The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia
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Naval History and Heritage Command #NH 82080
| Bore diameter |
8.0" 203.2mm |
| Ammunition type |
Bagged HE or incendiary shrapnel
rounds. |
|
Projectile weight |
277 lbs 125.9 kg |
|
Velocity |
2756 feet per second 840 meters per second |
|
Maximum elevation |
40 degrees |
|
Range |
32,150 yards 29,400 meters |
|
Firing cycle |
12-15 seconds 20-30 seconds at maximum elevation |
The 8"/50 Type 2 gun was the standard
Japanese heavy
cruiser
armament from 1940 on, and all the older Japanese cruisers were rearmed
with the weapon by the time war broke out in the Pacific. It used a
rather large propellant grain size that
degraded accuracy, but considerable effort was put into reducing
dispersion. This included developing electromechanical devices to
stagger the firing of the guns in a single turret by 0.03 seconds to
reduce mutual interference. The Japanese seem to have been proud of the
weapon, and there were even experiments with high-angle mounts for dual
antiaircraft use, for which the guns were completely unsuitable.
References
Navweaps.com (accessed 2012-1-26)
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2007, 2012 by Kent G. Budge. Index
