20th-century naval gun of the United States Navy
5"/51 caliber gun 5"/51 caliber Mark 8 gun on starboard forecastle of
USS Texas , March 1914
Type Place of origin United States Service history In service 1911–c. 1947 Used by Wars Production history Designer Bureau of Ordnance Designed 1910 Manufacturer No. built Mark 7: 93 (Nos. 357–449) Mark 8: 1004 (NGF 539 Nos. 450-unknown)(see builders) Mark 9: 3 (Unknown Nos.) Mark 14: relined Mark 8s Mark 15: enlarged chamber Mark 14s Variants Marks 7, 8, 9, 14, 15 Specifications Mass Mark 7: 11,274 lb (5,114 kg) (with breech) Mark 8: 10,834 lb (4,914 kg) (without breech) Mark 8: 11,300 lb (5,100 kg) (with breech) Mark 9: 10,824 lb (4,910 kg) (without breech) Mark 9: 11,375 lb (5,160 kg) (with breech) Length 261.25 in (6,636 mm) Barrel length255 in (6,500 mm) bore (51calibers ) Shell 50–55.18 lb (22.68–25.03 kg) Caliber 5 in (127 mm) Breech side swingWelin-type Elevation P13: -10° to +20° (late version) P15: -15° to +20° Mark 18: -8.5° to +25° Traverse up to 360° depending on location Rate of fire 8-9 rounds per minute Muzzle velocity 3,150 ft/s (960 m/s) (full charge) 2,300 ft/s (700 m/s) (reduced charge) Effective firing range 17,000 yd (16,000 m) at 20° elevation Maximum firing range 20,142 yd (18,418 m) at 45° elevation (World War II ammunition)
5"/51 caliber guns (spoken "five-inch-fifty-one-caliber") initially served as the secondary battery of United States Navybattleships built from 1907 through the 1920s, also serving on other vessels. United States naval gun terminology indicates the gun fired a projectile 5-inch (127 mm) in diameter, and the barrel was 51calibers long.[ 1]
The different marks of the gun were Marks 7, 8, 9, 14, and 15. Thebuilt-up gun consisted of a tube, full-length jacket, and single hoop with side swingWelin breech block and Smith-Asbury mechanism for a total weight of about 5 metric tons. Some Marks included a tapered liner. A 24.5 lb (11.1 kg) charge ofsmokeless powder gave a 50-pound (22.7 kg) projectile a velocity of 3,150 ft/s (960 m/s). Range was 15,850 yards (9.0 statute miles or 14.5 kilometres) at the maximum elevation of 20 degrees.[ 2] effective full charges (EFC) per liner.[ 3]
The 5-inch/51 caliber gun was designed to engage destroyers, torpedo boats, and other surface targets. The 5"/51 gun entered service in 1911 as secondary armament on theFlorida -classbattleships , which mounted 16. The guns served well throughWorld War I , but increased awareness of the need foranti-aircraft protection (especially following theattack on Pearl Harbor ) encouraged mounting ofdual-purpose 5"/38 caliber guns in later battleships, and some of theWorld War I -era battleships were rearmed with dual purpose guns as well. Surplus 5"/51 guns from scrapped or rearmed battleships were mounted inUnited States Coast Guard cutters, auxiliaries, smallaircraft carriers ,coast defense batteries , andDefensively Equipped Merchant Ships .[ 3] Marine defense battalions were equipped with six of these guns each.[ 4] 1st Marine Defense Battalion during theBattle of Wake Island in December 1941. These were replaced in the defense battalions by the155 mm Long Tom gun by 1943. SixTambor -class submarinesBarracuda -class
The 5"/51 caliber gun was mounted on:
Army coast defense use [ edit ] 5"/51 caliber ex-Navy guns were emplaced during World War II at several locations, some operated by theUnited States Army Coast Artillery Corps and some by Marine defense battalions. This list may not be exhaustive. They were grouped into two-gun batteries unless otherwise noted.[ 25]
