The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia
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Naval
Historical
Center #NH 73091. Via Navweaps.com
| Bore diameter |
5.0" 127mm |
| Ammunition type |
Fixed nose-fused and
incendiary
shrapnel rounds. Illuminating and antisubmarine rounds were also provided. |
|
Weight of round |
50.7 lbs 23 kg |
|
Velocity |
2379 feet per second 725 meters per second |
|
Maximum elevation |
90 degrees |
|
Range |
16,075 yards 14,700 meters |
|
Altitude |
30,970 feet 9440 meters |
|
Firing cycle |
7.5 seconds |
Unlike the 5"/50,
the 5"/40 had genuine antiaircraft
capability and was the standard
heavy antiaircraft
gun in the Japanese Navy. Design work began in 1928 at Kure and Hiroshima Navy Arsenals under
Chiyokichi Hada and the first example was test fired in 1931. The
gun entered service on 6 February 1932.
The chief limitation of the gun itself was its low muzzle velocity, but it might nevertheless have proven effective but for its poor director, the Type 94 kosha sochi. This director relied too heavily on manual inputs and was unable to develop solutions for fast-moving targets nearly quickly enough.
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References
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2007, 2009, 2014, 2016 by Kent G. Budge. Index
