5-inch/54-caliber Mark 42 gun explained

Mark 42 5"/54 Caliber Gun
Origin:United States
Type:Naval gun
Is Ranged:yes
Is Artillery:yes
Service:1953 - present
Used By:See users
Wars:Vietnam War
Lebanese Civil War
Length:9.652m (31.667feet)
Part Length:6.858m (22.5feet)
Rifling: 5.82m (19.09feet)
Cartridge:127 x 835mm .R
Conventional: 31.75lk=onNaNlk=on
Caliber:5inches
Rate:As built/designed: 40 rounds per minute automatic
Down-rated to 28 rounds per minute in 1968
Velocity:2650ft/s
Max Range:• 25909abbr=onNaNabbr=on at +45° elevation
• 51600abbr=onNaNabbr=on at +85° elevation
Recoil:18.75inches
Elevation:• -15°/+85°
Maximum elevation rate: 25°/sec
Traverse:• 150° from either side of centerline
Maximum traversing rate: 40°/sec

The Mark 42 5"/54 caliber gun (127mm) is a naval gun (naval artillery) mount used by the United States Navy and other countries. It consisted of the Mark 18 gun and Mark 42 gun mount. United States naval gun terminology indicates the gun fires a projectile 5inches in diameter, and the barrel is 54 calibers long (barrel length is 5" × 54 = 270" or 6.9 meters.)[1] In the 1950s a gun with more range and a faster rate of fire than the 5"/38 caliber gun used in World War II was needed, therefore, the gun was created concurrently with the 3"/70 Mark 26 gun for different usages. The 5"/54 Mk 42 is an automatic, dual-purpose (air / surface target) gun mount. It is usually controlled remotely from the Mk 68 Gun Fire Control System, or locally from the mount at the One Man Control (OMC) station.[2]

The self-loading gun mount weighs about including two drums under the mount holding 40 rounds of semi-fixed case type ammunition. The gun fires 31.75kg (70lb) projectiles at a velocity of 2650ft/s.[3] Maximum rate of fire is 40 rounds per minute.[4] Magazine capacity is 599 rounds per mount.[3] The Mark 42 mount originally was equipped for two on-mount gunners, one surface and one antiaircraft, but the antiaircraft gunner position was scrapped later on when the increasing speed of naval aircraft made manual aiming of anti aircraft weapons impractical. The Mark 45 lightweight [5] gun mount began replacing the Mk 42 mount in 1971 for easier maintenance and improved reliability in new naval construction for the United States Navy.[6]

Users

United States Navy
Royal Australian Navy
Egyptian Navy
German Navy
Hellenic Navy
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
Mexican Navy
Spanish Navy
Republic of China Navy
Royal Thai Navy
Turkish Navy

See also

Bibliography

External links

Notes and References

  1. Fairfield(1921)p.156
  2. Web site: Seaman - Military manual for the Seaman rate . 2007-12-23 . 2009-09-12 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090912234142/http://www.tpub.com/content/administration/14067/css/14067_176.htm . dead .
  3. Bailey(January 1983)p.106
  4. O'Neil(March 1971)pp.48-49
  5. O'Neil, March 1971, pp. 48-49
  6. Cooney, 1980. p. 40