8-inch M1888

8 inch M1888MIA1 railway gun
8 inch M1888MIA1 railway gun
Type	Coast defense gun or Railway gun
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	1898–1946
Used by	United States
Wars	World War I, World War II
Production history
Designed	1888
Manufacturer	gun: usually Watervliet Arsenal, carriage: various, most designed by Watertown Arsenal
No. built	At least 96 with about 75 deployed; 9 in fixed barbette emplacements, about 64 in disappearing emplacements, 37 or 47 on railway carriages (guns removed from fixed emplacements or storage)
Specifications
Weight	33,700 lb (15,300 kg)
Length	railcar: 40 ft 6 in (12.34 m)
Shell	separate loading, 260 pounds (120 kg) AP, 323 pounds (147 kg) AP shot & shell, 200 pounds (91 kg) HE
Caliber	8 inches (203 mm)
Breech	Interrupted screw, De Bange type
Recoil	Hydrospring
Carriage	M1892 barbette, M1894 and M1896 disappearing, M1918 barbette, M1918MI railway
Elevation	disappearing: 12 degrees, railway: 42 degrees
Traverse	disappearing: 120 degrees, railway: 360 degrees
Maximum firing range	disappearing: 14,200 yards (13,000 m), railway: 23,900 yards (21,900 m)
Feed system	hand

The 8-inch Gun M1888 (203 mm) was a U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps gun, initially deployed 1898-1908 in about 75 fixed emplacements, usually on a disappearing carriage. During World War I, 37 or 47 of these weapons (references vary) were removed from fixed emplacements or from storage to create a railway gun version, the 8-inch Gun M1888MIA1 Barbette carriage M1918 on railway car M1918MI, converted from the fixed coast defense mountings and used during World War I and World War II.

The M1888 8 in (203 mm) gun was a coastal artillery gun initially deployed as part of the Endicott system of fortifications. The first nine were deployed on the M1892 barbette carriage in 1898, but the improved M1894 and M1896 disappearing carriages soon became available, and approximately 64 additional weapons were deployed on these carriages by 1908. An "emergency" converted Rodman carriage was also used during the Spanish–American War in 1898 to quickly arm 21 emplacements with the modern 8-inch M1888 gun. These weapons were redeployed soon after the war ended. The disappearing carriage allowed the gun to remain behind a parapet resembling a hillside most of the time, thus largely invulnerable to low-angle enemy fire, which was the only type of enemy attack anticipated 1898–1910. Air and high-angle artillery attack would eventually severely impact US fortifications in the Philippines in World War II. Numerous additional weapons of other calibers including the 10-inch gun M1895, 12-inch gun M1895, and 12-inch coast defense mortars were also deployed in US coastal fortifications alongside the 8-inch guns. The 8-inch guns were deployed in the harbor defenses of Portland, Maine, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, New Bedford, Massachusetts, Long Island Sound, New York, Eastern New York, Southern New York, Delaware River, Baltimore, Maryland, Potomac River, Chesapeake Bay, Cape Fear River, North Carolina, Savannah, Georgia, Key West, Florida, Tampa Bay, Florida, Pensacola, Florida, Mobile, Alabama, Mississippi River, Galveston, Texas, San Francisco, California, Columbia River, and Puget Sound.