita • Mk 12 guns in three 314-ton triple turrets • 14 (c. 1941) heavy cruisers: • 1 of 14: Baltimore • Mk 12 guns in three 300-ton triple turrets • 13 of 14: Boston, Canberra, Quincy, Pittsburgh, Saint Paul, Columbus, Helena, Bremerton, Fall River, Macon, Toledo, Los Angeles, Chicago • Mk 15 guns in three 300-ton triple turrets • 3 (c. 1944) heavy cruisers: • Oregon City, Albany, Rochester • Mk 15 guns in three 300-ton triple turrets • 3 (c. 1945) heavy cruisers: • Des Moines, Salem, Newport News • Mk 16 guns in three 450-ton triple turrets • 1 ex-: Hull • Mk 16 gun in one 86-ton single automatic mount 8"/55 caliber Mark 71 gun installation • Ship — Gun Installation • Lexington — Mk 9 guns in four 190-ton twin turrets • Saratoga — Mk 9 guns in four 190-ton twin turrets • Pensacola — Mk 9 (later Mk 14) guns in two 190-ton twin turrets and two 250-ton triple turrets • Salt Lake City — Mk 9 (later Mk 14) guns in two 190-ton twin turrets and two 250-ton triple turrets • Northampton — Mk 9 (later Mk 14) guns in three 250-ton triple turrets • Chester — Mk 9 (later Mk 14) guns in three 250-ton triple turrets • Louisville — Mk 9 (later Mk 14) guns in three 250-ton triple turrets • Chicago — Mk 9 guns in three 250-ton triple turrets • Houston — Mk 9 guns in three 250-ton triple turrets • Augusta — Mk 9 (later Mk 14) guns in three 250-ton triple turrets • New Orleans — Mk 9 (later Mk 14) guns in three 294-ton triple turrets • Portland — Mk 9 (later Mk 14) guns in three 250-ton triple turrets • Astoria — Mk 9 guns in three 294-ton triple turrets • Indianapolis — Mk 9 (later Mk 14) guns in three 250-ton triple turrets • Minneapolis — Mk 9 (later Mk 15) guns in three 294-ton triple turrets • Tuscaloosa — Mk 12 guns in three 250-ton triple turrets • San Francisco — Mk 12 guns in three 250-ton triple turrets • Quincy — Mk 12 guns in three 250-ton triple turrets • Vincennes — Mk 12 guns in three 250-ton triple turrets • Wichita — Mk 12 guns in three 314-ton triple turrets • Baltimore — Mk 12 guns in three 300-ton triple turrets • Boston CAG-1 — Mk 15 guns in three 300-ton triple turrets • Canberra CAG-2 — Mk 15 guns in three 300-ton triple turrets • Quincy — Mk 15 guns in three 300-ton triple turrets • Pittsburgh — Mk 15 guns in three 300-ton triple turrets • Saint Paul — Mk 15 guns in three 300-ton triple turrets • Columbus — Mk 15 guns in three 300-ton triple turrets • Helena — Mk 15 guns in three 300-ton triple turrets • Oregon City — Mk 15 guns in three 300-ton triple turrets • Albany — Mk 15 guns in three 300-ton triple turrets • Rochester — Mk 15 guns in three 300-ton triple turrets • Bremerton — Mk 15 guns in three 300-ton triple turrets • Fall River — Mk 15 guns in three 300-ton triple turrets • Macon — Mk 15 guns in three 300-ton triple turrets • Toledo — Mk 15 guns in three 300-ton triple turrets • Des Moines — Mk 16 guns in three 450-ton triple turrets • Los Angeles — Mk 15 guns in three 300-ton triple turrets • Chicago — Mk 15 guns in three 300-ton triple turrets • Salem — Mk 16 guns in three 450-ton triple turrets • Newport News — Mk 16 guns in three 450-ton triple turrets • Hull — Mk 16 gun in one 86-ton single automatic mount (8"/55 caliber Mark 71 gun installation)

• 203mm/50 Modèle 1924 gun French equivalent • 20.3 cm SK C/34 Naval gun German equivalent • 203 mm /53 Italian naval gun Italian equivalent • 20 cm/50 3rd Year Type naval gun Japanese equivalent • BL 8 inch Mk VIII naval gun UK equivalent