12 cm 11th Year Type naval gun

The 12 cm 11th Year Type naval gun was a Japanese naval gun and coast defense gun used on submarines, minesweepers, and torpedo boats of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.

12 cm 11th Year Type naval gun
A 11th Year Type in a coastal artillery role.
TypeNaval gun
Coastal artillery
Deck gun
Place of originEmpire of Japan
Service history
In service1922-1945
Used by Imperial Japanese Navy
WarsWorld War II
Specifications
Mass3,250 kg (7,170 lb)
Length5.26 m (17 ft 3 in)
Barrel length4.42 m (14 ft 6 in)
Height2.1 m (7 ft)[1]
ShellSeparate loading 120 x 550R cased charges and projectiles
Shell weight44 lb 12 oz (20.3 kg)
Caliber120 mm (4.7 in)
BreechHorizontal sliding-block
RecoilHydro-pneumatic
CarriagePedestal mount
ElevationShip: +10° to +55°
Submarine: +10° to +33°[1]
Traverse360°
Rate of fire5-6 rounds per minute
Muzzle velocity2,700 ft/s (820 m/s)
Effective firing range17,500 yd (16,000 m) at 33°[1]

Design
12 cm 11th Year Type coastal gun

The 12 cm 11th Year Type was a 1922 redesign of the earlier 12 cm/45 3rd Year Type naval gun. The 11th Year Type was a typical built-up gun the period with a central rifled tube surrounded by layers of reinforcing tubes. There may have also been an autofretted mono-block barreled version of the same gun. Estimates on the length of the barrel range between 40 and 45 calibers. The 11th Year Type barrel rested in a ring cradle on a pedestal mount and had a hydro-pneumatic recoil mechanism that consisted of one recoil cylinder below the barrel and two on top.[2] The 11th Year Type differed from the earlier 3rd Year Type because it had a horizontal sliding-block breech and fired separate loading cased charges and projectiles while the earlier gun fired separate loading bagged charges and projectiles. The 11th Year Type was used on smaller naval vessels and submarines possibly because a cased charge was easier to load and wasn't as susceptible to water damage on wet decks. The 11th Year Type had a wider range of elevation and traverse than the 3rd Year Type but with a maximum elevation of +55°, it wasn't really a dual-purpose gun.[2]

Ammunition
Type Weight
Common Type 0 45 lb (20 kg)
Common Type 1 45 lb (20 kg)
Anti-Submarine 1a 36 lb 5 oz (16.5 kg)
Illumination 2a 45 lb (20 kg)[1]

Weapons of comparable role, performance and era
  1. "Tomozuru torpedo boats (1933 - 1934) - Imperial Japanese Navy (Japan)". www.navypedia.org. Retrieved 2019-01-27.
  2. Campbell, John (1985). Naval Weapons of World War Two. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press. p. 186. ISBN 0870214594. OCLC 13085151.
  3. "Otori torpedo boats (1936 - 1937) - Imperial Japanese Navy (Japan)". www.navypedia.org. Retrieved 2019-01-27.
  4. "KD2 type submarine (I52, 1925) - Imperial Japanese Navy (Japan)". www.navypedia.org. Retrieved 2019-01-27.
  5. "KD3b type submarines (I56, 1928 - 1930) - Imperial Japanese Navy (Japan)". www.navypedia.org. Retrieved 2019-01-27.
  6. "Japan 12 cm/45 (4.7") 3rd Year Type and 11th Year Type - NavWeaps". www.navweaps.com. Retrieved 2019-01-27.
  7. "KD6b type submarines (I74, 1938) - Imperial Japanese Navy (Japan)". www.navypedia.org. Retrieved 2019-01-27.
  8. "KD4 type submarines (I61, 1929 - 1930) - Imperial Japanese Navy (Japan)". www.navypedia.org. Retrieved 2019-01-27.
  9. "5-go minesweepers (1929) - Imperial Japanese Navy (Japan)". www.navypedia.org. Retrieved 2019-01-27.
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