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Naval
Historical Center #NH 80138
| Bore |
3" 76.2mm |
| Ammunition type |
Fixed |
| Weight of projectile | 13 lbs 5.9 kg |
| Velocity | 2700 feet per second 823 meters per second |
| Maximum elevation | 85 degrees |
| Range | 14,590 yards 13,340 meters |
| Altitude | 29,800 feet 9080 meters |
The 3"/50 was the first antiaircraft gun adopted by the U.S. Navy, and the standard type battleships
completed from 1915 on were allocated a battery of four, and later
eight, guns. These guns were obsolescent by 1941, but continued to be
employed in large numbers on smaller or older warships and on submarines
simply because they
were available. They
were produced in several models, but all were mounted in hand-driven
semiautomatic mounts. Many
were subsequently
replaced with 5"/38s
(if the platform was large enough) or various light automatic
antiaircraft guns. A few of the older models had low-angle mounts
and thus were not usable as antiaircraft guns.
References
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