A breechloader is a firearm in which the user loads the ammunition via the rear (breech) end of its barrel, as opposed to a muzzleloader, which loads ammunition via the front (muzzle).
A rifled breech loader (RBL) is an artillery piece which, unlike the smoothbore cannon and rifled muzzle loader (RML) which preceded it, has rifling in the barrel and is loaded from the breech at the rear of the gun.
The Welin breech block was a revolutionary stepped, interrupted thread design for locking artillery breeches, invented by Axel Welin in 1889 or 1890. Shortly after, Vickers acquired the British patents. Welin breech blocks provide obturation for artillery pieces which use separate loading bagged charges and projectiles. In this system the projectile is loaded first and then followed by cloth bags of propellant.
This article explains terms used for the British Armed Forces' ordnance and also ammunition. The terms may have slightly different meanings in the military of other countries.
An interrupted screw or interrupted thread is a mechanical device typically used in the breech of artillery guns. It is believed to have been invented in 1845.
A gun carriage is a frame and mount that supports the gun barrel of an artillery piece, allowing it to be maneuvered and fired. These platforms often had wheels so that the artillery pieces could be moved more easily. Gun carriages are also used on ships to facilitate the movement and aiming of large cannons.
The British BL 6-inch gun Mk XIX was introduced in 1916 as a lighter and longer-range field gun replacement for the obsolescent BL 6-inch gun Mk VII.
The QF 3 inch 20 cwt anti-aircraft gun became the standard anti-aircraft gun used in the home defence of the United Kingdom against German airships and bombers and on the Western Front in World War I. It was also common on British warships in World War I and submarines in World War II. 20 cwt referred to the weight of the barrel and breech, to differentiate it from other 3 inch guns. While other AA guns also had a bore of 3 inches (76 mm), the term 3 inch was only ever used to identify this gun in the World War I era, and hence this is what writers are usually referring to by 3 inch AA gun.
The Ordnance QF 13-pounder Mk IV anti-aircraft gun was an Elswick Ordnance commercial 3 inch 13-pounder gun of which 6 were supplied during World War I. It is unrelated to other British Mks of 13-pounder.
A quick-firing or rapid-firing gun is an artillery piece, typically a gun or howitzer, which has several characteristics which taken together mean the weapon can fire at a fast rate. Quick-firing was introduced worldwide in the 1880s and 1890s and had a marked impact on war both on land and at sea.
The 4″/50 caliber gun was the standard low-angle, quick-firing gun for United States, first appearing on the monitor Arkansas and then used on "Flush Deck" destroyers through World War I and the 1920s. It was also the standard deck gun on S-class submarines, and was used to rearm numerous submarines built with 3-inch (76 mm) guns early in World War II. United States naval gun terminology indicates the gun fired a projectile 4 inches (100 mm) in diameter, and the barrel was 50 calibers long.
The 14"/45 caliber gun,, whose variations were known initially as the Mark 1, 2, 3, and 5, and, when upgraded in the 1930s, were redesignated as the Mark 8, 9, 10, and 12. They were the first 14-inch (356 mm) guns to be employed with the United States Navy. The 14-inch/45 caliber guns were installed as the primary armament aboard all of the United States Navy's New York-class, Nevada-class, and Pennsylvania-class battleships. The gun also saw service in the British Royal Navy, where it was designated the BL 14 inch gun Mk II.
Charles Ragon de Bange was a French artillery officer and Polytechnician. He invented the first effective obturator system for breech-loading artillery, which remains in use. He also designed a system of field guns of various calibers which served the French Army well into World War I: the Système de Bange.
The 14"/50 caliber gun was a naval gun mounted on New Mexico and Tennessee-class battleships. These ships also featured the first "three-gun" turrets, meaning that each gun in each turret could be "individually sleeved" to elevate separately. The 14"/50 caliber guns were designated as Mark 4 and 6, with later versions known as Mark 7, 11, and B. These guns were more powerful than the main gun mounted on the previous three classes of US battleships, the 14"/45 caliber gun.
12 cm/45 3rd Year Type naval gun was a Japanese naval gun and coast defense gun used on destroyers, and torpedo boats of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.
The 6"/53 caliber gun formed the main battery of some United States Navy light cruisers and three US submarines built during the 1920s.
The 50 calibre BL 8 inch gun Mark VIII was the main battery gun used on the Royal Navy's County-class heavy cruisers, in compliance with the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922. This treaty allowed ships of not more than 10,000 tons standard displacement and with guns no larger than 8 inches (203 mm) to be excluded from total tonnage limitations on a nation's capital ships. The 10,000 ton limit was a major factor in design decisions such as turrets and gun mountings. A similar gun formed the main battery of Spanish Canarias-class cruisers. In 1930, the Royal Navy adopted the BL 6 inch Mk XXIII naval gun as the standard cruiser main battery in preference to this 8-inch gun.
The BL 7.5-inch gun Mark VI was the 45 calibre naval gun forming the main battery of Royal Navy Hawkins-class cruisers. These ships with seven single gun mounts were significant to the cruiser limitations defined by the Washington Naval Treaty.
The 8"/45 caliber Mark 6 gun were used for the secondary batteries of the United States Navy's last pre-dreadnought battleships and refitted in older armored cruisers main batteries.
The 12"/50 caliber Mark 7 gun was a United States Navy's naval gun that first entered service in 1912. Initially designed for use with the Wyoming-class of dreadnought battleships, the Mark 7 also armed the Argentine Navy's Rivadavia-class battleships.
