| Ordnance BL 16 inch Mark I | |
| Origin: | UK |
| Type: | Naval Gun |
| Is Ranged: | yes |
| Is Artillery: | yes |
| Is Uk: | yes |
| Service: | 1927–1948 |
| Used By: | UK |
| Design Date: | 1922 |
| Weight: | 108 tons (109.7 tonnes) |
| Length: | 61 ft 10 in (18.85 m) |
| Part Length: | 60 ft (18.3 m) L/45 |
| Cartridge: | separate charge, AP shell |
| Cartridge Weight: | 2048lb |
| Caliber: | 16 inch (406 mm) |
| Rate: | 2 rounds per minute as fitted |
| Velocity: | 2,586 feet/second (788 m/s) |
| Range: | 35,000 yards (32,000 m) at 32° elevation |
| Max Range: | 39,780 yards (36,375 m) |
| Breech: | Welin |
| Elevation: | 40°/-3° in mounting Mark I |
The BL 16-inch Mark I was a British naval gun introduced in the 1920s and used on the two Nelson-class battleships. A breech-loading gun, the barrel was 45 calibres long ("/45" in shorthand) meaning 45 times the 160NaN0 bore – 60feet long.
These wire-wound built-up guns had originally been planned for the cancelled G3-class battlecruiser design upon which the Nelson class drew.
Sir W. G. Armstrong Whitworth & Company at Elswick, Vickers at Barrow-in-Furness, William Beardmore & Company at Dalmuir and the Royal Gun Factory at Woolwich made a total of 29 guns of which 18 would be required for both ships at any time.
These guns broke with the example offered by the earlier 15-inch Mk I gun, which fired a heavy shell at a rather low muzzle velocity, and instead fired a rather light shell at a high muzzle velocity; this was not a success, as at the initial muzzle velocity the gun wore down rapidly and the accuracy was unsatisfactory, so much that it was lowered. Furthermore, a heavier shell was proposed but not adopted because of stringent budget policies of the 1930s; therefore, this naval gun wasn't seen as particularly successful.[1]
An improved weapon, the BL 16-inch Mark II was designed for the Lion-class battleship which was a successor to the King George V class taking advantage of the larger weapon allowed under the London Naval Treaty from March 1938. This "new design" of 16-inch gun fired a shell that weighed 2375lb.Construction of first two Lion-class battleships - each of which was to have nine 16-inch guns - was halted at the start of the Second World War; only a few months after they were laid down.[2] Work on the armament continued for a while but that was also stopped after only four guns and no turrets were produced.