20.3 cm/45 Type 41 naval gun

The 20.3 cm/45 Type 41 naval gun was a Japanese Naval gun and coastal artillery used on cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy from the Russo-Japanese War through the end of World War II.

Type 41 203 mm 45 caliber naval gun
Right elevation diagram of an 8-inch center pivot mounting for Japanese cruiser Takasago.
TypeNaval gun
Coastal artillery
Place of originJapan
Service history
In service1908–1945
Used by Imperial Japanese Navy
WarsWorld War I
World War II
Production history
DesignerElswick Ordnance Company
Specifications
Mass18.75 – 19.4 metric tons
Length9.487 m (31 ft)
Barrel length9.114 m (30 ft) bore
Caliber203 mm (8.0 in)
ActionManual
BreechSingle motion interrupted screw
Elevation-5° to +30°
Traverse+/- 150°
Rate of fire2 rpm
Muzzle velocity760 m/s (2,500 ft/s)
Effective firing range18 km (11 mi) at +30°[1]

Design and development

The 20.3 cm/45 Type 41 naval gun was a designation applied to existing foreign produced EOC 8 inch 45 caliber Pattern S, U, W guns which had been produced by Armstrong of Great Britain and Ansaldo of Italy and a license produced Japanese variant.[2] Licensed production of Japanese guns based on Pattern S drawings began in 1902 and in 1908 a modified version with a different rifling pattern and a resized propellant chamber was produced.[2] Ships produced before 1902 in foreign shipyards most likely had Pattern S, U, W guns. While ships produced or refit after 1902 in Japanese shipyards most likely have Japanese built guns. These weapons were officially designated as Type 41 on 25 December 1908, and re-designated again on 5 October 1917 in centimeters.[2]

The first ship armed with these guns was the protected cruiser Takasago completed in 1898 by Armstrong and armed with Pattern S guns.[3] The last ships armed with these guns were probably the Ibuki-class armored cruisers built between 1905–1911.[4] This series of guns also armed the armored cruisers Asama, Azuma, Iwate, Izumo, Kasuga, Nisshin, Tokiwa and Yakumo. Many of these ships were disarmed under the conditions of the Washington Naval Treaty or subsequent London Naval Treaty and their guns converted into coastal artillery batteries, including installations at Tokyo Bay, Tarawa and later at Wake Island during World War II.

  • A single 8 inch gun on center pivot mounting for Japanese cruiser Takasago commissioned 1898.
  • A diagram of a twin 8 inch gun turret of Japanese Asama class cruiser.
  • Right elevation diagram of a twin 8 inch gun turret of Japanese Asama class cruiser.
  • Damage to Japanese armored cruiser Nisshin after one of its guns burst during the Battle of Tsushima in May 1905. The explosion injured future Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto.
  • One of the four destroyed Japanese eight-inch guns on Betio caused by naval gunfire and air strikes.
  • Possibly one of the same guns from a different angle.

Notes
  1. Campbell, Naval Weapons of WWII, p.187.
  2. Friedman, Norman (1 January 2011). Naval weapons of World War One. Seaforth. ISBN 9781848321007. OCLC 786178793.
  3. "TAKASAGO protected cruiser (1898) – Imperial Japanese Navy (Japan)". www.navypedia.org. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  4. "Ibuki armoured cruisers (1909–1911) – Imperial Japanese Navy (Japan)". www.navypedia.org. Retrieved 20 April 2017.

References
  • Bishop, Chris (eds) The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II. Barnes & Nobel. 1998. ISBN 0-7607-1022-8
  • Friedman, Norman (2011). Naval Weapons of World War One. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-84832-100-7.
  • Campbell, John (1985). Naval Weapons of World War Two. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-459-4.

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