RML 8 inch 9 ton gun
| Ordnance RML 8 inch 9 ton gun | |
|---|---|
Gundeck of HMS Northumberland
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| Type |
Naval gun Coast defence gun |
| Place of origin | United Kingdom |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1866 - 190? |
| Used by | Royal Navy |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Royal Arsenal |
| Unit cost | £568 |
| Variants | Mk I - Mk III |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 9 long tons (9.1 t) |
| Barrel length | 118 inches (3.0 m) bore + chamber |
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| Shell | 174 pounds 12 ounces (79.3 kg) |
| Calibre | 8-inch (203.2 mm) |
| Muzzle velocity | 1,420 feet per second (430 m/s) |
The British RML 8 inch 9 ton guns Mark I - Mark III were medium rifled muzzle-loading guns used to arm smaller ironclad warships and coast defence batteries in the later 19th century.
In common with other Royal Ordnance RML designs of the 1860s, Mark I used the strong but expensive Armstrong system of a steel tube surrounded by a complex system of multiple wrought-iron coils, which was progressively simplified in Marks II and III to reduce costs : Mark III consisted only of A tube, B tube, breech coil and cascabel screw.
Rifling was of the "Woolwich" pattern of a small number of broad shallow grooves : 4 grooves with twist increasing from 0 to 1 turn in 40 calibres (i.e. in 320 inches) at the muzzle.
The ammunition was mainly studded, with the studs engaging in the Woolwich rifling grooves. However, a studless pointed common shell with automatic gas-check also became available later in the gun's life.
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