BL 6 inch Mk XII gun

• Is Artillery — yes • Is Explosive — yes • Is Uk — yes • Is Ranged — yes • Name — BL 6-inch Mk XII naval gun • Origin — United Kingdom • Used By — British Empire • Wars — * World War I • World War II • Type — Naval gun • Designer — Vickers • Design Date — 1913 • Manufacturer — Vickers • Service — 1914–2011 • Caliber — 6 in • Part Length — 270 in bore (45 cal) • Breech — Welin interrupted screw • Rate — 5-7 rpm • Velocity — 2825 ft/s • Cartridge — 100 lb Lyddite, Armour-piercing, Shrapnel • Elevation — −7°–30° • Max Range — 19660 m • Recoil — Hydro-spring, 16.5 inch • Weight — 15512 lb barrel & breech • Number — 463

This was a high-velocity naval gun consisting of inner "A" tube, "A" tube, wound with successive layers of steel wire, with a jacket over the wire.

• Illustration — Single gun on CP mounting on cruiser Enterprise • Illustration — Experimental twin turret on Enterprise, seen in 1936, which formed the prototype for twin 6-inch turrets for the s, as well as the and -class cruisers • Illustration — Gunners load a casemate gun on battleship Malaya, May 1943. The men at left carry cordite cartridges, still in their storage cases, on their shoulders It superseded the 45-calibre Mk VII gun and the longer 50-calibre Mk XI gun which had proved unwieldy in light cruisers due to its length, and was Britain's most modern 6-inch naval gun when World War I began. It was superseded as secondary armament on new battleships in the 1920s by the 50-calibre 6-inch Mk XXII gun, and as main armament on new light cruisers in the 1930s by the 50-calibre 6-inch Mk XXIII gun. Guns were mounted in the following ships: • Birmingham-class light cruisers laid down 1912, commissioned 1914 • Arethusa-class light cruisers laid down 1912, commissioned 1914 • C-class light cruisers of 1914 • M29-class monitors of 1915 • Queen Elizabeth-class battleships laid down 1912, commissioned 1915 • Revenge-class battleships laid down 1913, commissioned 1916 • Destroyer leader HMS Swift as re-gunned in 1917 • Danae-class (or D-class) light cruisers completed 1918–1919 • Monitors HMS Raglan and HMS Abercrombie from 1918 • Emerald-class (or E-class) light cruisers laid down 1918, commissioned 1926

During World War II some Mk XII guns were used in emergency coast defense batteries.

• Ordinary Seaman John Henry Carless was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for heroism in serving his gun on HMS Caledon during the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight on 17 November 1917.

This gun generated a higher pressure in the chamber on firing compared to preceding 6-inch guns such as Mk VII and Mk XI. This necessitated use of special shells capable of withstanding a pressure of 20 tons per square inch on firing, which had "Q" suffixed to the name. World War I shells were marked "A.Q." denoting special 4 CRH shells for this gun. • Illustration — Mk XII A.Q.N.T. Common lyddite shell with night tracer, 1914

• 15 cm SK L/45 German equivalent

• On monitor at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, UK • A gun from HMAS Adelaide at HMAS Cerberus naval base, Victoria, Australia

BL 6 inch Mk XII gun is associated with United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Classified as a BL 6 inch gun or naval artillery.