8 inch/30 caliber gun
The 8"/30 caliber gun (spoken "eight-inch-thirty-caliber") formed the main batteries of the United States Navy's "New Navy". They were a US naval gun that first entered service in 1886, and were designed for use with the first three protected cruisers, Atlanta, Boston and Chicago.
8 inch/30 caliber gun
This image is available from the United States Library of Congress 's Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID det.4a14165. This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached · Public domain
- Name
- 8"/30 caliber Mark 1 & 2 Naval Gun
- Field
- naval artillery · rifled breech loader
- Region
- United States
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Documentary summary
The 8"/30 caliber gun (spoken "eight-inch-thirty-caliber") formed the main batteries of the United States Navy's "New Navy". They were a US naval gun that first entered service in 1886, and were designed for use with the first three protected cruisers, Atlanta, Boston and Chicago.
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wikidata · Q23198583 · wikipedia · 8-inch/30-caliber gun
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Key facts
Key facts
• Name — 8"/30 caliber Mark 1 & 2 Naval Gun • Origin — United States • Type — Naval gun • Is Ranged — YES • Is Artillery — YES • Service — 1886–1906 • Used By — United States Navy • Wars — *Spanish–American War • World War I • Designer — Bureau of Ordnance • Design Date — 1883 • Manufacturer — U.S. Naval Gun Factory • Production Date — 1886– • Number — *Mark 1: 4 (Nos. 1–4) • Mark 2: 4 (Nos. 5–8) • Variants — Mark 1 Mod 0 and 1 and Mark 2 Mod 1 • Weight — (without breech) • Length — * Mark 1 Mod 0 • Mark 1 Mod 1 • Mark 2 Mod 1 • Part Length — * bore (30 calibers) • bore 30 calibers • Rate — 0.5–1 round per minute • Range — at 20° elevation • Elevation — −5° to +20° • Traverse — −150° to +150°
Mark 1
Mark 1
Mark 1, Nos. 1–4, Mod 0, consisted of a tube, jacket, 19 hoops and an elevating band with integral trunnions. The Mod 1 had no trunnions and were not hooped to the muzzle. They weighed, without the breech, with a barrel length of bore (30 calibers).
Mark 2
Mark 2
• Illustration — A sailor from the USS Chicago with an 8-inch gun The Mark 2 Mod 1, Nos. 5–8, was similar, but had the hoops differently arranged, did not have integral trunnions and had its rear sights controlled by worm and miter gears. Mark 2 gun No. 7, from Chicago, was later modified into a pneumatic gun and mounted in Vesuvius to fire a aerial torpedo.
Naval Service
On display
On display
Two guns from the cruiser Boston are currently (2010) on display at Hamlin Park in Shoreline, Washington. A plaque at the site states that one of these guns fired the first shot at the Battle of Manila Bay on 1 May 1898. Another plaque states 8-inch 30 Caliber Gun U.S.S. Boston Captain Frank Wildes, U.S. Navy Commanding This gun is credited at THE BATTLE OF MANILA BAY with dismounting three guns in the Spanish fort at Cavite May 1, 1898 The two guns from Boston are marked "U. S. NAVY 8in MARK II 1899 CONVERTED".
Guns from the USS Boston in Hamlin Park, Shoreline, Washington, U.S. Both guns are described as "8-Inch, 30-Caliber".
Joe Mabel · Photo by Joe Mabel.
Cannon from the USS Boston in Hamlin Park, Shoreline, Washington, U.S. Plaque says: 8-Inch, 30-Caliber Gun U.S.S. BOSTON Captain Frank Wildes US Navy Commanding This gun fired the first shot at THE BATTLE OF MANILA BAY as Admiral Dewey's Squadron Passed Corregidor Island May 1st 1898
Joe Mabel · Photo by Joe Mabel.
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- United States
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1- naval artilleryTerminology
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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 17 August 2026.
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