RML 12 inch 35 ton gun
Encyclopedia
RML 12 inch 35 ton guns were large rifled muzzle-loading guns used as primary armament on British battleships. They were the longer and more powerful of the two 12-inch British RML guns, the other being the 25-ton gun
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Note : The two 12-inch guns installed in HMS Thunderer's forward turret were 12.5 inch 38-ton guns
bored instead to 12 inches, and designated "12-inch 38-ton", as the necessary 12-inch 35-ton guns were not available. These 2 guns used the same charges and projectiles as the standard 12-inch 35-ton guns installed in Thunderer's aft turret which simplified the supply of ammunition. It was one of these "12-inch 38-ton" guns that was accidentally double-loaded and exploded on 2 January 1879.
" armour-piercing shot, which were fired with a "Battering charge" of 110 pounds of "P" (gunpowder) for maximum velocity and hence penetrating power. Shrapnel and Common (exploding) shells weighed 613 pounds and were fired with a "Full charge" of 85 pounds "P" or 67 pounds "R.L.G.".
RML 12 inch 25 ton gun
The RML 12 inch 25 ton guns were large rifled muzzle-loading guns used as primary armament on British ironclad turret battleships and coastal monitors, and also ashore for coast defence...
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Design
This gun design originated in 1871 as an 11.6 inch gun firing a 700-pound shell. Results were unsatisfactory, leading to the gun being bored out to 12 inches and firing a 706-pound 12-oz shell.Naval service
Guns were mounted on :- Devastation class battleshipDevastation class battleshipThe two British Devastation-class battleships of the 1870s were the first class of ocean-going capital ship that did not carry sails, and the first which mounted the entire main armament on top of the hull rather than inside it...
s of 1873
Note : The two 12-inch guns installed in HMS Thunderer's forward turret were 12.5 inch 38-ton guns
RML 12.5 inch 38 ton gun
The RML 12.5 inch guns were large rifled muzzle-loading guns designed for British battleships and were also employed for coast defence.-Design:The gun originated from a desire for a longer 12-inch gun than the existing RML 12 inch 35 ton gun...
bored instead to 12 inches, and designated "12-inch 38-ton", as the necessary 12-inch 35-ton guns were not available. These 2 guns used the same charges and projectiles as the standard 12-inch 35-ton guns installed in Thunderer's aft turret which simplified the supply of ammunition. It was one of these "12-inch 38-ton" guns that was accidentally double-loaded and exploded on 2 January 1879.
Ammunition
The gun's primary projectile was 706-pound "PalliserPalliser shot
Palliser shot was invented by Sir William Palliser and hence its name. It was an early British armour-piercing artillery projectile, intended to pierce the armour protection of warships being developed in the second half of the 19th century.-History:...
" armour-piercing shot, which were fired with a "Battering charge" of 110 pounds of "P" (gunpowder) for maximum velocity and hence penetrating power. Shrapnel and Common (exploding) shells weighed 613 pounds and were fired with a "Full charge" of 85 pounds "P" or 67 pounds "R.L.G.".