RML 11-inch 25-ton gun

Ordnance RML 11 inch 25 ton gun
Ordnance RML 11 inch 25 ton gun
	Disappearing gun on HMS Temeraire in firing position
Type	Naval gun; Coast defence gun
Service history
In service	1867-190?
Used by	Royal Navy
Wars	Bombardment of Alexandria (1882)
Production history
Manufacturer	Royal Arsenal
Variants	Mk I, Mk II
Specifications
Mass	25 long tons (25,000 kg)
Barrel length	145 inches (3.7 m) (bore + chamber)
Shell	532 to 543 pounds (241.3 to 246.3 kg) Palliser, Common, Shrapnel
Calibre	11-inch (279.4 mm)
Muzzle velocity	1,360 feet per second (410 m/s)

RML 11 inch 25 ton guns were large rifled muzzle-loading guns used as primary armament on British battleships and for coastal defence. They were effectively the same gun as the RML 12 inch 25 ton gun, bored to 11 inches instead of 12.

Design

Mark I was introduced in 1867. Mark II was introduced in 1871 using the simpler and cheaper "Fraser" gun construction method which had proved successful with the RML 9 inch 12 ton Mk IV gun. ^[3]

Naval service

Guns were mounted on :

HMS Alexandra, commissioned 1877.
HMS Temeraire, commissioned 1877.

Ammunition

The gun's primary projectile was 536 - 543 pound "Palliser" armour-piercing shot, which were fired with a "Battering charge" of 85 pounds of "P" (gunpowder) or 70 pounds of "R.L.G." (gunpowder) for maximum velocity and hence penetrating power. Shrapnel and Common (exploding) shells weighed 532 - 536 pounds and were fired with a "Full charge" of 60 pounds "P" or 50 pounds "R.L.G.".^[4]

Surviving examples

A Mark II gun at Fort Nelson, Portsmouth, UK
Two at Fort George, Bermuda : [1]

Notes

^ Treatise on Construction of Service Ordnance 1877, page 292
^ MV of 1,360 feet/second firing 543-pound 2-oz projectile with "Battering charge" of 85 pounds "P" (gunpowder) is quoted in "Text Book of Gunnery 1887" Table XVI.
^ Treatise on Construction of Service Ordnance, 1879, page 281-282
^ Treatise on Ammunition 1877, pages 191,194, 205, 220

References

External links

11inch or 12inch R.M.L. of 25tons on 'C' Pivot Mark I

[TOC1877page292-1] Treatise on Construction of Service Ordnance 1877, page 292

[2] MV of 1,360 feet/second firing 543-pound 2-oz projectile with "Battering charge" of 85 pounds "P" (gunpowder) is quoted in "Text Book of Gunnery 1887" Table XVI.

[3] Treatise on Construction of Service Ordnance, 1879, page 281-282

[4] Treatise on Ammunition 1877, pages 191,194, 205, 220

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e British Empire naval weapons of the Victorian era
Smoothbore muzzle-loading cannons	18-pounder 24-pounder 32-pounder 55 cwt 32-pounder gun 68-pounder Somerset cannon
Smoothbore muzzle-loading shell guns	8-inch 10-inch 86 cwt
Mortars	10-inch Blomefield 13-inch Blomefield
Howitzers	12-pounder Millar 24-pounder Millar
Rifled breechloaders (Armstrong)	RBL 9 pounder RBL 20-pounder RBL 40-pounder RBL 7-inch 110-pounder
Rifled muzzle-loaders (Lancaster)	68-pounder Lancaster gun
Rifled muzzle-loaders (converted)	RML 64-pounder 71 cwt
Rifled muzzle-loaders (Woolwich)	RML 9-pounder 8 cwt RML 64-pounder 64 cwt RML 7-inch RML 8-inch RML 9-inch RML 10-inch RML 11-inch RML 12-inch 25-ton RML 12-inch 35-ton RML 12.5-inch RML 16-inch
Breech-loaders (new pattern)	BL 4-inch BL 5-inch BL 6-inch 80-pounder BL 6-inch Mk II – VI BL 8-inch BL 9.2-inch Mk I – VII BL 9.2-inch Mk VIII BL 10-inch BL 12-inch Mk I – VII BL 12-inch Mk VIII BL 13.5-inch BL 16.25-inch
Quick-firing guns	QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss QF 6-pounder Hotchkiss QF 6-pounder Nordenfelt QF 12-pounder 12 cwt Mk I QF 4-inch QF 4.7-inch QF 6-inch
Light weapons	Gatling gun Gardner gun Nordenfelt gun 1-inch Nordenfelt gun
Torpedoes	Whitehead torpedo