BL 16.25 inch Mk I gun

• Name — Ordnance BL 16.25 inch gun Mk I • Origin — United Kingdom • Type — Naval gun • Is Ranged — YES • Is Artillery — YES • Is Uk — YES • Service — 1888 – 1909? • Used By — Royal Navy • Manufacturer — Elswick Ordnance Company • Number — 12 • Variants — no two guns were identical • Weight — 111 tons • Length — 523 in • Part Length — 488 in bore (30 calibres) • Cartridge — 1800 lb Armour-piercing, Common, or Shrapnel • Caliber — 16.25 in • Rate — about one round every three minutes • Velocity — 2087 ft/s • Max Range — 12000 yd • Elevation — -5° – 13°

• Illustration — Forward barbette on Benbow • Illustration — Turret on Sans Pareil • Illustration — 111-ton gun on proof mount Elswick had already supplied similar guns to Italy's Regia Marina and fitted in the of 1885 and the Royal Navy required parity for its Mediterranean Fleet. The adoption of this gun was influenced by the slow rate of production of the preferred new 13.5 in guns: the Royal Navy had the option of delaying the completion of the new s until sufficient 13.5-inch guns were available to equip them with four guns in two twin barbettes as planned; to use 12 in guns, or to equip them with the new 16.25 in guns. The decision made was to install 16.25-inch guns in Benbow in 1887 in single barbettes fore and aft, each gun substituting for two 13.5-inch guns. For the following Victoria and Sans Pareil the 16.25-inch guns were mounted in pairs in a single turret placed forward. Weaknesses such as droop and cracking were discovered in the early design, and the many subsequent changes meant that none of the twelve guns built were identical, so the Mk I denomination was discontinued and the individual guns were referred to by their serial numbers. The great weight, low rate of fire and short life of less than 75 rounds meant that the guns were unsuccessful and never fired in action.

• Illustration — Diagrams of common, shrapnel and armour-piercing projectiles and their fuzes for the gun