Two guns near Cape Lookout, NC Three guns in Battery Gillespie, Point Loma, San Diego, CA Three guns in Battery Ahua,Fort Kamehameha , Oahu, HI Two guns in Battery Nanakuli, Oahu, HI Two guns in Battery Oneula (Ewa), Oahu, HI Two guns at Kahana Bay, North Shore, Oahu, HI In British service these guns were known as 5"/51 BL Mark VI and Mark VII. During World War I three of these guns formed part of the coastal defences of Scapa Flow.[ 2] Lend-Lease arrangement. Some of these guns were then transferred to New Zealand (at least six, possibly more) and deployed ashore for coastal defence.[ 2]
Surviving 5"/51 caliber guns include:[ 26]
Eight guns onUSS Olympia (C-6) , preserved at theIndependence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (guns previously onUSS Colorado (BB-45) ) Six guns preserved onUSS Texas (BB-35) near Houston, Texas One Mark 8 gun (Four Lakes #1205) atTrumbo Point , Key West, Florida (part of Naval Air Station Key West) One gun (Unk. mfr. #1093L2) at theRopkey Armor Museum ,Crawfordsville, Indiana (previously onUSS Arizona (BB-39) and allegedly onUSS Indiana (BB-1) at some time) Two Mark 7 guns (Watervliet #774 and #Unk.) onMidway Island , Central Pacific Ocean One Mark 7 gun (Naval Gun Factory (NGF) #415L) at theNROTC facility,Tulane University , New Orleans, Louisiana One Mark 15 gun (NGF #736L) at theU.S. Navy Museum ,Washington Navy Yard , Washington, DC (previously onUSS Idaho (BB-42) ) One 5"/51 caliber gun atFort Schuyler , Bronx, New York (possibly atUSMMA , Kings Point, New York) One 5"/51 caliber gun atTreasure Island, San Francisco , California (behind museum) One Mark 15 gun inLewiston, Maine One Mark 15 gun (Bethlehem #Unk.) at theBrunswick Executive Airport ,Brunswick, Maine (formerly NAS Brunswick) One 5"/51 caliber gun inMitchell, Indiana One Mark 9 Mod 3 gun (NGF #938L),[1] atThe American Military Museum ,South El Monte, California One 5"/51 caliber gun at the Veterans Memorial Museum, Chehalis, WA Two 5"/51 caliber guns at the Veterans Memorial in Haddon Heights, NJ [ edit ] ^ Fairfield 1921 p. 156 ^a b c DiGiulian, Tony,"United States of America 5"/51 (12.7 cm) Marks 7, 8, 9, 14 and 15. British 5"/51 (12.7 cm) BL Marks VI and VII ^a b Campbell 1985 p.136 ^ Bogart, Charles H., "Fifth Marine Defense Battalion in Iceland",Coast Defense Journal , Vol. 29, Issue 3, August 2015, Coast Defense Study Group, Inc. ^ Bauer and Roberts, p. 144 ^a b c Preston 1980 p. 60 ^a b Breyer 1973 p. 201 ^a b Breyer 1973 p. 202 ^a b Breyer 1973 p. 205 ^a b Friedman 2011 p. 185 ^a b Breyer 1973 p. 210 ^a b Breyer 1973 p. 214 ^a b c Breyer 1973 p. 219 ^a b Breyer 1973 p. 226 ^a b c Breyer 1973 p. 230 ^ Bauer and Roberts, pp. 178-179 ^a b Fahey 1939 p. 18 ^ Bauer and Roberts, p. 265 ^ Fahey 1939 p. 7 ^ Friedman 1983 p. 162 ^a b c d Friedman 1983 p. 407 ^ Friedman 1983 p. 164 ^ Friedman 1983 p. 170 ^a b c Fahey 1941 p. 42 ^ Berhow 2015 , pp. 216–226.^ Berhow, pp. 238-239 Bauer, K. Jack ; Roberts, Stephen S. (1991).Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775-1990: Major Combatants .Westport, Connecticut : Greenwood Press.ISBN 0-313-26202-0 Berhow, Mark A., ed. (2015).American Seacoast Defenses, A Reference Guide (Third ed.). McLean, Virginia: CDSG Press.ISBN 978-0-9748167-3-9 Breyer, Siegfried (1973).Battleships and Battlecruisers 1905–1970 . Doubleday and Company.ISBN 0-385-07247-3 Campbell, John (1985).Naval Weapons of World War Two . Naval Institute Press.ISBN 0-87021-459-4 Fahey, James C. (1939).The Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet . Ships and Aircraft.Fahey, James C. (1941).The Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet, Two-Ocean Fleet Edition . Ships and Aircraft. Fairfield, A.P. (1921).Naval Ordnance . The Lord Baltimore Press. Friedman, Norman (1983).U.S. Aircraft Carriers . Naval Institute Press.ISBN 0-87021-739-9 Preston, Antony (1980).Cruisers . Prentice Hall. p. 60.ISBN 0-13-194902-0 Friedman, Norman (2011).Naval Weapons of World War One ISBN 978-1-84832-100-7
