BL 6-inch Mk VII naval gun

BL 6-inch gun Mk VII
Aboard HMCS Prince David circa 1941
Type	Naval gun Coastal defence gun Heavy field gun
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1901–1972 (Fort Scratchley) 1915–1918 (field use) 1901–1959 (naval use)
Wars	World War I World War II
Production history
Designer	Vickers
Designed	1899
No. built	898
Variants	Mk VII, Mk VIIv, Mk VIII, Mk XXIV
Specifications
Mass	16,875 lb (7,654 kg) (gun & breech)[a] 25 tons (gun on field carriage)
Length	279.2 inches (7.09 m)
Barrel length	269.5 inches (6.85 m) (44.9 cal)
Crew	9
Shell weight	Lyddite, HE, Shrapnel 100 lb (45 kg)[b]
Calibre	6 in (152 mm)
Breech	Welin interrupted screw
Recoil	16.5 in (419 mm)
Rate of fire	8 rpm[c]
Muzzle velocity	2,525 ft/s (770 m/s) (light charge) 2,775 ft/s (846 m/s) (heavy charge)[d]
Maximum firing range	Field carriage Mk. II: 13,700 yd (12,500 m)[e] Naval: 14,600 yd (13,400 m) (light charge); 15,800 yd (14,400 m) (heavy charge)[1][f]
Filling weight	Lyddite: 13 lb 5 oz (6.0 kg) Amatol: 8 lb 14 oz (4.0 kg) Shrapnel: 874 balls @ 27/lb[g]

The BL 6-inch gun Mark VII (and the related Mk VIII)^[h] was a British naval gun dating from 1899, which was mounted on a heavy travelling carriage in 1915 for British Army service to become one of the main heavy field guns in the First World War, and also served as one of the main coast defence guns throughout the British Empire until the 1950s.

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