British
12"/50 (30.5 cm) Marks XI, XI* and XII
Updated 07 January 2007
Developed to arm the "next generation" of dreadnoughts, this was a long-barrel 12" (30.5 cm) gun that used a larger propellant charge to achieve higher muzzle velocity.  Unfortunately, these new weapons proved inaccurate, as the heavier charge did not always fully combust before the shell left the muzzle.  This resulted in unpredictable muzzle velocities and thus a varying range for the same elevation.  Following one set of exercises, Lord Fisher recorded that the shell patterns were spread over two or three acres (1 to 1.5 hectacres).  The higher muzzle velocities achieved also resulted in these guns having a very short service life.  There are some notes about barrel droop being an additional problem, but I have my reservations about the accuracy of those descriptions.

The failure of these guns was a serious problem for the British, as they were used on six battleships.  As a result, the British made two significant changes.  First, older ships had their mountings modified so as to increase their maximum elevations so as to achieve longer ranges with the same muzzle velocity.  Second, larger calibers were rushed into production for new ship construction, as their heavier projectiles would travel a longer distance for the same muzzle velocity.

The Marks XI, XI* and XII were interchangeable and had similar ballistic performance.  The Mark XI was a Vickers design and resembled the Mark X except that the screwed collar was replaced by a breech ring screwed to the rear jacket.  Mark XI* had a short B hoop overlapped by the jacket and the C hoop shrunk over the B tube and screwed onto the jacket.  To counterbalance this, a D hoop was added over the jacket in front of the breech ring.  As a result of these modifications, the XI* weighed a ton more than the Mark XI.  Mark XII weighed the same as the Mark XI and differed from it by having more wire along the chase.  The Mark XI gun breech mechanism was powered by a 3-cylinder hydraulic motor in place of the customary piston-rack assembly.  A total of 85 guns of all types were made.
WNBR_12-50_mk11_Vanguard_pic.jpg

HMS Vanguard
Note the 4"/50 (10.2 cm) gun on the stern turret sticking out of the awning
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 52618
WNBR_12-50_mk11_Vanguard_turret_pic.jpg

Stern Turret on HMS Vanguard
Note that this photograph shows the stern turret after removal of the 4"/50 (10.2 cm) guns
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph # NH 52619
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Gun Characteristics
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Designation 12"/50 (30.5 cm) Marks XI, XI* and XII
Ship Class Used On St. Vincent, Neptune and Colossus Classes
Date Of Design 1906
Date In Service 1910
Gun Weight Mark XI without Breech:  147,056 lbs. (66,703 kg)
Mark XI and XII with Breech:  149,408 lbs. (67,770 kg)
Mark XI* with Breech:  151,648 lbs. (68,786 kg)
Gun Length oa 617.7 in (15.690 m)
Bore Length 600 in (15.240 m)
Rifling Length N/A
Grooves N/A
Lands N/A
Twist N/A
Chamber Volume 23,031 in3 (377 dm3)
Rate Of Fire
(see Note)		 about 1.5 rounds per minute
Notes:

1) The Rate of Fire figure given above is found in references for British guns of this caliber, but "Warrior to Dreadnought:  Warship Development 1860-1905" quotes Jellicoe's 1906 figures for rates of fire for these guns in gunlayers' tests and in battle practice and notes that the latter figures corresponded well to those actually attained by the Japanese at Tsushima:

Gunlayers Test:  2 rounds per minute
Battle Practice:  1 round per minute

2) Danger space for this gun against a 30 foot (9 m) target was estimated as follows:
   120 yards at   8,000 yards (110 m at   7,300 m)
     63 yards at 12,000 yards (  58 m at 10,970 m)
     36 yards at 16,000 yards (  33 m at 14,630 m)
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Ammunition
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Type Bag
Projectile Types and Weights APC Mark VI (2crh) - 850 lbs. (386 kg)
APC Mark VIa (4crh) - 859.4 lbs. (389.8 kg)
APC Mark VIIa (Greenboy) - 854 lbs. (387.4 kg)
CPC Mark VIIa - 850 lbs. (386 kg)
HE Mark IIa - 850 lbs. (386 kg)
Bursting Charge APC Mark VI - 26.3 lbs. (11.9 kg)
APC Mark VIa - 27.3 lbs. (12.4 kg)
APC Mark VIIa - 20.3 lbs. (9.2 kg)
CPC Mark VIIa - 80 lbs. (36.3 kg)
HE Mark IIa - 106.5 lbs. (48.3 kg)
Projectile Length APC Mark VI - 39.7 in (100.8 cm)
APC Mark VIa - N/A
APC Mark VIIa - 38.0 in (96.5 cm)
CPC Mark VIIa - 48.4 in (122.9 cm)
HE Mark IIa - 48.3 in (122.7 cm)
Propellant Charge 307 lbs. (139.3 kg) MD45
Muzzle Velocity 2,852 fps (869 mps)
Working Pressure N/A
Approximate Barrel Life 75 - 80 rounds
Ammunition stowage per gun N/A (probably about 80 rounds)
Notes:

