Description

Elswick guns built in Britain and used on South American cruisers.

Wire-wound construction. Pattern "P" had an actual bore length of 40.3 calibers while Pattern "T" had an actual bore length of 40.4 calibers.

Gun Characteristics

Designation 8"/40 (20.3 cm) EOC Pattern "P"
8"/40 (20.3 cm) EOC Pattern "T"
Ship Class Used On Pattern "P": Chile - Blanco Encalada and Esmeralda
Pattern "T": Chile - Almirante O'Higgins
Pattern "T1": Portugal - Vasco da Gama as rearmed in 1902
Date Of Design about 1893
Date In Service 1895
Gun Weight Pattern "P": 15.39 tons (15.64 mt) including BM
Pattern "T" and "T1": 16.54 tons (16.81 mt) including BM
Gun Length oa Pattern "P": 383 in (9.728 m)
Pattern "T": 333.52 in (8.471 m)
Bore Length Pattern "P": 322.7 in (8.197 m)
Pattern "T": 323.0 in (8.204 m)
Rifling Length N/A
Grooves N/A
Lands N/A
Twist N/A
Chamber Volume Pattern "P": 1,984 in3 (32.5 dm3)
Pattern "T1": 3,248 in3 (53.2 dm3)
Rate Of Fire about 2 rounds per minute

Ammunition

Type Bag
Projectile Types and Weights Common 210 lbs. (95.3 kg)
Common 250 lbs. (113.4 kg)
Bursting Charge N/A
Projectile Length N/A
Propellant Charge Pattern "P" only: 32 lbs. (14.5 kg) Cordite 0.35
All Patterns: 44 lbs. (20.0 kg) Cordite 0.4
Muzzle Velocity Pattern "P" w/32 lbs. (14.5 kg) Cordite 0.35
   Common 210 lbs. (95.3 kg): 2,250 fps (686 mps)
   Common 250 lbs. (113.4 kg): 2,008 fps (612 mps)

Pattern "P" w/44 lbs. (20.0 kg) Cordite 0.4
   Common 210 lbs. (95.3 kg): 2,570 fps (783 mps)
   Common 250 lbs. (113.4 kg): 2,369 fps (722 mps)

Pattern "T", "T1" and Pattern Unknown w/44 lbs. (20.0 kg) Cordite 0.4
   Common 210 lbs. (95.3 kg): 2,575 fps (785 mps)
   Common 250 lbs. (113.4 kg): 2,440 fps (744 mps)
Working Pressure N/A
Approximate Barrel Life N/A
Ammunition stowage per gun N/A

Mount/Turret Data

Designation Single Guns
   Blanco Encalada (2) and Esmeralda (2)
   Almirante Higgins (4)
Weight N/A
Elevation -5 / +15 degrees (?)
Elevation Rate N/A
Train about +150 / -150 degrees
Train Rate N/A
Gun recoil N/A
Loading Angle N/A

Sources

Campbell, John
   - "Naval Weapons of World War Two"

Friedman, Norman
   - "Naval Weapons of World War One"
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Special help by Iván Dubaniewicz who provided information from the following sources:
   - "Memorandum sobre Artillería" by B.P. Quiroga, 1899
   - "Estudios de Armamento" by Domecq García, 1923
   - "Catálogo de Granadas y Proyectiles" by Departamento Munición y Química de Guerra, 1958, p. 17-20

Page History

05 January 2008 - Benchmark
29 October 2024 - Converted to HTML 5 format
29 October 2026 - Added photograph of Blanco Encalada and reorganized Sources section