3"/23 caliber gun | |
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A 3"/23-caliber gun being fired aboard the United States Navy submarine chaser USS SC-291 sometime between 1918 and 1920.
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Type |
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Place of origin | United States |
Service history | |
In service | 1913—1946 |
Used by | US Navy |
Wars | World War I World War II |
Production history | |
Manufacturer |
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Variants | Mark 9, 13, and 14 |
Specifications | |
Mass |
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Length |
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Barrel length |
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Shell | 16.5 lb (7.5 kg) 76.2x234 mm R |
Caliber | 3-inch (76 mm) |
Elevation | -15° to +65° or +75° |
Traverse | 365° |
Rate of fire | 8 – 9 rounds per minute |
Muzzle velocity | 1,650 feet per second (500 m/s) |
Effective firing range |
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The 3-inch/23-caliber gun (spoken "three-inch-twenty-three-caliber") was the standard anti-aircraft gun for United States destroyers through World War I and the 1920s. United States naval gun terminology indicates the gun fired a projectile 3 inches (76 mm) in diameter, and the barrel was 23 calibers long (barrel length is 3" × 23 = 69" or 1.75 meters.)[1]
The built-up gun with horizontal sliding breech block weighed about 531 pounds (241 kg) and used fixed ammunition (case and projectile handled as a single assembled unit) with a 13-pound (6 kg) projectile at a velocity of 1650 feet per second (500 m/s).[2] Range was 10,100 yards (9235 meters) at 45 degrees elevation.[2] Ceiling was 18,000 feet (5500 meters) at the maximum elevation of 75 degrees.[2]
The 3"/23-caliber cannon was the first purposely designed anti-aircraft cannon to reach operational service in the US military, and was a further development of a 1-pounder cannon concept designed by Admiral Twining to meet the possible threat from airships being built by various navies.[3]
A partially retractable version was mounted as a deck gun on the US L-class, M-1 (SS-47), AA-1 class, and O-class submarines.
When World War II began, the 3"/23-caliber gun was outdated, and surviving United States destroyers built during the World War I era that were armed with the 3"/23-caliber were rearmed with dual-purpose 3"/50-caliber guns. Where there was no air threat during World War II, the 3"/23-caliber gun was employed in the surface-to-surface role for use against submarines, and was mounted on submarine chasers, armed yachts, and various auxiliaries.[2] Some major warships carried 3"/23-caliber guns temporarily while awaiting installation of quad 1.1"/75-caliber guns.[2]
The 3"/23-caliber gun was mounted on:
American naval weapons of the First World War
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Capital ship main armament |
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Cruiser main armament |
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Secondary armament |
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Destroyer and gunboat armament |
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Submarine guns |
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Anti-aircraft weapons |
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Light weapons |
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Anti-submarine weapons |
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American naval weapons of the Second World War
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Capital ship main armament |
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Cruiser main armament |
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Secondary armament |
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Destroyer, destroyer escort and patrol frigate armament |
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Submarine guns |
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Anti-aircraft weapons |
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Light weapons |
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Torpedoes |
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Anti-submarine weapons |
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Ship gun fire-control system |
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