1) Projectile weights from ADM 186/169.  The sources below disagree as to muzzle velocity, propellant charge weights and maximum ranges.  I have chosen to use those values given in "Jutland:  An Analysis of the Fighting."

2) I do not have the dates as to when these ships were changed over to 4crh projectiles.  "Greenboys" were issued starting in 1918.

3) AP Cap weights were 34.75 lbs. (15.7 kg) for the Mark VIa and 99 lbs. (44.9 kg) for the Mark VIIa.

4) In a Memorandum to the Controller dated 24 October 1910, it was stated that 12 inch (30.5 cm) APC shells striking at any angle over 20 degrees were unlikely to penetrated even 4 inches (10.2 cm) of KC armor (face hardened) and were likely to breakup at angles of 30 degrees when striking 6 inches (15.2 cm) of KC armor.  Thus, it can be seen that the poor performance of British shells at Jutland (Skagerrak) cannot have been a surprise to the Royal Navy.  Surprisingly, the memo does not suggest that the shells be improved, but instead urges that these thicknesses of armor be considered for future ship designs, as if it was to be expected that enemy shells would perform as poorly as did their own.
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Range
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Elevation
With 4crh 850 lbs. (386 kg) AP Shell
Striking Velocity
Angle of Fall
2.0 degrees
5,000 yards (4,570 m)
2,276 fps (694 mps)
2.3
3.5 degrees
7,500 yards (6,860 m)
2,037 fps (621 mps)
4.1
4.7 degrees
10,000 yards (9,140 m)
1,821 fps (555 mps)
6.3
6.1 degrees
12,500 yards (11,430 m)
1,632 fps (497 mps)
9.3
8.4 degrees
15,000 yards (13,720 m)
1,495 fps (456 mps)
13.0
10.7 degrees
17,500 yards (16,000 m)
1,374 fps (419 mps)
17.3
13.2 degrees
20,000 yards (18,290 m)
1,302 fps (397 mps)
22.2
15.0 degrees
21,200 yards (19,380 m)
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Armor Penetration with 850 lbs. (386 kg) AP Shell
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Range
KC Side Armor
Striking Velocity
0 yards (0 m)
16.8" (427 mm)
3,010 fps (917 mps)
10,000 yards (9,144 m)
11.2" (284 mm)
2,000 fps (610 mps)
Note:  Data from "British Battleships of World War Two" and represent an uncapped AP shell striking a plate at 90 degrees, i.e., with the axis of the shell perpendicular to the face of the plate.  A capped shell would give about 10 to 20% improvement at low velocities and about 30 to 50% at high velocities.
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Mount / Turret Data
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Designation Two-gun turrets
   St. Vincent (5), Neptune (5) and Colossus (5):  BXI
Weight 510 - 540 tons (518 - 549 mt)
Elevation -3 / +15 degrees
Rate of Elevation N/A
Train Forward and Aft Turrets:  about -150 / +150 degrees
Beam Turrets:  about +30 / +150 degrees
Q Turret:  about +30 / +150 degrees on either side
Rate of Train 4 degrees per second
Gun Recoil N/A
Loading Angle +5 degrees
Note:  These were unique among British 12 in (30.5 cm) mountings in that they used a swash-plate training engine.
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Data from
"Warrior to Dreadnought:  Warship Development 1860-1905" and "The Grand Fleet:  Warship Design and Development 1906-1922" both by D.K. Brown
"Jutland:  An Analysis of the Fighting" and "British Naval Guns 1880-1945 No 4" article in "Warship Volume V" both by John Campbell
"Battleship Design and Development 1905-1945" by Norman Friedman
"The Big Gun:  Battleship Main Armament 1860-1945" by Peter Hodges
"Policy and Operations in the Mediterranean 1912-14" by E.W.R. Lumby
"British Battleships of World War Two" by Alan Raven and John Roberts
"A Concentrated Effort:  Royal Navy Gunnery Exercises at the End of the Great War" article by William Schleihauf in "Warship International" No. 2, 1998
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ADM 186/169
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Special help from Dave Alton and Neil Stirling